In terms of its relationship with the Soviet Union, lend-lease served as a powerful tool for demonstrating the benefits of the . [55] This constituted some 23% of the total aid to the USSR during the war. And now they are saying that we had plenty of everything on our own.". American deliveries to the Soviet Union can be divided into the following phases: Delivery was via the Arctic Convoys, the Persian Corridor, and the Pacific Route. [56] Nevertheless, some 8,244,000 tons of goods went by this route, 50% of the total. [38] With the outbreak of war these plants switched from civilian to military production and locomotive production ended virtually overnight. In a secret protocol of this pact, the Germans and the Soviets agreed that Poland should be divided between them, with the western third of the country going to Germany and the eastern two-thirds being taken over by the U.S.S.R. Popular Questions What was the cause of World War II? As the war continued, however, the United States and Great Britain provided many of the implements of war and strategic raw materials necessary for Soviet victory. The political fog of the Cold War often marred the truth about the vehicles received. The sole modern heavy bomber the USSR had was the Petlyakov Pe-8, and it only had 27 of them at the start of the war, with fewer than 100 produced until 1945. How important was Lend-Lease for the Soviet war effort? Courses on the British tanks for Soviet crews started during November as the first tanks, with British assistance, were being assembled from their in-transit states and undergoing testing by Soviet specialists. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. [12] The aim of the British Technical and Scientific Mission was to obtain the industrial resources to exploit the military potential of the research and development work completed by the UK up to the beginning of World War II, but that Britain itself could not exploit due to the immediate requirements of war-related production. Even Joseph Stalin himself would say that the lend-lease was . In addition, almost half of all the rails used by the Soviet Union during the war came through Lend-Lease. "I want to tell you what, from the Russian point of view, the president and the United States have done for victory in this war," Stalin said. The Soviet debt for Lend-Lease supplies was finally paid and closed as part of the settlements with the Paris Club on August 21, 2006. Supply volumes and the significance of lend-lease. Most went to Britain, but the Soviet Union received more than $11 billion. WWII lend-lease: was the US aid that helpful? (I) ", In practice, very little was returned except for a few unarmed transport ships. A total of 22,800 armored vehicles were delivered to the Red Army during World War II, of which 1,981 were lost in dangerous Arctic convoys. Campbell, Thomas M. and George C. Herring, eds. Particularly important for the Soviets in late 1941 were British-supplied tanks and aircraft. [65], Warsaw 1945: Willys jeep used by the Polish First Army as part of U.S. Lend-Lease program. Answer (1 of 14): Lend Lease was pretty much strategic charity. Materials totalling $. From the depths of the Cold War to the present day, many Soviet and Russian politicians have ignored or downplayed the impact of American assistance to the Soviets, as well as the impact of the entire U.S.-British war against the Nazis. Lend-Lease started in March 1941, providing for military aid to any country whose defense was considered vital to the security of the U.S. [citation needed]. [45], Joseph Stalin, during the Tehran Conference during 1943, acknowledged publicly the importance of American efforts during a dinner at the conference: "Without American machines the United Nations could never have won the war."[46][47]. For comparison, a total of 22 million tons landed in Europe to supply American forces from January 1942 to May 1945. Deane, John R. 1947. While in April 1944 Congress were briefed by the Foreign Economic Administrator, Leo T Crowley; Just as the RAF's operations against Germany and the invasion coasts would not have been possible on their present scale without lend-lease so the United States Eighth and Ninth air forces daylight missions from Britain would not have been possible without reverse lend-lease. How important was the US lend-lease? The British Eighth Army under Gen. Bernard Law Montgomery employed U.S. planes, guns and tanks when they whipped Rommel's Afrika Korps at El Alamein. Surplus military equipment was of no value in peacetime. At the end of November 1941, only 670 Soviet tanks were available to defend Moscowthat is, in the recently formed Kalinin, Western, and Southwestern Fronts. The British Military Mission to Moscow noted that by December 9, about ninety British tanks had already been in action with Soviet forces. Could we really have set up the production of our tanks without American steel? Part of the bill required the British to open their empire to trade. | AHA", "Lend-Lease and Military Aid to the Allies in the Early Years of World, The United States at war; development and administration of the war program by the federal government, Sea routes of Soviet Lend-Lease:Voice of Russia, "$220 Million in Gold Bullion was Recovered from HMS Edinburgh", "Report to Congress on Reverse Lend-Lease", "Chapter XIV: The United States and Canada: Copartners in Defense. The convoy was the first of many convoys to Murmansk and Archangelsk in what became known as the Arctic convoys, the returning ships carried the gold that the USSR was using to pay the US. The Senate passed it by a vote of 63 to 1. World War II | Facts, Summary, History, Dates, Combatants, & Causes And it is a salient point that over 80% of the aid was received after June 1942, when the tide of the war had already turned against the Germans on the Eastern Front. Trucks such as the Dodge '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-0000003F-QINU`"'34-ton and Studebaker 2+12-ton were easily the best trucks available in their class on either side on the Eastern Front. Robert Coalson is a senior correspondent for RFE/RLwho covers Russia, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe. re: In hindsight was it a mistake for the US to ally with the Soviet Union during WW2. 28, 30, 31, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHardesty1991 (, Soviet Supply Protocols. In April, this policy was extended to China,[20] and in October to the Soviet Union. Tens of thousands of agricultural machines, such as tractors and threshers, were destroyed or captured. Even before the United States entered World War II in December 1941, America sent arms and equipment to the Soviet Union to help it defeat the Nazi invasion. The aid was given for free on the basis that such help was essential for the defense of the United States. [6], In 1939 howeveras Germany, Japan, and Italy pursued aggressive, militaristic policiesPresident Roosevelt wanted more flexibility to help contain Axis aggression. The terms of the agreement provided that the materiel was to be used until returned or destroyed. After this final payment, Britain's Economic Secretary to the Treasury formally issued thanks to the U.S. for its wartime support. And how much steel! Extrapolating from available statistics, researchers estimate that British-supplied tanks made up 30 to 40 percent of the entire heavy and medium tank strength of Soviet forces before Moscow at the beginning of December 1941, and certainly made up a significant proportion of tanks available as reinforcements at this critical point in the fighting. Rather, Lend-Lease was designed to serve America's interest in defeating Nazi Germany without entering the war until the American military and public was prepared to fight. Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union officially ended in September 1945. (German Language). No one talks about this officially, and Stalin never, I think, left any written traces of his opinion, but I can say that he expressed this view several times in conversations with me.". WWII program to provide U.S. allies with free armaments, This article is about the World War II program. In the case of the Soviet Union, this residual civilian-type lend-lease was valued by the United States at $2.6 billion (out of total lend-lease to the Soviet Union of $10.8 billion). [81], While repayment of the interest-free loans was required after the end of the war under the act, in practice the U.S. did not expect to be repaid by the USSR after the war. ): Deutschland im Zweiten Weltkrieg. The Lend-Lease program also provided more than 35,000 radio sets and 32,000 motorcycles. In all, the United States shipped $50 billion ($608 billion in 2020 money) worth of materiel under the program, including $11.3 billion to the Soviet Union. I was recently able to examine Russian-language materials of the State Defense Committeethe Soviet equivalent of the British War Cabinetheld in the former Central Party Archive. Perhaps most directly, without Lend-Lease trucks, rail engines, and railroad cars, every Soviet offensive would have stalled at an earlier stage, outrunning its logistical tail in a matter of days. HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 25,000 articles originally published in our nine magazines. [34], Lend-Lease contributed to the Allied victory. The Allies and the Role of Lend-Lease in WWII: The Russian View Britain also supplied extensive material assistance to American forces stationed in Europe, for example the USAAF was supplied with hundreds of Spitfire Mk V and Mk VIII fighter aircraft. The tanks reached the front lines with extraordinary speed. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein. In a November 1943 report to Congress, President Roosevelt said of Allied participation in reverse Lend-lease: the expenditures made by the British Commonwealth of Nations for reverse lend-lease aid furnished to the United States, and of the expansion of this program so as to include exports of materials and foodstuffs for the account of United States agencies from the United Kingdom and the British colonies, emphasizes the contribution which the British Commonwealth has made to the defense of the United States while taking its place on the battle fronts. 4, 48/Maslov MA Bomber PE-8. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1982, Bd. The Warplanes to Siberia Project | Historical Spotlight | News | Wargaming Materiel delivered under the act was supplied at no cost, to be used until returned or destroyed. History is who we are and why we are the way we are.. Some 3,964,000 tons of goods were shipped by the Arctic route; 7% was lost, while 93% arrived safely. [82] In June 1942, SSPort Nicholson was sunk en route from Halifax to New York, allegedly with Soviet platinum, gold, and diamonds aboard; the wreck was discovered in 2008. Totaling $11.3 billion, or $180 billion in today's currency, the Lend-Lease Act of the United States supplied needed goods to the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1945 in support of what Stalin described to Roosevelt as the "enormous and difficult fight against the common enemy bloodthirsty Hitlerism." Lend-Lease was the most visible sign of wartime cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union. Only 22% were unequivocally against the President's proposal. In April 1945, Congress voted that it should not be used for post-conflict purposes, and in August 1945, after Japan surrendered, the program was ended. The museum was established inside a former school and has been open for 8 years. Large quantities of undelivered goods were in Britain or in transit when Lend-Lease terminated on September 2, 1945. Thus, Stalin told Harry Hopkins [FDR's emissary to Moscow in July 1941] that the U.S.S.R. could not match Germany's might as an occupier of Europe and its resources.[35]. Lend Lease came as a response to the Axis Powers' violence and showed that America was committed to defending their nation and its . 3, S. 468. Although British shipments amounted to only a few percent of Soviet domestic production of machine tools, the Soviet Union could request specific items which it may not have been able to produce for itself. "[17], Opposition to the Lend-Lease bill was strongest among isolationist Republicans in Congress, who feared the measure would be "the longest single step this nation has yet taken toward direct involvement in the war abroad". [33], The program was gradually terminated after V-E Day. The United States, the Soviet Union, and the End of World War II From 1941 to 1945, total lend-lease aid to the Soviet Union accounted for only 5% of the Soviet GDP in total. Lend Lease Acts - Lend Lease Lend Lease: A Transformation of - Studocu The plan proposed by FDR was to "lend-lease or otherwise dispose of arms" and other supplies needed by any country whose security was vital to the defense of the United States. President Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease bill into law on March 11, 1941. In fact our armed forces in Britain, ground as well as air, receive as reverse lend-lease, with no payment by us, one third of all the supplies and equipment they currently require, Britain furnishes 90% of their medical supplies and in spite of her food shortage, 20% of their food.[78]. Reverse Lend-Lease to the United States totalled $7.8 billion. use.' On the negative side, however, it must be recorded that actual "Without Lend-Lease, the Red Army would not have had about one-third of its ammunition, half of its aircraft, or half of its tanks. 5,218 tanks (including 1,380 Valentines from Canada), 323 machinery trucks (mobile vehicle workshops equipped with generators and all the welding and power tools required to perform heavy servicing), 1.15bn ($1.55bn) worth of aircraft engines, Allen, R. G. D. "Mutual Aid Between the U.S. and The British Empire, 1941-45". Of this, $6.8 billion came from the British and the Commonwealth. 'We Would Have Lost': Did U.S. Lend-Lease Aid Tip The Balance In Soviet How Much of What Goods Have We Sent to Which Allies? More than 20,000 Katyusha mobile multiple-rocket launchers were mounted on the chassis of American Studebaker trucks. American contributions of the time were far fewer. Lend-Lease: Aircraft to the Soviet Union > National Museum of the Ukraine is a founding member of the United Nations and it is also a member of the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization, and the OSCE. [3] In terms of administration, the president established the Office of Lend-Lease Administration during 1941, headed by steel executive Edward R. The United States and Soviet Union secretly ferried thousands of warplanes from Great . Lend-Lease Act - Conservapedia Roosevelt made sure that Lend-Lease policies were supportive of his foreign policy goals by putting his top aide Harry Hopkins in effective control of the program. The captain, two crew members, and six passengers had left earlier in an ill-fated effort to get help. Once again, raw figures do not tell the whole story. [60], Roughly 17.5million tons of military equipment, vehicles, industrial supplies, and food were shipped from the Western Hemisphere to the USSR, 94% coming from the US. Marshall Plan Countries. After the German assault on Russia in June 1941, the defenders got aid with this system through war material, food, fuel and other important raw materials. The railroads would have periodically come to a halt. The Lend-Lease act was enacted in March 1941 and authorized the United States to provide weapons, provisions, and raw materials to strategically important countries fighting Germany and Japan primarily, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China. The cooperation that was built up with Canada during the war was an amalgam compounded of diverse elements of which the air and land routes to Alaska, the Canol project, and the CRYSTAL and CRIMSON activities were the most costly in point of effort and funds expended. LEND LEASE. The pact was terminated when Germany launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union. In spring 1944, the House passed a bill to renew the Lend-Lease program by a vote of 334 to 21. American shipments of telephone cable, aluminum, canned rations and clothing were also critical. By the end of 1942, the Nazi advance into the Soviet Union had stalled; it was finally reversed at the epic battle of Stalingrad in 1943. ", Nikolai Ryzhkov, the last head of the government of the Soviet Union, wrote in 2015 that "it can be confidently stated that [Lend-Lease assistance] did not play a decisive role in the Great Victory.". One of the greatest differences with prior wars was the enormous increase in the mobility of armies. While the Matilda Mk II and Valentine tanks supplied by the British were certainly inferior to the Soviets homegrown T-34 and KV-1, it is important to note that Soviet production of the T-34 (and to a lesser extent the KV series), was only just getting seriously underway in 1942, and Soviet production was well below plan targets. Evolucin de los . Nikita Khrushchev offered the same opinion. World War II Allies: U.S. Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union, 1941-1945 The Arctic route was the shortest and most direct route for lend-lease aid to the USSR, though it was also the most dangerous as it involved sailing past German-occupied Norway. Report from Mikoyan to Stalin and Molotov regarding Lend-Lease I will quote at length: Totaling $11.3 billion, or $180 billion in today's currency, the Lend-Lease Act of the United States supplied needed goods to the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1945 in support of what Stalin described to Roosevelt as the "enormous and difficult fight against the common enemy bloodthirsty Hitlerism." 400,000 jeeps & trucks; 14,000 airplanes The most comprehensive and authoritative history site on the Internet. . Our Fortresses and Liberators take off from huge air bases built, equipped and serviced under reverse lend-lease at a cost to them of hundreds of millions of dollars. The 136th Independent Tank Battalion was combined with the latter to produce a tank group of only twenty-one tanks, which was to operate with the two ski battalions against German forces advancing to the west of Moscow in early December. . The programme began to increase in scale during 1943. During early February 1941, a Gallup poll revealed that 54% of Americans were in favor of giving aid to the British without qualifications of Lend-Lease. 4, 48. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act on March 11, 1941. Lend-Lease - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org In a few paragraphs the Wiki page shows the importance of the deliveries. Without Lend-Lease food, clothing, and raw materials (especially metals), the Soviet economy would have been even more heavily burdened by the war effort. [18], The vote in the Senate, which occurred on 9 March, revealed a similar partisan difference: 49 Democrats (79 percent) voted "aye" with only 13 Democrats (21 percent) voting "nay". 1. Originally, the American policy was to help the British but not join the war. $31 billion went to Britain, $11 billion to the Soviet Union, $3 billion to France, and $1.6 billion to China. "It was not just some piece of scrap metal. aid from Britain can be argued to have had the most significant impact. In 194546, the value of Reciprocal Aid from New Zealand exceeded that of Lend-Lease, though in 194243, the value of Lend-Lease to New Zealand was much more than that of Reciprocal Aid. At a time when Soviet industry was in disarraymany of their industrial plants were destroyed or captured by the advancing Nazi troops or in the process of evacuation eastbattlefield losses of specific equipment approached or even exceeded the rate at which Soviet domestic production could replace them during this crucial period. The dispute remained unresolved until 1972, when the U.S. accepted an offer from the USSR to repay $722 million linked to grain shipments from the U.S., representing 25% of the initial debt with inflation taken into account, with the remainder being written off. Mystery surrounds the infamous burning of the Reichstag in 1933. Each method was difficult. Lend-lease | Facts & Definition | Britannica British Matilda tanks are loaded onto a ship for transportation to the U.S.S.R. as part of the Lend-Lease program. This particular C-47 was sent to the Far North and spent the war conducting reconnaissance and weather-monitoring missions over the Kara Sea. Much of the meaning of Lend-Lease aid can be better understood when considering the innovative nature of World War II, as well as the economic distortions caused by the war. Roosevelt approved $1billion in Lend-Lease aid to Britain at the end of October 1941. So the Soviets were charged 10 cents on the dollar of actual cost. On February 24, 1943, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft with serial number 42-32892 rolled out of a factory in Long Beach, California, and was handed over to the U.S. Air Force. Congress did not allow the aid to be free, so the U.S. discounted it's Lend-Lease supplies by 90 percent of costs. This act set up a system that would allow the United States to lend or lease war supplies to any nation deemed "vital to the defense of the United States." .
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