When Americans remember World War II, the stories often center on Pearl Harbor, D-Day and the Allied advance across Western Europe. But much of Nazi Germany's military might was consumed by a devastating war against the Soviet Union, where millions of soldiers and civilians lost their lives.
How the Soviet Union survived Germany's invasion and eventually helped bring about Hitler's defeat is the subject of an upcoming lecture in Greenville.
Dr. Roger Reese, a professor of history at Texas A&M University and a scholar of Russian and Soviet military history, will speak Thursday, October 22, at 7 p.m. at the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum. His presentation, "Hitler and Stalin: The German/Russian War and How Russia Won," is part of the Texas World War II History Roundtable's lecture series.
Ahead of his visit, Reese joined KETR's The Lede to discuss the Eastern Front, the resilience of the Soviet military and what that history might reveal about Russia's war in Ukraine today.
How the Soviet Union survived
When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Soviet forces suffered catastrophic losses. Reese says the Red Army was caught in a period of enormous expansion and reorganization, leaving many units without adequate leadership, training or equipment.
The Soviet Union's occupation of eastern Poland in 1939 had also disrupted its defensive preparations, leaving its military poorly positioned to respond to the German invasion.
Despite those early disasters, the Soviet Union possessed enormous reserves of manpower and the ability to rebuild its military. Reese says German leaders underestimated that capacity, along with the logistical challenges of fighting across such a vast territory.
American and British military assistance through the Lend-Lease program also played an important role in sustaining the Soviet war effort.
By the end of the conflict, Soviet forces had pushed the Germans back across Eastern Europe and into Berlin.
Why Soviet soldiers kept fighting
Much of Reese's research examines the experiences and motivations of ordinary soldiers.
He says the roughly 34 million Soviet citizens who served in the military during World War II had widely varying reasons for fighting.
For many, patriotism and the desire to defend their homeland were more important than loyalty to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin or communist ideology. Others believed in the Soviet political system, while some were motivated by fear of punishment or the brutality of the German occupation.
Reese also challenges popular portrayals of Soviet military discipline, particularly the notion that Soviet commanders routinely used machine guns to prevent their own soldiers from retreating.
He says the reality of disciplinary units and so-called blocking detachments was considerably more complicated than their depiction in popular culture.
Connections to Russia's war in Ukraine
Reese has also studied Russian military history across several centuries, including the country's ongoing war in Ukraine.
He sees parallels in Russian military leaders' willingness to accept enormous casualties and their reliance on manpower to sustain military operations.
But he also identifies important differences. The widespread use of drones and other modern technologies has fundamentally changed battlefield tactics, making the large armored formations and concentrated attacks associated with World War II increasingly vulnerable.
Reese says understanding those similarities and differences requires looking beyond military equipment and battlefield strategies to the institutions, leadership and people involved.
Upcoming lecture in Greenville
Reese hopes his October 22 presentation will help audiences better appreciate the extraordinary scale and human cost of the Eastern Front, as well as the uncertainty surrounding the Soviet Union's eventual victory.
The lecture begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 22, at the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum in Greenville.
Reese is the holder of the Ralph R. Thomas Class of 1921 Endowed Professorship in Liberal Arts at Texas A&M University. His books include Why Stalin's Soldiers Fought: The Red Army's Military Effectiveness in World War II and Russia's Army: A History from the Napoleonic Wars to the War in Ukraine.
