Lend-lease and the great patriotic war, 1941-1945

Abstract

During World War II, the United States extended $ 11 billion in aid to the Soviet Union - the equivalent of $ 75 billion today. Much has been written about the diplomacy surrounding the extension of Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union, as well as its abrupt termination at the end of the war. Little attention has been given, however, to the effect of American aid on the Soviet war effort. Lend-Lease provided a crucial margin for the Soviet Union in several areas. Lend-Lease trucks and rail equipment bolstered the decrepit Soviet transport net. American (and British) aircraft formed a significant share of the Soviet air force. Imported raw materials and food were vital for the survival of the severely strained Soviet economy. Most importantly, Lend-Lease helped alleviate the Soviet labor shortage. The Red Army relied heavily on its mobile reserves to defeat the Nazi forces. Without this mobility, heavily based on imported trucks and other transport equipment, the Soviet forces could not maintained the pace of their 1943-45 offensives. Without Lend-Lease, the Soviet Union would most likely have survived, but would not have arrived at the gates of Berlin in the spring of 1945.