History

I'm not saying the west isn't deserving of the highest possible degree of cynicism but I think this is a bridge too far. At the advent of the Nazi invasion of the USSR the US was not yet in the war, and Britain alone had no capacity to open its own front in western Europe. They had tried and failed spectacularly in the Battle of France. By the time the US had joined the war and was fully mobilized, the Wehrmacht's advance had already been stalled for months, and the Soviets had already begun to regain ground. I think it's a hell of a stretch to say the west was crossing its fingers that Hitler would reach Moscow, especially given that if they did, the UK was likely next to be invaded. But we can't know any of that for sure, it's all speculation. What we DO know for sure is that Stalin had been asking Churchill and Roosevelt to open a front in western Europe since at least the middle of 1942. With the benefit of hindsight it's easy to say the Red Army easily could have steamrolled all the way to France without western intervention but the simple fact is Stalin absolutely wanted the help. I think it's ludicrous to suggest the opening of the western front was merely to prevent a completely Soviet-dominated Europe. Of COURSE that was a factor, but the invasion also held immense strategic importance, and the war likely would have dragged much longer without it. Even if we say your view is accurate, I would retort, so what? Killing Nazis, even if for "the wrong reason" is good, actually.