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I've read a little bit on this subject too. The Shrike Send a noteboard - 07/05/2017 03:24:44 PM

I know the literature on the German side of things way better than on the Soviet side of things.

From what I can ascertain, and given what we know Stalin said, I too think he was preparing for a war with Germany. It was always just a matter of when the war with Germany would break out. I don't think Stalin expected it as early as 1941 though. The events of 1939 - the defeat of the Japanese in Siberia/Mongolia (Battles of Khalkhin Gol which really should be more widely known but don't seem to be )and then the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - gave Stalin more time to increase his forces. Though the knockout of France and Britain seemed to have stunned Stalin and his advisors.

What I don't know for certain is if Stalin expected to strike first and if he did, when. The sources from both sides are jumbled and so far it remains unclear to me. You are totally correct about We know he did not expect the Nazis to attack from North, Center, and South.

Speaking of which, I am currently reading Moscow 1941 by Braithwaite. Have you read it? So far it seems to be good secondary history.

And of course you are totally correct about historians objectivity/lack of objectivity when dealing with the Soviets in WWII. But this seems to be a problem for all historians writing during the period when the Capitalist West was in the midst of an ideological war against the Communist East. And there always seems to be a myopia in the literature of the West about the Eastern Front when covering both WWI and WWII.

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Was the USSR readying an attack on Germany in June 1941?/Politics in Academia Tom - 05/05/2017 08:02:58 PM 736 Views
Churchill was correct damookster - 06/05/2017 01:43:16 AM 397 Views
Good post Tom..very interesting. I too find myself more and more skeptical of information these days *NM* Urza - 06/05/2017 04:42:55 AM 233 Views
yes. exactly. *NM* AgentApple - 09/05/2017 09:23:06 PM 183 Views
Agreed on both points Cannoli - 06/05/2017 03:37:26 PM 512 Views
Suvorov thought the Soviet main attack would be in the far north and south Tom - 06/05/2017 07:06:16 PM 411 Views
Re: Suvorov thought the Soviet main attack would be in the far north and south Cannoli - 07/05/2017 06:55:41 PM 503 Views
You are right on all accounts Tom - 08/05/2017 04:48:50 PM 402 Views
Interesting post. It seems like a surprisingly big thing to have such controversies about... Legolas - 07/05/2017 11:17:27 AM 459 Views
I disagree on the global warming "solution" Tom - 16/05/2017 05:19:08 AM 353 Views
I see what you mean on the 'religious fit' part, yes. Legolas - 16/05/2017 06:33:40 PM 359 Views
It doesn't make sense to rein in CO2 emissions, though Tom - 17/05/2017 04:06:07 AM 444 Views
Was it Bjorn Lomborg? LiterateDog - 16/05/2017 06:56:43 PM 351 Views
I think it was someone else, actually, an American - but that one's great too Tom - 17/05/2017 04:03:48 AM 344 Views
I've read a little bit on this subject too. The Shrike - 07/05/2017 03:24:44 PM 422 Views
I rarely read histories about anything Russian in the English language Tom - 16/05/2017 05:10:44 AM 344 Views
Interesting read and topic - Questions Anonymous2000 - 07/05/2017 06:29:08 PM 385 Views
Re: Interesting read and topic - Questions Cannoli - 07/05/2017 08:48:59 PM 434 Views
^ What he said *NM* Tom - 16/05/2017 05:19:53 AM 196 Views
Phh! That's a relatively minor issue Larry - 08/05/2017 03:26:55 AM 496 Views
It's long past time to start looking at that period rationally Tom - 16/05/2017 05:28:36 AM 311 Views
To a large extent I agree Larry - 17/05/2017 02:36:20 AM 467 Views
Very interesting. Never heard about any of this. And those hardware figures are astounding. *NM* AgentApple - 09/05/2017 09:25:11 PM 262 Views
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