The comparison separates the large Pacific flow, the Persian Corridor through Iran, the Arctic convoys, a smaller Soviet Arctic route, and limited Mediterranean and Black Sea deliveries. The Arctic convoys were critical, though they represented only one part of the supply system and did not carry its largest tonnage. An overall arrival rate of about 97 percent shows how much dispatched cargo reached the Soviet Union. Reaching a Soviet port solved only part of the logistical problem because the material still had to move across the country. Ocean routes, ports, and difficult inland distribution formed one transport chain.
Chapter · 2:27-4:51
Soviet supply routes beyond the Arctic convoys
A route-by-route comparison places the famous Arctic convoys within a wider Soviet supply system that moved most aid through Pacific and Persian routes.