Even before the United States officially entered World War II, the looming threat of Nazi Germany spurred America to act as a crucial supplier to nations resisting Axis aggression. The Soviet Union, despite an initial non-aggression pact with Germany in 1939, found itself brutally invaded in June 1941. This invasion shattered the fragile alliance and thrust the Soviets into a desperate fight for survival against the Nazi war machine. Recognizing the strategic importance of the Soviet front, President Franklin D. Roosevelt persuaded the U.S. Congress to initiate the Lend-Lease Act, aimed at providing essential military aid to countries deemed “vital to the defense of the United States.” This act became the cornerstone of American support, ensuring that nations fighting against fascism would not be hampered by immediate financial constraints in acquiring necessary weaponry. As Roosevelt eloquently stated, “We cannot, and we will not, tell [them] that they must surrender, merely because of present inability to pay for the weapons which we know they must have.”
The Lend-Lease Act, enacted nine months prior to the U.S.’s formal entry into the war, directed a flow of war matériel towards Great Britain, China, and the Soviet Union. Despite ideological differences and geopolitical tensions existing between the U.S. and the USSR, the overwhelming threat posed by Hitler’s Germany forged a common objective: the defeat of Nazism. This unlikely alliance saw America become the arsenal of democracy, providing the Soviet Union with the resources it desperately needed.
Image alt text: Red Army soldiers in winter uniforms pose with an American-supplied M3 Lee tank on a snow-covered street in Belgorod, Russia, February 1943, highlighting the blend of Soviet and US equipment.
The Lend-Lease program was technically structured as a loan of materials. Roosevelt, in an effort to explain the program to fiscally conservative Americans, used a relatable analogy: “Suppose my neighbor’s home catches fire… If he can take my garden hose and connect it up with his hydrant I may help him to put out his fire. Now, what do I do? I don’t say to him before that operation, ‘Neighbor, my garden hose cost me $15; you have got to pay me $15 for it.’ I don’t want $15 — I want my garden hose back. In other words, if you lend certain munitions, and munitions come back after the war, you are all right.” In practice, the U.S. largely considered Lend-Lease a grant, seeking minimal monetary repayment after the war. While some debts were settled at significantly reduced rates, the program was primarily a donation of resources to bolster the fight against Nazism and fascism.
Equipping the Red Army: The Scale of Lend-Lease Aid and its Impact on the Soviet Military
Image alt text: Soviet infantry soldiers alongside American-made Studebaker trucks in the Northern Caucasus, September 1942, showcasing the mobility Lend-Lease provided to Soviet forces.
Following the German invasion in June 1941, the first convoys carrying American aid reached the Soviet Union as early as August. The sheer volume and variety of assistance provided by the United States were immense. Publications like Russia Beyond, an arm of the Russian state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and historical analyses such as Albert L. Weeks’s Russia’s Life-Saver: Lend-Lease Aid to the USSR in World War II (2004), detail the extensive scope of this program.
The final tally of American military equipment delivered to the Soviet Union included staggering numbers:
- 400,000 jeeps and trucks: These vehicles were crucial for enhancing the mobility of the Red Army, allowing for faster troop and supply movements across vast distances.
- 14,000 airplanes: American-made aircraft supplemented the Soviet air force, contributing significantly to air superiority and ground support operations.
- 8,000 tractors: Tractors played a vital role in agriculture and also in moving heavy artillery, demonstrating the diverse utility of Lend-Lease equipment.
- 13,000 tanks: While Soviet tank production was substantial, Lend-Lease tanks added valuable armored firepower to the Red Army’s arsenal.
Image alt text: Soviet Air Force night bomber squadron posing with a Douglas A-20 Havoc bomber, supplied by the US Lend-Lease program, during World War II.
Beyond military hardware, the U.S. also supplied a vast array of essential goods:
- Over 1.5 million blankets: Crucial for soldiers enduring harsh winter conditions on the Eastern Front.
- 15 million pairs of army boots: Essential for equipping the massive Soviet army, ensuring soldiers had adequate footwear for combat and daily life. While not directly impacting the core design of the Soviet Union Army Uniform, boots were a vital component of soldier equipment.
- 107,000 tons of cotton: Used for producing uniforms and other textiles for the military and civilian populations.
- 2.7 million tons of petroleum products: Fueling the Soviet war machine – airplanes, trucks, and tanks – was paramount, and petroleum supplies were a critical contribution.
- 4.5 million tons of food: Food supplies helped sustain both the military and the civilian population, alleviating pressure on Soviet agricultural resources strained by the war.
Image alt text: Workers preparing canned pork (“svinaia tushonka”) at Kroger in Cincinnati, June 1943, destined for Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program, highlighting food aid.
The aid extended beyond these main categories, encompassing guns, ammunition, explosives, vital industrial materials like copper, steel, and aluminum, medicines, field radios, radar equipment, books, and numerous other necessities. Remarkably, the U.S. even dismantled and transported an entire Ford tire factory to the Soviet Union, bolstering their capacity to produce tires for military vehicles. In total, from 1941 to 1945, the U.S. channeled $11.3 billion in aid, equivalent to approximately $180 billion in 2016 dollars, to the Soviet Union. This massive influx of resources played an undeniable role in sustaining the Soviet war effort.
The Decisive Impact: Stalin and Khrushchev Acknowledge Lend-Lease
Image alt text: Soviet Premier Josef Stalin and US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in discussion at the Soviet Embassy during the Tehran Conference in December 1943, symbolizing Allied cooperation.
The significance of Lend-Lease was not lost on Soviet leadership. In a letter to Roosevelt in November 1941, Josef Stalin expressed profound gratitude: “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.”
Image alt text: American Sergeant Anthony Gioia and a Red Army soldier shake hands in 1944 over a stack of aerial bombs, representing Allied solidarity and shared effort.
Speaking at a dinner during the Tehran Conference in December 1943, Stalin further emphasized the critical role of American assistance: “The United States … is a country of machines. Without the use of those machines through Lend-Lease, we would lose this war.” Nikita Khrushchev, who later led the Soviet Union, echoed Stalin’s sentiments in his memoirs, recounting Stalin’s blunt assessment: “He stated bluntly that if the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war.” These high-level acknowledgements underscore the profound impact Lend-Lease had on the Soviet war effort and, by extension, on the very survival of the Soviet Union. While Lend-Lease didn’t directly alter the fundamental design of the Soviet Union army uniform, it ensured that the soldiers wearing those uniforms were equipped, mobile, and sustained in their fight against Nazi Germany.
Remembering a Vital Contribution: The Legacy of Lend-Lease
The former Museum of the Allies and Lend-Lease in Moscow served as a testament to America’s crucial contributions. When it opened in 2004, the son of Soviet Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky donated his father’s American-made Willys jeep, a tangible symbol of this wartime cooperation. The museum showcased this operational vehicle and a unique collection of uniform buttons bearing Soviet symbols but stamped “Made in Chicago,” a poignant reminder of the international collaboration during WWII. Although the museum is no longer active, its former director, Nikolai Borodin, remains a vocal advocate for publicizing the Lend-Lease story, emphasizing that the aid extended beyond military equipment to include food, clothing, and even toys for Russian civilians. According to Borodin, under Lend-Lease, “whatever was asked for was received,” highlighting the comprehensive nature of American support.
Leaders’ Reflections on Allied Victory
In his 2005 speech commemorating the 60th anniversary of Victory Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the immense sacrifices made by the Soviet Union and also recognized the vital assistance provided by the Allies: “Dear friends, we never divided the victory into ours and someone else’s,” Putin stated. “We will always remember the assistance from the Allies: the United States of America, Great Britain, France and other nations of the anti-Hitler coalition, [plus] German and Italian anti-fascists.” Winston Churchill, speaking in the House of Commons after Roosevelt’s death in 1945, lauded the Lend-Lease program as “the most unselfish and unsordid financial act of any country in all history.” American leaders, in turn, recognized that Lend-Lease was instrumental in achieving their primary objective: the defeat of Hitler and Nazi Germany.
Image alt text: Smiling soldiers from the Soviet Union, United States, and United Kingdom standing together in Berlin on August 22, 1945, celebrating the Allied victory over Nazi Germany.
The Lend-Lease program stands as a powerful example of international cooperation in the face of a common enemy. It provided the Soviet Union with the crucial resources needed to withstand the Nazi onslaught, contributing significantly to the Allied victory in World War II. While the focus was on matériel, the impact of Lend-Lease extended to every aspect of the Soviet war effort, indirectly supporting the logistical needs of the Red Army and ensuring soldiers, even in their Soviet Union army uniform, could effectively fight and contribute to the ultimate defeat of fascism.
By U.S. Mission Italy | 2 May, 2023 | Topics: News | Tags: U.S. – Russia
