ReiMurasame wrote:I can't wait to see the mainstream American reactions to this thread.
Am I mainstream Rei? No matter....
I for one do like Uncle Joe...within the context of WW-2 that is. The Soviet Contribution to to the defeat of
'Little Fritz' can not be understated. Their massive successful contribution to the demise of the invading Krauts was made possible by Joe Stalin's Industrial, Scientific and Engineering drive. By the time Little Fritz decided to invade the Soviet Union Stalin had made it an industrial and technological giant second only in capacity to the United States. There were certainly some holes in the Russian technological base and in their level of education but the Russians were clever enough to get around those with the application of common sense, solid engineering aimed at ease of manufacture & operation, ruggedness and simplicity combined with a set of military doctrines based on the realities of enemy capability and their own capability.
In that respect the Soviets and Stalin were brilliant.Examples:Early in the war the Soviets understood that a precision built bolt action rifle with sights graduated to 1200 yards was an expensive option and one that required considerable time and resources to train huge numbers of troops on. The Mosin–Nagant of which they made 37,000,000 was a good weapon but one that only a small percentage of their infantrymen could use to its maximum potential and as with all bolt guns was cursed with a slow rate of fire and a limited magazine capacity.
The soviets realized sooner than anyone else that 90% of infantry combat takes place at close range (<=200 meters) where full power cartridges like their 7.62mm X 54R were over powered and the bolt action rifles that fired such heavy hitters had a low rate of fire. Soviet doctrine demanded that in meeting engagements their troops should be able to establish direct fire superiority quickly and then maneuver under the cover of that high volume of fire. Of course the Germans wanted the same capability but were too slow to implement the changes required in time.
The German Solution:Was to place light belt fed machine guns with high rates of fire such as the MG-34 with its ~900 round/min rate of fire with infantry platoons. Thus the German squad armed predominantly with bolt action rifles was centered around its base of fire the MG34.
The Soviet Solution (s): •On one level the Soviets adopted the same solution with the 7.62mm X 54R DP-28 drum fed light machine gun acting as the base of fire and the rest of the unit armed with bolt action rifles.
•Another Soviet solution was the creation of SMG battalions where the predominant weapon was the easy to manufacture PPSh-41 sub machine gun (1000 rounds/min) that was supported by DP-28 LMG and designated marksmen armed with either Mosin–Nagant bolt guns or SVT-40 semi automatic rifles. These units could send clouds of lead at German troops while in the attack at a dead run.
Imagine 20 Germans with 1 MG-34, 4 MP-40s and 15 bolt action rifles facing 20 Soviets with 2 DP-28s, 6 SVT-40s and 12 PPSh-41s. The German unit is over matched with respect to the volume of fire it can deliver. And it take less time and effort to train a sub machine gunner than an effective rifleman.
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PPSh-41 rate of fire Demonstration. And then the Germans were consistently surprised and unprepared for the huge numbers of powerful tanks and assault guns the Soviets were able to throw at them. This is one Soviet Assault-Gun/Tank Destroyer the SU-152 that made little Fritz look like little-bo-peep when it was introduced at the battle of Kursk.
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Is this a valid statement, "What we should remember about Stalin: he's why we won ww2?" No but there is no doubt that he had a significant role in grinding the Wehrmacht into a bloody pulp. The day stupid Little Fritz put his nasty little hoofs on Soviet soil was the day the outcome of the war was assured.
A more valid reason for the crushing Allied victory over Germany and its complete subjugation is the idiocy of Adolph Hitler and his spineless general staff of ass kissing Prussians and unqualified SS puppets.