Lets consider the possibility of some kind of planned withdrawal to the Stalin Line or any way to avoid the encirclements on the frontiers of 22–6.
Would it have made any difference? The reform of the Soviet command structure hadn't taken place and so the force structure would have been inflexible.

Interesting, can you be a little more specific here please?

Cheers, thanks.

Tom

Absolutely. An organized defense of the Stalin line would have been crucial. It might have even put the war into stalemate. Even on some sectors of the new border, a number of the more successfull bunkers held out for weeks. In some cases the soldiers were starved to death because they were walled in by Germans.

Seawolf:
Lets consider the possibility of some kind of planned withdrawal to the Stalin Line or any way to avoid the encirclements on the frontiers of 22–6.
Would it have made any difference? The reform of the Soviet command structure hadn't taken place and so the force structure would have been inflexible.

Defensive ability of the Stalin Line was highly overrated. It was weak and mostly unarmed; many pillboxes won't finished, some pillboxes were in very bad conditions and partially ruined because the Soviets used low-end materials. This Line was overrated in 1950th by Khrushev because he was responsible for the construction but failed. So, when he got the power he launched a myth about 'very strong line which was abandoned and destroyed'.
If Red Army withdrew to the Stalin Line it would lost some territory (East Poland etc.) without any resistance. It would help Germany to capture Moscow and Leningrad.

OK, interesting thoughts Valera, but 1 fully manned line vs. 2 half-manned lines would still be better, don't you think?

The moral aspect was very important for any military conflict. Retreatment of the Red Army and leaving huge territory for the Germans dramatically affected the moraly of the Soviet soldiers.
Moreover, battles along the frontier took some time and slower German advance. It allowed Red Amy to draft more people to the Army; and allowed a lot of Soviet industries to evacuate to the Siberia. First frontier battles were unfortunate to the Red Army but were necessary for their future victory.

I think that anything to avoid the losses in 1941's summer could have slowed the German advance and made for a speedier conclusion to the war. My reason is this: The OKH had fully admitted to Hitler that they did not possess the resources to win a war in the east.

Even though this topic is very interesting, it remains speculation. Besides I wonder if 'what if'-history really contributes to our understanding of the war on the eastern front.

PS: Osrey published a very interesting book about the Stalin line by Neil Short.

'What Ifs' represent a difficult area of speculation. They can be view as little more than entertainment — constructing meaningless alternative world-lines. On the other hand, if strategic and tactical decisions are to be critically assessed, how do you avoid the question of, 'Ok, if it was a bad call, what would have been the alternative and what would the consequences have been?'

By Keith:

>>'What Ifs' represent a difficult area of speculation. They can be view as little more than entertainment — constructing meaningless alternative world-lines. On the other hand, if strategic and tactical decisions are to be critically assessed, how do you avoid the question of, 'Ok, if it was a bad call, what would have been the alternative and what would the consequences have been?'

If we are talking about the «Stalin» line then it's usefulness in modern battle conditions, especially after the fall of the Maginot line, was in itself very questionable to the Soviet military and political leaders at the time. There were a few visible issues with «Stalin» line:
1. Crummy or rather inadequate construction. The Osprey book mentioned by one of the posters, saw it at Borders, gives a fairly good description on the fortifications themselves. This was no way to the standards of the Maginot.
2. Huge gaps.

If the Soviets would depend on Stalin's line alone the war would have been over pretty fast.