The Soviets lost a substantial number of draft and farm animals as they were not able to relocate all the animals in an area before it was captured and of those areas in which the Axis forces would occupy, the Soviets had lost 7 million of out of 11.6 million horses, 17 million out of 31 million cows, 20 million of 23.6 million pigs and 27 million out of 43 million sheep and goats. 31, enacted March 11, 1941), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, France, China, and other Allied nations with food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and 1945. James Phinney Baxter III (Official Historian of the Office of Scientific Research and Development), Wolfgang Schumann (et al. Check out A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn on Amazon https://amzn.to/3lS8oVMLike & Subscribe for Daily US H. The Persian Corridor was the longest route, and was not fully operational until mid-1942. 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. ", 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.". Crowley, Leo T. "Lend Lease" in Walter Yust, ed. 4, 48/Maslov MA Bomber PE-8. Lend-Lease: How the US Kept the Soviets Afloat in World War II The American lend and lease system was introduced in the beginning of the war to support Great Britain in their struggle with Germany. How Much of What Goods Have We Sent to Which Allies? | AHA - Historians 19329 posts. (German Language). Roosevelt approved $1billion in Lend-Lease aid to Britain at the end of October 1941. Painting of Lend-Lease tanks and equipment - Axis History Forum But Was He Drugged Into Confessing. On December 7, 1940, its Prime Minister Winston Churchill pressed President Roosevelt in a 15-page letter for American help. And though rapid increases in tank firepower would soon render the 40mm two-pounder main gun of the Matilda and Valentine suitable for use on light tanks only, the armor protection of these British models put them firmly in the heavy and medium categories, respectively. A particular critical aspect of Lend-Lease was the supply of food. For travel to the United States on a temporary basis, including tourism, temporary employment, study and exchange. [35] 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. Roosevelt's Soviet Protocol Committee was dominated by Harry Hopkins and General John York, who were totally sympathetic to the provision of "unconditional aid". Soviet authorities recognized that the Great Patriotic War gave the Communist Party a claim to legitimacy that went far beyond Marxism-Leninism or the 1917 Revolution, and took pains to portray their nations victories in World War II as single-handed. Congress did not allow the aid to be free, so the U.S. discounted it's Lend-Lease supplies by 90 percent of costs. Canada operated a program similar to Lend-Lease called Mutual Aid that sent a loan of Can$1billion (equivalent to Can$15.4billion in 2021)[30] and Can$3.4billion (Can$52.3billion) in supplies and services to Britain and other Allies.[31][5]. [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. Known today as Lend-Lease. As one Roosevelt biographer has characterized it: "If there was no practical alternative, there was certainly no moral one either. The United States and the British Commonwealth provided 55 percent of all the aluminum the Soviet Union used during the war and more than 80 percent of the copper. 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. [8] The Two-Ocean Navy Act of July 1940 set in motion a rapid expansion of the United States Navy. The lend/lease military aid program, and the Matilda's role in it, was hardly decisive to the Soviet Union's subsequent victories on the Eastern or Western front. The United States is a country of machines. Photo: Museum of the U.S. Air Force (Courtesy Photo). Canada was not a direct recipient of Lend-Lease aid. Lend-Lease Helped Win World War II, But Not On The Eastern Front The evidence is here. But it cannot be denied that the Americans sent us materiel without which we could not have formed our reserves or continued the war. [79], Congress had not authorized the gift of supplies delivered after the cutoff date, so the U.S. charged for them, usually at a 90% discount. Lend-Lease Act of 1941: Facts, Summary, and Significance [6], In 1939 howeveras Germany, Japan, and Italy pursued aggressive, militaristic policiesPresident Roosevelt wanted more flexibility to help contain Axis aggression. By spring and summer of 1942 the Hurricane had clearly become the principal fighter aircraft of the Northern Fleets air regiments; in all, 83 out of its 109 fighters were of foreign origin. [citation needed] The USSR had only a very small number of heavy bombers in comparison. I recently heard someone claim that the Soviet Union would have been unable to survive Operation Barbarossa and subsequent German offensives without the vast amount of supplies they received from the Allies under the Lend-Lease 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). Mentions of Lend-Lease in memoirs were always accompanied by disparagement of the quality of the weapons supplied, with American and British tanks and planes invariably portrayed as vastly inferior to comparable Soviet models. Similarly, the Soviet Union repaid $722 million in 1971, with the remainder of the debt written off. [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. Both were superior to all but the Soviet KV-1 and T-34 in armor, and indeed even their much maligned winter cross-country performance was comparable to most Soviet tanks excluding the KV-1 and T-34. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. It was a decisive step away from non-interventionist policy and toward open support for the Allies. Many of our pilots fly Spitfires built in England, many more are flying American fighter planes powered by British Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, turned over to us by the British. The passage of the 1939 amendment to the previous Neutrality Acts marked the beginning of a congressional shift away from isolationism, making a first step toward interventionism. The munitions totaled 308m (not including naval munitions supplied), the food and raw materials totaled 120m in 1946 index. American shipments of telephone cable, aluminum, canned rations and clothing were also critical. And how much steel! He stated bluntly that if the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war. In January 1941, following up on his campaign pledge and the prime minister's appeal for arms, Roosevelt proposed to Congress a new military aid bill. Collection. Before becoming secretary of commerce in the Truman administration, he had served in two crucial posts during World War II, as Lend-Lease representative in Britain and then as U.S. ambassador to Moscow. While much of the documentary evidence remains classified secret in the Central Archives of the Ministry of Defense and the Russian State Archive of the Economy, Western and Russian researchers have been able to gain access to important, previously unavailable firsthand documents. How important was the Lend Lease Act to the Soviet Union? 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 agreement was that all temporary construction for the use of American forces and all permanent construction required by the United States forces beyond Canadian requirements would be paid for by the United States, and that the cost of all other construction of permanent value would be met by Canada. Almost all European nations outside the Soviet bloc were members of the plan from the beginning. A total of $50.1 billion (equivalent to $719billion in 2021) worth of supplies was shipped, or 17% of the total war expenditures of the U.S.[2] In all, $31.4 billion went to the United Kingdom, $11.3 billion to the Soviet Union, $3.2 billion to France, $1.6 billion to China, and the remaining $2.6 billion to other Allies. [36] Most belligerent powers severely decreased production of non-essentials, concentrating on producing weapons. billion (about $ billion in prices ) were sent to several dozen recipient countries, including the main ones: Only 205 of these tanks were heavy or medium types, and most of their strength was concentrated in the Western Front, with the Kalinin Front having only two tank battalions (67 tanks) and the Southwestern Front two tank brigades (30 tanks). The United States, the Soviet Union, and the End of World War II The Hurricane was rugged and tried and tested, and as useful at that point as many potentially superior Soviet designs such as the LaGG-3 and MiG-3. In contrast, 17 Republicans (63 percent) voted "nay" while 10 Senate Republicans (37 percent) sided with the Democrats to pass the bill.[19]. To: The War Office. "During World War II, only the supplies brought in by Lend-Lease prevented the paralysis of rail transport in the Soviet Union." The Lend-Lease program also sent tons of factory equipment and machine tools to the Soviet Union, including more than 38,000 lathes and other metal-working tools. At the end of 1941 there were greater numbers of the MiG-3, but the plane was considered difficult to fly. Lend Lease came as a response to the Axis Powers' violence and showed that America was committed to defending their nation and its . Negotiations dragged on intermittently for 25 years. Other largely British-equipped tank units in action with the Western Front from early December were the 131st Independent Tank Brigade, which fought to the east of Tula, south of Moscow, and 146th Tank Brigade, in the region of Kriukovo to the immediate west of the Soviet capital. Surplus military equipment was of no value in peacetime. Only 22% were unequivocally against the President's proposal. Answer (1 of 14): Lend Lease was pretty much strategic charity. Under Lend-Lease, the United States provided more than one-third of all the explosives used by the Soviet Union during the war. The country's agriculture was in a difficult situation. In addition, the Lend-Lease program propped up the Soviet railway system, which played a fundamental role in moving and supplying troops. Churchill called the letter "one of the most important I ever wrote.". L.7711, H.R. [73][74], Reverse Lend-Lease was the supply of equipment and services to the United States. Materials totalling $. Fourth protocol period from July 1, 1944 (signed April 17, 1945), formally ended May 12, 1945, but deliveries continued for the duration of the war with Japan (which the Soviet Union entered on August 8, 1945) under the "Milepost" agreement until September 2, 1945, when Japan capitulated. Lend-Lease Helped Win World War II, But Not On The Eastern Front 'We Would Have Lost': Did U.S. Lend-Lease Aid Tip The Balance In Soviet Lend-Lease Act (1941) | National Archives Ordnance goods (ammunition, artillery shells, mines, assorted explosives) provided amounted to 53 percent of total domestic consumption. During World War II, the Soviet Union received almost 15,000 U.S.-built aircraft under the lend-lease program. Lend-Lease: How American supplies aided the USSR in its darkest hour Most remaining Allies were largely self-sufficient in frontline equipment (such as tanks and fighter aircraft) by this time but Lend-Lease provided a useful supplement in this category and Lend-Lease logistical supplies (including motor vehicles and railroad equipment) were of enormous assistance. Without Lend-Lease, Russia would not have been able to carry out the Stalingrad counteroffensive and Operation Bagration. Reverse lend-lease policies comprised services such as rent on bases used by the U.S., and totaled $7.8billion; of this, $6.8billion came from the British and the Commonwealth, mostly Australia and India. Under Lend-Lease, the United States provided more than one-third of all the explosives used by the Soviet Union during the war. "It was not just some piece of scrap metal. When I listened to his remarks, I was fully in agreement with him, and today I am even more so. [80], The final payment of $83.3million (42.5million), due on December 31, 2006 (repayment having been deferred in the allowed five years and during a sixth year not allowed), was made by Britain on December 29, 2006 (the last working day of the year). If Germany defeated the Soviet Union, the most significant front in Europe would be closed. Britain got of their arms and ammunition from this Act. Originally intended to lend arms and material to the. Havlat, Denis. It permitted him to "sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of, to any such government [whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States] any defense article." 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 America Helped Build the Soviet Machine | American Heritage", "Ford Motor Company signs agreement with Soviet Union", "Russian historian: Importance of Lend-Lease cannot be overestimated", "Russia and Serbia, A Century of Progress in Rail Transport", "How Much of What Goods Have We Sent to Which Allies? Canada would eventually produce 1,420 Valentines, almost exclusively for delivery to the Soviet Union. [49], Roosevelt, eager to ensure public consent for this controversial plan, explained to the public and the press that his plan was comparable to one neighbor's lending another a garden hose to put out a fire in his home. The Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and 1937 intended to keep the United States out of war, by making it illegal for Americans to sell or transport arms, or other war materials to warring nationsneither to aggressors, nor to defenders. U.S. Citizens with emergencies, please call +(7) (495) 728-5577, Outside of Office Hours, contact: +7 (495) 728-5000. World War II | Facts, Summary, History, Dates, Combatants, & Causes 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. . Britain wished to retain some of this equipment in the immediate post-war period. Pro lend-lease ! # On September 2, 1945, with the signing of United States and Britain, not the Soviet Union, China, or other United Nations . Langer, William L. and S. Everett Gleason. The records constitute the primary policy and subject files on World War II Lend-Lease to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Such assessments, however, are contradicted by the opinions of Soviet war participants. The first American tanks and planes reached Egypt in time to be used in the second British drive into Libya which started on November 2, 1941. [61][62], Restrictions in the supply of weapons from the United States were mainly limited to heavy bombers. Officially the "Special Committee on Investigation of the Munitions Industry". Together with other recently published sources, including the wartime diaries of N. I. Biriukov, a Red Army officer responsible from August 1941 on for the distribution of recently acquired tanks to the front lines, this newly available evidence paints a very different picture from the received wisdom. The U.S. government never published detailed reports on what and how much was sent under the Lend-Lease program to the USSR. After this final payment, Britain's Economic Secretary to the Treasury formally issued thanks to the U.S. for its wartime support. Lend Lease was pretty much strategic charity. And many of the supplies needed by our Air Force are procured for us without cost by reverse lend-lease. Agricultural issues were also compounded when the Soviets were on the offensive, as areas liberated from the Axis had been devastated and contained millions of people who needed to be fed. The handing over of forty imported machine tools to Aviation Factory No. The Lend-Lease program also provided more than 35,000 radio sets and 32,000 motorcycles. World War II Allies: U.S. Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union, 1941-1945 And now they are saying that we had plenty of everything on our own.". "It should be remembered that during World War I, the transportation crisis in Russia in 1916-17 that did a lot to facilitate the February Revolution [which lead to the abdication of the tsar] was caused by a shortage in the production of railway rails, engines, and freight cars because industrial production had been diverted to munitions," Sokolov wrote. The Viking Press. From 1941 and onwards, the RKKA used extensive numbers . However, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov both stated that Lend-Lease enabled the Soviet Union to defeat Germany on the Eastern Front. 31, enacted March 11, 1941),[1] was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, France, China, and other Allied nations with food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and 1945. About $11 billion in war matriel was sent to the Soviet Union under that program. Lend Lease A transformative example that demonstrated America's willingness and ability to help its allies in times of war was the aid provision America provided to Britain and the Soviet Union during World War II. Dalton Delan: It's not World War II, but we are dealing with a new Axis Matilda II in Soviet Service - Tank Encyclopedia In September 1940, during the Battle of Britain the British government sent the Tizard Mission to the United States. This Douglas is the only Lend-Lease aircraft that remains in Russia.". "One-on-one against Hitler's Germany, we would not have withstood its onslaught and would have lost the war. How important was Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union? north, and in particular for the Northern Fleet.102Much of the material. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act on March 11, 1941. How important was Lend-Lease for the Soviet war effort? It seems to fly in the face of some stories I've heard about Stalin ordering the obliteration of all USA and British markings on Lend Lease Materiel so as to maintain the illusion of the USSR doing it all on its own and that the others fighting the common enemy were the "little allies". 151 Wing of the RAF, which operated briefly from Soviet airfields near Murmansk. On April 28th, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act ( S.3522 ), which has now gone to President Joe Biden's desk for signature.. 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. Lend-lease | Facts & Definition | Britannica Allen (1946) p 252. The Lend-Lease policy was officially titled "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States", and was a program where the U.S. supplied Free France, Great Britain and the Republic of China with food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and August 1945. . When the war ended, almost 33 percent of all the Red Army's vehicles had been provided through Lend-Lease. It is obvious from this information that during the period of October 1, 1941, to May 1, 1944, the U.S.A., under Lend-Lease, Sent the Soviet Union arms, equipment, materials, and food totaling $5,357,300,000 and weighing 8,514,000 long tons, not including the weight of 92 delivered ships or the weight of 3333 airplanes, which arrived by air. 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.". [43] Lend-Lease also supplied significant amounts of weapons and ammunition. On the Allied side, there was almost total reliance upon American industrial production, weaponry and especially unarmored vehicles purpose-built for military use, vital for the modern army's logistics and support. 1776, 55Stat. On September 20, 1945, all Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union was terminated. Churchill also granted the US base rights in Bermuda and Newfoundland for free; this act allowed their British garrison to be redeployed to more crucial theatres. [69] Lend-Lease tanks constituted 30 to 40 percent of heavy and medium tank strength before Moscow at the beginning of December 1941. Red Army Lend/Lease Vehicles - Axis History Lend-Lease: Western Aid for the Soviet Union - YouTube Such machines were of higher quality than analogues produced in the Soviet Union, which made a significant contribution to boosting Soviet industrial production. Posted on 2/25/23 at 2:25 pm to WPBTiger. In December 1940, President Roosevelt proclaimed the United States would be the "Arsenal of Democracy" and proposed selling munitions to Britain and Canada. In 1964 an Ohio woman took up the challenge that had led to Amelia Earharts disappearance. Supplies that arrived after the termination date were sold to Britain at a large discount for 1.075billion, using long-term loans from the United States.

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