Stalin and the Bomb

by David Holloway

The British in 1940 and 1941 faced the prospect of a long war to defeat Germany, and were fearful that the balance of military power might be tipped decisively in Germany’s favor if it acquired this new and terrible weapon. This was the context in which the Maud Committee worked. When the committee concluded that an atomic bomb might be built within two and a half years, it was apparent that the bomb might have an impact on the war, for there was no expectation that Germany would be defeated before then. The same was true for the United States, especially after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In Germany, however, the strategic outlook was different. The rapid German victories of 1940 and 1941 held out the promise of a short war, in which an atomic bomb would play no role. By 1942 the situation was less hopeful, but there had been no Maud Committee to provide a reasoned argument that a bomb could be built in less than three years. It did not appear, therefore, that an atomic bomb could affect the outcome of the war.59