SACRIFICE for STALIN by DAVID WRAGG

Author:DAVID WRAGG
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2006-03-19T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Changing Tactics

Stalin simply assumed that his allies had sufficient ships, whether warships or merchantmen, to pursue the war. He cared little about the problems faced by the United States in the Pacific, after all the Soviet Union was not at war with Japan, and on one occasion pointed out that at one stage some ninety merchantmen were stuck either in Iceland or in the United States. He little appreciated the threat presented by the Tirpitz, and if lesser forces had already wreaked havoc on the convoys, that was due to British, and possibly also American, shortcomings.

On the other hand, perhaps Franklin Roosevelt, the American president, also knew little about naval matters? As for Churchill, he was not only squeezed between his two Allies, heavily dependent upon American aid and fearful of the consequences of a deal between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, but he also knew that the ultimate American war aim was to emerge as what would now be described as a global superpower. The end of British dominance was all too clear, and it was clear that Canada was increasingly looking towards the United States rather than the mother country, even if the transfer of allegiance of Australia and New Zealand was not so apparent. The irony was that while the UK was bankrupt, indebted to the dominions and the United States, it was adding to its precarious financial condition by subsidizing the Soviet Union.

Churchill’s reaction can best be summed up in his own words:

The Russians are in heavy action and will expect us to run the risk and pay the price entailed by our contribution … The operation is justified if half gets through. Failure on our part to make the attempt would weaken our influence with both our major allies.

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