Soviet Involvement In WWII
Soviet Involvement in WWII
A major world power in the mid 20th century, the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly known as the USSR, was dragged into a growing European conflict which eventually developed into the cataclysmic World War II. In the whirlwind of peace treaties and newly forged alliances, the USSR appealed to its neighbors and commenced building strong alliances.
The Soviet- German pact, signed in 1939, was a hasty agreement made between the Soviets and the Germans in which the two countries “agreed to not take any militaristic action against the other” (Hamen 30). This pact additionally secretly divided up the neighboring country of Poland between the two powers. Curiously, the Soviets had been attempting to make anti- German alliances for months; however, after talks with the French and English dragged on unbearably long, and Germany’s army began to pose a significant threat, Stalin quickly attempted to prevent an unnecessary war with its belligerent neighbors. Another Soviet- German pact was signed weeks after the German invasion of Poland, solidifying a boundary in conquered Poland. …show more content…
Stalin had made the “near-fatal miscalculation in believing that Hitler would not tear up the pact when it suited him” (Collins 17). Germany’s plan, officially named “Operation Barbarossa” involved continuously fooling Stalin, where he “received literally hundreds of warnings, reports and assessments of a coming German invasion” (Roberts 41). The Soviets ignored all of these threats, and after receiving false reports, believed that the Germans wished to make a peace treaty. This was not the case. On June 22, 1941, the German army invaded the USSR, advancing all the way to the gates of
A major world power in the mid 20th century, the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly known as the USSR, was dragged into a growing European conflict which eventually developed into the cataclysmic World War II. In the whirlwind of peace treaties and newly forged alliances, the USSR appealed to its neighbors and commenced building strong alliances.
The Soviet- German pact, signed in 1939, was a hasty agreement made between the Soviets and the Germans in which the two countries “agreed to not take any militaristic action against the other” (Hamen 30). This pact additionally secretly divided up the neighboring country of Poland between the two powers. Curiously, the Soviets had been attempting to make anti- German alliances for months; however, after talks with the French and English dragged on unbearably long, and Germany’s army began to pose a significant threat, Stalin quickly attempted to prevent an unnecessary war with its belligerent neighbors. Another Soviet- German pact was signed weeks after the German invasion of Poland, solidifying a boundary in conquered Poland. …show more content…
Stalin had made the “near-fatal miscalculation in believing that Hitler would not tear up the pact when it suited him” (Collins 17). Germany’s plan, officially named “Operation Barbarossa” involved continuously fooling Stalin, where he “received literally hundreds of warnings, reports and assessments of a coming German invasion” (Roberts 41). The Soviets ignored all of these threats, and after receiving false reports, believed that the Germans wished to make a peace treaty. This was not the case. On June 22, 1941, the German army invaded the USSR, advancing all the way to the gates of