Questions about the Soviet Union during WW2?

Question

Questions about the Soviet Union during WW2?

Answer 1

1. The Soviet Union did have a ton of natural resources. However, Russia had not developed as fast as Western Europe did, and so the Soviets were trying to catch up, technologically. Also, the communist system of the USSR, as well as the chaos of the 1914-1922 period (war and revolution), set the USSR back in many ways.



However, while Soviet equipment has generally been less advanced than Western equipment, its simplicity meant that more could be built, and they were often tougher and more reliable. Consider the Soviet T-34 tank and its German counterpart, the Panther - the T-34 was much simpler and cruder, but the Panther was extremely expensive to build, maintain, and repair, and early on had a number of reliability problems. Consequently, even though the German tank was "better," the Russians could build many, many more T-34's that were good enough to do the job and which could be used all over the front.



2. The USSR reorganized its military continually throughout its history. Reorganization during World War II began in earnest after the disasters of 1941, and by the end of the war the Soviet Army was the biggest and most powerful in the world (although it did not have many reserves to draw on to replace losses and Soviet industry and air power would not have been able to compete with Western industry and air power in a long war with the West).



I'd place the best Soviet generals on an equal or better footing as any in the world in 1945 - German generals especially get overrated because they wrote self-serving memoirs to cover up their errors and complicity with Nazi crimes - blaming everything, from war crimes to strategic errors, on Hitler and the Nazi political leadership - that became popular in the West, while Russian generals didn't get much credit in the West for Cold War political reasons. As an American, I wouldn't want to have to had fought Rokossovsky, Koniev, Chuikov, Tolbukhin, or Zhukov, even given Bradley or Patton or Hodges or Devers (and certainly not MacArthur or Clark).

Answer 2

"So why did it make some weapons and vehicles like sub-machine guns and tanks with such simple designs?"



Because it was a strategy that won them [and the western powers that used the same techniques] the war.

Germany made excellent weapons; very well engineered and sophisticated - examples being the first assult gun Stg-44 and the world remouned Panther and Tiger tanks. Problem with over enginnered material is the length it takes to create them.

Yes the Tiger was a premier tank, that said for every one Tiger on the front there were seven M4 Shermans or ten Russian T-34s.



Take a look a the bogie layout on a Panther or Tiger... if an inner bogie gets damaged you have to remove up to 5 other bogies just to get at the one that need repair.

http://www.panzer-modell.de/berichte/tiger_interior/Bild022.jpg

Damage a T-34 or Sherman bogie and it's just the one you have to deal with.

Complex designs require either complex fixes or specialist care... you could swap a Sherman or T-34 engine in the field even.



Simple works. The Russians follow the same strategy to this day. Make it simple so any Russian peasant can use it with a minimum of training... easy to manufacture... like their modern jets, they don't store them in heated hangars or care if the aircraft gets covered in snow or there is foreign objects on the runway - they expect their equipment to be tough enough to take battlefield conditions.



"When did the Soviet Union start to reorganize it's military? "



After the disasterous performance in The Winter War [Russia vs Finland 1939]; the transition being half complete by the time of Barbarossa.

Answer 3

Simple does not necessarily equal primitive.



The T-34 was undoubtedly the most successful tank of all time. The stripped-down design meant that the vehicle could be constructed quickly, especially in comparison with the often over-engineered products of German industry.



The PPSh submachine gun was likewise able to be produced in huge numbers. Accuracy is never a crucial consideration when making a submachine gun; it's all about rate of fire and durability in the field, and the PPSh was no exception.



The purges of 1937-38, where the most able Red Army commanders were liquidated thanks to Stalin's paranoia, effectively decapitated the army's command structure. Not until December 1941 was the Red Army able to land a decisive blow against the Germans outside Moscow.



Reorganisation of Soviet armoured formations in March 1942 meant that paper strength of these crucial units was finally equalled in reality, with the more powerful T-34 and KV-1 tanks rather than the underpowered T-60 and BT-5 light tanks which had formed the backbone of the Soviet armoured forces before 1942.



The Lend-Lease Program of US assistance for the USSR was crucial in giving the Soviets the logistical support necessary for victory. US trucks formed the mainstay of the Red Army's logistical chain, while US food supplies were greatly appreciated by the Red Army soldiers in the field. Soviet soldiers used to joke when opening tins of US-supplied Spam that they were "opening the Americans' second front".



Hope this helps!

Answer 4

1. The Soviet Union had been split politically for years, and consequently had not yet started a full blown Industrial Revolution. When Germany turned against the Soviet Union, speed was of the essence. The best way to produce weapons on a mass scale, was simply and quickly with the limited resources and factories they had available.



2. Necessity is the Mother of Invention. For the first time in decades they had a strong Ruthless Leader that all were prepared to follow. They quickly mobilised and started to train for the onslaught of the German Might. Their Scorched Earth Policy gave them some precious time. Also due to strategy many other countries including Britain came to their aid with resources.



Hope this helps, I'm not qualified, but a well read individual. I will not be held responsible for you failing any exam or test :-)))))))

Answer 5

During the Tsars reign the economy was backward and while others were using tractors Russians were using strip farming.

Once Stalin took over he wanted to catch up with the rest of Europe in a short period using his 5 year plans. The USSR was lagging around 100 years behind and so when they were beginning produce weapons they weren't going to be of great quality.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

1. You have to equip a very, very, very large number of largely un-educated and untrained conscripts in a very short period of time. Do you equip them with a small number of fancy, expensive, complicated gold-plated weapons or millions of simple and cheap to produce and perfectly adequate ones?



2. That process started before the war thanks to the Stalinist purges and was largely ongoing throughout the war.

Answer 8

soviet was big and had a lot of resourses

Answer 9

The Soviet Union was 100 years behind the rest of Europe in the early 1900s. It did not have a large number of trained engineers and mechanics. It improved its military during World War 2. It had a lot of help from the allies to give it supplies. My dad was in the merchant marine and they brought in locomotives and ammunition to Mirmask.