Was it the Russians that won WW2?

Question

The best form of defence is attack and the people who have answeres my question are doing just that in spades.Not one of them wish to discuss the subject, wich only goes to prove the point. I am not talking about bravery or what the Americans done for us, Hollywood has already that. In 1939 we the British told Hitler that if he invaded Poland then we The British would declare a state of war, Which we did. 7 yrs later the war was over and the might of Germany was destroyed.As far as I know nobody else declared war on Germany, put me straight if I am wrong.By the way lets get this old nut out of the way, There was no atom bomb until 1945 and that took German brains to make it. One thing that the Americans must understand is that they didnt win WW2, They had a part in it but it was a Europian war and thats how history will record it. It is my bilief that every American should say a prayer of thanks to the Europians for saving them .Enough of this its going nowhere. I am defeated.

Answer 1

I don't think you can pinpoint one major event in WW2 and say 'That won WW2' it was rather a complex series of events.

One of Hitlers major errors was that he thought he could defeat Russia in 6 weeks. That resulted in a war on two fronts. This resulted in troops supplies being placed in Russia rather that other areas, which certainly helped the European war to go in out favour.

UK did declare war on Germany by default. They said get out of Poland or we will be at war and the Germans did not respond.

The atom bomb was indeed developed through German scientists - look up Von Braun.

As for US thanking Europe - TRUE - even though they did (sometimes) claim they won it single handed !

Remember that Hitler would probably not stop if he invaded the UK & USA could have been next on his list. Also the USA did quite well out of it financially. UK took out MASSIVE debts for the US to help which have only been repaid this year. The final amount was including interest was over 5 Billion the main loan being about 550 million.

Answer 2

WW2 was a joint effort and to belittle the efforts of any member is not becoming to anyone, that should be a right reserved to those who fought it. Especially not anyone from this generation.

Consider first that Russia started the war on the Germans side. Stalin and Hitler divided up Poland in 1939, Stalin doing this despite objections from France and Britain, and even with the knowledge that France and Britain were determined to declared war on Germany should Germany invaded Poland.

England and France declared war on German then waited to have they behinds handed to them for fear of making the Germans really mad. This gave the Germans time to defeat Poland then re-align forces to the west with the USSR protecting the East.

What tipped the balance was the industrial might of the USA, and the entrance of US Forces. Without the USA the British and Russians would not have been able to defeat the Germans and the best case scenario would have been a treaty with Nazi Germany. That is the reason many Americans feel that the US won the WW2 because the might of the US tipped the balance. Irregradless of what people fell the reality is that the entranc eof the USA into the war meant that Germany no longer had the ability to win. The entrance of the USA put Germany on the defensive.

And unlike Russia the USA and Great Britian had to fight the Japanese Empire also, Russia sat that conflict out untill 1945, The alliance of the USA, Grat Britian and the USSR was only against the Germans.

As far as praying WW2 was the second time the US was called upon by European powers for aide. Had the USA not entered WW2 and sat it out, there would not be a Europe just the 3rd Reich. Goose stepping and racial purity would be a grade school class.

Answer 3

No, the Russians did not win WW2. And neither did America, or England. It was the combined forces of all the Allies that won. If you take out any of the big three, Germany would have won.

You the British did not save America, You the British were losing the war at the time. You the Britis were saved by Adolf Hitler declaring war on the US, saving you the trouble of trying to talk them into joining.

Without the American participation and massive production efforts the Allies would have lost. Without British stubborn defiance and continued resistance the Allies would have lost. Without the Russian front and it's bottomless pit of resources and manpower the Allies would have lost. It was a team effort in the truest sense. Lately however each major participant has seen themselves as he saviour of the others without acknowledging how much they really needed those allies. Sure, maybe only France and England (and the commonwealth) actually declared war on Germany. But let's face it, Germany declared war on the US so quickly after Pearl Harbor there wasn't much time for the US to get past the whole sneak attack thing a plan a response.

Oh, and claiming that WW2 was a "European" war is just plain arrogant. It was fought across the globe, and pretending it didn't is an insult to those that fought outside of Europe, including many from the British armed forces.

As for the Americans simply "having a part in it", I really don't think you understand the full picture. Without US war materiel the British Army would never have had a chance to fight back in time. Without US air and naval power and the added weight of their army there's no way the landings in Normandy would have been successful.

By the way, what exactly did you Europeans save America from? Was Hitler in a position to invade? No, he couldn't even invade across the channel at the time, much less across an ocean. Hell, I think we Canadians did more to save you than you did to save anyone on this side of the pond.

Oh, and just for clarification, 1939-1945 is only SIX years, not seven.

Answer 4

The way I see it is that the Russians did not win WW2 but neither did the British or the Americans.

I think in reality the Germans lost the war through the idiotic actions (purely in a military sense) of Hitler.

By 1941 Britian was pretty much on her own and would have lost if it weren't for 2 occurrences.
1. The Luftwafe stopped bombing airfields and started bombing towns and cities. If they had carried on with attacking airfields the Battle of Britain would have been won by the Germans as the British would have been unable to put planes in the air to oppose them. Having gained mastery of the air the Royal Navy would have become irrellevant. All battles involving planes and ships have proved that ships come off worse.
2. Hitler decided to attack Russia hence opening a second front and dividing his resources.
If he had carried on wth the original plan of defeating Western Europe and then attacking Russia he would have won. The reason for the non agression pact with Russia was to give the Germans time to do this.

The "help" that Britian received from the US up to the end of 1941 had to be paid for either by cold hard cash or by granting rights to install US military bases on British soil.

America entered the war following the Pearl Harbour attack by the Japanese but only against the Japanese. They took an active part in the war in Europe because, and only because, Hitler thought that he could get the Japanese on his side by declaring war on America. This proved to be another nail in his coffin as the Japanese couldn't care less about the war in Europe.

The atom bomb had no effect on the actual outcome of the war in the East as the Japanese were essentially finished by that time. They had no navy or airforce to speak of left and their land forces were no match for the sheer numbers that could be broguht against them by the combined forces of the Allies. It can be argued that the atom bomb shortened the war but probably only by a couple of months. I'm not sure that that is sufficient justification for using it though.

It's a sad fact that many people believe Hollywood where the American are depicted as the winners of the war.

Answer 5

I'm not sure where the quote came from but someone said that 'Wars are not won - war is waged until someone loses'. Sure, Britain and its Commonweath partners played a significant role - but I think its fair to say that the Nazis would not have been defeated were it not for American, and finally Russian sacrifices. Again I cannot quote statistics without doing a bit of 'googling' - but I seem to recall reading that the Russians contributed the most in terms of human cost. Of course, the deciding factor was probably that the combination of forces, which forced Hitler to fight on so many fronts, - not to mention Hitlers increasing ineptitude and failure to rely on his generals. It can also be speculated that none of the Allied Nations joined the war for altruistic reasons. Self-Interest and material gain is what inspires nations to go to war - always has done, always will do.

Answer 6

the Russians did win the war:
22june 1941 operation barbarossa (invasion of russia)
1 dec 1941 russians successfully defend moscow(no victor)
7dec 1941 pearl harbour (germany declares war on USA)
21august 1942 beginning of battle of stalingrad
3rd feb 1943 victory at stalingrad, soviets take offensive inciative
D-day 6 june 1944 allies enter europe mainland

this was after the victory in stalingrad at which the germans had lot 1.3mill men (using wiki, noting it is not the most accurite data but is more than enough)
wiki has german army at +5mill strong
noakes and pridman nazi 1919-1945 vol3 ...take the german army at 3mill

however the german western front was serverly weakend to compensate for the heavy losses in russia. Russia had offensive entiative. and their progress was seemingly unstoppable.

the western allies landed in europe to fight a war that was already being lost..

however the americans can not be creditless as the support Britian during the years that they were not at war, helping britian hold on

(i have work to do and i really dont want to do it)

Answer 7

I agree - no-one won that war. It was a gross example of just how dangerous every country can be with their weapons stashed away. Hitler was power hungry but still an intelligent man - the fact he was a bit tapped in the head and took his fantasies too far was his downfall.

America DID have a habit of claiming that, because they managed to time it right and drop in in the end of the war, they won it. However, it is fast becoming a discounted fact, as many people are now bothering to research the correct documents. People on here are, occasionally, NOT the most mature, intelligent, or experienced of people to listen to. Most of the time it's best to smile and walk away.

Germany and Japan's defeat was a combined effort from most of europe and some of america. France just kinda hid and then waved flags when it was all over. Thats when they weren't standing with their hands in the air...

Answer 8

Not sure I really get your question, but having read a great deal on WWII, it seems to me that it was a collaborative effort, though I don't think you should discount the role of the US. Since it's economy was unmarred by combat on US soil, it provided a great deal of armaments and supply, in addition to the contributions of its military. Of course had there been a different result for any of the nations involved, the course of the war could have been much different.
For example, had England capitulated, the US would probably have never sent troops over. Had the Soviet Union collapsed, perhaps the invasion of France would not have happened or succeeded. Had the US isolationists won out, who knows...

Answer 9

They wouldn't have won by themselves but they were the biggest reason why the war in Europe was won by the allies. It was a mutual victory. If America didn't enter the war then Germany could have used all their forces against Russia and they would have won. If Russia wasn't in the war then Germany could have used all their forces against Britian and defeat them before the US even had a chance to enter. It was a total allied victory at least in Europe. Japan was 100% the US.

Answer 10

the level of historical ignorance shown by many of your answers here is truly impressive. i especially liked the answer suggesting that had russia collapsed this might have saved france. since france fell in 1940, while russia was still technically a nazi ally, this seems not so much questionable as bizarre.

wwii was a long and complex process, and it is difficult to name one specific 'winner' without a handful of caveats. that said, it is remarkable how few people seem to realise just how limited german successes were.

the battle of france was indeed devastating. france fell in a little under two months, but then she did have spectacularly incompetent generalship and was already close to civil war (between communists and fascists) long before germany invaded. (italy of course was in the same situation, which is how it came to end by fighting on both sides before the war was over).

but the battle of france was both the first and the last important wehrmacht victory.

the battle of britain was frankly indecisive. the raf was not destroyed, civilian moral was not significantly damaged by city bombing, and any intended invasion of the british mainland (operation sealion) remained as out of the question as it had ever been.

the battle of the atlantic was similarly a stalemate. british convoys were severely harassed by the u-boats, but germany's inability to mount a surface blockade (the graf spee, the bismark and the scharnhorst all proved ineffective in different ways) kept the supply routes sufficiently open for britain not only to maintain its home defence but even to wage an aggressive war in africa.

the north african campaign seemed at first to be going well for the heer, but rommel's final inability to take and hold tobruk spelt doom for the german north african campaign.

failing to hold the north african coast was not inherently disastrous for germany. but by 1942 germany badly needed another victory, and it never came.

germany's inability to defeat a hugely weakened britain in africa was probably the first indication that the war could not be won; but, as you suggest, the real signs that the war was going to be lost were the sieges of moscow, leningrad, and stalingrad - where the besieging forces themselves were starved and frozen out by russian civilians - and the battle of kursk where the russian tank battalions destroyed the myth of german tank power, and a huge number of german tanks at the same time.

after kursk the red army was always going to reach berlin given enough time.

the main role that the americans took in the war was to break the stalemate on the western front. without american intervention there could have been no normandy landings, and the russian advance would have stopped not at berlin but at calais.

without the american presence in the european war france, italy, and the scandinavian bloc might all have ended up as part of the warsaw pact, and cold war history might have been very different.

of course the americans were crucial in the pacific theatre, but in the european war the main players were germany and russia, with britain playing an important blocking move.