introduction

In the 40s of the last century, when World War II broke out, all countries in the world were drawn into the battlefield, how did the developed countries in Europe promote the development of the war? When we focus on all aspects of their economic and military strength, we find out how strong they are?

In many ways, 70 years later, it is difficult to surpass. So how powerful were the Soviet Union, the United States, and Germany back then, and how did the countries develop in World War II?

First, the development of railway transportation is strong, and the mileage exceeds that of now

As the saying goes, if you want to get rich and build roads first, the most important thing in the early stage of the war is to open up transportation channels. Only the guarantee of transportation channels can ensure the continuous circulation of all kinds of resources, thereby driving the industrial revolution in Europe. Dispersed to various countries, transportation has become an important way of industrial and military development.

At the beginning of the Soviet-German war, there were many robberies against the railway. During World War II, the length of railways in European countries made China at that time sigh.

We are also immersed in the war, but it is difficult for us to establish good transportation channels. So how strong were the railways of the Soviet Union, the United States, and Germany during World War II?

Let's focus on 1946, when the Soviet Union had more than 110,000 kilometers of railways, and India came in second with more than 60,000 kilometers. Most of India's railways were built by the British to ensure the rapid flow of India's resources, or rather rapid plunder.

At that time, the total length of railways in Germany was more than 40,000 kilometers, in Britain it was more than 30,000 kilometers, and even South Africa had 20,000 kilometers of railways, and the length of railways in China was less than 10,000 kilometers. From these data, we can see how big the gap between China and the world was and how big the gap was with the world powers.

In 1949, the countries that had just finished World War II had developed the length of railways again, with more than 60,000 kilometers in Germany, more than 20,000 kilometers in Italy, and more than 17,000 kilometers in Spain. Even more shocking is that the USSR reached a total length of 116,000 kilometers.

This was able to carry out more transportation of manpower and goods on the vast land of the Soviet Union, and could ensure that all military supplies could reach the front line quickly. The so-called quick victory requires not only excellent troops, but also timely logistics support and exquisite weapons, and rail transportation can do this very well.

In 1924, the length of railroads in the United States reached 400,000 kilometers. You must know that in 1949, the length of railways on the mainland was only 21,800 kilometers.

The intricacies of the railway network, to some extent, represent the development of the country, which can provide the country with a stronger industrial base and at the same time promote the development of the country.

Railway resources were especially important in wartime, so if you look at the length of the Soviet Union, the United States, and Germany, you can see why these countries were so powerful.

In 2019, more than 70 years have passed since World War II, and the world ranking has changed. The United States still ranks first in the world, but the number has changed from 40 to 22, and the second place in the world has been firmly won by China, and the mainland has a total length of nearly 140,000 kilometers of railways.

France ranks 10th, with a total kilometer length of only about 28,000 kilometers, which is much less than that of the Soviet Union, the United States, and Germany during World War II. From this, we can also see that even in the modern era 70 years later, many infrastructure buildings cannot beat the power of the past, and I think this is also the reason why they are regarded as a world power.

Second, oil could not defeat the Soviet Union, the United States, and Germany at that time

As a powerful resource needed for the country's industrialization development, it can be said that a country's oil, coal, and electricity are related to a country's industrial capacity. Let's start with China, where in 1945 the continent had not yet discovered major oil fields, with only 175,000 tons of oil produced.

However, in the Soviet Union in 1940, oil production was as high as 31.121 million tons, and in 1945 there were still 19.436 million tons of oil. In 1943, Germany produced 776,000 tons of oil at home, and Austria produced 1,107,000 tons of oil in its client state.

Looking at U.S. data, in 1945, U.S. oil production reached 1,713,655,000 barrels. With the above data, it's hard not to believe that they are not world powers. Looking at today's oil production, the entire Americas still produced 1.568 billion tons of oil in 2022.

In 2022, Egypt, which ranks 25th in the world in terms of oil production, has an oil output of 33 million tons, which is a tie with the Soviet Union in 1940, but it can't get past the big hurdle of the United States.

Third, the production of steel far exceeds that of today's country

Next, let's look at an extremely important part of industrial and military development, that is, steel production. The production of iron and steel has a direct impact on the construction of heavy industry, and without heavy industry, there would be no development of armaments and weapons for the armies of various countries. So what was the steel production of the powerful countries like during World War II?

In World War II, for example, in 1941, the United States produced more than 75 million tons of steel, the Soviet Union had 14.5 million tons, Japan had 6.84 million tons, and Germany had 20.83 million tons. During World War II, total steel production in the United States reached 400 million tons.

Just now, 262,000 aircraft, more than 80,000 tanks, more than 20,000 artillery pieces, and 250,000 large-caliber artillery pieces were also built for them. In addition to this, there are many innumerable weapons and fleets. Germany has a total production of 150 million tons and also has 140,000 aircraft, more than 20,000 tanks and 340,000 trucks.

After these steels were put into production, the military strength of various countries was greatly increased, and the Soviet Union also built more than 140,000 aircraft, more than 90,000 main battle tanks and more than 510,000 large-caliber artillery pieces during World War II. During war, steel must be used in battle to the fullest extent.

Therefore, these steel-producing powers have also been greatly improved in military strength, which has led to their rise in strength and occupy the top spot in the world. It can be said that it is not an exaggeration to look at the country's strength from the perspective of steel production. After all, the mainland's steel output was only 3,000 tons, and the mainland was struggling in the quagmire of war.

But now, time has passed, and in 2015, the mainland's steel production reached 779 million tons, becoming the world's first. According to the data of 2021, the mainland's steel production has reached 1032.8 million tons, which is far from India, which ranks second.

In 2021, the UK's steel production ranked 24th in the world, with a total output of 7.2 million tons, which is a huge difference from the United States, Germany, and the Soviet Union during World War II. From 1941 to 2021, it took 80 years, but it still couldn't catch up with the world powers of that year.

Judging from the above data, these powerful countries are not groundless, nor are they heroes created by the times. It's about their natural resources being tilted and being able to develop strong nations.

Railways, oil, and steel were all indispensable resources in the war, which is why they remained strong.

Resources

Qian Bozhang.World Petroleum and Petrochemical Development Status and Trend[M].Petroleum Industry Press,2007.

Comparison of the growth rate of GDP, national income, industrial labor productivity and workers' wages in the United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom[J].Frontline, 1985(6):2.