My greetings , gentlemens.
I am glad that some of you presented the interesting information. Thanks for the Dani , Firefly and of couse Lancer.
Certainly lend-lease played enormous role at the Eastern front. It is difficult to overestimate its value.I want you all to certify that now no one and Russia rejects the value of a large quantity of war materials, products , weapon and industrial equipment which it entered in THE USSR during WW2.
But I want to note you some wrong stereotypes appeared during the Cold War.
Recently I read book of Secretary of State of administration Roosevelt - Edward Stettinius “Lend-Lease: Weapon For Victory” (New York: Macmillan Co.; 1944 , Russian source http://militera.lib.ru/memo/usa/stettinius ). This man was the chief of “Administration for the Observance of lend-lease Act”.
He better than others knew about lend Lees. Also his book by the fact that it was interesting written prior to the beginning of the Cold War therefore it contains most objective data.
I learned much interesting from this book.For example to what contrivances came running Roosevelt in order to overcome resistance “isolationists”.
The first military goods on Lend Lees arrived to Murmansk only at the end 1941 when the Red Army it stopped Germans near Moscow and Leningrad. During this period of lend Lees had more psychological value. This is what writes Stettinius
"Rolle the deliveries of the armaments of the Red Army for lend-lease during is combat with Germany in 1941 difficult to estimate correctly. If we speak about the shortage in Russia of concrete military materials and technology as trucks or telephones, then lend-lease played here important role. But as a whole the volume of the military materials set by us is not too great
Since 1942 quantities of deliveries on lend to Lees gradually increase from the beginning and reaches its apogee in 1943 - 1944 i.e. after the Red Army it finally proved its force for America.
I think to absolutely erroneously assert that lend Lees the “Save THE USSR from the defeat”. But unconditionally, Lend Lees played enormous role in the strategic offensive operations of the Red Army 1943-45 yr.
Whom is actual lend Lees Saved from the complete defeat - this Great Britain.
Stettinius write
The British Commonwealth (of about 63%) and the Soviet Union (of about 22%) were the main recipients of this aid, although toward the end of the war more than forty countries obtained aid on the lend-lease…
i.e. Britain obtained three times of more the aid than OF THE USSR. Although the Red Army bore on itself incomparably large role in the fight with the Germans (before Normandy) than the Armed Forces of the Kingdom. He wrote also
…by the “main” contribution to the defense OF THE USA ", made England, Soviet Union, China and other countries, appeared, of course, their war with the countries of axis, and this most important, that our country obtained in response to the aid on the lend-lease. In the report to the congress on 25 January, 1943, I emphasized: "this aid cannot be measured in the numbers. There does not exist the standard estimations, with the aid of which, for example, it would be possible to compare thousands of killed Russian soldiers and thousands of destroyers. All, who perished in the fields of battles in England, China, Russia, in Africa and Asia, fell, protecting its native land. But these peoples warred and war with our general enemy. Their victims save the lives of Americans ".
Thus helping THE USSR and England Americans they protected, first of all, its interests
Achieving a program lend-lease America thought, first of all, about its own safety and… profit "
… The program of lend-lease gave a noticeable impetus to the development of the production of armaments in America. Besides the indirect impact on the expansion of American defense industry of hundreds of millions of dollars according to the program of lend-lease even to Pearl Harbor were inserted in the new plants, the factories, shipyards and other objects, which played big enough role in the development of our productive strengths these investments, only to 900 million dollars, they were inserted in economy 34 of 48 our states, and their sums varied from 142 million dollars to the military plants in Michigan to 14 000 to the production of dry milk in North Dakota. These means dispatch in reconstruction of civil enterprises… into the servicemen… New plants in full or in part financed also due to the program of lend-lease, and the production of armaments for our army and our allies made it possible with the interest to redeem expenditures for their building. To the lend-lees means were built the docks, piers, floating cranes in the American ports… Because of they was succeeded in creating the system of military storages and commodity stations from the coast to the coast…
To the realization of all of the program of lend-lees were begun to operate only 13% of economic possibilities USA (for THE USSR it was reached about 1/5 from 13%); therefore erroneously to speak that America “strongly strained itself”.
Lend Lees was sufficiently advantageous transaction for USA, but at the same time he was very advantageous to Britain and THE USSR because deliveries were on credit and not for the payment immediately. As a result of American war aid, Britain was deprived of all its naval bases on the the Pacific (that it decided beforehand the sunset of the Britain empire) and USSR (Russia), until now, it must about 600 million dollars for lend lees.
The role of lend lees in WW2 best described Stalin at the Yalta conference. He said that, in his opinion… lend-lease - this is the remarkable invention, without which the victory would be different. It added that in the preceded wars some states rendered aid to their allies, but it only insult of those, who obtained subsidies, and were created financial difficulties. Lend-lease did not give birth to a similar evil. And he again emphasized that, in his opinion, the lend-lease made an extraordinary contribution to the victory
The meat is very salty and not all that pleasant, but if I were starving, I’m sure it would taste like black-Angus, well, maybe not quite…