Historical Text on the Origins of WW2 on the Eastern Front - Peer Review Requested

[Franek Grabowski]

Well, would say the text is simply incomplete. It is not the problem of writing a thesis on the subject, but rereading it and introducing changes.
Say eg. your sentence.

Despite the non-aggression pact – proposed by the signing parties to be valid for ten years – signed by the foreign ministers of the USSR and the IIIrd Reich – Vyacheslav M. Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop, respectively – on 23 August 1939, pact that surprised many, as well as divergent diplomatic moves, both sides actually prepared fervently to attack the other.

Could be replaced with a better effect (IMHO) ina following or similar manner.

Despite signing a pact of mutual assistance and non-aggression, that resulted in strict military, intelligence and economical cooperation and partition of Eastern Europe, both Germany and Soviet Union found themselves conspiring against each other.

[Bruce Dennis]

I seldom contribute to the forum, but I found your writing of interest as it runs parallel to some research of my own.

I would question a couple of points:

‘But, in contrast to Stalin, he was ill served by his intelligence services, …’

It seems worth pointing out that all intelligence submitted to Hitler at this time went through Ribbentrop who was passing only about 5% of what came to him from Germany’s intelligence agencies. It was Ribbentrop’s actions which lead to Hitler having incomplete assessments, not the information gathering services. These agencies did have limitations but they were mostly of Hitler’s making.

Concerning Bulgaria, you say…‘Bulgaria – another Slavic nation with close historical and cultural ties to Russia, and thus the Soviet Union –…’

As Franek says, Bulgaria was not Slavic. There was a strong tactical bond between Bulgaria and Germany during most of WW1, plus Bulgaria was a good customer of Krupps.

As you are describing a sequence of events that includes the lesser Axis partners, it is also worth pointing out that the coup in Yugoslavia in 1941, which caught the German intelligence services by surprise, had a significant consequence: Hitler decided to intervene and occupy Yugoslavia and this meant the delay of Barbarossa by a month. Considering the position of the opposing Red and German forces when the winter set in, that was a very important month.

I hope this is of help.

Bruce Dennis