WWII Thread (How come the West never gives the Soviets the credit they deserve)

[Rath]

MDMAniac said:

Mr Khan said:

The worst of Stalin's influence was over by that point. The most irrational stages of the purges came in the late 30s

They weren't that irrational though. USSR were getting ready themselves for future war, and so the purges were effectively aimed at the 5th column. They were rather resultative at this, which in turn was one of the factors in WW2. German military records mention themselves that their spying attempts against USSR weren't quite succesful. While Soviet command had much more reliable information about their enemies, almost each time.

They were also aimed at breaking the Church, breaking the will of the Ukrainians (the Holodomor) and getting rid of anybody who Stalin thought of as a potential enemy. He killed tens of millions, the vast majority of whom were not the fifth column of the Nazis.

 

@mrstickball. All we're doing is trading speculation now really, it's not likely to go anywhere.