[Evald]

The Russian Liberation Army wasn't a single unit

Well, in that particular case a unit of RLA was opposed to a unit of the the Soviet Army.

- Vlasov defected because he had little choice, rather than strong ideological conviction.
- He certainly didn't defect due to experiences in Europe, since he was captured and put to work in Russia.
Vlasov and his contempories are not proof that their was an army of liberation simply waiting to come out.

OK, if all this is true, it still was the great momentum.

You clearly label the Soviet army as a ethnic Russian formation

Not really. I meant "Russians" as a nationality, not just etnicity, emphasizing that they might have different goals.

[Smilin' Dave]

Well, in that particular case a unit of RLA was opposed to a unit of the the Soviet Army.

Was that their choice or did the Wehrmacht pick their deployment? Most Soviet citizens that served with the Germans appear to have been sent to fight on other fronts (they were even found as far away as Normandy), and they fought there too. Ideological conflict, or survival/mercenary motivations?

OK, if all this is true, it still was the great momentum.

Momentum? Defections like Vlasov's became less common over the course of the war. This was in part because the Soviet party-state relaxed restrictions in a number of key areas, including the use of nationalism and religion.

Not really. I meant "Russians" as a nationality, not just ethnicity, emphasizing that they might have different goals.

Then, as I suggested, you mis-spoke.

Were there any significant examples of nationalist dissention in the Soviet army of WWII?

[Oxymoron]

The Red Army at that point was a veteran force, supplied by the whole of Easterner Europe, with "volunteer forces" from all the occupied countries that had just smashed through 80% of the German land forces. Or about 10 million men better equipped, trained and supplied than the Allied force that had just occupied the West.

Had a war broken out Russia would have steam rolled the West out of Europe and probably allied with Japan, we would have been back to the situation of 1941 when Britain was facing a major land power over the Channel with not enough military power to do anything but prevent a land invasion of the home islands

.

That ^^^

[Celtic Communism]

What has not really been mentioned is that there was a clear recognition in the Allied armies between friends and enemies. For four long years, the Allied soldier was told his friend were the Soviets and his enemy was the Germans. Switching sides so suddenly, which would be a great betrayal and which the Allied soldiers would recognise, is going to bring low morale and utter confusion in whatever explanation the commanders would come up with. The Soviets would have a far easier job of explaining this new enemy to the soldiers.

In all great wars of the past, the most important part of winning a war rests upon the soldiers with their national honour, spirit and morale. American technology was never more formidable than Soviet infantry.

[peter_co]

In all great wars of the past, the most important part of winning a war rests upon the soldiers with their national honour, spirit and morale.

Look at it this way, the Poles were not short on honour, spirit, and morale in '39, though that did not do much to increase the chances of their cavalry charges against German tanks.

[Smilin' Dave]

though that did not do much to increase the chances of their cavalry charges against German tanks.

Polish cavalry never deliberately charged German tanks. It is a myth.

[Dave]

Another myth is that the Polish Air Force was destroyed on the ground.

[peter_co]

Polish cavalry never deliberately charged German tanks. It is a myth.

Yes, I know, I just didn't want to let historical accuracy thwart what I considered to be a witty rebuttal.

[Celtic Communism]

Look at it this way, the Poles were not short on honour, spirit, and morale in '39, though that did not do much to increase the chances of their cavalry charges against German tanks.

Both the tank and horse are military technology.

[Igor Antunov]

The Germans also used horses in the east, since motor vehicles would get bogged down in the mud and horses didn't require precious fuel. In Russia most German 'motorized' infantry divisions were horse-drawn divisions. And since most divisions were infantry divisions, horses were the most popular method of transportation in that theater.