ilia25
I can do math
- Jan 12, 2012
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right but when all your intelligence is saying it and you do nothing to even prepare...
Oh but he was preparing -- his own attack on Germany Soviet historians wanted to hide that fact, so they were eager to tell stories of Stalin being so naive.
As for the intelligence, it was not all that conclusive. Germans supplied Russian spies with disinformation too. Plus little things like a complete lack of preparations by Germans for a war in winter conditions (which was true, they were not planning for that).
I haven't heard about Stalin attacking Germany.
Well, it is pretty compelling theory. Look at what Stalin did:
1) He allowed Hitler to crush Poland by agreeing to divide it between USSR and Germany -- and he attacked Poland in the back soon after Hitler did (Stalin kept his half of Poland after the WWII). He also occupied Baltic states, ensuring that USSR has as much common border with Germany as possible.
2) He generously supplied Germany with all the raw materials it needed to fight France and England.
3) All the while he is building the world's most powerful military (i.e. bigger and better equipped).
4) Yet he forgoes the most basic defensive preparations. E.g. the families of the Red Army officers stayed close to the border and when Germans attacked many Russian commanders left their troops to save their wives, children and last, but not the least, their possessions.
5) When Hitler does attack, Stalin is at complete loss. His first order to Red Army is to keep its cool and to not fall for German "provocations".
6) And all this comes from a man who was as cunning, as he was ruthless.
This theory is not very popular in the West because Stalin was playing FDR and Churchill just as he was playing Hitler.
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