Best possible strategy for the USSR against Nazi Germany

[maltesefalcon]

Basically, what a hypercompetent USSR might do differently to achieve a quick victory late 30s on.

Not allowing Germans to defeat France first of all. One might propose forming a viable alliance with Britain and France as well, but that didn't depend on the USSR alone.

Thank you for replying. I was actually hoping (but not really expecting) to hear some input from the OP. So far he has started and abandoned six threads after a single post.
Methinks another sock puppet on this forum. Sigh....

[wm]

I would say the USSR was competent, they didn't make any major mistakes. The other option, joining the Allies would have required spending enormous resources required to defeat Germany with little in return, when in reality they were given all they wanted for free.
Their plans were derailed by the quick defeat of France, and that was a true unpredictable black swan, at that time wars dragged on for years: WW1, or in Spain, China even Ethiopia.

[maltesefalcon]

I would say the USSR was competent, they didn't make any major mistakes.

Wow. I dont know where to begin with this. Soviets made huge military and diplomatic mistakes which nearly ended their regime. They were caught napping when warnings from several sources told them a German attack was imminent. They lost between 20 to 30 million people. Major campaign gaffes up to late 1942.

Only their immense size, population and climate prevented Germany from winning in the first two campaigns. It bought time for them to rebuild.

[wm]

Well, in the first day of the war the "napping" Soviets' front-line strength was 2.6 million soldiers, 11 thousand tanks and maybe 8,000 planes. It was the second largest active army on this planet at that time - such a large army shouldn't have been defeated by the meager forces available to the Germans. Napping or not, their army and their military leaders were simply bad or mediocre at best.
The warnings were mostly from Britain, a country preparing its own attack on the USSR at that time - of which Stalin was aware.
Still, a day earlier this order was sent from Moscow:

1. On June 22–23 1941, it is possible there will be a surprise attack by the Germans on the fronts of the LVO, PriBOVO, ZapOVO, KOVO, and OdVO. The attack may start with provocative actions. [...]
a. During the night of June 22, 1941, secretly occupy firing positions in the fortified areas along the state frontier.
b. Before dawn on June 22, 1941, disperse to reserve airfields all aviation, including troop aircraft, carefully camouflaging it.
c. All units bring themselves to combat readiness. Troops are to be kept dispersed and camouflaged.
d. Bring air defense to combat readiness without calling on additional staff. Prepare all measures for blackout of cities and installations.

[maltesefalcon]

[quote="wm"]It was the second largest active army on this planet at that time - such a large army shouldn't have been defeated by the meager forces available to the Germans. Napping or not, their army and their military leaders were simply bad or mediocre at best.
[quote]

How in the world does this signify the USSR was a competant nation in June 1941? You have virtually illustrated the exact opposite.

[maltesefalcon]

double post...

[ljadw]

In june 1941 the Germans and their allies had a numerical superiority .

[mezsat2]

June 23, 1941. Rather than sit back and allow itself to be surrounded and annihilated for basically nothing in return, the Red Army launches an enormous raid into Romania to completely destroy the oilfields.

Yes, it would be a suicide mission, but would have paralyzed the Wehrmacht from 1942 on (it was operating primarily on looted oil in 1941).

The competent forces with modern equipment would be held back well east to both defend Moscow and Leningrad as well as form the nucleus of an effective modern army.

[ljadw]

June 23, 1941. Rather than sit back and allow itself to be surrounded and annihilated for basically nothing in return, the Red Army launches an enormous raid into Romania to completely destroy the oilfields.

Yes, it would be a suicide mission, but would have paralyzed the Wehrmacht from 1942 on (it was operating primarily on looted oil in 1941).

The competent forces with modern equipment would be held back well east to both defend Moscow and Leningrad as well as form the nucleus of an effective modern army.

It would not paralyze the WM which was NOT operating on looted oil in 1941.

1941 : synthetic oil : 4,1 million ton; domestic crude production : 1,6 million; imports 2.8 million (of which 2.1 million from Romania) ;looted from the occupied territories 0.4 million : total :8.9 million of which LESS than 5 % looted and less than 25 % from Romania .

Other point : the Red Army was not setting back in june 1941.

[BDV]

June 23, 1941. Rather than sit back and allow itself to be surrounded and annihilated for basically nothing in return, the Red Army launches an enormous raid into Romania to completely destroy the oilfields.

A small version of this was actually attempted in 1941.

[ljadw]

The problem for the Red Army was that, for several reasons, it was mostly located east of the Dnjepr-Dvina line, and that it had to go west of this line to encounter the Germans . During its trip to the border a lot of its units fell apart before having seen ONE German .

Thus the OP is questionable : there was no best possible strategy, the strategy was mainly dictated by the operational/logistical situation of the Red Army and this was abysmal bad .

[wm]

How in the world does this signify the USSR was a competant nation in June 1941? You have virtually illustrated the exact opposite.

I didn't mean a Superman level of competency, after all other nations weren't especially better in their first months of the war, even the Americans.
I've said their political actions were reasonable (from their point of view), maybe risky but much less than Hitler's wars. After all they had a backup plan (their army, and "immense size, population and climate") and Hitler didn't.
According to communist ideology there were no difference between Nazi Germany and Western countries, all were mortal enemies poised to destroy the revolution. So it was reasonable to choose a (much) better deal, and let the capitalists destroy themselves.
That was really the max possible hypercompetent USSR, anything more requires Russia, not the USSR abomination.

[maltesefalcon]

I'm not going through the tedious and admittedly petty excercise of quoting your previous posts. I will simply reiterate that a regime with the worlds largest air force, army and tank force that came within a hairs breadth of being overrun in 6 months is not even remotely competent.
And I will repeat they made huge mistakes costing the lives of 20,000,000+ of its people.

[wm]

Then who were the competent people at that time?

The British, who despite having naval supremacy, "ruling the waves", and even advance warnings allowed the game changing naval invasion of Norway to succeed?
Or the small German force to rampage through North Africa for so long?

Or the French, who having more tanks, soldiers, artillery, basically more everything were defeated so ignominiously that even today for many the French equals cowards (once dropped, never used)?

Or the Americans and their numerous allies who allowed Japan to conquer vast territories, to be laboriously reconquered later at the price of 364,748 casualties.

Or even the Germans or the Japanese, starting their unwinnable wars?

[BDV]

Or the small German force to rampage through North Africa for so long?

LW shot down pilots suffered from Spitfiresnobbery

Unfortunately, it seems British themselves suffer of DAKsnobbery.

Much like the HawkerHurricane doing the most damage in BoB, Italians did most of the damage in North Africa fighting.