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==Introduction==__NOTOC__This article will discuss the response of [[File: Stalin and Ribbentrop.jpg|thumbnail|230px|left|Stalin and Ribbentrop after signing pact 1939.]]Joseph Stalin reacted extremely slowly to the invasion of his country by German forces in 1940. The Soviet leader will be shown to have responded very Indeed, not only did he react slowly to the Nazi invasion and indeed that , but he also ignored warnings that the Germans planned to attack his country. Stalin's response to the Nazi invasion has perplexed historians for many years. It seems that the Soviet Leader had placed his trust in Hitler and this almost led to the defeat of the Soviet Union. The article will show that Stalin's response to Hitler's invasion was slow and disorganized especially in the first days of the war. Stalin's response was so slow and ineffective because he had made the fatal mistake of trusting Hitler. However, Stalin was to take charge of the situation and he made changes to his military and diplomatic policy that at first slowed the German advance and then stopped it before Moscow in December 1941.

[[How Joseph Stalin became the leader of the Soviet Union|Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin ]] ruled over the Soviet Union between 1920 and 1953 acting as the supreme leader of the USSR. Holding the post of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, he was effectively the dictator of the state. Stalin introduced his own highly centralized command economy, launching a period of industrialization and collectivization that resulted in the rapid transformation of the USSR from an agrarian society into an industrial global power. Between 1934 and 1939 Stalin mercilessly carried out a series of massive political extra-judicial executions, known as the Great Purge, of major Communist Party and government rival figures as well as many Red Army high commanders without any proper trials - all convicted of alleged treason or considered a threat. These “enemies of the working class” were imprisoned, exiled, sent to forced labor camps or executed, without due process.In the meantime, Germany revitalized under Adolf Hitler’s leadership, worked to revise the post-World War I organizational structure of Europe, imposed by the United States, England, and France. Hitler and Stalin seemed to be natural enemies. [[The Nazi triumph: how did Adolf Hitler become the Fuehrer of Germany?|Adolf Hitler ]] loathed the Communists and Stalin publically publicly denounced the Nazis. The two regimes were ideological enemies and it seemed to many observers that a war between the two was inevitable at some stage. <ref.> Boobbyer, Phillip <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415182980/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415182980&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=be2a9195cf0017e9147f778e95d45fbe The Stalin Era ]</i> (Routledge, London, 2000), p. 178</ref>.

==Reaching the The Molotov–Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact between the USSR and NAZI Germany and their initial warming economic relations==[[File: Molotov.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|Ribbentrop and Molotov in Berlin, 1940]]After the Nazis rose to power in Germany in 1933, relations between Germany and the Soviet Union, as the two sworn enemy regimes, began to deteriorate rapidly, and trade between the two countries decreased and almost froze. The Soviet Union had generally good relations with the Weimar Republic.<ref> Boobyer, p 198</ref>. Following several years of tension and rivalry, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union eventually began to improve relations in 1939. German economy thrived at a fast pace by exporting manufactured goods and industrial equipment around the world in exchange for importing raw materials. In turnOn the other hand, the USSR being was still an agrarian state, . While it was rich in natural resources, it was struggling with the to transition towards industrializationto an more industrial economy. The Soviets had were forced to purchase and import more than half of the necessary factory machinery from the United States. It occurred that The pact was appealing to both Stalin and Hitler, therefore, because they were both at odds with the West. Driven by their mutual resentment for the West, each for his own reasons and interests under the circumstances, Communist USSR and Nazi Germany seemed to have much in common interests briefly aligned and be close to reaching a they moved towards [[The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact- Stalin’s greatest mistake?|German-Soviet cooperation via a natural and an alliance]].

[[FileIn 1939, London and Paris invited Moscow to co-sign an Anglo-French guarantee to protect Poland and Romania from possible German aggression. The Soviets agreed only upon permission from Lithuania, Poland, and Romania to allow the free passage of Soviet troops in the event of war. However, Poland refused to grant its permission because they justifiably feared that Soviets wanted to use these as a pretext to take over its territory. The West prolonged Soviet-Allied negotiations since the Great Powers feared the spread of the communist regime and considered the Soviet Union as an outlaw state for its established social and political structures through internal subversion, armed violence, and terrorism. USSR in its turn advocated the overthrow of all capitalist regimes.<ref>Stalin's Secret War Plans: Why Hitler Invaded the Soviet Union - http: barb 2//www.wintersonnenwende.jpg|thumbnail|200px|Aftermath of battle 1941]]com/scriptorium/english/archives/articles/stalwarplans.html</ref>

In After the Soviet Union's negotiations feel apart with Britain and France, Stalin turned to Germany. As a result, on the 23rd of August 1939, London and Paris invited Moscow to cothe Soviet Union entered into a non-sign an Anglo-French guarantee to protect Poland and Romania from possible German aggressionpact with Nazi Germany. The Soviets agreed only upon permission from Lithuaniapact, Polandknown as [http://dailyhistory.org/The_Molotov-Ribbentrop_Pact-_Stalin%E2%80%99s_greatest_mistake%3F Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact], was named after the USSR and Romania to allow Nazis foreign affairs political figures at the free passage time. This Hitler allayed fears of Soviet troops a two front war in Europe. Moreover, Stalin and Hitler signed numerous secret protocols dividing the event entire territory of warEastern Europe into Soviet and Nazi spheres of influence. However, The Soviets would recover eastern Poland refused to grant its permission, fearing Soviet’s secret agenda to take over its territoryformerly part of Imperial Russia. The West prolonged Soviet-Allied negotiations since Germans also supported the Great Powers feared USSR's claims on Bessarabia (eastern part of Romania) and agreed to define Eastern Europe's Baltic (Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania) and Balkan states as belonging to the spread Soviet “sphere of interest.” Furthermore, after signing the pact, the communist regime and considered countries rapidly expanded their economic relationship by entering into a commercial agreement whereby the Soviet Union as an outlaw state sent critical raw materials and ingredients to Germany in exchange for its established social and political structures through internal subversionweapons, armed violencemilitary technology, civilian and terrorismmanufacturing machinery. USSR in its turn advocated the overthrow Thereafter, Germany received significant amounts of petroleum, grain, rubber and manganese, all capitalist regimes.<ref>Stalin's Secret War Plans: Why Hitler Invaded the Soviet Union - http://wwwnecessary for its future war efforts.wintersonnenwende.com/scriptorium/english/archives/articles/stalwarplans.html</ref>

After the failure of negotiations with Britain and France, Stalin eventually turned to ==Germany. As a result, on the 23rd ' Violation of August 1939, the Soviet Union entered into a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany. The pact, known as Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, was named after the USSR and Nazis foreign affairs political figures at the time. Hitler no more had to fear the possibility of a war on two fronts. Moreover, Stalin and Hitler signed numerous secret protocols dividing the entire territory of Eastern Europe into Soviet and Nazi spheres of influence. The Soviets would recover eastern Poland, formerly part of Imperial Russia. The Germans also supported the USSR's claims on Bessarabia (eastern part of Romania) and agreed to define Eastern Europe's Baltic (Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania) and Balkan states as belonging to the Soviet “sphere of interest.” Furthermore, after signing the pact, the countries rapidly expanded their economic relationship by entering into a commercial agreement whereby the Soviet Union sent critical raw materials and ingredients to Germany in exchange for weapons, military technology, civilian and manufacturing machinery. Thereafter, Germany received significant amounts of petroleum, grain, rubber and manganese, all necessary for its future war efforts. ==[[File: barb 3Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1974-099-19,_Russland,_Angriff_auf_ein_Dorf.jpg|thumbnail|200pxleft|300px|German tank Troops in the Soviet Union in 1941]] ==Violation of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and World War II: former allies eventually turn against each other==The two dictators signed secret protocols dividing central Europe between Stalin and Hitler, it effectively let both the USSR and the NAZIS to invade freely countries listed within their “spheres of influence”. However, the agreement between Germany and the Soviet Union could was not be sustainable for long and did, in fact, ultimately set the stage for the start Eastern Front of the World War II.The Still, the initial improving relations with Germany meant that the Soviet Union could expand its territory in Eastern Europe, unmolested into places such as the Baltic States. Stalin believed that his understanding with Hitler would last and this lead him to become he became complacent.<ref> Montefiore, Simon Sebag. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400076781/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400076781&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=eb9848bd0a98d402c5a3cab783e1108d Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar]''. (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003), p. 117</ref>.

On 1 September 1939, within days of signing the pact and the secret protocols, Hitler invaded Poland, now confident that the Soviets would not oppose him. In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany. A couple of weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east to grab its share. In 1940, the USSR followed up by occupying Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Romanian province of Bessarabia. Britain and France protested but with their forces already at war against Germany, they could not afford to fight Stalin as well. Indeed, initially, the The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact intially worked quite well and showed how similar the two states goals really were. Unfortunately, But this peace it did not last for long.

Once the Soviets seized a generous portion of Eastern Europe, they also tried to invade Finland. Despite being tremendously outnumbered and outgunned, the Finns improvised a defense and made the best of the terrain and the ferocious winter weather. At the same time, the German army conquered France without suffering appreciable losses and the British withdrew from the continent. The Germans were astonished at how badly the Soviets performed in the fighting with the Finns. This struggle encouraged them that Germany to attack the USSR and Stalin were already weakened by the war affairs and thus Hitler . Germany determined that they could, in turn, defeat Stalin in a rapid campaign ([[How Did the German Military Develop Blitzkrieg?|Blitzkrieg]]) even before finishing off the withdrawn turning their sights to Brits in the west. <ref>The pact between Hitler and Stalin that paved the way for World War II was signed 75 years ago - http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-08-21/pact-between-hitler-and-stalin-paved-way-world-war-ii-was-signed-75-years-ago</ref>

Hitler had been alarmed by the Soviet Union's seizure of part of Rumania and he worried that Stalin was targeting the oil fields in that country, vital to the German war effort. Hitler moved divisions to Poland and in December 1940 issued a directive for the invasion of the Soviet Union, this was codenamed Operation Barbarossa. Stalin was warned by several sources of the imminent threat of a Nazi invasion. The Germans actions had been monitored by Soviet Intelligence. Stalin refused to believe it- instead, he continued to assume that Hitler would abide by the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.In the early morning of 22 June 1941, Hitler officially violated the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and invaded the Soviet Union.<ref> Montefiore, p. 245</ref>. Historians claim that Stalin was stunned by the invasion and for quite some time refused to accept the news was true. The Soviet leader had also ignored all warnings received from the US, British governments and even his own intelligence officers regarding a potential invasion. Economic and diplomatic relations between the two countries USSR and Germany rapidly deteriorated and were abruptly terminated. The Soviets were not prepared for a war against Germany with the . The Red Army troops were scattered and dispersed among several fronts. Furthermore, Stalin’s purges of army officers in the 1930s had crippled the Soviet military machine and in . During the early days of the war, the Red Army, lacking lacked trustworthy and skillful generals, and suffered several disastrous losses letting . The Red Army ultimately allowed Nazi troops to almost reach the Kremlin gates. <ref>Joseph Stalin and World War II - http://www.history.com/topics/joseph-stalin</ref>The German assault on the Soviet Union was wildly successful. the Germans in the During he early weeks of Operation Barbarossa had made , Germany averaged gains of 50 miles a day. One of This rapid advance was abetted by the reasons for their early success was that there was a lack of direction from Stalin. For some time, the Red Army received no leadership languished without any direction from Stalin.<ref> Montefiore, p. 245</ref>.

 There are several theories on why Stalin should have reacted so slowly to the invasion. Some have speculated that Stalin was so shocked by the invasion and the betrayal by Hitler that he went into a state of shock. Some believe that such was his despair that Stalin retreated away from the world unable to face the magnitude of his mistake and the consequences of his error in trusting Hitler. He had assumed that Hitler would abide by the terms of the non-aggression pact of 1939. Some historians have even suggested that Stalin suffered some kind of nervous breakdown. Another, less popular theory is that Stalin deliberately withdrew from the scene, in order to see if anyone tried to oust him avoid being ousted from power. When he saw that no one was about to challenge his authority he decided to take control of the situation . <ref>Bellamy, Chris, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375724710/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0375724710&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4af9160f8751b9120921c7982235532a Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War]</i>. New York: Alfred A. Knopf & Random House.2007), p. 53</ref>.

However, within weeks ==Stalin manage to recover from reorganizes the shock and called for reinforcements. Although German troops had made huge advances into the heartlands Army==After some weeks of inactivity, the Supreme Soviet Union and the rest leader personally took control of the government had been evacuated from Moscow, situation. Stalin remained in dominated the Kremlin army and begun he had placed men in key positions not based upon their ability but based on their personal allegiance to take control of the country’s ailing military infrastructurehim. As German troops approached The supreme Soviet leader was very afraid that if he gave too much independence to the Soviet capital of Moscowarmy, Stalin directed a devastating defensive policy, destroying any supplies or infrastructure that might benefit the enemyGenerals would remove him from power. Fresh competent USSR military commanders loyal to Stalin were allowed to take control After the invasion of important strategic positions the Soviet and military divisions <ref>Bellamythe poor leadership shown by many Generals, p. 117</ref>. This scorched earth tactic was he adopted a new policy he promoted men of ability to deny positions of authority in the Germans key suppliesarmed forces, such as Zhukov. This was particularly the case as the German supply lines had become extended and they men at the front did not receive the supplies that greatly improved the need. The policy leadership of destroying the infrastructure Red Army and anything else that could allowed it to be utilized by more effective against the Germans was to cause immense suffering for Nazi armies. Stalin also reorganized the Soviet Civilian population, however, it crucially slowed down the German advance. StalinArmy's policy made have contributed to High Command. He established the Stavka, this provided the failure of Red Army with the Germany army to take Moscow leadership it needed in the early winter of 1941life or death struggle with the Germans. Stalin supervised Stavka closely, but he also gave his Generals more authority.<ref>Bellamy, p"Stalin's Role in WWII" - http://yesterday.uktv.co.112uk/warzone/article/stalins-role-wwii/</ref>.

==Stalin reorganizes the Army==After some weeks of inactivity, the Supreme Soviet leader personally took control of the situation. Stalin dominated the army and he had placed men in key positions not based upon their ability but based on their personal allegiance to him. The supreme Soviet leader was very afraid that if he gave too much independence to the army, that the Generals would remove him from power. After the invasion of the Soviet and the poor leadership shown by many Generals, he adopted a new policy he promoted men of ability to positions of authority in the armed forces, such as Zhukov. This greatly improved the leadership of the Red Army and allowed it to be more effective against the Nazi armies. Stalin also reorganized the Soviet Army's High Command. He established the Stavka, this provided the Red Army with the leadership it needed in the life or death struggle with the Germans. Stalin supervised Stavka closely, but he also gave his Generals more authority. <ref>Stalin's Role in WWII - http://yesterday.uktv.co.uk/warzone/article/stalins-role-wwii/</ref>. Stalin also sought to raise the fighting morale of the troops. He well knew that many ordinary Soviet citizens were still Russian nationalists at heart and venerated the Orthodox Church. In order to improve the morale of the army and their loyalty, he promoted Russian nationalism, even though as a Communist he was ideologically opposed to nationalism. Furthermore, he stopped persecuting the Orthodox Church. These measures made Stalin popular with the army and raised the morale of the troops. This stiffened their resistance to the invasion of the Russian 'Motherland.'<ref> Zhukov, Georgiĭ Konstantinovich & Harrison E., Salisbury, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0356029239/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0356029239&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=422ccd38a753dde5fbe26d0486b12cb8 Marshal Zhukov's Greatest Battles ]</i> (New York: Harper & Row, 1969), p. 116</ref>.

As the German invasion of Russia progressed. Stalin contacted Western diplomats requesting two agreements. He aimed at reaching a mutual assistance/aid pact and a recognition that after the war the Soviet Union would gain the territories in countries that it would take war actions against Hitler on the Eastern front. [[How did Winston Churchill become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in World War Two?|Winston Churchill]] was very willing to have an alliance with Stalin. Even though He was an ardent anti-communist and he personally disliked Stalin. He agreed to support the Soviets in their battle with the Germans. Churchill pithy states when criticized for allying Britain with the Soviets 'I would become the devils' ally if Hitler invaded Hell'. Stalin's diplomatic moves in the aftermath of Operation Barbarossa was shrewd. It allowed him to receive the support of first the British and later the Americans.<ref> BeevorBelamy, p. 34</ref>. the British began to supply the Soviets with arms and other supplies, via Iran and the Antartic. Stalin's diplomatic response to the invasion of his country was to become the ally of his ideological rivals, the western democracies.<ref>Stalin's Role in WWII - http://yesterday.uktv.co.uk/warzone/article/stalins-role-wwii/</ref>.