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by dimavs 1910 days ago
Why delaying? USSR has the most powerful army in 1939. USSR could have occupied Ploesti oil fields in 1940 that would effectively stop the war. Creating a common border with your enemy is not a very effective way to "delay" from my point of view.
1 comments

This is really absurd. By 1939 the Red Army was massively lacking in tanks, artillery, air power, and logistics. They could not have sustained an expeditionary offensive against Germamy, even in Romania. And while Ploesti had significant oil production, by 1939 Germany had alternatives and a lower oil consumption, so this would not have stalled the offensive.
Check your numbers. Number of tanks as of June 1941. And Germany oil consumption and sources as of 1940. You'll be surprised.
The tanks the Red Army has in 1939 were of incredibly poor quality and many of them were barely even tanks by later standards.

You're also changing the goalposts. We're talking about 1939, not 1941, which was after two years of herculean production.

https://defense.info/re-thinking-strategy/2018/10/oil-and-wa...

By 1939 Germany was at less than half of its peak, and only 24% (replaceable, 1936 composition) came from Romania+USSR.