Modernisation
One of the key reasons for the Soviet success was that the military leaders were willing to learn from the Germans particularly in relation to more sophisticated and mechanised equipment and weaponry and the tactics of modern armoured warfare. The Soviet army was modernised and this transformation resulted in better performance in battle with fewer losses – in 1941 six or seven Soviet tanks were lost for every German one; by 1944 the ratio was down to one to one. (Mastering 20th Century Russian History)
The military achieved significant success with the introduction of communication systems – radios and radar for the air force, radios in tanks and field telephone systems. This equipment allowed them to plan and execute complex operations and was vital to the success in the encirclement of Stalingrad.
Industrialisation
To ensure the army’s ability to fight the war it was vitally important to achieve industrial and economic recovery. The USSR had lost approximately half the food producing areas to the Germans as well as three quarters of its supplies of iron ore and coal and steel production. The policy that was put in place by the Soviet authorities was the rapid evacuation of thousands of factories and key personnel from the war zone to the interior of the country, along the Volga, in the Urals region, in Siberia and Kazakhstan, The industrial plants were reassembled and began producing war material and equipment almost immediately. This was a phenomenal achievement. The armaments industry produced over 25,000 aircraft (60% more than previously) and 24,686 tanks (four times more than in 1941); the quality of the equipment was superior to the Germans, especially the tanks and Katyusha rocket launcher. The coal production increased from 12 million tons in 1940 to 257 tons in 1945.
This recovery was achieved through a rigid system of centralised control. The Gosplan (State Planning Commission) set out strict priorities and production quotas. Workers directly involved in the war effort were placed under military discipline, no one was allowed to leave without permission, holidays were suspended and there were severe punishments for breaches of discipline.
As so many men were involved in military service with an extremely high casualty rate, the industrial and economic revival was heavily dependent upon women. In 1943 50% of the workers in the war industry were women and 66% in agriculture. The general living conditions were not pleasant and food was rationed.
Nationalism / patriotic spirit
The Soviet government had to rely on the support of the people to gain victory. In order to increase popular enthusiasm for the war, Stalin changed his domestic policies to increase patriotic spirit. Nationalistic slogans replaced much of the communist rhetoric in official announcements and the mass media. Active persecution of religion ceased and in 1943 Stalin allowed the Russian Orthodox Church to name a patriarch when the office had been vacant for two decades. In the countryside the communist authorities permitted greater freedom on the collective farms. Thus fighting for God and country became very powerful motives and the war became the ‘Great Patriotic War’.
“All the peoples of the Soviet Union have risen as one to defend their motherland, rightly considering the present Patriotic War the common cause of all working people, irrespective of nationality or religion” Stalin 26th Anniversary October Revolution 1943
Given this encouragement and decreased restrictions the majority of the Soviet people fought and worked hard on behalf of the motherland, thus ensuring victory and survival of the regime. In the siege of Lennigrad the people suffered severely and were reduced to eating their pets, rats and even the glue from the wallpaper before they died. Over one million people perished in this siege.
“it was the inexhaustible human resources of Soviet Russia which kept her going” AJP Taylor
This intensive level of patriotism was also demonstrated by the individual soldiers in their battle to survive. In August 1942, when German Sixth Army forces, reached the Volga at Stalingrad, Soviet and German infantry fought a long, house-to-house battle for the city. The occupying Russian army was fanatical and contested every street and factory, whether still standing or totally destroyed. Territory which the Germans, with their superior fire power, had won by day was regained by night.
Leadership –
Stalin took over the supreme command of all Soviet forces and centralised all control of the war effort. He initially demonstrated a dismal record of military leadership and statesmanship.
“He wanted to regulate everything from Moscow. By carrying centralised control to such an extreme, Stalin hamstrung his commandos and commisairs at the front” N Khrushchev (Baker & Bessett Stalin’s Revolution)
Stalin stubbornly refused to heed the warnings from the Soviet forces about the heavy built up of German forces in the southern sector of the Soviet Union. They knew that the capture of Stalingrad would be catastrophic and the Soviet forces would be completely cut off from their own oil supply. Unfortunately, Stalin refused to shift forces away from Moscow, fearing that the city would be vulnerable for German attacks.
. He implemented ruthless policies which required extraordinary compliance and suffering . In Operation Barbarossa in 1941 Stalin ordered retreating Russian troops to use “scorched earth policy”, whereby the land and everything on it was destroyed to deprive the Germans of food and equipment. At Kiev he steadfastly refused to let the Red Army
withdraw, despite the most appalling slaughter and capture of three quarters of million Russian soldiers.
The Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 - February 1943) was the decisive World War II Soviet victory that stopped the German southern advance and turned the tide of the war.
Stalin had demonstrated determination to defend Stalingrad. His order was read out to every Soviet soldier - 'Not a step backwards!'
Stalin was single-minded and determined in his policies and the level of suffering and loss of life did not deter him – “One death is a tragedy a million deaths is a statistic” He engendered a harsh vengeance of any collaborators, including Soviet prisoners of war.
However, Stalin remained a potent symbol of power to the Russian people, despite the massive losses, the mistakes and the lack of preparation in the early days. Stalin was hesitant and enept early in the war but did eventually listen to his generals and accept their advice – Vasilevsky, Zhukov, Antonov – and thereby turned his vast nation into an irresitable force to win the Patriotic War.
Conclusion
The policies employed in the Great Patriotic War proved to be successful and resulted in the defeat of the German army. They also meant that Russia emerged as one of the world’s great military powers with control over most of Eastern Europe but these national achievements had been bought at great cost. An estimated 25 million Soviet citizens, military and civilian, perished in the war and severe material losses were inflicted throughout the war affected areas of the country. The war was ultimately won by the suffering and efforts of all the ordinary Soviet people. “ were organised, bullied or coaxed by their political masters and responded to their task with a mixture of crusading zeal and fatalistic duty” Richard Overy
