943, Stalin raised his wine glass at Tehran Conference and said enthusiastically to everyone: "Let us toast to the powerful industry of United States of America . Without the products provided by American allies, we will lose this war!"
968, the legendary Soviet Marshal Zhukov said in an interview that the United States' support to allies in World War II is very important. Without these aid, the war would not last, and their role was decisive.
Even the Khrushchev , which has been talking nonsense, mentioned in his memoir that without the assistance of the Americans, it would be difficult for the Soviet army to organize large-scale battles and would not be able to mobilize more troops to participate in the war.
But after looking through the historical archives of the former Soviet Union, we found another contradictory record.
1948, the Soviet government's statistical department conducted a detailed statistics on the national economic situation during World War II, including aid from abroad. Strangely, there are very few descriptions of the United States, only a few short sentences.
, and also mentioned in the statistical report that during World War II, the United States did provide assistance to the Soviet Union, but the total amount of assistance progressed 4% of similar products in the Soviet Union during the same period.
It is obvious that the author of this report believes that the proportion of aid in the United States is not large, so it does not play a big role, at least not the decisive role.
Since then, the Soviet Union has always used the direction of this report as a benchmark, and has made little mention of the United States' aid to the Soviet Union, and even intends to downplay it, so many people do not know about the United States' aid to the Soviet Union.
So why did the United States support the Soviet Union during World War II? How much material was supported by the Soviet Union? How much effect did it play? Why did the Soviets themselves have contradictory circumstances?
To clarify these issues, it is not enough to just list the data, and you also need to roughly sort out the grievances between them.
From our perspective, the Russians and the people of Britain, the United States, Germany and France have similar appearances and physical signs, and they are both nations that believe in God, so they are either distant relatives or close neighbors.
Compared with our authentic East Asians, their relationship should be closer.
But in fact, the Russian nation has always been an alien in the eyes of Westerners. The grudges and hatreds between them have existed hundreds of years ago.
Russians are descendants of Slavs , which originated from Balkans . Now Europe is mainly dominated by Aryans, Germanic and other Nordic ethnic groups. Of course, there are Anglo-Saxon , and they were not originally a family.
And the biggest difference between them is religious belief. Russians believe in Orthodox religion, while Western European is mainly Catholicism. In our opinion, God is the one who writes to us, but they don’t think so. Instead, they think that the other party is heresy and is incompatible with water and fire. Religious wars on the European continent are also common.
Due to various reasons, they have disliked each other from history, but in ancient times, due to the distance and extremely inconvenient transportation, Russia was not as powerful as it was later, and this contradiction was not so obvious. Of course, the United States was not born at that time.
But after Industrial Revolution , Russia quickly expanded its territory with its strong combat power and participated in colonial plunder, and the conflict between the two sides further escalated. Later, the famous Crimean War broke out. Tsarist Russia was defeated, but the Russians were dissatisfied, and even if this gangster was completely formed.
Later, Lenin overthrew Tsarist Russia and established a powerful Soviet Union. However, the establishment of the new regime not only did not resolve the contradictions between them, but instead intensified the more acute contradictions and class contradictions. That is, the capitalism regime's hatred of communism, which we are relatively familiar with, and the two are even more incompatible.
After the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union became the public enemy of the entire West. At that time, the United States had risen. As descendants of the Anglo-Saxons, they naturally stood on the side of Western Europe. Therefore, the United States imposed an embargo on the Soviet Union and banned flights, and also frozen the Soviet Union's overseas assets.
We can see that the US sanctions on the Soviet Union did not begin after Cold War , but existed before World War II.
In short, the relationship between the two sides has always been bad, and there are profound contradictions in all aspects such as ethnicity, religion, the nature of the regime, or economic interests.
Before the outbreak of Soviet-German War , a large number of people in Europe and the United States saw that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were almost the same. After the battle with
, Germany was hit hard, but in just twenty years, they quickly built the world's most powerful army, and it was under the strict surveillance of the League of Nations. All this is because the Soviet Union was secretly providing help, and they had a close cooperative relationship.
At that time, Germany provided the Soviet Union with advanced industrial technology and modern military construction concepts, while the Soviet Union provided Germany with a vast and confidential rear training base. The powerful German air force was trained in the Soviet Union.
Another point is that the "Nazi" led by Hitler is the full name of "National Socialist German Workers' Party". Simply put, initially Hitler also used the socialist revolution to deceive people. So, at that time, capitalist country looked at socialism as fascism.
Until now, this view still exists in the West.
However, the contradictions between Europe and the United States and the Soviet Union have undergone a fundamental change with Hitler's crazy ambitions. The Germans launched an blitzkrieg against the Soviet Union .
is more familiar with this history. On June 22, 1941, Hitler launched a fierce attack on the Soviet Union from three directions with a total force of 5.5 million, which is the famous " Barbarossa Plan ".
The Soviet Red Army was unprepared and responded hastily and suffered heavy losses.
At this time, Europe and the United States had a common enemy, Nazi Germany.
Compared with the Nazis, the contradictions in ethnic, cultural, religious and interests between Europe and the United States and the Russians are no longer important. Because Hitler was so terrible, his purpose was to destroy the so-called "inferior nation", and this situation became serious, so Europe, the United States and the Soviet Union had to start joining forces.
At that time, the United States had already begun to aid Britain and China. Later, Roosevelt defeated the public and lifted sanctions on the Soviet Union and ordered support for the Soviet Union.
Because if the Soviet Union is defeated by the German army, Japan and Germany will have the possibility of alliance between the East and the European continent, and the United States will be more troublesome at that time.
Not long after, the US government quickly approved the list of the Soviet Union on the " Lease Act " and began to provide a legitimate large-scale assistance to the Soviet Union. Roosevelt's decision was supported by Churchill .
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia gradually decrypted the information of that year, acknowledging the large amount of aid provided by the United States to the Soviet Union, and the data coincided with the records of the United States.
Judging from these data, the scale of the United States' aid to the Soviet Union is amazing. It is not unreasonable for many Soviet leaders to praise the United States' aid and is just.
According to records, the United States has begun to provide assistance to the Soviet Union since September 1941. Data shows that during the entire World War II, the total price of assistance provided by the United States to the Soviet Union was as high as US$10.9 billion.
The total amount of aid provided by the United States to support China's anti-Japanese war was only US$850 million.
The United States supported the Soviet Union with a maximum of 17 million tons of materials, including food, weapons and ammunition, machinery and equipment, communication tools, etc.
The United States' weapons and equipment aided the Soviet Union played an important role in fighting the German invasion, greatly alleviating the pressure from the Soviet army and laying the foundation for the later counterattack.
The United States provided a large number of combat vehicles and transportation vehicles to the Soviet Union. Among them, there are more than 36,000 tanks and more than 3,600 tank transport vehicles. More than 33,100 armored combat vehicles and more than 1,500 repair vehicles. In addition, a large number of repair and maintenance accessories are included, and the matching ammunition is also supplied.
The Soviet Union has a vast territory and has the longest railway mileage in Europe, but the German army occupied Ukraine and Donbas and its industrial system was severely damaged, making it difficult to produce enough locomotives and carriages.
At the request of the Soviet Union, the United States provided the Soviet Union with 1,900 steam locomotives and 366 internal combustion locomotives, and also supplied it with more than 10,000 various train cars.
The Soviet heavy industry system is very developed, but its development is unbalanced, and its foundation is weak in terms of trucks and light tanks , and its output is not high. The United States has provided it with more than 400,000 trucks, jeeps, more than 30,000 motorcycles, and several other special operation vehicles.
When the United States provided these equipment to the Soviet Union, the supporting parts and raw materials were also supplied together, effectively ensuring the normal operation of these equipment.
The Soviet Union was in urgent need of fighter at that time, and the United States was not stingy and gave it to the Soviet Union more than 14,000 fighter jets of various types for free. Initially, the US Department of Defense even allocated hurricane fighter jets that were supposed to be supplied to the Pacific War Zone to the Soviet Union. At that time, the US Navy Air Force was being tortured by the Japanese Zero fighter jets.
Later, the Soviet Union obtained a large number of more advanced P40, P39, and P63. Soviet pilots praised the P39 and also provided valuable experience for the later development of Soviet fighter jets.
In addition to fighter jets, the US also includes B25 heavy bomber, seaplane , transport aircraft , reconnaissance aircraft , trainer aircraft , etc.
Navy has obtained 28 American frigates, 60 landing craft, 6 barge, 77 minesweeper craft, 103 submarine hunting craft, and 175 torpedo boats. and several front door various naval guns worth millions of dollars.
In addition to military ships, it also provides a large number of transportation operation ships, including 10 ocean-going cruise ships and 90 heavy cargo ships, as well as various special operation ships.
The Soviet Union had a powerful gun manufacturing industry at that time, and the United States provided it with various raw materials and important machine tool equipment to ensure the supply of guns and guns on the front line.
The United States also provided advanced communication equipment to the Soviet Union, greatly improving the Soviet Union's communication confidentiality and combat efficiency.
Finally, the United States provided nearly 5 million tons of food to the Soviet Union.
The above data is only part of our extracted from the massive data. The scale of aid from the US and Chinese military is amazing. The role played by so much aid is undoubtedly huge.
So are these evidences enough to prove the view that "the Soviet Union could not win the war without the aid of the United States"?
probably can't!
The data we see in the U.S. military aid is very amazing, but this is the absolute quantity and there is no comparison. Taking food as an example, in four years, the United States supported nearly 5 million tons of grain in the Soviet Union, but we also found that the Soviet Union's grain output during the same period was 50 million tons.
This is still the case when Ukraine and other regions are occupied. Despite the US food aid, the war still caused their food shortage, but no serious famine occurred. That is to say, the food provided by the United States is helpful, but the proportion is not large.
However, there are a large number of canned meat , sugar, oil and other products in the foods aided by the United States, providing nutritional guarantees for frontline soldiers.
After World War II, many Allied veterans missed the canned food in the United States very much. We also often hear the officers and soldiers of the Chinese army mention American canned beef in film and television dramas. However, in reality, the US military is not that luxurious. There are very few canned beef, most of which are lunch meat canned, but this is already a luxury on the battlefield.
The key role of US military aid materials is transporting vehicles and communication tools.
During the Patriotic War , a large number of Soviet troops and materials needed to be transported from the far rear to the front line, while the Soviet Union itself lacked both locomotives and trucks, and its production capacity was too weak.
Most of the trains driving on the Soviet railroad tracks were towing the front of the American car, and the American trucks and jeeps were also loved by the Soviet army.
The US military's transport vehicles have become an important support for the Soviet army's logistics, which is undeniable.
Another is the advanced communication system of the US military, which is also a shortcoming of the Soviet Union. During World War I, the command radio stations within the Russian army did not even use passwords, but directly ordered them with clear codes, but ended up suffering a crushing defeat. American equipment helped the Soviet army quickly upgrade to modern forces.
Important industrial raw materials provided by the US military to the Soviet army, such as rare metals such as aluminum alloy, also helped to ensure the manufacturing of Soviet weapons.
The Soviets did not deny that US military aid played an important role, but they did not agree that aid played a decisive role.
Although the US military began to support the Soviet Union as early as September 1941, the first thing that arrived was money, not weapons and equipment. At that time, the Soviets were fighting the Moscow defense battle , and the US military aid did not help much.
It was not until when the Battle of Stalingrad that the US military's equipment began to appear on the battlefield, and it was not transported in large quantities in large quantities, but in small batches.
Strictly speaking, it was already 1943 that the US military aid entered the Soviet Union in large quantities. At this time, the situation on the battlefield had changed, and the Soviet army had relied on itself to reverse the situation. Therefore, in the eyes of the Soviets, the US aid was icing on the cake, not a timely help.
This is not because Americans don’t do their best, but because the road is not peaceful and transportation is very difficult.
There are four routes for the United States to assist the Soviet Union, and all of these four routes take sea routes. The German U-shaped submarines are elusive and specialize in sneak attacks on American transport ships.
1942, the US PQ17 transport fleet supporting the Soviet Union was attacked by German troops, 130,000 tons of cargo sank into the sea, and 23 heavy cargo ships were lost. The United States had to suspend material aid, and at this time, Stalingrad was in a fierce battle, and Stalin was still furious about it.
It was not until later that the Allied Navy took control of the sea that the transportation route was smooth and a large number of material resources were continuously transported.
At this time, the Soviet Union's Patriotic War was coming to an end, and they began to pursue the German army westward.
So, Today's Russians recognize American aid and also recognize that these aids have played an important role, and they are grateful for this. However, if we say that they cannot win without Americans, the fighting nation does not agree with it. After all, this victory was defeated by the ancestors with flesh and blood, not by weapons.
What's more, Americans always like to lose their chains at critical moments.
Since the United States' aid to the Soviet Union exists, Stalin, Zhukov and Khrushchev all admit it, why did the later Soviet government intend to downplay this matter?
This is also closely related to changes in the battlefield situation.
After entering 1945, the German army retreated step by step. In the first half of the year, the Allied forces and the Soviet Red Army attacked Germany from the east and west lines, and the Nazi situation was over. At this time, voices of stopping support to the Soviet Union appeared within the United States and Western groups.
On April 12, Roosevelt passed away, and the stubborn figures supporting the Soviet Union disappeared, and the efforts began to decline immediately, but did not end immediately.
Because the Allies still needed the Soviet Union to help them solve Japan quickly, they continued to assist the Soviet army's advanced P63 fighter jets, but also gave restrictions, that is, they could not be used for combat against the German army. Then the only enemy that this fighter needs to deal with is Japan.
At this time, the senior executives of both sides began to become alert and they were recovering from the original contradiction.On August 17, 1945, Japan had just accepted the Potsdam announcement that had only been more than two days. Truman ordered the cessation of aid to the Soviet Union and asked the Soviet Union for the discount on the remaining materials after the war.
There is an extra question detail at this time node. On August 14, 1945, Japan accepted the Potsdam announcement, and Hirohito announced the " End War Edict ", not the surrender edict. In the eyes of the Japanese, they took the initiative to demand a ceasefire and made concessions for peace. They never surrendered, and of course they did not think they were wrong!
It is obvious that before the end of World War II, the " Iron Curtain Era" was entered between the West and the Soviet Union. This was the prelude to the Cold War. The two sides met and had a disagreement in the face!
In order to win this world war , Roosevelt most of the aid to the Soviet Union was free, and only a part of the non-military support was agreed to repay the Soviet Union after the war.
So, has been asking the Soviets for the loan agreement since Truman, either returning the materials or paying at a discount. The Soviets were also very happy, just in one sentence: they were all used up, there was no left at all, they didn’t want money, and they didn’t give them any life!
Americans were very angry about this, and the Soviets were not happy with the hostile attitude of the West. The Americans had been entangled for a long time, and finally signed an agreement with the Soviet Union a few years later, agreeing to pay the United States $700 million.
The Americans breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to get some compensation, which was not considered free; after the Soviets signed the contract, they didn't know where to throw the agreement when they went back. Until today, I have not given a penny, and it is said that there are still people who are thinking about this account!
The opposing stance between the two sides was also the fundamental reason why the Soviet Union deliberately downplayed US aid later.
Objectively speaking, even if we are on a third party, it is difficult for us to accurately evaluate how much role the United States has played in the aid to the Soviet Union. But this is no longer important. What is important is that we can recognize this history, explore the laws of historical development, and learn valuable experience and lessons.
The unprecedentedly tragic war has ended, but the grudges in history have not been eliminated. Even today, with peace as the main theme, the war has been rekindled. Today, there are clouds of war over the European continent. We sincerely hope that the war will not expand or continue, and that there will be no end to the collapse of the nest. Historical disasters should not be repeated again and again!
I am Phantom of Shi Hai , follow me to like history.
