Have you looked at Viktor Suvorov’s book, “The Chief Culprit”? I finished reading it a couple months ago and it was a real head trip. If even half of it is true, much of what I was taught about World War II is wrong. For example, he asserts that Stalin ordered the German Communists to ally with the Nazis to bring Hitler to power, knowing that they would be eliminated after the Nazis won. Another of his assertions was that Stalin was preparing to invade Western Europe after helping to eliminate a large army between him and the Germans. Either of these assertions would shake my understanding of the war.
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No, but just based on your comment, I will buy it and read it. It sounds like a realistic description of events, even though it would have been impossible for anyone to know Stalin’s mind. It is known that he intended to attack Germany when he was good and ready. Hitler made a case for ‘Lebensraum’, that is, eastward expansion, in mein Kampf, so the real surprise was the non-aggression pact of 1939. A struggle to the death was practically unavoidable, given who we are discussing. I will want to comment further after reading the book. Thank you for the clue.
If you want a quick look, go to chapter 7 for how Hitler came to power. Then page 94 for details on Stalin’s purges. The rest of book contains details about the Winter War, Germany’s many glass jaws, and how the Red Army was forward deployed for invasion, and became easy targets when Germany invaded first. He loves Russian tanks, but I would defer to the Chieftain for those technical arguments. Thanks!