The USSR in the ‘Great Patriotic War’

Abstract

Germany conquered an area containing 40 per cent of the USSR’s population, 60 per cent of Soviet arms production, 63 per cent of its coal, 60 per cent of its pigs. Little had been done to plan for relocation, on the grounds that it was ‘defeatist’ so evacuation had to be improvised. The railway network was inadequate for the task, and the pace of the German advance too rapid to allow it to be done fully. However, one eighth of the productive capacity of the western provinces was moved, and this made the difference for Soviet survival. The priorities were arms production, iron and steel: 17 of the 64 steelworks in the Donets region were evacuated, with their workforces. It was chaotic, and machinery was piled by the side of the railways in unprepared sites in the Urals, but Soviet arms production began to surpass that of Germany by the end of 1941. The margins remained very tight during 1942, when further vital areas were over-run. The small amounts coming in through Lend-Lease at that time were therefore important. The focus was ruthlessly on arms production. Consumer needs were ignored.