The USSR was more pivotal to winning WW2 in Europe than the USA and Britain were

I will first refute my opponent's arguments, then defend each contention of mine Pro pulled out. 1. SO many Germans were on their eastern side because of the huge Russian force that existed. Throughout the war in total, 20 million men fought for the Soviets [1]. Germany needed more troops stationed there in order to even the odds. The Germans were still outnumbered 4 to 1 and managed to desecrate the entire Russian army [1], so the Red army was rebuilt, and then again torn down by the Germans [1]. The point I am trying to make is that Stalin's army was poorly trained, poorly equipped, and unable to handle the Germans. So many Germans were killed in the Easy due to the massive mistake Hitler made in sending them. Right now, it's like you are complementing a hundred men for being able to shoot ten blind men from 50 yards out. What they did wasn't hard, brave, or talented at all. Any of the Allies could have participated in this meat grinder, with LESS casualties than the Red Army suffered. It was Hitler who made the errors in sending his troops into the Russian winter, where they were vulnerable. Russia barely was able to push back the broken and unsupplied German army after winter broke. 2. It's difficult to interpret what point Pro is trying to make here. Stalingrad wasn't a Russian success, but a German failure. It's important to note that tens of thousands of Italians were present in Stalingrad, an army that was very weak and unable to do much [2]. This no doubt crippled the Germans. And the attack focus of USA and Britain wasn't Italy, but Germany's western front. Italy was not a threat. There would be no need to attack into Italy, for the Italian people were already revolting and the whole country was collapsing from within. Why waste the resources? You name Stalingrad as the reason the USSR was more pivotal, but I could name hundreds of battles that show USA and Britain to be just as important, if not more so. Now on to defending my points. USSR Helped Hitler The resolution asks which was more pivotal in winning the war, not who won the war. It's very important to look at the people who helped Hitler establish himself. Sure, the British appeased Hitler, trying to control him and control a possible war that would outbreak. The Hossbach Memorandum wasn't made public, and Hitler himself always promised the European leaders that he only wanted what was his, that it's only fair, blah blah blah. He never made it clear his intentions of war. Stalin, however, made his want a reality with the training he actually gave his men. The USSR provoked WWII by training German troops and signing peace treaties with them. Britain, on the other hand, tried to stop WWII from even happening through a plan that they wouldn't know would fail. It's clear here that USSR was more responsible for the start of this horrible war, thus making it impossible for them to be considered pivotal in winning it. They get no credit since they were eager to have the war. 2. Most of this is not contingent to the resolution or topical in any way. There is no sourcing for any of it also, so it should be discarded by the reader. The Eastern Front Fell due to Hitler, not the USSR You basically admit that most of Germany's failures are because of Germany, not her opponent's. This strengthens my case completely. I must meet the resolution that all three countries were equally pivotal. Saying Germany caused her own defeats is basically saying they were all equally important in defeating Germany. And no, most of Germany's defeats on the western front weren't due to Germany. Either way though, I have won this debate. You concede that the opponent didn't matter, but that Germany failed. If the opponent didn't matter, the opponents were all equal. I state that Germany defeated herself against the USSR, but America and Britain defeated Germany on the Eastern front. Either way, I have satisfied the resolution and won. The remaining soldiers in the soviet union after the dreadful winter were beaten, sick, hungry, and ill equipped. The Russians simply had to push forward to beat them back, and they still lost millions of men doing it. Again, this is just a meat grinder on Germany's part. D- Day The soviets simply took back the land they lost, and lost more soldiers doing it then all the other allies combined in the whole war [2]. By the time that Russia reached into inner Europe, basically out of the Soviet Union, all major armies of Germany's were defeated, Italy was rendered useless, and the bulk of the fighting was going on in the West, all thanks to USA and Britain. Britain under siege Fair enough. Britain endured less actual death, but that's most likely because Britain was much better at fighting than the Russians. Still, they were blockaded by the Germans and bombed continuously. They still managed to get forces to disrupt Italian activities, helping win the war in Europe. Battle of Berlin The Allies allowed Russia to conquer Berlin because they didn't want to lose the lives of their soldiers. The Red Army was also racing into Berlin to capture nuclear programs and research, as your source states. However, this is all irrelevant. If the Red Army hadn't of stormed Berlin, the other Allies simply would. It was no secret at that time that Germany was going to fall. Hitler committed suicide BEFORE and Russians entered Berlin, showing their demise to be imminent. The Soviets got their first. That, however, doesn't make them pivotal in winning. Just greedy for nuclear research. Conclusion Quite simply, the Germans ended the war for themselves. Attacking Russia and getting caught in the winter showed how it weakened them, and continuing to attack them only increased their dead. Russia simply got attacked, and later repelled the attack. They did nothing else of significance, and would have worked with Germany if it wasn't for Germany going back on their word! Meanwhile, the USA and Britain were making decisive victories and conquering Nazi territory. They eliminated the Italians from helping the Nazi's, freed the French people, broke through the German's defenses and cleared the Nazi troops that were bombarding Britain. This, compared to Russia just having a giant death fest with Germany. Thank you Sources 1. http://wiki.answers.com... 2. http://www.quora.com...