63 Replies to “It’s Probably Nothing”

  3. Hagel is just a extension of Obama so why bother ? Obama’s already been sized up and discarded as a threat to Russian expansion so there’s really nothing left to say. A few more sanctions won’t make any difference to the wheels that are now in motion. If western troops are not mobilizing on Ukraine’s borders it’s a green light to proceed. There’s been enough talk with nothing to back it up. Hagel might as well join Obama on the Golf course. The next line in the sand will be Poland. Ukraine’s already lost.

  4. This is the two-front war that US planners have always dreaded.
    Russia in the East, and Nevada in the West.

  5. Russian stock market is tanking, ruble is getting crushed and bank rate is now over 7%.
    Putin is playing a very dangerous game as his oligarch allies are getting slaughtered financially. Will they stick with him in this folly or will they have him removed. Such tension may make Putin even more reckless.
    Big wars have been started with less kindling.

  7. Russia has wisely placed the White House on it’s ‘ignore list’. It’s pointless to argue with idiots, they always try to drag the discussion down to their level.

  8. I’m sure most of the people here have been down to the US of A.
    Riddle me this. How many average Americans know what’s happening beyond the border of the state they live in?
    By anybody’s reckoning, their politicians are about as adept at foreign policy.
    After WWII, they were the last man standing and therefore relatively strong.
    Now that they’ve squandered their inheritance, all they have left is bluster and a whole mountain of debt.
    Dead men walking. The populace is starting to catch on.

  9. Hagel is Obama’s creature. Why would serious people bother with him, or his master?

  11. Gallup asked residents of each of the 50 states how their state’s living conditions stacked up against the competition. Participants could choose whether their state was “the best possible state to live in,” “one of the best possible states to live in,” “as good a state as any to live in,” or “the worst possible state to live in.”
    According to their residents, the top five states in the U.S. are: Montana, Alaska, Utah, Wyoming, and Texas, with around 60-70 percent of residents claiming their state is among the best. Conversely, the worst five states to live in are Rhode Island, Illinois, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Michigan; there, only 20-30 percent of residents are feeling proud of their state.
    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/04/25/state-pride-gallup-montana-alaska/8140879/
    The poll’s findings lead to some pretty unsurprising conclusions: Most of the happiest states in the union boasted a higher standard of living, more trust in state government, and less resentment towards state taxes. In general, Western and Midwestern states tend to have the rosiest outlook in the poll.

  13. Which says pretty clearly that Shoigu has more important people to talk to.
    My how times change. Can anyone imagine such a thing 10, 20, 30 years ago?
    It’s not that Russia has grown stronger; it’s that the US primarily because of its leadership has grown weaker.

  16. Well, I have my own views, but cgh has a great deal to say about a great many things about what goes on here in Ontario, as a practical matter, given his position, which is enormously important. And, er, Scotland, really, not to mention all of Europe.
    So, I’m rather inclined to let him lecture on, and to listen to what he has to say…

  18. It’s not terribly complicated, I think. Putin believes in the Great Man of History theory. That is, the strength and importance of nations is determined in some significant part by the ability and strength of the leader. Obama has none of these except reciting from a teleprompter. Putin already knows that nothing Obama says has any real steel behind it. Obama blinked when:
    1. American diplomats were killed by Al Qaeda in Benghazi without any American military response whatsoever, despite US forces being available mere hours away;
    2. Obama blinked over the removal of Assad from Syria. He’s now no longer being threatened with regime change which we heard a lot about a few years ago.
    3. Obama has blinked several times over Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
    4. Obama withdrew from many of Clinton and Bush Jr.’s military security arrangements in eastern Europe.
    5. Obama is doing little to shore up its alliance with Japan and the Phillipines against Chinese maritime expansion.
    6. Obama is abandoning Afghanistan without even pretending that it’s anything but a “retreat from Kabul” similar to that of the British in the 19th C or the USSR in the late 190s.
    7. Perhaps most important, Obama ignored entirely Russia’s annexation of one-third of Georgia.
    Chamberlain and Daladier cowered in the face of overt aggression only once, and that was too much for them. In Sept 39 they declared war. Obama has retreated many, many times.
    Aside from blinking in the face of opposition, Obama has a number of serious weaknesses that no American President in the last three decades has had.
    1. Obama has systematically alienated most of his closest allies over stupid or irrelevant issues, Israel over Hamas and Canada over Keystone XL. If he’s prepared to be that treacherous to his closest friends, why would his opponents believe anything he says?
    2. He rules a house divided. The opposition Republicans are so alienated by Obama’s policies that he probably couldn’t get them to agree to a game of tiddly-winks, let alone any national policy of substance.
    3. Thanks to their antinuclearism, Obama’s allies, particularly Germany, are economically at Russia’s mercy over energy supply. Dependency on oil sheiks in the ’70s has been replaced by dependency on Uncle Vlad in the New Milenium.
    As Napoleon once remarked, the morale is to the material as five to one.
    Also worth noting is Napoleon’s stated preference for fighting against coalitions. He had unity of command and strategy, while they were plagued with divisions and differences of means and goals. In principle then, the US has overpowering might to confront Russia. In fact however, because of US weakness and the irreconcilable division of it with its allies and within its own house, Uncle Vlad is playing with a deck where he has all the cards marked.

  21. I agree with PeterJ, cgh and those above who suggest that Putin has taken Obama’s measure and decided that he can be ignored.
    Although I would not write Ukraine off just yet. Ukraine is starting to show some mettle in some of the eastern regional cities lately but is trying to avoid precipitating full scale war by all out assaults on all the cities taken over by what are most likely Spetsnaz led groups. The Russian moves against Ukraine so far are their typical methods of operating when taking over countries in the past.

  22. Has he tried that hashtag thing?
    Why should anyone in the Russian government take a phone call from anyone in the American government? Obama has made it clear his plan of action has always been and always will be “roll over and die but not before I hit the links”.

  23. Now, that was an excellent analysis.
    Clint Eastwood was right about the empty chair.

  26. David, I have a lot of thoughts here, thus needing a part 2. None of them are unique but have been voiced in many places elsewhere. They pertain largely to the nature of Putin and what he is after.
    1. For perhaps the first time since the Great Patriotic War (the USSR’s part in WW2), the Russian government under Putin is making a sustained and vigorous effort to create real national unity. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is now very much a part of the Russian government, particularly where it comes to creating or reviving a sense of “Russianness”. Virtually every Sunday, its pulpits thunder with denunciation of western immorality and decadence. It may not be having a huge effect now, but give it time. As the ancient Norse would say, every man knows the outcome of the eternal battle between the mountain and the sea. Probably at no time since 1945 has the government in Moscow had such extensive popular support as does Putin’s regime. The nascent democratic movement of the 1990s is virtually extinct. And in this game of thrones, unity of purpose is just about everything.
    2. It’s becoming very clear what Putin wants to do. He’s not out for some delusional conquest of the world. He wants to recreate the empire of Catherine the Great. Both in geography and in political sway. He wants the rest of Europe to heed Moscow as much as it does Washington. And this means no small states on his borders sneaking off and cutting deals with the other great powers. As long as there was a puppet regime in Kiev, everything was fine, more or less. But as soon as it was toppled in an American-backed coup, that was no more tolerable to Putin than Castro taking power in Cuba.
    3. And it is through this revived nationalism and ethnic unity that Putin hopes to solve various problems critical to the Russian state. particularly its severe negative demographic trend. Make no mistake, this is NOT communism in any way, shape or form. This is charismatic dictatorship. But Putin while he may not be wise is certainly very clever. He’s perfectly willing to have henchmen fronting for him as he did with Medvedev’s term as President. But always there’s the iron hand of Putin controlling the modern Russian state. His macho athleticism which seems to give the western liberal press such neurotic fits is all part of this. His sense is that Russia wants and needs strong charismatic leadership.

  27. In Part 3, my final thoughts are that timing is everything. Every world leader who’s not a drooling idiot knows that the US descends into policy anarchy every two years. During such times, there’s no such thing as intelligent decision making in Washington; everything is geared to the US voter and domestic concerns.
    In Part 3, my final thoughts are that timing is everything. Every world leader who’s not a drooling idiot knows that the US descends into policy anarchy every two years. During such times, there’s no such thing as intelligent decision making in Washington; everything is geared to the US voter and domestic concerns.
    It’s no accident that the Tet Offensive and the Easter Offensive in Vietnam occurred in 1968 and 1972. To paraphrase Danny De Vito, Ho Chi Minh played the American voting public like a “harp from hell” not once but twice. Putin knows all this very well. He also knows that even a strong US President is singularly handicapped by having diehard opposition in Congress and a thoroughly alienated US voter. In Obama’s case, he’s thorougly alienated the conservative opposition through a long list of outrages which all of us here on this board know all too well. During elections, all of these internal dissentions and mutual loathings rise to a crescendo, exacerbated by the fact that conservatives believe with some justification that the media is a part of the Obama Election Machine. The national discord has risen to such a degree that for the first time in my lifetime, diehards in some states are actually talking secession. Absolutely without precedent since 1865. And all brought on by one utterly catastrophically bad and weak leader in the White House.
    And this is an election year.
    And Uncle Vlad thus has reason to smile.

  28. I would only add those things that we have lost because of the State Department’s handling of the Ukraine uprising. Meddling fools & Obama’s doubling down (like the Chicago punk he is) thinking that he had the strong backing of the EU, which is a coalition of losers. The bluffing mental midget has his Johnson in a meat grinder.
    1. Russia had an important role in disarming Iran..GONE
    2. Russia had an important role in Syria..GONE
    3 China had an important role in North Korea..GONE
    Leading Economists have opined that Obama economic sanctions will hurt the USA more than Russia.
    The good thing is that the UN, by it’s quick recognition of Kiev, has totally lost any credibility. Yes! they are a tool of the USA.
    Obama is frantically trying to repair his credibility in the World. His speech in S Korea, without a teleprompter and constantly looking down to his notes, was a rare view of his incompetence
    If Russia & China form a global alliance, the ME will
    join them and war is unavoidable. Israel is screwed
    JMHO

  30. “And all brought on by one utterly catastrophically bad and weak leader in the White House.”
    And that is one point where you are wrong. He is not weak. He is consistent in his policies. He wants a more fair world where Anerikkka no longer plays the hegemon. Once is an accident, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action. We are way pass the three times already.

  31. cgh, excellent analysis as always. Putin probably doesn’t want to waste the opportunity of having an absolute moron as TOTUS; he would have never attempted such moves if a president with Reagan’s qualities was POTUS. Also, Putin is dealing with some harsh demographic realities which means that potential Russian military manpower will steadily decrease in the future. Thus, he may have calculated that this is the optimum time to strike.
    Obozo has significantly weakened the US military by removing top officers who placed far more significance on military preparedness than on toadying up to politicians. Obozo has also surrounded himself by fourth rate intellects and the worst thing that could happen to Russian plans would be a meteor landing on Washington DC; an event that would in one blow destroy their greatest weapon against the US.
    Given Obozo’s communist past, one wonders if his election was a carefully laid out plan to put a communist toady into the WH so that Russia would have free reign in Europe. Unlike the miniscule attention span of American politicians, Russians think in terms of decades. Thousands of sleeper agents were infiltrated into the US and Canada in preparation for just such an event. Regardless of the history of Obozo’s rise to far past his level of incompetence, the US is currently a corrupt kleptocracy run by plutocrats and banksters which is totally bankrupt and likely many countries are looking towards a new world war to erase their debts in the chaos.
    What I would predict is that Putin will likely move into eastern Ukraine given the large Russian populations there. The moves against the Baltic republics are likely a feint. The only question is whether the Russians will want to also grab Kyiv as there are major military manufacturing facilities in that area. I suspect that Putin will leave Western Ukraine alone as this is the heartland of Ukrainian nationalism and this would be an area where guerrilla warfare would be the most intense should the Russians invade.
    The Russian propaganda war is currently very interesting and it is straight out of the 1930’s German propaganda playbook. This is probably deliberate as the “Great Patriotic War” has vast emotional significance to most Russians who are still under the delusion that they alone won against Germany. Whether or not a massive war with the ability of every person with a cell phone to shoot video of the action will last long is a good question.
    At this point I would suspect that the majority of thinking Americans are totally against any foreign adventures as the majority of the population have no faith in politicians. While Dystopian Optomist may have meant his comment in jest, there is a very sizable portion of the US population who are ready to string up Obozo and his kleptocrat friends given the opportunity. IMHO, the US is now far more divided internally than it was at the height of the Vietnam war protests and I predict we’ll see seemingly illogical coalitions of Libertarians, Conservatives and typical anti-war types should Obozo decide to respond militarily. Putin’s nightmares are probably of Obozo being assassinated and a real leader taking his place in the US.

  32. “Israel is screwed”
    You may be true, and have a point, but this is all playing out according to plan. Hooks in the jaw.

  33. “Obozo has also surrounded himself by fourth rate intellects…”
    Well, yes. One of the key aspects of what’s happened over the past two decades or so is the systematic hollowing out of the professional bureaucracies. Where state departments used to be staffed by older, long term professionals, what you see in Washington now is a lot of 30-somethings. Kids who went to the right schools, kissed the right asses. Little or no real world experience, including countries on which they hold the working files. And so you have weak leadership surrounded by sycophants because of the systematic demolition of the professional bureaucracy and its remorseless politicization.
    Make no mistake, this infestation of young nit-wits is present in Canada as well, albeit not quite to the same degree as in Washington. As the republican Romans found out, when you politicize the army, sooner or later the army starts getting involved in politics. Twenty years ago I would have said that a military coup in the US was utterly inconceivable. Now I’m not so certain of that statement.

  34. cgh & Loki;
    Thought provoking comments.
    The Russians and Chinese might be close to an energy deal with gas coming out of Siberia. Construction of such a pipeline and further construction within China to fully utilize that gas would be a monumental project. It would clearly threaten the proposed LNG plants in Rupert. Threaten their actual construction or failing that their profitability.
    As someone pointed out the USA would not tolerate a Cuba with possible offensive strike capability and I suspect the Russians have similar issues with the Ukraine. Especially true of a country that cannot seem to rule itself very well. I am sure that Russian agents have a lot to do with internal politics there.
    IMO the gamble Putin is taking is the serious alienation of his government from western consumers of his primary export, energy. If Euros are not quickly looking for other sources of energy then they are more stupid than I think. The Euros have done little in the past to ensure their own defense.
    It is possible that Putin has done a financial assessment of Europe already and realizes that economic anarchy is inevitable in any event. In the not to distant future the credit worthiness of financial stalwarts of free enterprise in Europe, Japan and the USA will come into serious question. The level of economic activity could deteriorate to a barter system which the Chinese and Russians are using now.

  35. Putin and Sergei know that anything important that Obama has to say will be aired on ‘The View’ first.

  36. One thing that needs to be considered is that Putin isn’t getting any younger. This is his dream, and he wants to see it happen before he is dead.
    Romney is looking pretty fucking good these days.

  37. I think I’ll write a book about Obama vs. Putin. I already have the title: Tall Boy and Little Man.

  38. The Russians don’t need to speak to the Americans.
    Putin knows what Obumbles is doing before Obumbles does.
    Obumbles has more commies working for him than Putin.

  39. Not comforting that all these black clouds are gathering on the 100th anniversary of WW1. All that’s needed is the spark to set off WW3. Obama said he would fundamentally change America, but his incompetence has exceeded his own expectation, he is changing the world.

  40. Very interesting thoughs, CT.
    “It would clearly threaten the proposed LNG plants in Rupert.”
    No kidding. Depending on size and capacity, it could blow the LNG economics out the door. Wouldn’t it be ironic if the US blocking of Keystone and its heavy oil turns out to be largely in the interest of Uncle Vlad? And by having a load of eco-money blocking Northern Gateway? One of the symptoms of terminal decline is the failure or large groups of its citizens to fail to see what is clearly in the nation’s best interests.
    “The Euros have done little in the past to ensure their own defense.”
    Once upon a time, the Euros did a great deal in their own best interest. They built about 150 nuclear reactors to provide between 20 per cent (Germany) and 80 per cent (France) of their electricity, displacing the consumption of millions of tonnes of bunker oil, and billions of cubic feet of gas. Thanks to Germany’s antinuclearism and the utter witlessness of Hollande, they are reversing that policy and increasing their energy dependency which in turn diminishes their capacity to resist whatever Uncle Vlad may suggest.
    The morons in Washington suggest that the US counter this by exporting its huge supposed surplus of shale gas to Europe. The morons in Washington fail to understand that this new gas will only just keep up with declining conventional gas reserves and the US own increasing domestic use.
    “The level of economic activity could deteriorate to a barter system which the Chinese and Russians are using now.”
    Perhaps your most interesting speculation of all. In large part this depends upon the long term financial stability of the EU banking sector and its ability to meet its Basel III requirements. Thus far, the signs are not particularly encouraging. Particularly when coupled with the EU’s anaemic growth of about 1 per cent. Increased capital reserve requirements will thus only be met by withdrawing existing capital from investment, not provided from growth. This means in turn diminished ability to fund things like defence and infrastructure. Since the EU taxpayer is already taxed out…

  42. Don;
    “Two old friends…”
    I do not know how truly friendly these two are. Financially they are both relatively healthy as far as we can determine. The idea that Russia trades more resources to China rather than the EU does not cause me to lose sleep. It might set off alarm bells in Euroland but I suspect those bulbs burnt out many years ago. Only a blip ago the Chinese and Russians actually shot at one another on the Siberian border. I do believe China has unresolved claims there. I doubt they trust Vlad Putin much.
    I watch all this from a Canadian perspective and how Canada might profit. I agree with Harper that Canada’s economic security is based on the energy front. It is so typically Canadian that we currently produce only around 3 million bpd of crude when that number should/could be pushing 8 mil bpd. We allow foreign interference in how this country is ran not just through policy but through subversion of our democratic process as money is given to those who run campaigns. I have stated many times that OPEC, Russia and the USA have a lot to lose if Canada ever gets it’s act together and starts behaving like a real country.
    Credit is due to PMSH who is actually trying.

  43. This shows the utter contempt Russia now has for the USA. More closely its pansy president.
    Obama has not only shown what a foolish coward he is.Including his failure to even anticipate this. The fact his allies are diminishing faster than snow in the Sahara dessert. Should prove just how disgusted the once free World is with this charlatan & his jolly band of court socialist fools.
    Obama would rather be making more sharia law states. We all know it.
    When a dictator shows more of a moral compass than a President of the USA by defending Christians from the depredations of killer Islam. While the other pretends Islam is not committing genocide in that part of the World.In fact sends guns to the very group that attacked America. Obama would not even side with Muslims against the Iranian regime , let alone their nuclear program.

  44. “Russians who are still under the delusion that they alone won against Germany” Loki
    Just like to point out that 75% of Germanys military fought, and lost, on the eastern front. The Western front was a scrimmage in comparison..
    Russia would not have stopped in Berlin, but for the Atomic Bomb that we had dropped on Japan, the second one proving we had the ability to produce enough to destroy Russia. The Russians paid a huge price in blood and they, the people, are resilient.
    It’s always best to respect that your enemy has both strengths & weakness. Obama doesn’t respect Putin and that is a huge mistake. It has been very fortunate, for the EU, that the bear has been sleeping for the last 60 years.
    I am not a fan of Putin, but reality will rule.
    JMHO

  45. I found an interesting article from Christianity Today about Oleksandr Turchynov, acting president of Ukraine. He is a well-known Ukrainian Baptist pastor and honest leader. Sergey Rakhuba, head of U.S.-based Russian Ministries, says, “The evangelical church is excited about Turchynov’s sudden unanimous appointment.” Turchynov says, “Our first task today is to stop the confrontation, to ensure peace and tranquility, to prevent new victims, local rivalries and lynchings. Another priority is returning to European integration.”

  46. Slap Shot, what I meant in my comment was that a huge part of the Russian war effort was supported by the US with the huge tonnage of supplies delivered to Murmansk and other Russian ports. Just started reading a book which dissects the initial years of the German invasion of Russia and the losses of materiel by the Russians were staggering. It took a while for the Russians to get all of the factories they packed up and moved to the Urals to come into operation and that is when US supplies began to reach them.
    Another factor was the Teutonic obsession with perfectionism which resulted in such formidable tanks such as the Tiger whereas the Russians concentrated on mass production having far fewer models, using very simple designs which were designed to be operated by an illiterate half-civilized conscript from the depths of Siberia. Hitler’s rigidity was another factor but in the end he was correct about the economics of war and the Russians just had far more resources and space to retreat to than Germany.
    Of course, the only way we’ll ever sort out these armchair battles is to observe WWII in a different timeline of the multiverse and see if certain events which are viewed as changing the whole outcome of the war really were as important.

  47. “Just like to point out that 75% of Germanys military fought, and lost, on the eastern front. The Western front was a scrimmage in comparison..”
    Except that that western allies were countering Hitler since 1939, while russians were supporting him until 1941. Except that about 99% of all naval engagements took place without Russian involvement. Except that without lead lease they would have likely perished. Except that Germans would have won Kursk had it not been for Hitler calling the offensive off following Sicily landings.
    Oh yeah, then there is also the little matter of war in the Pacific that russians joined after atomic bombs fell on Japan.
    “Russia would not have stopped in Berlin, but for the Atomic Bomb that we had dropped on Japan, the second one proving we had the ability to produce enough to destroy Russia.”
    If they did not wait at the gates of Warsaw in the summer of 1944 for two months waiting for Poles to bleed out they would have likely won the race to Rhine…

  48. Largely true, Loki but only in part. Tankers who actually used the Tiger called it the “Furniture Truck”. Generally they regarded it as inferior to the Panther which was a deliberate copy of the Soviet T-34. The T-34 is generally recogized as the best built tank of the entire war, and certainly far better than the crapulous Shermans which were the mainstay of the Allied armies. The Brits nicknamed them “Tommy-burners” because of the propensity of their gasoline engines to blow up and kill the entire crew.
    As for Colonista,
    “Except that that western allies were countering Hitler since 1939…”
    And with a virtually unscathed record of non-stop defeats until Hitler invaded the USSR. The first significant defeat suffered by the Wehrmacht was Moscow in December 1941, and the second was Stalingrad in December 1942.
    “If they did not wait at the gates of Warsaw in the summer of 1944 for two months…”
    The Soviet army was completely drained after more than 18 months of non-stop advances and battles across the whole of Ukraine and Belarus. They needed at least a season’s halt to bring millions of tons of supplies across thousands of miles of shot-up roads, destroyed bridges and torn up railways. In late 1944, that Soviet army wasn’t going anywhere.
    “Oh yeah, then there is also the little matter of war in the Pacific that russians joined after atomic bombs fell on Japan”
    The Soviet invasion of Manchuria and its timing was agreed to at the Teheran Conference in December 1943.
    “Except that without lead lease they would have likely perished.”
    We hear this a lot. It’s worth remembering that the Western Allies supplied the USSR with much less than one per cent of its tanks and aircraft The one truly significant commodity the Allies supplied the Soviets with was trucks. About 15 per cent of the trucks in the Red Army were Allied supplied.

  50. “Generally they regarded it as inferior to the Panther which was a deliberate copy of the Soviet T-34. “
    Myth number 1, the only design feature of T-34 incorporated into Panther was the sloped frontal plate, apart for this it was a completely different tank. Coincidently, soviets were not the first to put sloped armour on the tank.
    “The T-34 is generally recogized as the best built tank of the entire war, “
    Myth number 2. T-34 was the best designed tank in 1941 and even then it was full of shortcomings. It was not until T-34/85 that the poorly designed turret was reworked to accommodate three crew members. Optics were very poor, engines had very short life expectancy, turret rotating mechanism was also poorly designed. Finally the manufacturing quality was very poor especially after Barbarrosa, the weld quality was pathetic and often high angle glancing shots lead to entire plates falling off. By 1945 T-34 was obsolete and updates were not keeping up with the requirements.
    “and certainly far better than the crapulous Shermans which were the mainstay of the Allied armies. “
    Myth number 3. Even if we ignore the fact that lean leased Shemans were typically employed with soviet guard units, and that in practically every major post war engagement where T-34 and Shermans met on opposite sides Shermans won. Sherman had several technological advances that russians could not dream about. It had a gun stabilizer that allowed it fire on the move much better than any other tank in the world. It fired a more efficient and better designed HE round that any round in the world of similar caliber. It had extremely high rate of fire. Optics were much better. Turret rotation was faster and much more precise. Unlike T-34, every Sherman had a three man turret.
    And unlike T-34 where only the turret and gun received upgrades, Sherman was constantly upgraded. gun, suspension, turret armour plating etc etc etc.
    “The Brits nicknamed them “Tommy-burners” because of the propensity of their gasoline engines to blow up and kill the entire crew.”
    Funny thing is, when Brits received early Shermans they were in tears because finally they had a tank in which they could match Germans. It was called Ronson and other silly things only after Kasserine Pass when green US units met German elites. Americans immediately took steps to alleviate the cooking of ammo problems and wet stowage was introduced. Gas engines were more likely to burn but the fire was much easier to put out than diesel. It was a conscious decision by Americans to continue using gas engines even though diesels powered Shermans were available and widely used by USMC in the Pacific and on lend leased by soviets tanks.
    “And with a virtually unscathed record of non-stop defeats until Hitler invaded the USSR. “
    Really? I seem to recall a little event called Battle of Britain. I seem to recall a certain lengthy engagement called Battle of Atlantic. Finally, there was a guy named O’Connor who had something to do with places like Bardia, Tobruk, Beda Fomm? Operation Compass rigns a bell? Do German allies count?
    “The first significant defeat suffered by the Wehrmacht was Moscow in December 1941, and the second was Stalingrad in December 1942.”
    Right, have you heard of a place called El Alamein maybe?
    “The Soviet army was completely drained after more than 18 months of non-stop advances and battles across the whole of Ukraine and Belarus.”
    Ugh what 18 months of advances? They had plenty of reserves in the summer of 1944 when Bargation was launched. Then Rokossovsky crashed Army Group Center and stalled instead of following the punch, they had plenty of reserves, it was Germans that have suffered incredibly in that summer and were completely disorganized.
    “The Soviet invasion of Manchuria and its timing was agreed to at the Teheran Conference in December 1943.”
    This does not contradict my statement that the war in the Pacific theater happened without soviets lifting a finger.
    “We hear this a lot. “
    Because it is true, your numbers on the other side are not.
    “It’s worth remembering that the Western Allies supplied the USSR with much less than one per cent of its tanks and aircraft “
    Really? About 23 thousand of armpured vehicles were supplied to soviets under leand lease. So that would make the total number of soviet tanks what 23 millions? You sure about that “less than one per cent”?
    “The one truly significant commodity the Allies supplied the Soviets with was trucks. About 15 per cent of the trucks in the Red Army were Allied supplied.”
    US alone supplied in excess of half a million trucks to soviets. In fact by 1945 about two thirds of all Red Army trucks were foreign produced mainly US. And they were much better than soviet trucks.
    Leand lease deliveries amounted to about 15% soviet aircraft production during the war. More than half of avation fuel, about 80% of railroad cars, about 80% or locomotives, a third of explosives, 30% of tires
    Then add raw materials like aluminum, copper, add telephone cable, railroad rails, cans of food all that was crucial.

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