Consume Product

>It was definitely a team effort. Neither could have won alone

Reminds me of [this bit by Norm Macdonald.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIO0DesXpdo)

"And who did they choose to go to war with? The World! And it was actually close!"

>that doesn’t matter

All of the USSR’s first-class aviation fuel was supplied by the USA. Their boots and most of the uniform material, as well. Blue rubber for their tires, all of their aluminum, fully ⅓ of their munitions, over 500,000 trucks (all far better than the 200,000 the Soviets produced themselves during the war). Upgunned (76mm) Sherman tanks were a big part of the Soviet drive through the Balkans, where hundreds of them participated and had a measure of success. Aerocobras, P40s, C-47s, and A-20s (18,000+) all considerably assisted the Soviet war effort. Almost all telephone communication was over American phones. **The Soviets produced 92 railway locomotives; they got 2,000 through lend-lease.**

Well over half the Luftwaffe was engaged in the west from 1942-5, and 75% of German aircraft casualties were against the western Allies. Each U-boat cost 5,000,000 Marks to build. The Germans built over 1,000. A Panther tank cost 117,000 Marks, That means about 40,000 tanks were not built so that the Germans could wage the War of the Atlantic. Think 40,000 panthers might have made a difference against an unallied USSR in the East? Each V2 rocket cost, in labor and material, the same as 3.5 fighter planes. The Germans launched over 3,000 V2s. Do the math on that.

The British and Americans deployed over 20,000 heavy bombers against the Germans, causing great destruction. The Soviets never developed one. The Allies supplied 317,000 tons of explosive materials, including 22,000,000 shells–over half the total Soviet production of ~600,000 tons. Additionally, the Allies supplied 103,000 tons of toluene, the primary ingredient of TNT. In addition to explosives and ammunition, 991,000,000 miscellaneous shell cartridges were also provided to speed up the manufacturing of ammunition. In addition to military equipment, other wartime commodities were essential to the effort. These included 2,300,000 tons of steel, 229,000 tons of aluminum, 2,600,000 tons of petrol, 3,800,000 tons of foodstuffs, 56,445 field telephones, and 600,000 kilometers of telephone wire. The Soviet Union also received 15,000,000 pairs of army boots. Lend-lease aircraft amounted to 18% of all Soviet air forces–20% of bombers, 16% of all fighters, and 29% of naval aircraft.

There were also 10,000 heavy caliber anti-aircraft guns defending the Reich. Do you think those would have shored up German defenses in the East?

What would have happened if Rommel’s Africa Corps and the 30+ German divisions in France would have been in the don bend in fall 1942 protecting Stalingrad instead of waiting for British and American divisions to land? What would have happened if the 400,000 troops stationed in Norway could have helped Army Group North capture Leningrad? What would have happened if, in 1944, the German armies trying to hold the divisions fighting in Italy and the Balkans could have been freed to fight against the Soviets in the south? What would have happened if, in 1944, the German armies trying to hold the Allies out of France could have been sent to Bylorussia prior to Bagatron? The Germans were never really able to muster more than half their strength against the Soviets. They were fighting a *technological* war against the Brits and Americans that required a huge manufacturing effort.

*What fucking meat grinder?* Without the United States, the USSR wouldn’t have been able to get anyone to the front lines. They wouldn’t even have had boots.