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Difficulty: HardWorld War II: Military Campaigns and Postwar Planning

“In spite of the Soviet Union’s request for the creation of a second front in Europe... the British Government has postponed this action to 1943... A second front in Europe in 1942 is demanded by the situation... We cannot reconcile ourselves to the postponement of a second front in Europe to 1943... [This] inflicts a moral blow to the whole of Soviet public opinion, which calculates on the creation of a second front... and complicates the situation of the Red Army at the front...”

— Premier Joseph Stalin, Message to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, July 1942

The strategic disagreement detailed in the excerpt contributed most directly to which of the following post-World War II developments?

  1. Growing Soviet distrust of the Western Allies, which intensified disputes over the political future of postwar Eastern EuropeAnswer
  2. B
    A return to strict United States isolationism and a refusal to participate in new international security organizations
  3. C
    The immediate adoption of containment policies that militarily restricted Soviet influence to its pre-1939 borders
  4. D
    The formal expansion of the Monroe Doctrine to establish permanent military bases throughout Western Europe

Answer

Growing Soviet distrust of the Western Allies, which intensified disputes over the political future of postwar Eastern Europe
The correct answer is correct because the postponement of the second front (which did not open until the D-Day landings in June 1944) meant the Soviet Union fought the German army with minimal direct land support in Europe for years. This delay fostered deep Soviet distrust of the United States and Great Britain, leading Stalin to prioritize establishing friendly communist governments in Eastern Europe after the war to serve as a buffer zone against future invasions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source document by Joseph Stalin from July 1942.
Identify that Stalin is expressing deep frustration and concern over the Western Allies' decision to delay opening a 'second front' in Western Europe.
Understanding the context of WWII military campaigns where the Soviet Union faced the vast majority of the German army on the Eastern Front.
2
Evaluate the geopolitical consequences of this military strategic delay on wartime and postwar planning.
Determine that the delay fostered deep Soviet suspicion that the US and UK were allowing the Soviets to bear the brunt of the casualties.
Connecting military campaign decisions to the diplomatic friction that arose at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences.
3
Link these wartime tensions to postwar outcomes.
The Soviet demand for buffer states (satellite nations) in Eastern Europe was motivated in part by a desire for security, stemming from wartime distrust of Western intentions.
Identifying how the second front debate directly contributed to the origins of the Cold War and the division of Europe.

Key Concept

Wartime diplomacy and the origins of postwar geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

World War II: Military Campaigns and Postwar Planning

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