No. of Recommendations: 2
Re: probability of Soviet invasion of Japan in 1995
(Also from the net sifter)
Limited Lift: Even with American aid, the Soviets only had enough specialized transport and landing craft (like LCI-Ls) to lift and land roughly 10,000 troops at a time. For comparison, the U.S. landed 60,000 troops on the first day of the Battle of Okinawa.No Heavy Lift: The Soviets completely lacked crucial equipment like Landing Ships, Tank (LSTs) and amphibious tractors, which were vital for delivering heavy artillery, tanks, and continuous supplies.
Lack of Amphibious Doctrine and Experience
River vs. Ocean: The Red Army was the world's master of land warfare and river crossings, but they had almost no experience organizing and executing massive, long-range, over-the-shore ocean invasions.
On the other hand, the American fleet sat off the shores of Japan with over a million men ready to storm ashore. They had the craft to get them ashore, the beans and bullets to sustain an invasion, and the battleships, cruisers and aircraft carriers to mount a supportive bombardment.
The USSR possessed little to none of these resources
