Comments by "Nicholas Conder" (@nicholasconder4703) on "Lend Lease to the Soviet Union, the Soviet and German Economies, and more... TIK Q&A 3" video.

  1. Lend-Lease is a complicated issue, to be sure. I definitely agree with TIK in most of his summary on the topic. I do remember an account in "Enemy at the Gates" of a Russian soldier commenting on the boost in his moral when, after crossing the Volga from Stalingrad, he received a can of American spam, and realized that other nations were helping the Soviet Union fight the war. In general, Lend-Lease would have had no impact in 1941 and early 1942 (as the supply system was only being established, and the Allies were still gearing up themselves). During 1942 it might have contributed somewhat by providing that small edge in equipment that the Soviet Union needed to win engagements and hold positions they might have otherwise lost. Given that Soviet Victory during the Stalingrad campaign sometimes rested on a knife's edge, even a little assistance to the Red Army may have helped tip the scales (even if it was by causing greater attrition of German forces). Later, in 1943-1945, the addition of a large number of American trucks more than likely increased the Red Army's mobility, giving them the ability to conduct deep penetrations of German lines. American radios would have provided greater command and control, making the fighting units much more effective. In addition, it would be interesting to see if a large proportion of the petroleum products sent to the Soviet Union was in the form of high octane fuel, which would have improved the performance of the Red Air Forces' aircraft (much like shipments of high octane to Britain in 1940 gave the RAF a slight edge in the Battle of Britain). Also, providing an additional 10%s worth of equipment to an army or air force is still a boost to ones ability to fight. Overall, although it did not have a substantial impact initially, from the time of Kursk onward, Lend-Lease gave the Red Army the ability to strike deeper and faster into German held territory than they would have been able to do otherwise without motorized infantry and towed artillery. As TIK concluded, this likely ended the war 1-3 years sooner, and made it somewhat less costly for the Soviet Union than it might otherwise have been.
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  2.  @Vlad79500  Actually, I was talking about the book, "Enemy at the Gates" by William Craig, published in 1973. The movie used excerpts from the book as a source (rather poorly, I might add) for the movie.
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