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ESSAY - “Stalin’s victory in the Great Patriotic War owed more to luck than to his good leadership”. Assess the validity of this view. (25)€4,31
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Essay on “Stalin’s victory in the Great Patriotic War owed more to luck than to his good leadership”. Assess the validity of this view. (25)
Extensive Essay, extended version of a 25 marker but received 24/25 for the mark. Has lots of detail including vast specific evidence that would be ...
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“Stalin’s victory in the Great Patriotic War owed more to luck than to his
good leadership”. Assess the validity of this view. (25)
In order to address this question consistently and fairly, it must firstly be established
what constitutes ‘luck’ and what constitutes ‘good leadership’. Throughout this
essay, a factor that is described as lucky is so because it was unintentional rather
than a result of a deliberate, direct or conscious action. On the contrary, in order for
something to be attributed to Stalin’s good leadership, Stalin must have played a
significant role in the decision/action meaning the majority of credit can go to him.
This would include him being the mastermind behind the idea and/or playing a heavy
role in its execution. Throughout Stalin’s ‘Great Patriotic War’ (GPW) there were a
plethora of factors that contributed to his eventual victory. Some of these can be
accredited to luck, such as the size of Russia and the quality of his commanders, and
others to his good leadership, including the relocation of industry and methods of
controlling the people, however, the most influential and significant factors cannot
be attributed to either. Foreign aid, German weaknesses and the Nazi Soviet Pact all
proved vital in relation to Soviet victory. Without these factors, Stalin and the Soviet
Union could have withstood German invasion, but only for a limited amount of time.
Without them the USSR would have had to concede, even if it were after a couple of
years, hence their significance outweighs that of the other factors.
There were many things that unintentionally favoured Stalin during the GPW which
facilitated his victory and therefore must be attributed to luck rather than his good
leadership. One such factor is the size of both Russia and its population which
proved to be of great importance as it enabled Stalin to do many things that were
vital in winning the war. For example, the vast nature of Russia enabled Stalin to
move industry into the Urals where it was protected from enemy attacks or bombing.
Hence, without Russia’s extensive nature, Stalin wouldn’t have had the ability to
relocate industry, something he is praised for, therefore the size of Russia can be
considered an underlying, lucky contributor to victory in the GPW. The size of Russia
also meant Stalin had a large population which he could use to fuel the war. The
population at the time of the GPW stood at 171m, four times that of Germany. This
vastness enabled Stalin to have a significant number of industrial workers producing
resources for the military, whilst still maintaining a considerably large Red Army. In
1941, the Red Army stood at 4.8 million and over the course of the war, conscription
would add a further 29.5 million soldiers to the force which allowed Russia to
withstand heavy losses at the hand of the Germans as they could constantly replace
soldiers. This demonstrates the benefits of a large country and this factor
undoubtedly enabled Stalin to fight the Germans for as long as he did and at the
intensity he did. Consequently, the size of Russia was a highly important factor in
assisting Stalin’s victory and so the view that Stalin’s victory held more to luck than
his good leadership holds validity.
Stalin was lucky to have such high quality, successful commanders at his disposal
during the GPW. During Stalin’s 1937 military purges, at total of 41,200 military men
were purged and higher-level military were particularly targeted – in the purge, of
some 850 commanders from Colonel to Marshal, 85% were eliminated.
Consequently, Stalin was very lucky that commanders such as Zhukov, Rossokovsky
and Antonov survived the purges and could be at his side during the GPW. These
commanders were highly skilled and contributed immensely to Stalin’s victory,
Zhukov in particular proved paramount. Throughout the war he inflicted more
defeats on Hitler than any other general, successfully commanded significant fronts
(including that at Stalingrad which was equal to the distance between New York and
Florida) all whilst enduring massive losses – up to 10,000 men a day. General
Rossokovsky also proved vital in key events throughout the GPW. For example,
Rossokovsky was instrumental in planning and executing part of Operation Bagration
, Eve Sibley
1944 - one of the most decisive Red Army successes of the war - for which he was
made Marshal of the Soviet Union. It is clear that not only was Stalin lucky to have
these commanders throughout the war, but that these commanders were vital and
decisive in Stalin’s victory and therefore credit must be taken away from Stalin in
favour of these leaders. In particular, the extent of Zhukov’s impact is most notably
demonstrated by the fact that after the war, Stalin demoted him to a remote outpost
to ensure that his popularity would not threaten his own. Zhukov must have been
essential therefore as he was significant enough to make Stalin feel inferior. These
commanders clearly proved crucial in assisting Stalin’s victory in the way and
therefore, the view that Stalin’s victory in the GPW owed more to luck than his good
leadership holds validity.
Despite these ‘lucky’ factors, Stalin did exhibit great leadership during the GPW and
consequently his victory can partially be accredited to him. Firstly, relocation of
industry was a highly significant contributor to victory as it allowed for industry to be
protected from damage via enemy attacks and therefore reach its optimum
production. The GKO (state Department) oversaw move of 1500 industrial plants of
military importance as well as 25 million workers and their families to the Urals,
Central Asia and Siberia, where they were out of range of German bombers. In
Moscow alone, 500 factories were moved using 80,000 wagons. Relocation of
industry was a momentous contributor to victory as it ensured that the Russian army
was constantly supplied. By having a much more secure supply line than the
Germans, the Soviet army could deal with heavy battlefield losses as they had the
weaponry to recover quickly and resume the attack. Gradually, the Germans could
no longer keep up and were forced to push back - they did not have the machinery
to compete. Stalin was vital in here. As leader, Stalin played a significant part in the
decision to relocate industry and therefore deserves credit for this judgement which
proved a key factor in the USSR’s victory. As a result the view that Stalin’s victory is
the GPW is owed more to luck than his good leadership lacks validity as key
decisions such as this were paramount to victory.
Stalin’s push for an efficient Command Economy also proved vital in achieving
victory in the Great Patriotic War and was probably the single best example of
Stalin’s good leadership. The Command Economy combined with the decision to
relocate industry to the Urals proved very effective as the army could be assured of
vast, consistent and reliable supplies. Stalin had been effectively running a
command economy since the Great Turn of 1927 and so the Russian people and
Russian command were in sync with its principles and consequently effective in their
response to the intense war economy. Stalin oversaw GOSPLAN deliver plans with
targets for every sector of the economy, hence, when war broke out the Russian
industrial economy could shift more easily to a war footing than other countries as
industry was used to being told what to produce, how much to produce and where to
send it. Stalin’s war economy allowed for the production of 9,000 Russian aircraft
every month, 24,000 tanks in 1943 and an increase in weapons production by 458%.
Over the course of the war, 84,000 Russian T-34 tanks were built which ultimately
meant that the USSR could withstand losing thousands of these tanks in battle
because it had the capacity to build thousands more in factories hidden away from
the Germans. According to historians Barber and Harrison, ‘if WW2 was a test then
the Soviet economy passed it’ – a statement which is supported by the fact that by
1943, Stalin and his country were outproducing the Germans by a ratio of 3:1.
According to Laver, “it was the strength of the Soviet war economy which paved the
way for eventual victory”. The secure, efficient war economy that Stalin guaranteed
was a significant stepping stone in a journey that would eventually lead to victory.
The relocation of industry and implementation of the Command Economy was a
conscious and deliberate action made by Stalin which had a hugely positive impact,
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