Review of "Yalta: The Price of Peace," by S. M. Plokhy
Review of
Yalta: The Price of Peace, by S. M. Plokhy, ISBN 9780143118923
Five out of five stars
Inside the negotiations to remake Europe
The Yalta conference featuring the big three of Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt tool place almost 80 years ago. Yet, there is still resounding debate regarding which of the three did the best in achieving their goals, which were quite distinct and in some cases mutually exclusive.
Being a product of the British Empire, the primary goal of Winston Churchill was to maintain and if possible expand the influence of the Empire. Having experienced multiple invasions of the area in the Soviet Union over the centuries, the goal of Joseph Stalin was to achieve the domination of Eastern Europe in order to preclude any future invasion. The primary goal of Franklin Roosevelt was to convince Stalin to enter the war against Japan as soon as possible.
The battle for Iwo Jima had just begun and it was clear that the American casualties were going to be high. In the previous battles between U. S. and Japanese forces, the Japanese generally fought to the death and the projections of U. S. casualties in an invasion of the Japanese home islands started at 250,000. The Japanese still had almost three quarters of a million troops in the Kwantung Army in Manchuria and there were fears that they would be transferred back to defend the home islands. The atomic bomb was still theoretical, so that was still a great uncertainty. Therefore, Roosevelt’s primary goal was to get Stalin to join the war against Japan. He succeeded almost too well as the Soviet forces moved quickly, taking control of half of Korea.
Those who criticize Roosevelt and Churchill ignore the fact that the Soviet Red Army was occupying Eastern Europe and there was only two ways they would depart. The first was for Stalin to order them back and the second was for Allied forces to push them back. Neither of these was even remotely possible.
The other key point to keep in mind as you read this book is that the British Empire was in rapid decline by 1945. When it came to armed forces available, it was really only the big two. Yet, Churchill tried to act as if he was the military equal of the other two. As is made clear in this book, Churchill was still trying to delineate spheres of influence in Europe for Great Britain. His stated percentages of influence in Eastern European countries is classic great power colonial thinking.
This book takes the reader inside the machinations of these three men and their primary advisors as they begin to parcel out the world in a way where the Axis would be defeated and there would be a minimum of jockeying for territory once peace was achieved. It was interesting to read how the Soviets successfully bugged the Allied quarters and when combined with their vast spy network, knew all they needed to know about the goals of Roosevelt and Churchill. It was the one way that Churchill and Roosevelt were operating at a disadvantage.
This book does not resolve the debate over who won at Yalta. It does explain why the three men acted the way they did and why the end result was about the best that could have been achieved in terms of postwar control of territory.
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