Icebreaker (non-fiction book): Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 04:05, 19 September 2019

Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War?, by Viktor Suvorov (Russian title: Ledokol, Ледокол) is a book which leads a reader to believe that Stalin used Nazi Germany as an "icebreaker" to start a war in Europe which would allow for the Soviet Union to come in, clean up, and take control of all of Europe. In his foreword "To the Reader" however, Suvorov states right away "There is no single answer to this question".

Suvorov claims that, just as Stalin eliminated his political enemies by pitting them against one another, so too was the plan when he gave Hitler the support to attack Poland, knowing that the act would trigger a war between Germany and the United Kingdom and its allies. The principal argument is based on an analysis of Soviet military investments, diplomatic maneuvers,

fall of the Soviet Union

.

Suvorov's thesis

Suvorov challenges the view that

USSR

on June 22, 1941 with a much superior and better prepared force. Instead, Suvorov argues that the Soviet Union was poised to invade Nazi-controlled territories in July 1941.

Suvorov claims that Stalin successfully manipulated Hitler into removing the "buffer zone" (Poland) between Europe and the USSR. Suvorov further argues that Stalin's goal was the export of communism to other countries. Once Hitler 'broke the ice', Soviet victory in the large-scale war that followed would enable the USSR to impose Stalinist regimes on most of Europe. In this theory, Nazi military aggression would ironically form the icebreaker for a communist invasion.

Suvorov is often accused (or praised by historical revisionists) of shifting the blame of World War II on Stalin and thus removing the blame from Hitler.^{[citation needed]} However, the actual content of Icebreaker contains no praise of Hitler or justification of his terror. In his later books, Suvorov insists that Stalin was a true evil genius (although unlucky), while describing Hitler as evil but grossly incompetent.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

Online books of Viktor Suvorov (mostly in Russian)
Template:En icon Suvorov, V. Icebreaker. Translated by Thomas B. Beattie. "Hamish Hamilton". London 1990.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Refimprove|article|date=March 2011}}
 {{Italic title}}
-'''''Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War?''''', by [[Viktor Suvorov]] ([[Russian language|Russian]] title: ''Ledokol'', ''Ледокол'') is a book which claims that Soviet leader [[Joseph Stalin]] used [[Nazi Germany]] as an "icebreaker" to start a war in Europe which would allow for the Soviet Union to come in, clean up, and take control of all of Europe. In his foreword "To the Reader" however, Suvorov states right away "There is no single answer to this question".
+'''''Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War?''''', by [[Viktor Suvorov]] ([[Russian language|Russian]] title: ''Ledokol'', ''Ледокол'') is a book which leads a reader to believe that Stalin used Nazi Germany as an "icebreaker" to start a war in Europe which would allow for the Soviet Union to come in, clean up, and take control of all of Europe. In his foreword "To the Reader" however, Suvorov states right away "There is no single answer to this question".
-Suvorov claims that, just as Stalin eliminated his political enemies by pitting them against one another, so too was the plan when he gave Hitler the support to attack Poland, knowing that the act would trigger a war between Germany and the United Kingdom and its allies. The principal argument is based on an analysis of Soviet military investments, diplomatic maneuvers, [[Politburo]] speeches and other data. Suvorov suggests that Stalin perceived the outcome of World War II as a loss. Suvorov mentions the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] along with its secret auxiliary protocol, existence of both were constantly denied by the Kremlin authorities until 24 December 1989 during [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s leadership.<ref>{{cite conference |last=Loeber |first=Dietrich A. |date=30 August 1999 |chapter=Consequences Of The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact For Lithuania Of Today International Law Aspects |title=Lithuania in the Second World War |location=Vilnius |p=7 |chapter-url=http://lfpr.lt/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/LFPR-4-Loeber.pdf}}</ref>
+Suvorov claims that, just as Stalin eliminated his political enemies by pitting them against one another, so too was the plan when he gave Hitler the support to attack Poland, knowing that the act would trigger a war between Germany and the United Kingdom and its allies. The principal argument is based on an analysis of Soviet military investments, diplomatic maneuvers, [[Politburo]] speeches and other data. Suvorov suggests that Stalin perceived the outcome of World War II as a loss. Suvorov mentions the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]] along with its secret auxiliary protocol, existence of both were constantly denied by the Kremlin authorities until [[fall of the Soviet Union]].
 ==Suvorov's thesis==
-Suvorov challenges the view that [[Adolf Hitler]] and the Nazi regime attacked an unsuspecting [[USSR]] on June 22, 1941 with a much superior and better prepared force. Instead, Suvorov argues that the Soviet Union was poised to invade Nazi-controlled territories in July 1941.
+Suvorov challenges the view that [[Adolf Hitler]] and the [[Nazism|Nazi]] regime attacked an unsuspecting [[USSR]] on June 22, 1941 with a much superior and better prepared force. Instead, Suvorov argues that the Soviet Union was poised to invade Nazi-controlled territories in July 1941.
 Suvorov claims that Stalin successfully manipulated Hitler into removing the "buffer zone" (Poland) between Europe and the USSR. Suvorov further argues that Stalin's goal was the export of [[communism]] to other countries. Once Hitler 'broke the ice', Soviet victory in the large-scale war that followed would enable the USSR to impose Stalinist regimes on most of Europe. In this theory, Nazi military aggression would ironically form the icebreaker for a communist invasion.
 Suvorov is often accused (or praised by historical revisionists) of shifting the blame of World War II on Stalin and thus removing the blame from Hitler.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} However, the actual content of ''Icebreaker'' contains no praise of Hitler or justification of his terror. In his later books, Suvorov insists that Stalin was a true evil genius (although unlucky), while describing Hitler as evil but grossly incompetent.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
-==Historians' views==
-{{Main|Soviet offensive plans controversy}}
-Suvorov's view that a Soviet invasion of Germany was imminent in 1941 is not shared by most historians.
-A noteworthy rebuttal of Suvorov's thesis is contained in Colonel [[David Glantz]]'s work ''Stumbling Colossus: The Red Army on the Eve of World War''. Glantz views Suvorov's argument as "incredible" on a variety of fronts: first, Suvorov rejects without examination classified ex-Soviet archival material, and makes highly selective picks from memoirs. Glantz points to this as a serious methodological flaw. Further, Glantz argues, Suvorov's thesis is strongly contradicted both by ex-Soviet and German archival material, and the facts do not support the argument that the Red Army was prepared to invade Germany.<ref>Author(s): David M. Glantz. Reviewed work(s): "Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War?" by Viktor Suvorov. ''The Journal of Military History'', Vol. 55, No. 2 (Apr., 1991), pp. 263-264 Published by: Society for Military History</ref> On the contrary, the appalling lack of readiness, poor training level, and abysmal state of deployments show that the Red Army was unprepared for static defense, much less large-scale offensive operations. Glantz's conclusion is that "Stalin may well have been an unscrupulous tyrant, but he was not a lunatic."
-For his part, however, Suvorov not only admits his selectiveness but justifies his methods, recalling his work in the intelligence community:
-:"If a hundred secret agents are reporting one way, and one sounds out of place and makes no sense, deal with him. No one will trust him or you, they will laugh at you, and they will not believe you. But this is how great discoveries are made".<ref>Suvorov, Viktor. ''The Chief Culprit: Stalin's Grand Design to Start World War II''. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2008.</ref>
-Commenting on the existing plans for a Soviet preemptive strike, Robin Edmonds argues that "the Red Army planning staff would not have been doing its job if it had not devoted some time between 1939 and 1941 to the possibility, at some future date, of a pre-emptive strike against Wehrmacht".<ref>Robin Edmonds. Reviewed work(s):
-Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War? by Viktor Suvorov. Source: International Affairs, Vol. 66, No. 4, Seventieth Anniversary Issue (Oct., 1990), p. 812</ref> David Brandenberger notes that recently published pre-1941 German analysis of Soviet military readiness also does not support the major ''Icebreaker's'' thesis demonstrating that Soviet preparations were assessed to be "defensive" by German intelligence."<ref>David Brandenberger. Reviewed work(s):Sekrety Gitlera na Stole u Stalina: Razvedka i Kontrrazvedka o Podgotovke Germanskoi Agressii Protiv SSSR, Mart-Iyun' 1941 g. Dokumenty iz Tsentral'nogo Arkhiva FSB. Source: Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Jun., 1997), pp. 748-749</ref>
-Although Suvorov claims that an attack date of July 6, 1941 had been selected, this is contradicted by the evidence as presented by Glantz and others. There were no stockpiles of fuel, ammunition, and other stores held in forward areas as would have been needed if an invasion was about to be mounted. Major ground units were dispersed into small garrisons rather than being concentrated at railheads, as they would have been had they been preparing an invasion. Units were not co-located with their own transportation assets, leaving, for example, major artillery units immobile. Over 50% of all Soviet tanks required major maintenance on June 22, 1941. If an invasion were being planned, these maintenance tasks would have been completed. Most Soviet armor units were in the process of re-organizing into the new [[Tank corps (Soviet Union)|Tank Corps]] formations; the German invasion caught these units in the midst of this reorganization. Such a large-scale reorganization is inconsistent with an impending invasion.
-The origin of Suvorov's thesis may lie in the fact that [[Marshal Zhukov]] did suggest a [[pre-emptive strike]] on Germany early in 1941. Zhukov recalled this plan later but claimed either that the plan was rejected by Stalin or didn't reach the leader at all. According to military historian [[Mikhail Meltyukhov]], this doesn't sound convincing. First, it is hard to believe Zhukov's claim that he had given the top secret document to a secretary so that the latter could deliver it to Stalin. Second, the claim by Suvorov rejectors that the document doesn't have signatures really proves nothing. It is known that during those years official military documents were almost exclusively passed without proper formatting.<ref>[[Mikhail Meltyukhov]] '[[Stalin's Missed Chance]]' (2000) -- Мельтюхов М.И. Упущенный шанс Сталина. Советский Союз и борьба за Европу: 1939-1941 (Документы, факты, суждения). — М.: Вече, 2000</ref>
-Icebreaker cites over 140 sources, mostly published memoirs and speeches of Soviet military officers participating in the war.<ref>"[[Viktor Suvorov]]" '[[Icebreaker]]' (1987) -- Виктор Суворов Ледокол. -- 1987</ref>
-Summarising the western scholars' opinion on ''Icebreaker'' Hugh Ragsdale concludes that the book is "generally considered discredited" by now,<ref>Hugh Ragsdale, ''The Munich Crisis and the Issue of Red Army Transit across Romania,'' Source: Russian Review, Vol. 57, No. 4 (Oct., 1998), pp. 614-617. Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Editors and Board of Trustees of the Russian Review.</ref> whereas [[Jonathan Haslam]] notes that Suvorov's claims "would be comical were it not taken so seriously".<ref>Jonathan Haslam. Review: Soviet-German Relations and the Origins of the Second World War: The Jury Is Still Out. Reviewed work(s): Stalin's Drive to the West, 1938-1945: The Origins of the Cold War. by R. Raack; The Soviet Union and the Origins of the Second World War: Russo-German Relations and the Road to War, 1933-1941. by G. Roberts Source: The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Dec., 1997), pp. 785-797</ref> According to the latter, "there is a significant segment of opinion in Germany that wishes to rehabilitate the Nazi past, and the end of the Soviet regime created an atmosphere favorable to the publication of the book." It is worth noting, however, that Suvorov draws much of his support from the former communist states of Eastern Europe, not just Germany. {{citation needed|date=November 2013}}
 ==See also==
 * [[Germany–Soviet Union relations before 1941]] and 1940 [[German–Soviet Axis talks]]
+* [[Soviet offensive plans controversy]]
 * [[Eastern Front (World War II)]]
 * 1939 [[Soviet invasion of Poland]] and 1932 [[Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact]]
 ==Further reading==
+*Suvorov, Viktor. ''Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War?'' (Viking Press/Hamish Hamilton; 1990) ISBN 0-241-12622-3
-* Ernst Topitsch. ''Stalin's War A Radical New Theory of The Origins Of The Second World War'' (Gunter Olzog Verlag GmbH, 1985; English language translation by Arthur Taylor, 1987) {{ISBN|0-312-00989-5}}
-* Suvorov, Viktor. ''Icebreaker: Who Started the Second World War?'' (Viking Press/Hamish Hamilton; 1990) {{ISBN|0-241-12622-3}}
+*Glantz, David. ''Stumbling Colossus: The Red Army on the Eve of World War''.  University Press of Kansas (May 1998), ISBN 0-7006-0879-6
-* Glantz, David.  ''Stumbling Colossus: The Red Army on the Eve of World War''. University Press of Kansas (May 1998), {{ISBN|0-7006-0879-6}}
+*Gorodetsky, Gabriel. ''Grand Delusion: Stalin and the German Invasion of Russia''. Yale University Press (2001) ISBN 0300084595
-* Gorodetsky, Gabriel. ''Grand Delusion: Stalin and the German Invasion of Russia''. Yale University Press (2001) {{ISBN|0300084595}}
+*Suvorov, Viktor.  ''The Chief Culprit: Stalin's Grand Design to Start World War II''. Potomac Books (July 20, 2007) ISBN 1-59797-114-6
-* Suvorov, Viktor.  ''The Chief Culprit: Stalin's Grand Design to Start World War II''. Potomac Books (July 20, 2007) {{ISBN|1-59797-114-6}}
+*Short, Neil ''The Stalin and Molotov Lines: Soviet Western Defences 1928-41''. Osprey Publishing; (September 23, 2008) ISBN 1846031923
+*{{ru icon}} "Posledniy Mif" (The Last Myth). [[:ru:Синельников, Владимир Львович|Vladimir Sinelnikov]] and Igor Shevtsov. "KLOTO". 1999. Film.
-* Short, Neil ''The Stalin and Molotov Lines: Soviet Western Defences 1928-41''. Osprey Publishing; (September 23, 2008) {{ISBN|1846031923}}
-* {{ru icon}} "Posledniy Mif" (The Last Myth). [[:ru:Синельников, Владимир Львович|Vladimir Sinelnikov]] and Igor Shevtsov. "KLOTO". 1999. Film.
 ==References==