What did the Soviet Union do during World War 2?

Answer 1

Russia in WWIIThe Soviet Union was attacked by Germany, without warning or provocation, in 1941. In the next four years at least 20,000,000 Soviets were killed. The great majority of German casualties occurred on the Russian Front.

Here is more information and opinions from FAQ Farmers on the role of the USSR in World War II:

• They were invaded in the Summer of 1941, were pretty hard hit during the Summer and Autum seaons, but then in Dec of '41 they came back and hit HARD driving the Germans back and inflicting ENORMOUS casulaties. In later 42, the Germans tried to push for Stalingrad with something like a million men. These were wiped out. And entire ARMY WIPED out. The US can NEVER say they actually surrounded and wiped out and ARMY. Even at the Falaise pocket (in the Falaise Pocket there was mabye a couple of Korps but no real army) the US couldn't get Germans as fast as the Russians did. Russia had more industrial capacity (at least for war) and its homes were much more affected than the US was. When Americans say "OH we SAVED England"... i say if Hitler hadn't invaded Russia, England would be under Hitlers Jackboot as we speak. And Nazi Germany would still exist today, bringing with it the Death Camps, the Crimes against Humanity, and all other evils one can think of. In Conclusion, Russia sacficed more in WW2 than all other allied countries combined. THEY were the ones to take Berlin after having spent so many lives getting there. THEY were the ones whose homes burned while the US wondered wether it should respond to Germanys acts of horror.

• I was reading the previous answers, and had to add a comment. Indeed Russia suffered most casualties during WWII, as in turn caused most casualties to the German armies. However, (and don't think I am trying to defend America's current world status), America did CHOOSE to join the war, as opposed to Russia who was forced into it by defense. Let's not forget that Russia had no intensions of standing up for Europe. In fact they had a treaty with Germany established August 23, 1939, that was referred to as a NON-Agressive Pact of Friendship. I believe Germany lost because they could not fight a war on both sides, they still could have lost without the help of America. Just remember, Russia had one thing in mind: RUSSIA.

• I'm British and after researching Russians in WW2 and Stalingrad, etc, I know how much debt the world owes to Russia. In Stalingrad, however, the Russians got supplies from America and air support from Britain. No country can say we won the war more or less by ourselves. Americans say they saved our skins against Hitler. I say the Aussies saved the Yanks agains the Japanese empire.

• First things first. Before its heroic support of the Allies, Russia had a darker stint in the war as one of its instigators, by attacking Poland on Sept. 17 as part of an agreement drawn up by Ribbentrop and Molotov. The agreement stipulated that Poland would be partitioned between Germany and Russia (actually the Soviet Union). The non-aggression pact between the two countries was one of the main reasons wy Stalin was so shocked when Hitler attacked in 1941.

• After Hitler realized he could not invade England without control of the air (which he could not obtain), he turned his attention towards the East. He invaded Russia in June of 1941. By December of that same year, he was on the outskirts of Moscow; tough Russian defense (combined with one of the coldest winters in history) allowed Russia to hold German forces, and counterattack in some places. In 1942, Hitler decided to turn his army south, towards Stalingrad. The German army was almost successful, but could not quite capture city; indeed, the Russian army turned the tables and trapped nearly 250,000 German's in the city. Unable to supply the troops by air, eventually the surrounded troops were killed or surrended (the last of them in February, 1943). In the Summer of 1943, the largest tank battle in history took place at Kursk; Germany was defeated by a numerically superior force. From then on, Germany was on the defense, and Russian continually pushed them back until the final capture of Berlin in 1945. Despite what you might read in the history books, at the cost of million of lives, Russian was the country that stopped the German jaugernaut and turned the tables on Germany. I'm not saying they did it alone, or were doing it for the Allies, but there is no disputing that Russian blood was spilled taking Berlin.

• While your mentioning all the suffering that Poor Mother Russia endured lets talk about the MILLIONS of Russians that Stalin himself killed. Hitler almost pails in comparison to Stalin. Stalin is one of the sickest men the world has ever known. They were of the same mold. Stalin liquadated more of his own than the Germans did during his whole tyrantical reign. The Russians not only helped with the envasion of Poland but attacked Finland as well for nothing more than a strip of land. Stalin in the end did in no way regret the war. Not only did he get rid of the man he feared the most (Hitler) but he got to be like him and annex half of Europe and bring them a suffering all their own after the war. You talk about battles that the US participated in as if they were cakewalks and of little consequence. The Russians had to do more since the fight was on their own soil. If it were on American soil the same would have happened to the Germans. They would have gotten their asses kicked. I guess you want the US to say their sorry for not being invaded. Nobody in this forum has said the Russians couldn't fight. But nobody had more bodies to throw into a fight than they. They were on their knees and tactically stupid. Numbers will even the odds. Hitler squandered his advantages in taking personal command of the offensive. His commanders were twice that of the Russians but ended up puppets thus saving the Soviet union.

• Don't understate the Soviet Union's contribution to victory over the Nazis, something that I have definitely been guilty of. Americans and Russians often tend to think of themselves as having won the war independently of one another or the other countries involved. This is most likely the result of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain keeping knowledge and interpretation of the events of the war split. Perceptually, many in the West are also troubled by the Soviet Union remaining in effective occupation of Eastern Europe after the war. Enforced Russian dominance over the region and brutal measures taken against the populations of countries like Czechoslovakia and Hungary during the Cold War have made it hard for later generations of Westerners to view the Soviets as fellow former liberators; particularly as the collapse of the Iron Curtain has revealed just how far behind economically these nations have been kept. These factors have helped keep Westerners in the dark about how important the Soviet Union was in defeating the Nazis.

• Russia aggressively defended herself against a German attack. Russia had help from the United States in the form of war material shipped to Russia's northern ports. If D-Day had not occurred, and the US continued to supply Russia, the Russians most likely would have defeated Germany on their own. Even with D-day, Russia still lost 20 million people - more than any other country. Keep in mind, the war in Europe ended 11 months after D-day. Largely due to to the German armies already being deicmated by the fignting in Russia. If Russia would have stayed out of the war, the fighting would have lasted until '47 or '48, but the US had the more resources, more manufacturing capabilty, and more men. The war would have been won by the Allies as well.

• To look at the numbers, yes, a majority of Germans died on Russian soil. Many key battles were fought in Russia; Kursk, Stalingrad etc, but a lot of damage was suffered by the Wermachts march on Moscow by British and American airpower over Germany. Also Allied victory over Italy and Germany in Africaprevented Germany acquiring more oil. When Napolean marched on Moscow only a quarter of his million made it to battle. Of the Germans killed in Russia a large percentage also died due to crises of management. However by the time Russia got going, by the time its industry developed into a war machine in 1943 it made her the most awesome fighting force of the whole war. This doesnt detract from the fact that Russia owes some of its early success to British and America assistance, its own willingness to ignore the Nazi threat initially.

Answer 2

Formally Russia formed part of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union was involved in WWII by the un-announced and unprovoked attack of the Axis powers in June 1941. Of course, the Soviet Union had already been part of the military-political development of the war. She had waged her own war of aggression against Finland and Poland (both in '39) and a defensive war against Japan ('38) as well as a proxy war (Spain). All being events that are usually considered part of the world war in a wider sense. She had also annexed the Baltic states and forced territorial demands on Romania (Bessarabia). The Soviet Union also had several internal armed conflicts, though by the late 30s of minor character. So politically, she was already involved by June '41. More input: * Everything that was said in the previous answer was true. I am just making a simple answer to your question. How was Russia involved? Like the United States they got into the war when they were attacked. The U.S. was attacked by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The Soviet Union (Russia was the main part) was invaded by Hitler six months before Pearl Harbor, on June 22, 1941. (Interestingly enough Hitler invaded on the same day as Napoleon had before him.) The Soviet Union had a peace agreement with the Japanese almost to the end of the war. Secretly the Soviet Union promised to help the Allies fight the Japanese after the defeat of Germany. While they only fought the Japanese for about three weeks they did a good job in defeating the Japanese Army in China. They planned to invade the northern island of Japan, but the war ended before that happened. * Russia as has been said earlier was invaded by Hitler in June 1941 as part of Operation Barbarossa. At first Soviet forces were pushed back and the Germans were succesful. But then the Russians dug in in Moscow, Stalingrad, and up and down the Volga river. The battle turned into a bloody stalemate. Cities like Stalingrad(now Volgagrad) were turned to rubble, and the Armies dug in further. In the Spring of 1943 I believe the Russians launched a counter attack that destroyed much of the German Army and eventualy pushed to Berlin and ended the War in Europe.

Answer 3

Russia was involved with WWII because Hitler broke his treaty and invaded Russia opening up the Eastern Front. Russia lost more then 20 million people in the war. Russia allied itself with the allies (Britain, France, USA etc) after it was invaded. Russia was invaded but never defeated. Hitler never learnt the lessons of Napolean.

Answer 4

In 1939, the Soviet Union was more or less allied with Germany, which allowed Poland to be quickly conquered and divided between them after the German invasion which began the war. While Germany was busy fighting against Poland's allies, France and Great Britain, the Soviet Union was busy executing thousands of Polish officers whom they had failed to convert to Communism, and burying them in a secret mass grave.

In the winter of 1939-40 the Soviet Union attacked Finland; a much smaller country which nevertheless offered great resistance but eventually ceded territory to the Soviet Union. Finland would later cast its lot with the Axis in an attempt to regain what it had lost. The Soviet Union also took control of the Baltic States (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania) in 1940.

In 1941 Germany turned on the Soviet Union and attacked it. Despite warnings, the Soviet Union was caught unprepared and losses were heavy. The mass grave of the Polish officers was later discovered by the Germans, but this massacre was downplayed by the Allies in favor of the immediate goal to defeat the Axis.

Throughout 1942-44 the Soviet Union resisted the German advance, and the defeat of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad is considered a major turning point of the war. The suffering and losses among the Russian people during this time were tremendous, and Stalin made increasing demands that the Western Allies open a second front in Europe. Finally in June of 1944 the Western Allies landed at Normandy.

In 1945 the United States entered Germany but stopped and allowed the Soviet Union to capture Berlin at high cost, as it had already been agreed that East Germany would be administered by the Soviet Union after the war. Also, in return for territorial gains in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and expelled the Japanese from Manchuria. Soviet forces were to be used in the invasion of Japan, but the US atomic bombings of Japanese cities forced Japan's surrender without an invasion.

Answer 5

The Soviets were the MAIN enemy of Germany. Most of Germany's resources went to fight the Soviets not the western allies. The bloodiest fighting of WW2 occurred on the Russian Front. The Soviet Union is directly responsible for Germany's declaration of war on the United States. Had not Germany been at war with the Soviets (Russians) in 1941, Hitler in all probability would NOT have declared war on the US. The German General Staff wanted "A stronger ally, not a stronger enemy." Hitler declared war on the US on 11 December 1941, in the hopes that the Tripartite Pact signed by Japan, creating the Axis Powers, would assist him with opening a SECOND front on the Soviet's Eastern Flank. However, Japan had already fought Russians twice before: Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905, and the Nomonhan Incident in 1939; they disliked the idea of fighting them again. Germany had to fight the Soviets alone. By the time the Russians did declare war on Japan in 1945, Germany had already surrendered.

Answer 6

The Red Army fought against the German army on the eastern front and were the first Allied troops to reach Berlin.