Okay, Profisher... guess I might have to finally throw my two cents in... and disagree, with your disagreeing on that one? Justfish has pretty much nailed it with his comments!
The U.S. might not do everything right... But we did do it good in WWII! And, we not only provided our military we also provided all our resources... and did actually supply the USSR along with all our "Western Allies" with weapons, equipment, and supplies - that did and IS credited with being the major reason for the winning WWII! And the debate goes on!
"Richard Overy, professor of contemporary history at King's College London, notes that after the war, Hitler's foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop listed three main reasons for Germany's defeat:"
•Unexpectedly stubborn resistance from the Soviet Union
•The large-scale supply of arms and equipment from the US to the Soviet Union, under the lend-lease agreement
•The success of the Western Allies in the struggle for air supremacy.
Here's the kickers! [:0]
You might want to ask, where was Russia, while “OUR” troops were fighting and dying in the Pacific? "THEY" had signed a neutrality pact with Japan!
This one might also be a surprise, but Russia was one of, if not the prime reasons we even had WWII!
Here is a little timeline for you: August 23, 1939 Stalin signs a “secret” non-aggression pact with that guy in Germany called Hitler agreeing to the joint invasion and to DIVIDE Poland. While the given date of the beginning of WWII is September 1, 1939 - with Germany’s invasion of Poland, guess what? Russia was invading eastern Poland! Yep, Germany and Russia – in bed together to invade a Poland starting WWII! So, I have to ask would there have even been a WWII without that Russia-Germany pact and invasion?
Now, your buddy Stalin used the early years in the beginning of WWII, to do his own little invasions and territorial gains. Can you say – invaded Finland on November 30, 1939. The Baltic states June 18, 1940.
Ever heard of "The Battle of Britain", that was the summer and autumn of 1940. Won by “Britain” - not Germany. That loss/failure stopped Hitler from launching “Operation Sea Lion” – amphibious and airborne invasion of Britain.
Then April 13, 1941 the USSR signs a neutrality pact with our other good friends at the time – Japan! Would Japan have ever attacked Pearl Harbor without that? Yes, probably – they needed the oil in the Pacific. But again… I guess we’ll never know for sure. And then without Russia signing that neutrality pact, would there have been a WWII?
Russia did NOT EVER fire one shot in support of the Allies in the Pacific, until August 9, 1945 - the end of it! In fact, they used that to THEIR advantage! After claiming neutrality, during that time, when the U.S. had to land aircraft in Russia – they refused to return the aircraft!
Now back to Europe - Hitler can't beat Britain so, he comes up with another plan - he hates Stalin and thinks Russia will be an easier target than Britain. So, it was Hitler’s failure to take Britain and hatred for Stalin that even brought Russia into WWII by Germany's invasion on June 22, 1941. Hmmm... over two years after the declaration of War on Germany. The Siege of Leningrad wasn’t until September 15, 1941. Italy and Romania then declared war on the USSR. Shortly thereafter, Hungary, Slovakia, and Finland declared war. The U.S. actually started supplying the USSR under the Lend-Lease Act in October 1941. Massive amounts of weapons and equipment. Russia officially enters WWII in 1941 aligning itself with the Allies! Yep... pact with Germany in 1939 invades a few countries on his own gets attacked - now decides he is better off with the Allies? Hmm...???
Now in reality we had been in a de facto war with Germany for at least a couple of years in that we had passed the Lend-Lease Act and were supplying aid to Britain by way of convoy escorts, sale of 50 destroyers, and the other assistance provided.
December 7, 1941… Hello U.S.A. U.S. declares war on Japan. Germany and the other Axis countries declares war on the U.S. And we now have a World War II!
So, we Yanks really weren’t all that late!
Now FYI… 1943 is the first time Stalin met with Roosevelt and Churchill (Now known as the Big Three) and agreed the Western Allies (note the term “Western Allies”) would invade France and THEN Russia would launch their new offensive. With supplies and equipment provided by… none other... THAN… the United States of America (AKA U.S.A.)!
While I will concede that the surrender of 90,000 German troops at Stalingrad to USSR, on January 31, 1943, was a significant turning point in the war against “Germany” there was still another war going on - called WWII in the Pacific and Russia was NOT part of it! And, while they did play a significant part in EUROPE – there was no participation by them that was not to their benefit! While they did suffer large loses their loses might be short of the estimated 50,000,000 (MILLION) people who died as a result of WWII .
April 1944, the USSR retook Odessa. May, German troops surrendered in the Crimea. July, the USSR retook Minsk. August, USSR invaded German-occupied Romania. August 23, Romania surrendered. September, USSR invaded Bulgaria. Bulgaria made peace with the Soviets and declared war on Germany. Late September, the USSR occupied Estonia. October 1, 1944, Soviet troops entered Yugoslavia. January 17, 1945, Soviet troops captured Warsaw. Early April they captured Vienna. April 23, 1945, Soviet troops reached Berlin – “WE” Allies were already there waiting. Stalin argues with Allies concerning who is entering Berlin. May 2, 1945, Soviet troops completed the capture of Berlin all remaining German troops surrender. VE Day May 8, 1945.
Now at this point… True to his promise to the Allies (and interested in expanding in the East) Stalin then, only then broke his pact with Japan. U.S. drops "Little Boy" on Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed by "Fat Man" over Nagasaki on August 9. Soviet troops invaded Manchuria August 9, 1945 and Russia has been credited with helping win WWII and the war in the Pacific?
IHMO... Russia did more to start it than end it!
And... THAT IS COMING LATE FOR THE PARTY!
