Soviet plans to attack Germany before 22 June 1941

[sid guttridge]

Hi Guys,

It is perfectly normal for all armies to have contingency plans against threatening neighbours. Indeed, it would be dereliction of professional duty not to have them.

What really counts is political intent. In the widest strategic sense, Stalin had eyes on world domination through the Comintern. On the other side, Hitler had specific plans for the colonisation of European Russia. Both ambitions went back decades and neither was contingent on the other.

However, in mid 1941 it was clearly Hitler who was most advanced in his ambitions. Certainly the USSR had a big army, but it was a big country. However, Hitler's strike against the USSR was not pre-emptive in any military sense. It was the fruition of plans he had been developing for decades.

Cheers,

Sid.

[sid guttridge]

P.S.

For some maps of the Soviet plans against Germany type "meltyukhov" into Google and wade through the chapters of a Russian language book on Soviet military preparations in 1939-41. The maps are clear enough without understanding the text.

Sid.

[Reb]

One thing we must remember is the sheer size of the Russian forces on the border and the important psychological effect that it had on the German soldiers.

After 22 June I doubt that many of them harbored any illusions about Stalin's peaceful intentions.

for my money a pre-emptive strike was justified. The horrors that the nazi regime brought along with that strike turned it into a fiasco in the long run and makes a statement like mine suspect in some quarters.

cheers
Reb