On balance, the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact was a necessary evil for Allied victory

BA degree in Military History here, so unfortunately I'm going to curbstomp your facts on this one.Primarily: The Ribbentrop-Molotov (Nazi-Soviet) Pact was NOT a necessary requisite for Allied victory because it is what allowed Germany to effectively plan for war in the first place!When discussing the second world war, we must be extremely cautious... Germany and was threatening to invade the U.S.S.R. Stalin had to counter him.Is absolutely false. The whole point of negotiating the Nazi-Soviet Pact on the German end was actually because Hitler was afraid Stalin might invade him in 1940 before he was even ready. Meanwhile, Stalin agreed to the treaty because it included economic incentives and access to markets that were both free from capitalist influences and prevented his encirclement from other rival countries (aka USA, Britain, and France). But had a Nazi-Soviet war broken out on the timeline between 1939-1940, here's what it would have looked like: .................. Red Army.................. German Army.........RatioDivisions..... 128.......................... 55............................ 2.3 : 1Personnel.... 3,400,000.................1,400,000.................. 2.1 : 1Artillery ..... 38,500...................... 16,300...................... 2.4 : 1Tanks ......... 7,500....................... 900........................... 8.7 : 1Aircraft........ 6,200...................... 1,400........................ 4.4 : 1Source:http://en.wikipedia.org...Knowing then that he was going to get his virtual *** kicked if Stalin ever attacked, Hitler made a deal with the devil in 1939 so he could build up his military, gather more resources, takeout France and Britain first, and then hurriedly turn around and invade Russia before they got too strong. Which he did. And its why Operation Barbarrosa (like Pearl Harbor) is largely being seen by historians these days as a premptive strike. And we that know this above Soviet paranoia is true on the Nazi's part because part of the Nazi-Soviet deal was for the Kreigsmarine to build and deliver heavy cruisers for the Russian Navy, which the Germans promptly took thier time, kept the money, and never finished. http://en.wikipedia.org... Hence, a most clever stalling tactic.The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact included Food & Fuel for the Nazi War Machine.I'll just copy and paste this here because its pretty well summarized: "Because of the lack of German natural resources, German planners in May 1939 feared that a cessation of Swedish trade would cut key iron ore supplies.[17] In addition, were Russian supplies cut off, German planners estimated that they would need to find substitutes for approximately 165,000 tons of manganese and almost 2 million tons of oil per year.[17] Germany already faced severe rubber shortages because of British and Dutch refusals to trade with Germany.[17] On May 8, German officials produced new planning figures estimating that Germany possessed oil stocks totaling only 3.1 months of usage.[17]In August, as Germany planned to invade Poland and prepared for an eventual war with France, German war planners estimated that, with an expected British naval blockade, if the Soviet Union became hostile, Germany would fall short of its war mobilization requirements by 9.9 million tons of oil and 260,000 tons of manganese.[18] At that time, Germany possessed only two to three months of rubber stocks and three to six months of oil stocks.[18] Because of the expected naval blockade, the Soviet Union would become the only potential supplier for many items." http://en.wikipedia.org... A key point in the above article is to remember that without first stockpiling Russian oil, Germany's energy supplies for WWII would have relied soley on hard to manufacture synstheic oil plants. Meanwhile if you look at German supply figures in the prepping stages for Operation Barbarrosa, you can see clearly what a crucial advantage Soviet trade really had.June 1941German stocks (thousands of tons) Oil products.......... 1350 Rubber................. 13.8 Manganese........... 205 Grain.................... 1381 June 1941 German stocks W/O Soviet Imports (thousands of tons)Oil products.......... 438 Rubber................. -4.9 Manganese........... 15.5 Grain.................... -256.1^^ yes those are incredibly minus signs.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org...Without Soviet deliveries of these key industrial products, Germany could barley have attacked the Soviet Union, let alone come close to victory. Other RebuttalsAnnex many territories on their bordersFar from a buffer against invasion, Soviet expansion only served to create distrust with American and British diplomats, while effectively wearing down a good chunk of the Red Army in a no-win blizzard campaign in Finland http://en.wikipedia.org...Prepare rations for the war & Mobilize and produce war equipmentOnly on the German side who otherwise lack fuel, rubber, manganese, and grain without Soviet Imports (please see above arguments). Pro has also ignorantly dismissed some of the industrial merits that Stalin's 5 year plans had in already preparing the USSR for war. (http://en.wikipedia.org...)Stalin was well aware of Drang nach Osten, he was well aware of the Lebensraum. He knew precisely what Hitler was planning and attempted to counter it. Please explain then why the great and all-knowing man of steel had a nervous breakdown the day Operation Barbarrosa took place. Kruschev is said to have remarked that Stalin looked like a “a bag of bones in a grey tunic.” http://www.historyinanhour.com... and that he could hardly eat, sleep, drink, or say anything for nearly a week. The fact is Stalin trusted that Hitler wouldn't attack, otherwise he wouldn't have purged the Red Army of its generals in the late 1930s.An opportunist, for sure, but a cunning opportunistThen he should invaded in 1939 when Germany was still weak and dependant on Soviet trade. In reality, Stalin was a poor strategist who put more fear into being surrounded by capitalist countries then he did to a Fascist takeover.Hitler's final objective was the domination of the U.S.S.R. Since the other allied powers at the time were defeatedThe UK was defeated?!?!? What **** are you smoking because I want some!U.S.S.R. remained the only beacon of defiance against the NazisNot counting Churchill's middle finger of course.It was the red army that killed almost 80% of German troops in Europe.And it was the American economy that provided 98% of the raw materials and industrialized resources, not to mention Lend-Lease to the USSR and Great Britain (http://en.wikipedia.org...) Somebody also had to militarily defeat Italy and Japan (aka the USA).The Soviet Union was the only force that could rout Nazism.Comrade, please.. give me Ike, Patton, Bradley, the 8th Air Force, British Expeditionary Forces, unlimited steel, food, and gas, and a vibrant super-power industrialized economy and base of operations that is too far away to be attacked, and I'll defeat Hitler any day of the week! And should he make it to next week, I'll have atomic bombs.Resulting in total Axis domination.The yanks would have came eventually, but nice try though!