Was the Russian economy effective?

Yes

1. It produced 100,000 tanks, and especially showed superiority in the Battle of Kursk (1943).

2. It was able to mobilise an entire population for total war.

                - In the Battle of Moscow (1941) 250,000 women and children dug trenches

3. The Siege of Leningrad (1941-44)

                - No one gave in despite 800,000 casualties. All able bodied people dug anti-tank trenches

4. It was able to mobilise industry further away from the civilian economy

                - For the Moscow defence, a chocolate factory made food for front lines.

                - A clock factory built detonators

                - A car factory built munitions

                - 3500 new large factories were built

5. The scorched earth policy burned everything useful to the Germans

6. The relocation & evacuation of industry East towards the mountains

                - 2593 major factories were taken and rebuilt in the Urals

7. An evacuation committee was set up to organise relocation

                - It showed mass organisation

8. The USSR had a large industrial capacity

9. Mobilisation of workforce

                - 2/3 of females were conscripted into work

                - Millions of criminals and prisoners of war worked towards the effort

11. Stalin: Russia was “a single war camp”

No

1. By 1941, the land that Hitler’s forces occupied accounted for:

                - 63% of coal production

                - 68% of iron production

                - 58% of steel production

2. American and British aid provided amounted to:

                - 53% of explosives

                - 58% of aircraft fuel

                - 500,000 vehicles

                - 1000 trains provided by the USA VS 92 produced by the USSR

3. The American Lend-Lease Act provided the USSR with a further:

                - 6430 planes

                - 3734 tanks

                - 104 ships

                - $11 billion in aid

4. Military supply dumps were overrun by Germans

                - 200/340 were taken within the first month of invasion

                - 1200 airplanes were destroyed within the first few hours of invasion

5. There was a lack of skilled and experienced labour, workers were sent to the front, so they had to use women and children instead

                - By the end of the first fortnight of the war 10 million Soviet citizens were enlisted in the armed forces (further 5 million in standing army)

6. The Blitzkrieg tactic initially showed the ineffectiveness of tanks, forcing the military to modernise

7. Some factories weren’t relocated, and consequently were destroyed by the Germans

                - Evacuation and relocation plans had difficulties because 65,000 km of train lines were destroyed

8. By 1942, the production of key resources like coal, steel and oil was down. Productivity in ares were industry was relocated was relatively low due to the strain on communications and basic services

                - Serious economic crisis in 1942

                - By the end of 1942, Soviet production capacity was only 68% of pre-war capacity

                - This was still 12% lower in 1945

9. Agriculture suffered badly, though the impact this had on production is disagreed on

                - Harvest losses are usually estimated at around 1/3

                - 1943 was a particularly bad year