Desert Fox
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Some points-
1]Bulk of these 'paratroopers' were badly trained.And soviets didn't have a sufficient transport fleet to make use of them.
2]Conscription had been in place since 1925 and the soviets had begun a steady industrial and military buildup since then.It was not a sudden thing.
3]Stalin did think war with germany was inevitable and was preparing.He admitted to churchill as much.But to say he intended to start it is not corroborated by evidence.
4]Most important - the military doctrine of the red army was offensive.A variation of the deep battle doctrine.The soviets had no intention to trade large parts of russian territory and subject them to german occupation.Their plan was to launch immediate large scale counterattackjs.If u see the first days of operation barbarossa u'll notice several suicidal soviet counterattacks all along the front.So offensive preparations are not uncommon.
5]Importantly the large scale field exercises of 1940-941 didn't simulate a russian attack on germany as is claimed but a blue force's invasion of soviet territory followed by russian counterattack.The russian commander was removed after unimpressive results in this exercise.
6]The other 'offensive weapon' the flying tank didn't begin development till dec 1941,AFTER the german invasion had begun.
Also this theory hasn't really much evidence except some supporters.No former major soviet commanders corroborate it.
"Bunich published three volumes with the title "Operatsia Groza" — "Operation Thunderstorm" — the first one in 1994, the last one posthumously in 2004. In these books he communicates a plan of Stalin for an invasion of whole Western Europe: "Operation Thunderstorm". It can be found in the so-called "Osobaya Papka", a file which contains about 100,000 Top Secret documents. In this file it is document Nr.103202/06. The paper is signed by Marshal Semyon Timoshenko and the chief of the General Staff at that time Merezkov. It is dated 18 September 1940, three months before the German "Operation Barbarossa" was signed. After Georgy Zhukov became chief of the general staff in February 1941, the plan was called MP 41 (Mobilisatsyonni Plan 41). Bunich points to the Russian military archives, where it can be found (ZAMO, f. 15A, op.2154, d.4,l. 199-287). This document contains information about the Soviet military power in June 1941: 300 divisions, 8 million soldiers, 27,500 tanks, 32,628 airplanes."
Igor Bunich - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What is more probabale was that stalin wanted france and germany to bleed each other like in ww1 and then maybe wait for an oppurtune moment in 1939-1940.One of the reasons why an infuriated stalin was shocked and letting out choice verbal insults at the rapid french collapse.After the fall of france it is almost certain that stalin didn't plan on an immediate attack at all.He actually took every step not to antagonize hitler and buy time.
That's not true. In fact, contrary to that, Stalin made more territorial demands from Hitler in Europe, and this was at a time when Hitler was seriously contemplating an invasion of Britain. Stalin was shocked at the speed at which the Germans subdued one nation after another in Western Europe and South Eastern Europe, but Stalin still by no means tried to hide his own intentions. Soviet Union annexed Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, invaded Finland, and made similar moves towards Romania.
Stalin was on the verge of signing a pact with the anti-German Yugoslav gov.t after the pro-German gov.t had been overthrown in a coup assisted by the British. He was by no means hiding his intentions.
I find this hard to believe. Such a move by the allies would make absolutely no sense since it was the very same Churchill and Roosevelt who divided Europe between themselves and Stalin at Yalta.The British also were beginning to plan on a similar plan - just the opposite one. A brainchild of Churchill, it was aptly called Operation Unthinkable. All top Allied leaders like Monty/Eisenhower etc(except Patton) rejected this plan out of hand. But there was a contingency draft to attack Soviet Europe immediately after the German surrender. Churchill even kept captured German soldiers in a way better than their American counterparts - hoping to enlist them in the anti Bolshevist crusade. The world however had enough of bloodshed for the time being and his plan was dumped.
Secondly, the Red Army would have made easy work of Allied armies in Europe in the event that the Allies provoked the Russians.
The perfect timing for any such American/British attack against Soviet Union was 1941-1944, if they had assisted the Germans since Hitler did offer his alliance to Britain countless times.
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