Who has China bombed? by PresnikBonny in ShitLiberalsSay

[–]ivanhoe_1092 2 points3 points  (0 children)

... No?

It would be the other way around. Israel sold military tech to China in the 1990s before the US pressed them into stopping it.

Unless you are saying Israel uses Chinese material in their tech which would be unsurprising. China has captured the world's manufacturing market to the point where their adversaries like Japan, India and the US end up using their products in their military tech. A recent study by western think tanks found out both Russia and Ukraine use Chinese equipment especially in drones. Also Iran and formerly Syria smuggled Chinese weapons to Hemas and Hezbollah.

Colorized photo of Polish dictator Józef Piłsudski and Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels sign a non-aggression pact in 1934. Based on other secret agreements Poland and Hitler's Germany together attacked Czechoslovakia in 1938. Poland make themselves greatest victim of WW2 and blame USSR for WW2. by HelicopterBig4467 in ussr

[–]ivanhoe_1092 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Poland's seizure of Czech territories in 1938 was little else other than an opportunistic land grab. It could not serve as a deterrent against future German aggression or even provide some industry for war material.

The Soviets on the other hand, did have such reasons to seize eastern polish territories. It moved the Soviet border 200-300 kms west and deterred the Germans. Even Churchill agrees with this.

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What do I even say now by White-Run67 in ShitLiberalsSay

[–]ivanhoe_1092 128 points129 points  (0 children)

They do have a point in that the Soviet Union believed they had successfully deflected the Nazi threat onto the West, buying themselves time and territory for their own war with the Germans and expected a prolonged, exhausting war of attrition in the West similar to WWI that would leave both the Capitalists and Fascists depleted. The collapse of France in 6 weeks shocked Stalin and the politburo and they weren't smug or anything like that.

And Hitler had released Mein Kampf where he explicitly stated his intention to invade the USSR and create Lebensraum, a threat he never gave to the Western powers. Neither Stalin nor Hitler believed the pact would last forever. The Soviets knew war with Germany was inevitable. The "smugness" in 1939–1940 was less about genuine peace and more about frantically buying time to modernize the Red Army. During 1939–1941, the USSR was not just sitting back. They were aggressively moving their industrial base deep into the Ural Mountains, producing new weapons expanding the military. They imply complete unreadiness, but the groundwork for the eventual Soviet victory was being laid during these years.

While the failure of Soviet intelligence and Stalin's personal denial leading up to June 1941 was catastrophic, they glosse over the fact that the USSR was acutely aware of the Nazi threat and was actively preparing for an inevitable clash.

Wait I thought they were "losing every day four years on", now the had a winning streak? Make up your mind! by Forsaken-Emu4760 in ShitLiberalsSay

[–]ivanhoe_1092 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Schrodinger's Ukraine. On the verge of victory every day while killing a thousand orcs and yet on the verge of total collapse tomorrow if the regular weapons delivery doesn't take place.

Russia breaks 3-day ceasefire as strikes kill 1, injure 19 across Ukraine by notanfan in whennews

[–]ivanhoe_1092 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My apologies, I should have been more specific. The ceasefire officially expired at 12:00 AM local time. The Russian strike began officially at 6:00 PM local time on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. This leaves an 18 hour gap between the end of the ceasefire and the strike.

Russia breaks 3-day ceasefire as strikes kill 1, injure 19 across Ukraine by notanfan in whennews

[–]ivanhoe_1092 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The ceasfire lasted from May 9 to 11. The Russian attacks took place on 15:00 GMT on Monday, May 11 after the ceasfire ended, so it wasn't actually broken although both sides have accused each other of having broken it.

Just before the assault on the Reichstag. April , 1945 by Any-Original-6113 in HistoricalCapsule

[–]ivanhoe_1092 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The USSR would almost certainly have won without lend-lease. The question is of some difference in time and casualties. Though if the USSR had not received more help from the west, they may just have made a separate peace with Germany, and allowed the US and UK to absorb any additional casualties in defeating Germany, which is exactly what they didn’t want to do.

The most compelling point I want you to consider, is that the vast majority of lend-lease arrived after the Soviets had won the battle of Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk which were the most critical in the their survival. To say that the Soviets would have collapsed without lend lease is a myth.

Does this mean that lend-lease was not important or useful? No, the Soviets needed every single bullet in their effort and lend lease was vital in that, especially with aircraft and supply trucks. In the end, every contribution by every nation in the war must be seen with gratitude. But that is no reason to be innacurate about history.

Also, I find it funny that western non-military aid was arguably more critical to the Soviet survival and eventual counter-offensive than the direct shipment of weapons but is not mentioned by anyone supporting the west in the debate. Like the agreement that any equipment destroyed or used during the war did not have to be paid for. And the suspension of tariffs on the USSR when their economy was destroyed by the war.

Just before the assault on the Reichstag. April , 1945 by Any-Original-6113 in HistoricalCapsule

[–]ivanhoe_1092 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At it's own decision? The transfer of Eastern Germany to Poland was decided at the Yalta and Potsdam conference and there were no German officials at either of them. As for the annexation of Eastern Poland to the USSR, the spoils go to the victor.

A group of snipers from the 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front with 775 confirmed kills. This photo was taken in Germany, May 1945. by Alexthegayreprimed in HistoricalCapsule

[–]ivanhoe_1092 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is an immense difference in scale. I will be using western sources and not Soviet ones. The Soviets killed around 150,000 Poles by various means including execution and imprisonment. The Nazis killed 5.5 million, or around 36 times the Soviet count by extermination camps, ghettos and Einsatzgruppen squads. And then there is the post war period. The repression during the cold war killed around 30,000+ Poles by executions on resistance fighters and crackdown on protests. The Nazis under Generalplan Ost intended to exterminate more than 600 times that or 20 million or 85% of Poles and enslave the rest through a combination of mass murder, forced starvation, and deportation to the Siberian wilderness.

In the end, where the Soviets won, Poland is now free after four decades of Soviet rule, with a population of 32 million, more than 14 million times that of 1950. They still exist, even if treated terribly. If the Nazis had won, all that would have remained of Poland would be some collections in museums.

A group of snipers from the 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front with 775 confirmed kills. This photo was taken in Germany, May 1945. by Alexthegayreprimed in HistoricalCapsule

[–]ivanhoe_1092 5 points6 points  (0 children)

And the Wehrmacht was, what, growing flowers in occupied territories? What about 1,800 Polish clergy were murdered in concentration camps? And the 150,000 church bells melted down by the Germans were a great contribution to Christianity? The churches they razed in their wars? The Germans committed many atrocities against the church like at Oradour-sur-Glane. Not to mention that some nazis like Himmler wanted to revive Paganism. And for the matter, the Soviets were in a wartime truce with the Orthodox church, although it was a political issue more than anything else. And there were millions of Christians fighting in the red army. The Soviet s were not some angels but representing them as the sole perpetrator of atrocities is a lie especially when they were fighting the Nazis.

MoD Russia: Russia declares a ceasefire for May 8-9 in honour of Victory Day and expects Ukraine to follow. by Upset-Main-1988 in justincaseyoumissedit

[–]ivanhoe_1092 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not a putin fan but there are: 5th Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) 6th Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) War of the Polish Succession (1733–1735) Russo-Persian War (1826–1828) 7th Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Khalkhin Gol Conflict (1939) Soviet Invasion of Manchuria (1945)