LWD wrote: The railroad thread produced some very good information and demonstrated pretty conclusivly that using any single set of numers in isolation can be misleading.
Which is the main thrust of my argument. However you seem to have got a bee in your bonnet over the issue so forgive me if I leave you to your indignation.
Pips wrote:The whole issue of LL has been coloured over the years by the falling out that occurred between the Allies in the Cold War period. The Soviets deliberately downplayed (or ignored) Western contributions, and the West played up it's assistance.
Yes that is the problem. Too many people (caution: not backed by any research) trying to cash in on the Soviet success in defeating the Germans.
To a degree the Soviet view can be explained away in that at the time of Stalingrad only 5% of the total LL had been received by the Soviets - despite the best efforts on the part of the Bristish and Americans. The Soviets rightly believed that they had done the hard yards in first stopping, and then reversing, German aggression.
Agreed. I remember one very long thread ( caution: Not on this board) where the LL locos were claimed to have been crucial to keeping Stalingrad supplied.
None of the above is in any way meant to downplay the extraordinary revival performance of Soviet industry during the war, which was made possible only by the use of crude mass-production techniques, by skillful improvisation in planning and through the greater independence and initiative allowed plant managers and engineers. Bear in mind that almost 15,000 Soviet officials and engineers visited American factories and military installations on the LL scheme. As a result of the improvements in production, the modernisation of Soviet fighting power and developments in organisation and technology the Red Army was in a position to confront the Germans almost on equal terms at Kursk in 1943. In and of itself an remarkable achievement.
As I mentioned earlier I have seen claims that the machinery and tooling imported from Germany 1939-41 was greatly in excess of the LL supplies of the same nature. It would appear that -if they were so minded-the Germans could also claim to have contributed to the Soviet victory.
Though Britain recieved LL aid in much greater quantities than the Soviets you never get the same amount of credit-grabbing applied (warning: not backed by references)to her war effort.