to what extent did soviet russia contribute to the defeat of Nazi germany in WW2?
408090
First of all it was not only Soviet Russia, but all the nations that lived at that moment in USSR. because all of them fought in that war.\nYou can simply compare how many people died in that war from each country. USSR never gave a trues estimation, the last number I hear was 26 million, though I might be wrong, but for sure not even today Russia is interested in giving the true figures. Why because too many people died during that war and they did not want to demoralize the population.\nIf it weren't for the Russian winters, and several great victories like at Stalingrad..., Germany would have one, the war.Russia was the only country on the European Continent that had still a lot of reserves, and was partially occupied by Germany and it could defeat Germany. The rest of the countries whether either completely occupied or where too far away from the continent.
125423
Short answer:  yes, it is very ironic.  Also very sad, in that it probably was necessary in order to defeat the Nazis.  But Germany paid for its sins in the Berlin Wall and the social, economic and ecological devastation of the eastern portion, and is only now recovering.  I wish Germany well: modern Germans are no more to blame for the Nazis than modern Russians are to blame for the Soviet Union.  In both cases, it was good people being forced to submit to bad leaders.
18136
I don't think Germany ever felt that way.  The feelings of humiliation that developed due to the loss of WWI and the requirements for Germany under the Treaty of Versailles contributed to the fall of the Weimar republic, the rise of Hitler and thus to World War II.
275391
Basically World World II was like a continuation of World World I. Essentially this is what happened. World War I starts (aka - The Great War pre WWII) and afterwards its like everyone took a break. I'm not joking either. It was like a pause for 20 years. In the early 1930's, Japan invaded China. China actually had the most amount of casualties, not Russia or Eastern Europe. \n\nMost countries blamed Germany and so Germany had many sanction and restrictions put on the country. Hitler played off of these emotions and blamed the Jewish population for all of Germany's problems. At this time, Hitler was also quickly moving up in the ranks and finally became Dictator. \n\nHitler then started annexing countries in the mid to left 1930's and every country began to appease him. After he took over Poland and much of France, it was too late. The non-aggression pact between Germany and Russia made Hitler essentially invulnerable because from Eastern Europe was essentially all his to take over minus Russia. (Hitler would later reneg on the non-agreesion pact)\n\nThe United States needed an excuse to get into WWII and they finally got one on June 6, 1941 - Pearl Harbor. \n\nAbout 6 million jews were killed and 6 million gypsies, homosexuals, etc were killed. \n\nIn China, about 20-25 million were killed.
95690
Wikipedia's article Participants in World War II lists them all and their level of participation. The combatants were the Allies namely Great Britain and its empire/Commonwealth, the US, USSR, France and China and others. It was opposed by the Axis led by Nazi Germany, Japan and Fascist Italy.
215620
- heavily forested swamps of Eastern Poland and White Russia: Hitler was forced to choose whether he wanted to attack northeast or southeast, with forces once committed to one direction not being easily available to be transferred; it is said that the war was long in July 1941 when the bulk of German armor was pulled from the northern route south to Kiev, slowing down the advance in the north just enough for Russians to make a stand at Smolensk, earning them time they desperately needed; the very same forests slowed down Russians in 1944.\n- major rivers: Russians were forced to expend major resources when trying to cross Dnepr, Visla, and other rivers during their offensive. Not only did this mean heavier casualties, it also required coordination and concentration of artillery on a scale not seen before.\n- long distances: Whereas war in France in 1940 included just one offensive and allied campaign in the west in 1944-1945 three, the distances in Russia were so great that it was a constant stop and go for both sides as they constantly ran out of supplies on its frontlines. Battles such as Kursk (1943) required months of preparation just to make sure everything arrives where it needs to. Long distances and stretched frontlines also meant having to use 2nd line troops (e.g. Stalingrad operation) or having no troops at all in certain areas of the frontline (e.g. Kursk operation or Rumanian offensive 1944).
385012
During the 1930s, Germany, Italy, and Japan tried to build world empires at the expense of others.  This resulted in a world war as other nations attempted to stop them.  World War II was the most destructive war in human history and became a turning point in history as is resulted in the division of the world into two competing political ideologies: Democracy and Communism.\n\nRise of Fascism\nFascism is the rule of a people by a dictatorial government that is both nationalistic and imperialistic.  Fascist are also anti-communist.  Fascism rose in Italy and Germany due to a severe economic depression that caused widespread poverty.  Benito Mussolini in Italy, and Adolf Hitler in Germany both promised solutions to these problems, and were able to win the support of the masses as they took absolute control over their countries.  Imperialistic goals in Italy, Germany, and Japan resulted in the start of World War II. \n\nThe War\nGermany, Italy, and Japan formed the Axis Powers and waged war against the Allies, composed of Great Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union.  The war was waged across the globe, with major battles taking place in Europe, North Africa, and various Pacific Islands.  War in Europe ended after the destruction of Germany in the Spring of 1945, and ended in the Pacific after the United States dropped two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in August of that same year.  World War II is a turning point because it marks the beginning of the Nuclear Age, and because it resulted in the creation of the two Superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States. \n\nRebuilding Japan and Germany\nRather than repeat the mistake made by the Versailles Treaty which severely punished Germany for World War One, the allies occupied and rebuilt Japan and Germany. During this occupation, democratic governments were established and infrastructure destroyed during the war was rebuilt. West Germany and Japan would go on to become very competitive economically, often being ranked and compared to the United States.\n\nColonialism Ends\nAfter World War Two, self-determination was extended beyond Europe to regions across the world. Former colonial possessions of European nations such as India and French Indochina became sovereign nations, establishing their own governments.\n\nDemocracy vs. Communism\nAfter the war, the United States and other democratic nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was a military alliance against communism.  The Soviet Union, which had gained control of most of Eastern Europe during the war, formed the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance against NATO.  This period of conflict between democratic and communist countries is known as the Cold War.  The two Superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, dominated world events for nearly 50 years after the end of the war.
405764
If the ivasion of Normandy failed and if Germany didn't invade the USSR, then Germany would have held onto Europe until the Allied victory over Japan.  The question at that point is whether Germany would have been able to develop the atomic bomb prior the US being able to use its atomic weapons on Germany.  This may have been possible.\n\nAfter the US dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, the US didn't have a third bomb that was ready for use.  And I believe Germany was about one or two years away from developing their own atomic bomb.\n\nAnother key element is that Germany would need long range bombers that could reach the US East Coast.  If Germany had this and the bomb, then Germany may have had enough leverage to sue for peace with the US.\n\nIn such an event, Europe would have remained German occupied.  The cold war would have had 3 players:  US, USSR and Germany.  Mutually assured destruction would have resulted in a German Europe being intact until today.\n\nThe unified German/European state would be perhaps the largest economy, with the US coming in second and Japan third.  The fall of the USSR would have occurred earlier since it would have had to spend even more on its military to cope with 2 competing superpowers.  The US would be less influential, as its economy would be tapped to fund a contined cold war with strategic weapons until today.\n\nThe Middle East would again be the flashpoint.  The need for oil would force both the US and Germany to colonize the Middle East.  The US/Vietnam War and the Afghanistan/USSR War would have been avoided since both the US and USSR would not have wasted their resources on those territories.  Conflicts between superpowers would have been funneled towards the Middle East as the super powers' militaries would have more quickly depleted oil supplies and forced them to claim their stakes in the Middle East.\n\nWorld War 3 would have been fought in the Middle East using 1980s technology.  The superpowers would have refrained from using nuclear weapons which would have rendered the oil fields useless.  A stalemate would eventually be declared and different areas of the Middle East would be occupied with demilitarized zones.  The three territories would be owned by the US, Germany and a Russian and Chinese alliance.\n\nThe world as a whole would have less wealth.  Much more money would have been spent fighting wars.  Our lives would be consumed with the "enemy".
363073
At the end of WWI, the US very much wanted to help rebuild and bring Germany back into the fold-in fact rebuilding Europe as a more integrated continent was forfront the the US devising of the League of Nations.  Unfortunately, the other allies very much wanted to punish Germany, to teach it a lesson, since they are still stuck in the "great powers" mindset.  This devastated the country, and allowed the growth of a "victim" mentality-used against Jews as internal enemies and the other European countries as external enemies.  At the end of WWII, the US was in a position this time to dictate that Germany would be rebuilt and reintegrated.  Though we don't like to see anything particularly good about Stalin's Russia (and there werent that many good things) they also kept punishment to a minimum, and integrated East Germany into their system..the cause of the poor conditions in East Germany was much more a factor of the system than it was of any punishment.  The German people themselves have maintained a very clear and active analysis of their collective guilt, which has been far more effective in resolving issues than external punishment.
387780
The US did not win World War II. The Allies did.  The US depended heavily on nations like Briton in it's war efforts during world war II. For example if not for the bombing of a heavy water factory which the British were responsible for finding the Germans may well have had nuclear weapons in time to actually affect the outcome of the war. \n\nThough to the spirit of the question. Germany made a few critical mistakes during the war. A big one was rounding up so many potential soldiers and sending them to concentration camps. Jews, Gypsies, Christians, intellectuals and so on. Germany executed what may have been at least 100,000 of it's best soldiers. People eager to prove how German they were and willing to fight twice as hard to be accepted. People who may have helped build or stratigize. Germany also wasted quite a bit of resrouces transporting and guarding people as well as other military resources dealing with revolts, executing undesirable peoples for example. The genocide also provided the Allies with many excellent spies. What would have otherwise loyal Germans instead supported the Allies. \n\nRussia was a debacle. If the Germans had treated the Russians like people they may well have not found any real resistance at all. Stalin was a blood stained tyrant and even Hitler looked good initially. Hitler could have played up ethnic and nationality issues to gain Russian support. \n\nEven after those huge mistakes, Germany instead of retreating for the Winter basically executed a huge chunk of it's own army attempting to fight the Russians in Winter on Russian soil. \n\nIn Asia a united China might have been a dangerous winner. Even with a common cause like kicking the Japanese out the Chinese still kept at a cival war that had allowed the Japanese into China in the first place. Loyalists to the emporer, those fighting for Democracy and Comuninists were slugging it out and sniping at the Japanese between bouts. \n\nJapan of course made the biggest mistake of all by attacking the US. The American people wanted nothing to do with another European war after so many died in World War I. There was a dedicated and active pacifist cause that sided with the isolationists on this subject. Germany should have volenteered to fight Japan for us rather than let us get into the war on that pretext. \n\nSo in answer it depends on what changed. If the US had not entered the war I think Germany  would have prevailed against Russia eventually. England was another matter. I think Germany would have given up on England for a time and moved into Spain instead. There they would have had their hands full with people like the Basques. Already gurillas in other areas were becoming a serious problem. Once inertia died Germany was doomed to lose many of thier gains without intervention from anybody else. \n\nSo for Germany to realistically have won the war the Military would have had to have pulled a coup on the Nazis. The same political group which spurred the powerful military build up was busy destroying it after about 1942. Executions alone were decimating morale and robbing Germany of some of it's finest. Any time a political group gains power over a military branch like the SS had or what the USSR inflicted on it's armies, it will damage the ability of that army to function. The Nazis had done an effective job of sabataging the German military machine by 42. Enough so that Briton I think could have held out without US military intervention. \n\nJapan was in no way capable of beating US industry. Japan lacked the technology, raw resources and industrial base to compete with the US. Even the pacifists of that day changed stripes because of Pearl Harbour. So for Japan to survive the US had to stay out of the war. With China busy in cival war and Briton busy with Germany Japan could have quietly swallowed up much of Asia if they left US and US ally territory alone. Relations between the US and China was poor at the time. Nobody
976978
Those fighter pilots(with the help of radar)might, just might, have been a turning point in WWII. The Germans could not neutralize Britain before attacking Russia. Did this keep German troops and air-power, needed on the Eastern Front, facing West, in the wrong direction?. Maybe?
286988
there were a lot of contributions to the defeat of germany in WWI. a lot was more internal, like the German Revolution. the website talks about this and other events.
53132
yes. almost every nation involved did, except for those defeated. The website at historychannel.com has some really good info on post war europe and asia
519697
Yes, there was a Soviet Union in WWII. Stalin had purged (murdered) most of the officer corps just prior to the German invasion. The Red Army fell back at first, but then kicked the Nazi's a$$es from Stalingrad on. A couple of indications of the Red Army's might: the Japanese were afraid to fight them even though the USSR was fighting their ally Germany (The Red Army conquered the Japanese in Manchuria and China at the end of the war in a matter of days). The Red Army kept 300 German, Italian and other Axis DIVISIONS tied down, compared to a mere 30 fighting the US, Britain and all the other Allies on the western front.
481975
the allies that was us!! Russia had a pack with gremany no to invade each other however aroind 1941 maybe later hitler broke the treaty and attacked russia then russia because kind of an allie..
113571
Try out this site I'm not exactly sure what you are looking for.\n\n Meanwhile, on the Eastern Front, the Russians invaded East Prussia but were decisively defeated (Aug.-Sept., 1914) by the Germans under generals Hindenburg, Ludendorff, and Mackensen at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes (see under Masuria ).
357860
Stalin's post-war aims was to secure the immediate security needs of the USSR and to establish a base for recovery after the terrible damages of World War II. The war had cost over 20 million Soviet lives and destroyed a large proportion of Soviet industry and Stalin was determined that the Soviet Union be repaid in strategic influence and territory what his country had given in blood. He was especially keen to create a buffer zone of friendly states in Eastern Europe to protect the USSR from further attack from the West. This was to include the Baltic States, Poland, Hungery, Yugoslavia and Romania.\n\nChurchill's main strategy was to ensure the continuation of British-American wartime cooperation which he viewed as vital to mainting British influence on the world. As a keen colonialist, he was also concerned with keeping possesion of British overseas territories, despite increasing stirrings for independence in the immediate post-war period. He was keen to counter the rise of the USSR, particularly it's growing influence in Eastern Europe.\n\nRoosevelt wanted to adopt a modified form of Woodrow Wilson's idealist international vision. He acted early towards creating a United Nations to guarentee collective security, but one that was based on the principles of power politics (in the form of a Security Council). He was keen to try and maintain the wartime alliance as he viewed this as the main avenue for peace being preserved, but scholars differed over how much he trusted Stalin and was willing to accomodate him.