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How The USSR Saved WWII By Relocating Their Factories
A forgotten piece of the victory puzzle
During the course of the War on the Eastern Front, the Germans ran into a frustrating problem. No matter how many Soviet tanks they destroyed, another seemed to take its place. And another. And another. The replacement tanks weren’t outdated tanks or underpowered light tanks. These tanks were the best of the best, including durable T-34s and fearsome KV-2s. The appearance of these tanks in large numbers baffled German military planners. Hadn’t they conquered most of the Soviet heavy industry when they swept through the western reaches of the country during Operation Barbarossa?
What the Germans didn’t know at the time was that the Soviets had done something ingenious, and in doing so, they might have saved the war effort. When it became clear that thousands of square kilometers were in danger of being conquered by the German army, the Soviets decided to move what they could from the frontlines to safer regions in the east. One of the USSR’s biggest strengths was its immense size.
If tank factories could not safely produce heavy equipment near the front, it was moved to safer areas in the rear. This was an immense effort that took months of planning and hard labor, but the effort started bearing fruit in 1943.
The Evacuation Council
A council was formed to oversee the effort to move hundreds of Soviet factories and the skilled workers required to operate them. The council decided that the best course of action was to break down the most important factories and ship them farther east before rebuilding them.
The Soviet Union ultimately moved 1,500 heavy factories from the front lines. This effort was intense. Thousands of rail cars and thousands of manhours were used to break down these factories. The machinery was then put into crates which were loaded onto trains and steamed eastward.
In addition to these factories, the council also evacuated nearly 16 million Soviet citizens. These people were relocated to areas in the interior and set…
