Russia Received Materials from US through Lease-Lend - WWII
Published by Campbell M Gold in Historical · Thursday 18 Jul 2024 · 4:30
Tags: Russia, U.S., Lend, Lease, Program, WWII, Supplies, History
Tags: Russia, U.S., Lend, Lease, Program, WWII, Supplies, History
Russia Received American Aid in WWII
It is not well known, but Russia received supplies from the U.S. during WWII through the Lend-Lease Program...
In March 2024, it had been 84 years since the U.S. initiated the Lend-Lease Program to provide war materials to the Allies—specifically the UK and The Soviet Union—in their war against Germany.
Despite the Russians later minimising the program's significance, Marshal Georgy Zhukov acknowledged that the materials were crucial to Russia's war effort.
After WWII ended, he said, "Now they say that the Allies never helped us, but it can't be denied that the Americans gave us so many goods without which we wouldn't have been able to form our reserves and continue the war."
Zhukov also said: "We didn’t have explosives, gunpowder. We didn’t have anything to charge our rifle cartridges with. The Americans really saved us with their gunpowder and explosives. And how much sheet steel they gave us! How could we have produced our tanks without American steel? But now they make it seem like we had an abundance of all that. We wouldn’t have had anything to pull our artillery with without American trucks."
The History
Lend-Lease history begins on 15 May 1940, when UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill asked Roosevelt to "lend" Britain 40-50 old destroyers in exchange for "British Naval and Air Bases in the Atlantic Ocean."
Coincidentally, the U.S. had a law from 1892 stating that the Secretary of Defence could "lease army property for a maximum of five years if the U.S. didn't need it." Based on this, the Lend-Lease program was developed, and Roosevelt signed it into law on 11 Mar 1941.
According to the program's terms and conditions, American materials "destroyed, lost, or used during the war were not subject to payment." However, supplies that remained after the war and were used for "civilian purposes" had to be paid for. No returns were permitted.
Russia Joins the Program
Russian Leader Joseph Stalin joined the Lend-Lease program soon after the German invasion of Russia in Jun 1941.
Consequently, the U.S., Canada, and the UK supplied Russia with $130 billion of supplies during WWII.
At the time, Stalin wrote to Roosevelt, "Your decision, Mr. President, to give the Soviet Union an interest-free credit of $1 billion in the form of materiel supplies and raw materials has been accepted by the Soviet Government with heartfelt gratitude as urgent aid to the Soviet Union in its enormous and difficult fight against the common enemy – bloodthirsty Hitlerism."
The first convoys with materials were already in transit to Russia by Aug 1941. However, the Germans soon learned of the convoy routes, and the Allies suffered severe losses. During the war, German U-boats sank about 80 cargo ships destined for Russia.
The Tally
Russia received the following:
- Sheet Steel (an unconfirmed mega-amount)
- 14,000 U.S. aircraft (8,000 from Alaska)
- 44,000 jeeps
- 375,883 cargo trucks
- 8,071 tractors
- 12,700 tanks.
- 1,541,590 blankets
- 331,066 litres of alcohol
- 15,417,000 pairs of army boots
- 106,893 tons of cotton
- 2,670,000 tons of petroleum products
- 4,478,000 tons of food supplies.
Obfuscation
During WWII, the Soviet government diminished the role of foreign aid. This made U.S. Ambassador to the USSR William Standley very indignant. At a press conference in Mar 1943, he said, "It seems that the Russian government wants to hide the fact that it receives help from outside. Obviously, it wants to ensure its people that the Red Army is fighting this war alone."
The BBC's Moscow correspondent Alexander Werth later recalled, "After stormy five-hour telephone talks, the Russian censorship allowed Standley's text to be published. The employees at the press department were angry. Chief censor Kozhemyako was white with rage putting his stamp on the telegram. His mother had died in Leningrad from hunger.”
Calling in the Debt
After WWII ended, the U.S. asked the countries involved to pay for the civilian supplies they received.
Britain repaid $7.5 billion to the U.S. and $2 billion to Canada. These repayments were made over several decades, with the final instalment paid in 2006.
The U.S. believed the Soviet Union had to pay $1.3 billion; however, the Soviet government said it could only pay $170 million. This was unacceptable to the U.S.
Finally, at talks in 1972, the two countries signed an agreement under which the USSR would pay the U.S. $722 million by 2001.
In 1973, the Soviet Union paid $48 million but ceased further payments due to the American Jackson-Vanik Amendment. The amendment "Restricted trade with countries that impeded emigration and violated other human rights."
One of the reasons for Washington introducing the amendment was the USSR's refusal to let Jews out of the country.
In 1990, the U.S. and the Soviet Union reestablished a dialogue, and it was agreed that by 2030, the U.S. would receive $674 million.
In 1990, the USSR collapsed, but in 1993, the new Russian government acknowledged the debt and soon paid the balance for all goods received under the Lend-Lease agreement.
Source:
rbth.com/defence
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