Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

WWII query: Why did France surrender so quickly while Russia held out for years?

Best Defense is in summer reruns. Here is an item that originally ran on December 31, 2015.

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Russland-Nord, Infanterie und Panzer 35t
Russland-Nord, Infanterie und Panzer 35t

 

 

Best Defense is in summer reruns. Here is an item that originally ran on December 31, 2015.

I’ve read tons of books on World War II, yet I realized the other day that I don’t know the answer to this question. British intelligence expected France to hold out, but the USSR to collapse in a few months. Yet the opposite happened. Why?

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

 

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1
Tags: France, Military

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