WI Stalin Abandons Moscow

John Fredrick Parker

Donor
Apparently, Stalin's decision to make a stand at Moscow and make it his "fortress" (on October 18) was a reversal of the earlier decision for the Soviet government to abandon the capital and move 500 miles east to Kuibyshev. What if this course of action was kept to?

Clarification: to the extent that answers to this are "Nazis win in east" or overlap with "Soviet collapse in June", I'd say the discussion can end there or be redirected to another recent thread.
 

Deleted member 1487

I don't think it would necessarily cause the collapse of the USSR. Moscow might well fall and with it a lot of industry, which would be highly problematic down the line, but it gets likely retaken over the winter or summer. Lots more Soviets die as a result and they have problems with their industry moving forward, but its not a death blow. So sayeth Glantz:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Clz27nghIg
 
Sabot Cat

Sabot Cat

Banned
Most of their war production was to the east by that point anyway, so although there would be a short-term dip in morale for the Allies, it might lead to more robust, quicker aid for the Soviet Union, which would still be able to defend itself and fight back against Nazi Germany as in OTL.
 

Deleted member 1487

Sabot Cat said:
Most of their war production was to the east by that point anyway, so although there would be a short-term dip in morale for the Allies, it might lead to more robust, quicker aid for the Soviet Union, which would still be able to defend itself and fight back against Nazi Germany as in OTL.
Click to expand...
Moscow was not evacuated yet, so it would actually be a pretty significant blow, not to mention the loss of the iron resources in the area.
 
LHB

LHB

Logistically speaking it would be a serious problem for the Soviets. Moscow was the heart of the Soviet rail network in European Russia and a major junction for rail traffic. Losing that would hamper their ability to move troops and war materiel.
 

Maniakes

To clarify: were the Soviets planning to abandon Moscow militarily, retreating past the city without seriously trying to hold it, or just move the seat of government further from the front?
 

Scherzo

Question is, and I'm not really in a place to answer it, but could Army Group Center even hold Moscow even without any Russian resistance? Their supply lines were already extremely stretched; would they be able to adequately combat partisan resistance and reargaurd units?
 

lycan

A straight to Moscow thrust would leave the Germans near Moscow sticking out like a sore thumb. It'll only be worth it if Britain's not helping the Soviets, or if Japan has joined in from the East. If they had to abandon Moscow, I'm guessing Stalin would be reported killed trying to defend Moscow.
 

oberdada

Apparently parts of the Goverment where already evacuated, Wolfgang Leonhard reported sorting parts of the Comminterns archive in Ufa.

But I am pretty shure that was "just in case".

I don't see a reason why Moscow shouldn't be defended as hard as Stalingrad. It is not paris after all. And Stalin shouldn't have a problem of keeping a couple of escape routes open.
 
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