how important was lend lease to the soviet union

[6], In 1939 howeveras Germany, Japan, and Italy pursued aggressive, militaristic policiesPresident Roosevelt wanted more flexibility to help contain Axis aggression. This followed the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement, whereby 50 US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy in exchange for basing rights in the Caribbean. Soviet authorities recognized that the Great Patriotic War gave the Communist Party a claim to legitimacy that went far beyond Marxism-Leninism or the 1917 Revolution, and took pains to portray their nations victories in World War II as single-handed. What percent of Soviet equipment was Lend-Lease? Lend-Lease assistance to the USSR. $31 billion went to Britain, $11 billion to the Soviet Union, $3 billion to France, and $1.6 billion to China. On the Allied side, there was almost total reliance upon American industrial production, weaponry and especially unarmored vehicles purpose-built for military use, vital for the modern army's logistics and support. But since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a trickle of information has emerged from archives in Moscow, shedding new light on the subject. In fact our armed forces in Britain, ground as well as air, receive as reverse lend-lease, with no payment by us, one third of all the supplies and equipment they currently require, Britain furnishes 90% of their medical supplies and in spite of her food shortage, 20% of their food.[78]. Such assessments, however, are contradicted by the opinions of Soviet war participants. American shipments of telephone cable, aluminum, canned rations and clothing were also critical. . Agricultural issues were also compounded when the Soviets were on the offensive, as areas liberated from the Axis had been devastated and contained millions of people who needed to be fed. adopted, it is in some important respects anachronistic today. Stalin needed trucks and was provided with Studebaker trucks on a massive scale. re: In hindsight was it a mistake for the US to ally with the Soviet Union during WW2. After a series of dramatic Nazi successes during the opening stages of Hitlers invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, foreign observers predicted that Soviet resistance would soon collapse. Together with other recently published sources, including the wartime diaries of N. I. Biriukov, a Red Army officer responsible from August 1941 on for the distribution of recently acquired tanks to the front lines, this newly available evidence paints a very different picture from the received wisdom. Under Lend-Lease, the United States provided more than one-third of all the explosives used by the Soviet Union during the war. The Soviet air force received 18,200 aircraft, which amounted to about 30 percent of Soviet wartime fighter and bomber production (mid 194145). This Douglas is the only Lend-Lease aircraft that remains in Russia.". The United States is a country of machines. In Walter Yust, ed., "17 Billion Budget Drafted; Defense Takes 10 Billions. [55], The Pacific Route opened in August 1941, but was affected by the start of hostilities between Japan and the U.S.; after December 1941, only Soviet ships could be used, and, as Japan and the USSR observed a strict neutrality towards each other, only non-military goods could be transported. By July 1942 the Red Army had 13,500 tanks in service, with more than 16 percent of those imported, and more than half of those British. The Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937 intended to keep the United States out of war, by making it illegal for Americans to sell or transport arms, or other war materials to warring nationsneither to aggressors, nor to defenders. This was mostly in the form of landing, servicing, and refueling of transport aircraft; some industrial machinery and rare minerals were sent to the U.S. The Lend-Lease act was enacted in March 1941 and authorized the United States to provide weapons, provisions, and raw materials to strategically important countries fighting Germany and Japan -- primarily, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China. Surplus military equipment was of no value in peacetime. Yauza. British Matilda tanks are loaded onto a ship for transportation to the U.S.S.R. as part of the Lend-Lease program. Fourth protocol period from July 1, 1944 (signed April 17, 1945), formally ended May 12, 1945, but deliveries continued for the duration of the war with Japan (which the Soviet Union entered on August 8, 1945) under the "Milepost" agreement until September 2, 1945, when Japan capitulated. The munitions totaled 308m (not including naval munitions supplied), the food and raw materials totaled 120m in 1946 index. And the Soviet Union didn't pay much of that. In fact the British intercepted German communications indicating that German forces had first come in contact with British tanks on the Eastern front on November 26, 1941. Thanks to Lend-Lease, during the war years, the Soviet Union received about 14.8 thousand aircraft, 7.1 thousand tanks, 8.2 thousand anti-aircraft guns, a large number of cars, tractors and other vital supplies. . Lend-Lease Helped Win World War II, But Not On The Eastern Front 4, 48. "Without Lend-Lease, the Red Army would not have had about one-third of its ammunition, half of its aircraft, or half of its tanks. It is our living history. When poll participants were asked their party affiliation, the poll revealed a political divide: 69% of Democrats were unequivocally in favor of Lend-Lease, whereas only 38% of Republicans favored the bill without qualification. How important was the Lend-Lease to the Soviet war effort? On April 28th, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act ( S.3522 ), which has now gone to President Joe Biden's desk for signature.. How important was the Lend-Lease to the Soviet war effort? The Lend-Lease act was enacted in March 1941 and authorized the United States to provide weapons, provisions, and raw materials to strategically important countries fighting Germany and Japan primarily, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China. By October, German troops were poised outside both Leningrad and Moscow. Lend-Lease - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org In a few paragraphs the Wiki page shows the importance of the deliveries. Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union officially ended in September 1945. The United States, the Soviet Union, and the End of World War II In all, the United States shipped $50 billion ($608 billion in 2020 money) worth of materiel under the program, including $11.3 billion to the Soviet Union. [53] Soviet Ambassador Maxim Litvinov significantly contributed to the Lend-Lease agreement of 1941. Ukraine is in the process of joining the European Union and has submitted an application for NATO membership. Could we really have set up the production of our tanks without American steel? In practice, most equipment was destroyed, although some hardware (such as ships) was returned after the war. Russia's War in Ukraine: Putin's Soviet Delusion 1415 FDR Library", "Anglo-American Mutual Aid Agreement, February 28, 1942", "The Hyde Park Declaration 1941: Origins and Significance", "Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted", "Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit", "America Reports On Aid To Allies etc. WWII program to provide U.S. allies with free armaments, This article is about the World War II program. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1982, Bd. THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF LEND-LEASE By EUGENE STALEY . While I was in training, my motivation was to get these wings and I wear them today proudly, the airman recalled in 2015. The British Eighth Army under Gen. Bernard Law Montgomery employed U.S. planes, guns and tanks when they whipped Rommel's Afrika Korps at El Alamein. The U.S. government never published detailed reports on what and how much was sent under the Lend-Lease program to the USSR. According to research by a team of Soviet historians, the Soviet Union lost a staggering 20,500 tanks from June 22 to December 31, 1941. [61][62], Restrictions in the supply of weapons from the United States were mainly limited to heavy bombers. The Neutrality Acts, enacted between 1935 and 1939, were intended to prevent the United States from becoming involved in foreign wars. And many of the supplies needed by our Air Force are procured for us without cost by reverse lend-lease. That the Soviet victories of late 1941 were won with Soviet blood and largely with Soviet weapons is beyond dispute. The Persian Corridor was the longest route, and was not fully operational until mid-1942. "[17], Opposition to the Lend-Lease bill was strongest among isolationist Republicans in Congress, who feared the measure would be "the longest single step this nation has yet taken toward direct involvement in the war abroad". The Soviets lost a substantial number of draft and farm animals as they were not able to relocate all the animals in an area before it was captured and of those areas in which the Axis forces would occupy, the Soviets had lost 7 million of out of 11.6 million horses, 17 million out of 31 million cows, 20 million of 23.6 million pigs and 27 million out of 43 million sheep and goats. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. Pro lend-lease ! # On September 2, 1945, with the signing of "Transatlantic Generosity: Canada's 'Billion Dollar Gift' to the United Kingdom in the Second World War.". Churchill also granted the US base rights in Bermuda and Newfoundland for free; this act allowed their British garrison to be redeployed to more crucial theatres. Dear h, I don't doubt the word of the old gent seeing USA on "Soviet" equipment. Crowley, Leo T. "Lend-Lease". Posted on 2/25/23 at 2:25 pm to WPBTiger. [11] Isolationists were strongly opposed, warning it would result in American involvement with what was considered by most Americans as an essentially European conflict. [60], Roughly 17.5million tons of military equipment, vehicles, industrial supplies, and food were shipped from the Western Hemisphere to the USSR, 94% coming from the US. It has been estimated that American deliveries to the USSR through the Persian Corridor alone were sufficient, by US Army standards, to maintain sixty combat divisions in the line. It needed all the available resources to pressure Germany on the lands far from Moscow, where Germany was getting a degree of home advantage. Supply volumes and the significance of lend-lease. That is the U.S. would be "repaid" when the recipient fought the common enemy and joined the world trade and diplomatic agencies, such as the United Nations.[51]. The United States and the British Commonwealth provided 55. Painting of Lend-Lease tanks and equipment - Axis History Forum [6], After the Fall of France during June 1940, the British Commonwealth and Empire were the only forces engaged in war against Germany and Italy, until the Italian invasion of Greece. Tomahawks also served in defense of the Doroga Zhizni or Road of Life across the ice of Lake Ladoga, which provided the only supply line to the besieged city of Leningrad during the winter of 194142. Subscribe to our HistoryNet Now! 'We would have lost': Did U.S. lend-lease aid tip the balance in Soviet In 194546, the value of Reciprocal Aid from New Zealand exceeded that of Lend-Lease, though in 194243, the value of Lend-Lease to New Zealand was much more than that of Reciprocal Aid. [citation needed] The USSR had only a very small number of heavy bombers in comparison. Known today as Lend-Lease. Reverse Lend-Lease to the United States totalled $7.8 billion. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Agriculture also suffered a loss of labour; between 1941 and 1945, 19.5 million working-age men had to leave their farms to work in the military and industry. Lend-Lease - Wikipedia Deane, John R. 1947. Photo: Museum of the U.S. Air Force (Courtesy Photo). Bill Introduced in the House Would Allow US to Lend Weapons to Taiwan How Much Did Lend Lease Help Russia? - Czech Heritage Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. It provided Britain and the Soviet Union with limited war materiel beginning in October that year. The Senate passed it by a vote of 63 to 1. The invasion had cost the USSR a huge amount of its agricultural base; during the initial Axis offensive of 194142, the total sown area of the USSR fell by 41.9% and the number of collective and state farms by 40%. During Nikita Khrushchevs rule in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was a window of greater frankness and openness about the extent of aid supplied from the West under the Lend-Lease Actbut it was still clearly forbidden for Soviet authors to suggest that such aid ever made any real difference on the battlefield. British Lend Lease Aid and the Soviet War Effort, - Scribd [29] Lend-Lease kept the Soviet home front going through the winter of 1941 and throughout 1942. Democrats. How Lend-Lease helped the Red Army win in World War II (PHOTOS) Lend Lease came as a response to the Axis Powers' violence and showed that America was committed to defending their nation and its . 1. Has Russia paid off the USSR's Lend-Lease debt? - Quora The pact was terminated when Germany launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union. It was a decisive step away from non-interventionist policy and toward open support for the Allies. "I knew that its place was in a museum," Vyacheslav Filippov, a colonel in the Russian Air Force reserve who has written extensively about the Lend-Lease program's Siberian connection, told RFE/RL at the time. In 1944, Britain transferred several of the US-made destroyers to the USSR. The Soviet government at first offered to pay $170 million. He stated bluntly that if the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war. When I listened to his remarks, I was fully in agreement with him, and today I am even more so. From: 30 Military Mission. About half of these were delivered by sea via the North Atlantic or were flown across the South Atlantic Ocean to the USSR via North Africa. In 1946, the post-war Anglo-American loan further indebted Britain to the U.S. Lend-Lease items retained were sold to Britain at 10% of nominal value, giving an initial loan value of 1.075billion for the Lend-Lease portion of the post-war loans. ): Deutschland im Zweiten Weltkrieg. 151 Wing in Operation Benedict, to provide air defence of the port and to train Soviet pilots. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Thus, Stalin told Harry Hopkins [FDR's emissary to Moscow in July 1941] that the U.S.S.R. could not match Germany's might as an occupier of Europe and its resources.[35]. The sole modern heavy bomber the USSR had was the Petlyakov Pe-8, and it only had 27 of them at the start of the war, with fewer than 100 produced until 1945. No one talks about this officially, and Stalin never, I think, left any written traces of his opinion, but I can say that he expressed this view several times in conversations with me.". The passage of the 1939 amendment to the previous Neutrality Acts marked the beginning of a congressional shift away from isolationism, making a first step toward interventionism. The Lend-Lease policy was officially titled "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States", and was a program where the U.S. supplied Free France, Great Britain and the Republic of China with food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and August 1945. .