Quote:
Originally Posted by Raptor1
I'd have to dispute that. I rummaged through some of my sources a while ago because of a thread on the Tanksim forum, and apparently the amount of Jeeps and Trucks that arrived in the Soviet Union amounted to less than half the amount produced by the Soviets during the war (Of course not counting the ones they produced before the war and not counting the ones they captured from the Germans). Though I'm not sure what the ratio was for trucks. Either way, while the amount was certainly significant, it was by no means the only reason the Soviets were able to mount large scale offensives.
Now, I don't have numbers for how much oil and other raw materials was produced by the Soviets during the war, but I do know they had extensive ability to produce many of these.
While the Soviets did not win the war by themselves, the Americans are not solely responsible for victory either, as it is sometimes made out.
Also, the Soviets also never became a very German style mobile army, since their army was heavily constructed on their own pre-war doctrine, which predated the Blitzkrieg. Also, you'll be surprised at how much of the German transport capacity came from old fashioned horse transport rather than trucks and other mechanized assets.
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My point was that the Russian armored formation gained much mobility by having trucks instead of feet move the infantry with them.
All you have to do is look at operation bagration in spring 1944 to see that it was a total different army in 1944 than in 1942 even. They could now break through and encircle as the Germans found out with an alarming speed.
Even if slightly less than half of their mobility came from lend lease than that is still a large portion!
In a close call battlefield and lets not fool ourselves the Germans even on retreat were more than capable of pulling of tactical victory's one after the other they just didn't have the forces left to reverse anything for long. On something that close even 30% mobility stripped if lend lease didn't happen might have had a huge outcome.
It was a joint affair. Russian's bled more for sure but without the west I believe that their collapse was almost certain considering how close the German army came with 70% of its forces while the other 30% were west and in Africa.
It was that fortunate alliance that forged victory in a close brutal war that was not certain until after mid 44'.