Who do you think played the biggest role in defeating Nazi Germany?

[Denali]

12 minutes ago, oldschool said:

Russia did not fight alongside Germany, read the link you posted. They redrew lines on the map to carve out clear spheres of influence to put a buffer between them. They were clear adversaries. Hitler betrayed the non aggression pact when he invaded Ukraine.

Semantics.

 

Russia invaded Poland after Germany paved the way.

 

How is that not fighting alongside them?

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by Denali

[oldschool]

Just now, Denali said:

Russia invaded Poland after Germany paved the way.

 

How is that not fighting alongside them?

 

 

Russia was claiming the half of Poland that was agreed to in the pact for the sole reason of establishing a border with Nazi Germany. Do some research. Communism is the true enemy of Fascism. 

[Denali]

30 minutes ago, oldschool said:

 

Russia was claiming the half of Poland that was agreed to in the pact for the sole reason of establishing a border with Nazi Germany. Do some research. Communism is the true enemy of Fascism. 

Bullshit.

 

If Russia really wasn't fighting alongside Hitler, they would have stayed put.  Regardless of any new borders, Russia still would have bordered Germany anyway.

 

Russia played alongside Hitler.

 

Great Britain and the U.S. stood up to him and said fuck you.

 

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by Denali

[TF_Titan]

The original question was who played the biggest role. Russia easily played the biggest role. By the time Americans came ashore on Omaha and Utah beaches the outcome of the war was all but decided. The battles of Stalingrad and Kursk in early to mid 1943 pretty much sealed Germany’s fate and they had been on a headlong retreat since then. About 80% of the German army was deployed on the Eastern Front, which included the bulk of their top military units. When they were decimated Germany was pretty much done.

 

That doesn’t mean the contribution the US made wasn’t significant. Certainly it was, but Russia by far played the biggest role and made the biggest contribution and it’s not close.

[El Guapo]

1. Fuck the Soviets- Starkiller was correct that the pact was demonstration of evil. 

2. Fuck the Nazis- they deserved everything they got.

3. Churchill was a great leader but poor strategist

4. The US contribution was the most key to winning the war.

5. FDR was soft on Stalin which lead to much of future cold war.

6. The Nazis were also socialists and hated capitalism but had to allow some for their war effort.

7. If Germany had not alienated the Ukraine and other territories, who knows what would have happened.

8. This is a lot more enjoyable discussion than what usually occurs here.

 

 

 

[pat]

The wording of the question is the trick.  The US did the most to win WW2.  But half that effort was in the Pacific.  In Europe, Russia and England carried most of the weight. 

 

Now that I think about it the bombing of Pearl Harbor was a tremendous strategic mistake.  Whatever damage was done that day it fully committed the United States to the war.  A quote from Churchill:

 

So, we had won after all! …We had won the war. England would live; Britain would live; the Commonwealth of Nations and the Empire would live. How long the war would last or in what fashion it would end no man could tell, nor did I at this moment care. . . . but now we should not be wiped out. Our history would not come to an end. We might not even have to die as individuals. Hitler’s fate was sealed. Mussolini’s fate was sealed. As for the Japanese, they would be ground to powder. All the rest was merely the proper application of overwhelming force

[WVTITAN]

https://www.rbth.com/defence/2016/03/14/lend-lease-how-american-supplies-aided-the-ussr-in-its-darkest-hour_575559
 

The lend lease act won the war.  

[WVTITAN]

And we still supply equipment for war to this day because it’s profitable business.  So the US not only defeated the Nazi war machine, we one upped i to this every day. 
 

drop the mic.

[GOAT9]

The US contributed the most to an allied victory. Even when the US was neutral they were still supplying large amounts of basic materials to both the UK and USSR (and other allied nations). In Germany's case the US supplied a heavy amount of trucks to the Soviets. This allowed the soviets to move both artillery and supplies at a far quicker rate than what the Germans could, who were still largely horse drawn and rail dependent. Also, when your basic goods are being supplied, this allowed the Soviets to actually fully mobilize their economy for war. In Germanys case they still had to produce their basic goods on top of military materials. Germany lost primarily because they couldn't produce enough materials to keep up with the allies. If the Heer had been mostly motorized instead of horse drawn during  Barbarossa, then the USSR would have fallen. 

[No1TitansFan]

One could make the case the Norwegian special force that destroyed the heavy water facility saved the allies; history has many viewpoints, most aren't entirely incorrect.