DB: What if Stalin had ordered purges?

[SirCliveWolfe]

As we all know, Stalin ordered many purges of people in all walks of like. He did not, however, touch the Soviet Army.

What would the concequences of an army purg have been? What if instead of leaving all the traditional insignia, majority of the officer corp, high level generals etc... He purget them to stop a forged Nazi plot, or whatever.

Would the soviet army in WWII been weaker for the loss of say 3 of 5 marshals, 13 of 15 army generals, 8 of 9 admirals, 50 of 57 army corps generals, 154 out of 186 division generals, 16 of 16 army commissars, and 25 of 28 army corps commissars.

[Max Sinister]

Oh C'mon. If you make up numbers, at least keep them a bit believable. Purging so many of them, that would be effectively making the military headless. And besides, I doubt they'd just let it happen - I rather see they army successfully rebelling against Stalin than being slaughtered like lambs.

[SirCliveWolfe]

Oh C'mon. If you make up numbers, at least keep them a bit believable. Purging so many of them, that would be effectively making the military headless. And besides, I doubt they'd just let it happen - I rather see they army successfully rebelling against Stalin than being slaughtered like lambs.

I know they are a bit excessive, but in all other matters Stalin was not really one to stop at one or two was he!?

Interesting to see you have a militarry coup, what sort of regime would have come from that do you think. Perhaps a military dictatorship?

[hexicus]

I wonder if Hitler would have been tempted to invade a weakened Motherland? Both he and his successors have managed to exploit Russia's resources economically, perhaps he would have tried militarily after his success with France in the war of 1939-43?

[SirCliveWolfe]

That was what I was wondering, had Germany attacked the USSR then maybe the British would not have made peace with Germany? Also if in 1941/1942 Britain had still benn at war, may Japan have exploited this fact and attacked Britain as well?

[hexicus]

That was what I was wondering, had Germany attacked the USSR then maybe the British would not have made peace with Germany?

Interesting thought. Of course, its had to imagine racial brothers such as Germany and England not making peace eventually - as the Fuhrer said 'we are not natural enemies' - but many Britons at the time were more conscious of nationality than race (such an old fashioned to our modern ways of thinking!) and so I agree with you that Britain may have continued fighting in the hopes of defeating Germany.

[Max Sinister]

That was what I was wondering, had Germany attacked the USSR then maybe the British would not have made peace with Germany? Also if in 1941/1942 Britain had still benn at war, may Japan have exploited this fact and attacked Britain as well?

First question: Yes. The US were maybe pro-British, but their people didn't want to join a war. And they wanted cash for guns - sooner or later- the Brits would run out of it.
Second question: Maybe... although fighting Britain AND China at the same time might strain the Japanese abilities too much. Probably France might be involved too, with its colonies in Indochina and the Pacific. And the Japanese have to be careful not to anger the Americans - yes, I said above that they don't want a war, but let one Japanese bomber accidentely bomb a US ship, and they're toast.

[Wozza]

If Stalin's military had been weakened I really believe he would have done a deal with Hitler in summer 1939.

Certainly a purge would have allowed Hitler to survive the Munich crisis, the British and French would have been less more confident, and the Poles less wary of upsetting the established order - they would have joined in the attempted carve up of Czechoslovakia and claimed Teschen.

As we know they didn't fancy dealing with a strong Russia and a strong Germany, and Beck was petrified of the Red Army intervening in central Europe whilst Germany struggled with the west. Beck's coup was pretty incompetent I grant you, but it got the job done on Hitler.

[Straha]

Well the SSSR would have taken less land and not annexed Iran/turkey/north china after WWII