Comments by "Not Today" (@nottoday3817) on "Stalin’s Purge of the Red Army and Its Effects on the WW2 Eastern Front" video.
-
20
-
1
-
Ah, the good ol times when TIK's videos were not actually brain-killers.
I believe though, that some important things have to be said when comparing USSR army, German army and US Army.
First of all, while US and USSR both sacked thier upper ranks, comparing the results of both nations in the war is a bit unfair. Both nations made this changes thinking they would have at least 3-5 years to fully complete them and fate proved both of them wrong. However, the wars they were drawn into were fundamentally different. US commanders were first put to test in the naval warfare. The land warfare would commence much later. This had 3 major implications: 1. The first battlefield for US would be the ocean, which meant less men involved, slower paced strategy etc. And in the first year they still got their asses handed to them. (well, not really, but they weren't doing that fine either). US Army would be thrown into battle into the European theater only much later in the war. (I am excluding land warfare in the Pacific since most of the plans and flow of battles was deceided by the naval strategy, especially in early war). In contrast, all branches of the Soviet Military were engaged on day one. Navy, Army, Air Force. And that was on thier home soil, close to their economic centers. 2. Because US was fighting on foreign soil, this meant that they could always rely on good supplies from back home. And they could also take their time developing new weapons. The M4 Sherman for example was made after numerous trials and experienced gained at the expense of others. Chieftain has a full lecture/presentation regarding the tank, it's true strongpoints and conception. All of that meant that the US commanders knew what they got and when they would be getting it. In contrast, Soviets had to produce equipment in new factories, cutting corners left, right and center. Not to mention they were cut of from some of their natural resources, now captured by the Axis. Having something to work with greatly changes how a commander acts. 3. Soviets were fighting on home soil. This meant that every minute they spent not attacking was a minute the germans would use to kill thier brethren and exploit their land. Every soldier knew that. And every commander knew that the soldiers knew that. This meant that for each day of non-fighting, the morale of the soldiers and the entire population would drop as they would see the command doing nothing while the enemy draws strength from what they stole.
Comparing the German Army and the Soviet army also has some stuff to be mentioned.
It is interesting that, despite agreeing with Tukatchevsky's ideeas would get you sacked or killed, as the sources in the video imply, Zhukov used the same thing to crush the Japanese. And the soviets tried to use those as well against the germans. And the germans themselves used the same tactics in 1939. So perhaps the problem was not the brain-drain. The problem was 'bad experience'. German army became a much better force because they had to adapt to their foes. And their foes before Barbarossa were France and Britain. Against them they learned that tank-vs-tank was not a great ideea because their tanks were much less and well inferior to what the French and British had. Meanwhile, Soviet Union had no such foes. Their tactics worked against Japan, they worked against Poland, Finland was a problem, but some lessons were taken from that as well. Basically, both nations learned from their experience, but circumstances meant that one nation had more valuable experience.
If we want to paint an accurate effect of the purges, I believe we should look at other 2 nations. Yes, Britain and France. Both nations were the biggest military powerhouses at the begining of the war, with many 'experienced commanders' (from WW1), with great equipment and plenty of men. And what they achieved? They sat on their asses for almost a year, perhaps hoping Hitler would not bother them and strike USSR first, and then they got utterly crushed in France. And then Britain struggled with mostly the Italians and a few german divisions in Africa.
1