From 1941 to 1943, military counterintelligence agencies were subordinate to People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Lavrentiy Beria. If in Soviet times little and only good things were said about the work of military security officers, then after the collapse of the USSR they said a lot and often bad things.
If you believe the opuses of individual domestic journalists and screenwriters of modern films “about the war,” military counterintelligence officers constantly drank in the rear, slept with well-groomed and cleanly dressed young nurses, and when the medical battalion ran out of alcohol and wanted something new, they went to the front line. Having fabricated several criminal cases and personally shot victims in the back of the head with a revolver, the “military counterintelligence officers” returned to the rear, where alcohol and lustful medical staff were already waiting for them. From time to time they were given military awards. Probably for victories on the sexual front and success in battles with the green serpent. And so throughout the Great Patriotic War. It is unclear, however, who caught the German agents and cared for the wounded. What else did you want from the subordinates of the “sexual maniac and executioner” Lavrentiy Beria? They followed the example of their boss in everything.
Everything in life was different. It so happened that of all the operational units of Lubyanka (not counting the border guards and members of the internal troops), the military security officers were the first to engage the enemy and they (of all the state security units) had some of the heaviest losses. Suffice it to say that during the period from June 22, 1941 to March 1, 1943, military counterintelligence lost 3,725 people killed, 3,092 missing, and 3,520 wounded. In the fall of 1941, on the Southwestern Front, the former head of the 3rd Directorate of the NKO, A. N. Mikheev, was surrounded and killed.
On the other hand, it was the military counterintelligence officers who took the brunt of the blow from the German intelligence services, who organized the mass dispatch of their intelligence officers, provocateurs and saboteurs to the front-line zone. Suffice it to say that from 1941 to 1943, the enemy sent up to 55% of its agents into the zone of responsibility (front line) of military security officers. And by the beginning of 1945, this figure increased to 90%. To this we must add “transiters” - those who crossed the front line on foot, and not by plane. And many of the German agents knew in advance that if they were arrested by Soviet law enforcement officers, they would be shot. Therefore, when detained, they often offered armed resistance.
Military counterintelligence officers risked their lives no less than the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army on the front line. In fact, ordinary employees (investigative officers serving military units) acted autonomously. Together with the fighters, they first fought on the border and then quickly retreated. In the event of the death or serious injury of a unit commander, the counterintelligence officer had to not only replace the military leader, but also, if necessary, raise the soldiers to attack. At the same time, they continued to fulfill their professional duty - they fought against deserters, alarmists, and enemy agents that were rapidly filling the front-line zone.
They had to fight from the first hours of the war, relying only on themselves. If their colleagues from other units of the NKVD were able to receive instructions from their superiors on what to do in “special conditions,” then military counterintelligence officers acted autonomously. It is difficult to say whether they knew about Directive No. 34794 of the 3rd Directorate of NGOs of the USSR adopted on June 22, 1941. In it, the main task of security officers in the active army and military counterintelligence officers of the Far Eastern Front (FEF) was to identify the agents of German intelligence agencies and anti-Soviet elements in the Red Army. It was ordered to “accelerate the creation of residencies and provide them with reserve residents”, to prevent military personnel from disclosing military secrets, and special attention should be paid to employees of headquarters and communications centers. Maybe they were able to tell it to them after all.
But about another governing document of the 3rd Directorate of NGOs of the USSR - Directive No. 35523 of June 27, 1941 “On the work of the bodies of the 3rd Directorate of NGOs in wartime”, most likely, no. During the first days of the war, there was no communication between Headquarters and the headquarters of individual armies.
This document defined the main functions of military counterintelligence:
“1) intelligence and operational work: a) in units of the Red Army; b) in the rear, supporting units operating at the front; c) among the civilian environment;
2) the fight against desertion (employees of special departments were part of the Red Army barrage detachments, which, contrary to popular belief, were not directly related to the state security agencies. - Auth.);
3) work on enemy territory” (initially in an area up to 100 km from the front line, in contact with the intelligence department of the USSR NPO. - Auth.).
“Special officers” were supposed to be located both at headquarters, ensuring secrecy, and in the first echelons at command posts. At the same time, military counterintelligence officers received the right to conduct investigative actions against military personnel and civilians associated with them, while they had to receive authorization for arrests of mid-level command personnel from the Military Council of the army or front, and for senior and senior command personnel from the People's Commissar of Defense.
The organization of counterintelligence departments of 3 departments of military districts, armies and fronts began; their structure provided for the presence of three departments - to combat espionage, nationalist and anti-Soviet organizations and lone anti-Soviet activists.
The “special officers” took control of military communications, the delivery of military equipment, weapons and ammunition to the active army, for which third departments were established on the railways, the activities of which were intertwined (and, apparently, duplicated in some way) with state security agencies in transport .
At the beginning of July 1941, by order of People's Commissar Timoshenko, the head of the 3rd NPO Directorate, A. N. Mikheev, received the right to independently appoint positions in the structure of special departments, up to and including deputy heads of district and front-line third departments.
In 1941, third departments were organized at the headquarters of the commanders-in-chief of the North-Western, Western and South-Western directions. Within two days, the subordination of the army's military counterintelligence agencies changed, returning to the state security system.
By Decree of the State Defense Committee of the USSR No. 187/ss dated July 17, 1941, signed by I. Stalin, the bodies of the 3rd Directorate of the USSR NPO were reorganized into Special Departments of the NKVD of the USSR. Their functions included the fight against espionage and betrayal in the Red Army and against desertion in the front line (with the right to arrest and shoot deserters on the spot). The chain of command has changed. Now the commissioner of the special department in the regiment and division, in addition to his immediate superiors in the NKVD, was subordinate to the commissar of the regiment and division (after the introduction in October
1942 in the army and navy, the institution of unity of command - respectively to the commander of the regiment and formation).
Directive of the NKVD of the USSR No. 169 on the tasks of special departments in connection with the reorganization of military counterintelligence agencies was issued on July 18, 1941 and, according to many historians, had a propaganda character. The next day, July 19, 1941, Deputy People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR Viktor Semenovich Abakumov was appointed head of the Directorate of Special Departments of the NKVD of the USSR.
On the same day, order No. 00941 of the People's Commissar of the NKVD of the USSR L.P. Beria, in order to combat deserters, spies and saboteurs, ordered the formation of rifle platoons in special departments of divisions and corps, separate rifle companies in special departments of armies, separate rifle companies in special departments of fronts. rifle battalions, with these units staffed by NKVD troops.
Already in the first months of the war, the need for military counterintelligence officers increased sharply. To solve this problem, at the Higher School of the NKVD of the USSR, on July 26, 1941, training courses for operational workers for special departments were organized (NKVD order No. 00960 of July 23, 1941). The plan was to recruit 650 people and train them for one month. Nikanor Karpovich Davydov, concurrently the head of the Higher School of the NKVD, brigade commander (in the order he holds this rank, abolished in 1940), was appointed head of the courses. During their studies, the first students of the course had to build defensive structures and catch German paratroopers near Moscow.
From August 11, 1941, these courses were transferred to a three-month training program. In September 1941, 300 graduates of the Higher School were sent to military counterintelligence units.
By order of the head of the Higher School on October 28, 1941, 238 course graduates were sent to a special department of the Moscow Military District. The last group of course graduates, numbering 194 people, was sent to the NKVD in December 1941. Then the Higher School was disbanded, then re-created.
In March 1942, a branch of the Higher School of the NKVD of the USSR was organized in Moscow. It was supposed to train 500 people within four months. The first recruitment was made from the reserve of workers of the Special Department of the NKVD of the Moscow Military District. This branch was part of the Higher School until July 1943, then it was transferred to the State Institution K “Smersh” of the USSR NGO. During the war, a total of 2,417 security officers sent to the army and navy completed the courses.
At the same time, training was underway for special departments at the Higher School itself. Thus, in 1942, a large group of graduates was sent to the disposal of a special department of the Stalingrad Front. In total, during the Great Patriotic War, the Higher School trained 1,943 people for special departments.
In August - December 1941, the structure of the NKVD continued to change and become more complex. In total, in August 1941, the staff of the Office of Special Departments (together with the investigative unit, the secretariat, the operational department, and the administrative, economic and financial department) numbered 387 people.
By NKVD Order No. 00345 of February 18, 1942, in connection with the transfer of the railway troops to the subordination of the NKPS, special departments in these troops were transferred from the UOO to the Transport Directorate of the NKVD.
In June 1942, the staff of the Directorate of Special Departments was 225 people.
The main goal of military counterintelligence officers was to counteract German intelligence services. The system of measures to combat German intelligence agents included operational, defensive and preventive measures. The main role in the counterintelligence work of special departments was assigned to the intelligence apparatus.
According to Smersh veteran Major General S. Z. Ostryakov, the “special officers” effectively fought against enemy agents from the first months of the war. At the same time, they limited themselves to defensive tactics - they caught enemy spies and saboteurs, checked individual people from captivity and the enemy’s encirclement, identified cowards and alarmists in military units, and helped the command establish strict order in the front line.
Some special departments tried to organize operational work behind the front line, but it was mainly of a military intelligence nature. Let us explain that we were talking about the transfer across the front line of reconnaissance and sabotage groups that operated in the front-line zone. They were engaged in collecting information about the location of various objects (headquarters, fuel storage facilities, warehouses, etc.) and the deployment of military units, as well as carrying out various sabotage actions.
Despite the difficulties associated with the first months of the war, the special departments acted decisively and effectively. One of the first results of the work of military counterintelligence was summed up on October 10, 1941 by the deputy head of the Directorate of Special Departments, Solomon Milshtein: “Special departments of the NKVD and barrage detachments of the NKVD for rear protection detained 657,364 military personnel who had lagged behind their units and fled from the front. Of these, 249,969 people were detained by operational barriers of special departments and 407,395 military personnel were detained by barrage detachments of the NKVD troops to protect the rear...
Of those detained by special departments, 25,878 people were arrested, the remaining 632,486 people were formed into units and again sent to the front...
Spies - 1505; saboteurs - 308; traitors - 2621; cowards and alarmists - 2643; distributors of provocative rumors - 3987; self-shooters - 1671; others - 4371.”
In December 1941, on the proposal of the NKVD, the GKO decided on the mandatory “filtration” of military personnel who escaped from captivity or escaped encirclement. They were sent to special collection points created in each army.
In July 1941, the State Defense Committee granted special departments the right to extrajudicial execution of traitors and deserters. This measure was forced. However, in October 1942, after the front had stabilized, the State Defense Committee abolished extrajudicial executions and ordered special departments to transfer cases of traitors and deserters to military tribunals.
As a special measure to strengthen discipline, under exceptional circumstances, the execution in front of the line of deserters convicted by tribunals and convicted of banditry and armed robbery was allowed. Although in front-line units this measure was used extremely rarely. Intelligence personnel, both in active and reserve units, were involved in the fight against desertion. Informants reported to special departments about military personnel who, in their opinion, could become traitors or deserters. If there was insufficient information for an arrest, then the suspected persons were not allowed into the squads performing tasks at the front line, or were transferred to the rear. Barrier detachments and military units assigned to special departments to search for deserters combed the area near the front line and set up barriers.
The effectiveness of the work of the special departments of the NKVD of the USSR can be judged by the reports of the NKVD of the USSR to the Central Committee of the KVP (b) and the State Defense Committee on August 8, 1942, according to which the security officers detained 11,765 enemy agents.
These German intelligence agents and saboteurs, who operated at the front and in the rear of the Red Army in the first period of the war, were mainly white emigrants who dreamed of revenge; Red Army soldiers who were captured were also recruited. As early as June 15, 1941, the German command began transferring reconnaissance and sabotage groups and individual intelligence officers to the territory of the USSR, dressed in Soviet military uniforms and speaking Russian, with tasks after the outbreak of hostilities to carry out acts of sabotage - destroy telegraph and telephone communication lines, blow up bridges and railway communications, destroy military warehouses and other important objects, capture bridges in the rear of the Red Army and hold them until the advance units of the Wehrmacht arrive.
Today this word is not uncommon causes a negative reaction, since the interlocutors do not always fully understand who exactly we are talking about.
Thanks to the effect of feature films and books, many have come to the conclusion that those who are capable of shoot a man without a shadow of a doubt, even if the latter’s guilt has not been proven.
Others believe that special officers do not need a normal investigation of the criminal’s guilt at all, since have full power do whatever comes into their head.
This led to the creation of a certain image of a special officer who is not receptive to pleas, and is also incapable of showing compassion and maintaining honesty. Therefore, it is so important for a modern person to understand how an artistic image differs from his historical original.
Who were the special officers really? Outspoken fanatics those who are ready to put a person in camps without proper grounds, or those who performed thankless, but very important work for society. It's worth looking into it in more detail.
Formation of a special department
The need for decisive people always exists. It becomes especially bright at a time when the country is in danger.
Therefore, the appearance of special officers occurred at one of these turning points, namely in 1918, when the young Soviet state was in a state of fratricidal war, victory in which was not yet a foregone conclusion.
In particular, it was then that the opening was authorized special department who will deal counterintelligence activities.
The key task that faced the representatives of the department was to maintain the security of the state, as well as counter-espionage.
The department reached its peak of activity during the Second World War. In particular, in 1943 new name appears SMERSH, which can be deciphered as death to Spies, and they are starting to use it against special officers.
Agents were engaged creating a network of informants, and also sent their own people to individual units, creating a dossier on almost every soldier and commander.
Specialists during the war
Cinematography demonstrates unflattering image employee of the special department. When such a person came to the disposal of the unit, it openly spoke about problems and upcoming purges within the unit. But was it really like that?
This question interests many. Thus, during the first period of the war, many soldiers simply did not have the necessary documents, certifying their type of activity.
That's why Not only escaped prisoners of war regularly moved across the front line or those who lagged behind their units, but also enemy agents.
A bunch of Wehrmacht spies used this opportunity to infiltrate command staff or support companies, carrying out sabotage or delivering information to the enemy about upcoming operations and the location of units.
To eliminate the danger for soldiers associated with the enemy receiving information about their deployment, special officers appeared who risked everything in order to bring closer victorious end of the war.
Therefore, one should not downplay their contribution to the war, as is fashionable today, presenting them as some murderers and executioners. Representatives of special departments and directorates also went on the offensive and also retreated, and in the case when the last squad commander fell under enemy fire, it was the special officer who had to take his place and lead the soldiers with him by personal example.
Not infrequently, special officers performed the most amazing feats of heroism, although oh they are often hushed up. They also had to do thankless jobs, including executions of alarmists and cowards, but at that critical moment in the first years of the war, this was the only way to keep the front line in relative stability.
But even at this time their main focus remained identifying enemy agents operating within the army.
Despite the prevailing opinion, special officers no one gave the right to kill soldiers without conducting an investigation, without proving guilt and without at least a formal trial.
Therefore, any mention of the fact that special officers allegedly shot military personnel in batches should be consider as speculation. The only situation in which such actions were permitted and even mandatory was an attempt to go over to the enemy's side.
However, even in this case, it was mandatory to conduct an investigation into each such case. Otherwise, the special officer only had to prepare a case and send it to the military prosecutor's office, and only after that a sentence was passed against the accused.
The first day of my army life.
We new arrivals were just fed, washed in the bathhouse and changed into clothes. After all, we, 40 people, ended up in Lenin’s room. We sit, silently look at the boa constrictor with the epaulets of a major, who slowly eyes each of us in turn.
After about five minutes he began:
- Congratulations, comrades, on your arrival in our illustrious blah, blah, blah, you have to overcome difficulties blah, blah, boundaries, blah, blah, blah. Now let's get down to business. You will have a bath once a week. After the bath, the soldier is given his choice of either a bottle of beer - 500 ml, or a chocolate bar - 100 grams. at the choice of military personnel.
The bald audience perked up noticeably.
- Stop talking! Stand up, stand still! sit down at ease. So I'll continue. Here in front of me is the certificate of sale of your third company, on beer and chocolate. Sergeant Vatrushkin!
The sergeant entered the room.
Bring the post-bath allowance from the storeroom.
A minute later, the sergeant locked a box of beer, on it was a cardboard box of Alenka chocolate. We all shouted joyfully with our eyes.
- So, I will say your last name, you say “I” and name what you want to receive on bath day: beer or chocolate.
While the line was going to my name, I thought about what to choose: On the one hand, I had never drank alcohol in my life, neither before nor after, so I didn’t need beer for nothing, but on the other hand, I can, from the master’s shoulder, give your bottle to your comrades for the same chocolate from the tea shop. You can’t buy beer in a tea shop... And on the third hand, today they will buy me a chocolate bar, but tomorrow they won’t have time, I won’t be a goon and will still give them my beer, but I will be left without “Alenka”. But on the fourth side... The major said my last name.
- I! I choose Chocolate!
The room became quiet, as if I had said something indecent.
- Comrade soldier, if you choose a chocolate bar, you won’t get beer, is that clear to you?
- Yes sir.
At the end of the list, the major came close to me, looked carefully, walked away and shouted: You are all brutes, lazy people and, as it turned out, alcoholics! I'll beat the crap out of you! They wanted beer! Or maybe you should bring the women after the bath!!! ? Everyone, stand up, come out and line up! Sergeant Vatrushkin, command according to the daily routine. And you Stirlitz, I’ll ask you to stay. Sit down. (I sat down)
The major looked at me point blank.
- I am the head of the special department. (Later, I learned to accurately identify special officers by their fishy eyes.) During the three years of my service in this training unit, I showed this box with beer bottles and chocolates from the tea shop to tens of thousands of soldiers. But none of them, NO ONE, chose the chocolate bar. While you are a mystery to me, it’s my job to solve riddles. Here's a paper, write your autobiography. Very detailed, ten pages long.
He asked for a long time about his parents, foreign acquaintances, did his friends serve in our unit? For some reason he even scared me with prison, etc. (Devil knows why he needed these tricks with beer, most likely he was just a sadist).
Our company began the educational process, and I was the only one who did not have access, and instead of studying in a secret class, I sat quietly in the barracks and wrote letters to my mother. For two whole months, while the major’s secret requests about me were flying to secret addresses, I was enjoying myself, and the service was going on. A sober lifestyle is sometimes not so bad...
Employee, individualist Dictionary of Russian synonyms. specialist noun, number of synonyms: 2 individualist (3) ... Synonym dictionary
special officer- SPECIALIST, a, m. Employee of the Special Department (for example, in the army, in security agencies); about any person who behaves in a special way. Why don’t you drink, special officer or something? Give him a penalty as a special officer... Dictionary of Russian argot
special officer- , a, m. An employee of a special department, a special unit. ◘ I order you, the special officer shouted, and no joke to me. He clicked the shutter. Zhitkov, 1989, 188. The special officers and tribunal officers got out of captivity and zealously set about searching for the capture of the rebels: they caught ... Explanatory dictionary of the language of the Council of Deputies
A special department is a military counterintelligence unit that was part of the Soviet army. Special departments were created on December 19, 1918 by a decree of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), according to which the front and army Chekas were merged with the bodies of the Military ... ... Wikipedia
special officer- especially ist, and... Russian spelling dictionary
A; m. Razg. An employee of a special department in a military unit, at an enterprise, etc., dealing with issues of protecting state secrets... encyclopedic Dictionary
special officer- A; m.; decomposition An employee of a special department in a military unit, at an enterprise, etc., dealing with issues of protecting state secrets... Dictionary of many expressions
special officer- special/ist/ … Morphemic-spelling dictionary
especially- Adj. to special...
special- a, e. What is it about someone’s specialness, individuality; in the language of which there are no special, individual figures, features... Ukrainian Tlumach Dictionary
Books
- Special officer “Swing the pendulum”! , Korchevsky, Yuri Grigorievich. If you have fallen from today to 1941, be prepared to go through all the circles of front-line hell: break out of encirclement, fight in a tank brigade and military reconnaissance, in the legendary Osnaz...
- Special officer "Swing the pendulum"! , Korchevsky Yu.. If you failed from today to 1941, be prepared to go through all the circles of front-line hell: break out of encirclement, fight in a tank brigade and military reconnaissance, in the legendary Osnaz...
- The peculiarity of translation in Ukrainian-German literary exchanges, Maria Ivanitskaya. The monograph presents a complete picture of the history of Ukrainian-German artistic translation from the middle of the 19th century. until the middle of the next decade of the 21st...
Everyone had their own war. The pilot sees the war in his own way. A sapper in his own way.
And for a front-line special officer, war means endless looters, deserters, self-shooters, defectors.
Before the war and in the first years of the war, there were no officer ranks in the army. There were division commanders, platoon commanders, and even a deputy commander - deputy commander for naval affairs. There were officer ranks in the NKVD. But very unique. Sergeants were equivalent to today's lieutenants, and major - to today's major general. Then, after the introduction of officer ranks in the army, the ranks in the NKVD and the army were equalized. Sergeants were promoted to lieutenants. And they gave him the right to detain (Only detain!) if there were grounds, an army officer two ranks higher than him. That is, the major could detain the colonel.
The battalion special officer had a plan: each department should have its own informant. Not an easy task at the front! It happened that in a month half of the battalion dropped out. Some go to the hospital, and some go under a rock. So fill it up! There was no time to be very sophisticated and secretive when working with agents. The agent was usually covered up using the simplest method. They called everyone in for questioning one by one. And they hid an agent among everyone. During the day there was a war. It was impossible to tear the soldiers away. Only at night. When the German was sleeping. So they woke us up one by one and interrogated each one for half an hour. Everyone except the agent was asked the same questions for the hundredth time. Can you imagine how the soldiers “loved” the special officer? As soon as I fell asleep (and there was a lot of things at the front. Even sometimes there were women, alcohol and food - you could eat yourself too much. Besides sleep. The most valuable thing at the front is sleep) As soon as I fell asleep, they pushed the special officer away and dragged him into the dugout. Where he asks the same stupid questions that the soldier has already answered twenty times. And not just once a month.
The special officer himself felt somewhat better. But not much. He could sometimes sleep during the day, but not for long. During the day, first of all, there is war. And secondly, the headquarters also work during the day. They're getting sick of visits and calls. And weekly reports on the work done and the situation in the unit entrusted to his care must be written. And then there are monthly summary reports. And do not confuse the data in both. In the higher-level special department, these reports were still (sometimes) read. If at night a soldier can sometimes still catch three hundred to four hundred minutes of sleep, but a special officer cannot. We need to work - plan! It happened that the special officer fell asleep together with the interrogated person at the same table. They slept like that until they woke them up.
The special officer also had a plan to replenish the penal battalions. (Also a lot of paperwork for everyone.) They say that 3% of the personnel. It had to be done. Otherwise they will add it themselves. And there is no need to overdo it. Nobody will appreciate it. (Although our home-grown liberals describe it differently in their opuses. The more you imprison, the higher the rank they will give.) The rank will be raised - the position does not allow it. We need to be promoted to the division. And there are enough of their own there. With higher education! Unless one of them dies. But who has a greater chance of dying: an army officer or a battalion special officer? But the configuration plan can be increased from what has been achieved. To cover the shortcomings of other special officers.
Let me explain:Not all units have an objective opportunity to fulfill the plan for completing the penal battalion. Some suffered heavy losses. Those who survived were nominated for awards. And who will send the heroes to the penal battalion? Those who approved the award lists? And why should we judge them? They have nothing more criminal than drunkenness. A hero for drinking in a penal battalion? Where have you seen this? And who will allow the warhead to be exposed? And so few were left under fire.
New recruits were sent to the unit. Or rather, they haven’t sent it yet. Only the roster was replenished on paper. And the recruits themselves were stuck somewhere in the trains on the tracks. Maybe they won't arrive at all. They will get bombed. And some are listed as fully equipped according to documents. So work here... The higher-level special department is looking for someone to load with work. Redistributes the load. And everyone is whining. We can’t cope, they say! Objective reasons are given. And why the hell should a special officer show off his high performance? So they will load up the upstart. Whoever is lucky is driven...
In our films, the special officer in this case must look for the white guard’s grandfather from the hero. And on this basis and...
Well, our filmmakers are capable of all sorts of nonsense. Think about it: the archives have been evacuated. They lie undisassembled in the evacuation. Some remained or were destroyed under the Germans. Archivists were mobilized into the army. A request, of course, can be sent, but who will answer it? Well, even someone from some Siberian archive will answer. So what? In civilian life, half of the Russians had grandfathers who fought in the wrong place. And after the civil OGPU, for 20 years, they searched the archives to find enemies. If someone was not repressed or rehabilitated, then it’s not your business to cancel it. Since he’s alive and free, that means it’s necessary. Comrades who were more competent than you worked there. And the answer will come no earlier than in a year. A year at the front is an eternity. Either the hero will die, or the special agent will die. Or some will be reorganized and scattered across different fronts. Or to hospitals...
And where do you get the time and energy for this writing? And the authorities will be interested: this special officer apparently doesn’t have enough work. He writes and writes. It's time to inspect. And add more work.
In the newly formed part, there were usually enough clients to fulfill the plan. And if there wasn’t enough, they simply registered, in addition to defectors and deserters, AWOLs and rowdies. For a fight with senior ranks. Letters from the front were rarely processed. Only if the scribblers were really going wild. Or the directive was issued precisely on this occasion. And so they simply crossed out lines of letters from the front. And this was not done by a special department, but by the political department of the unit. Sometimes the entire letter was crossed out. Apart from “alive and well”. If they found fault with the letters, everyone could have been transferred to penal battalions. And who will fight in ordinary units? (Penal units are poorly armed infantry. But in war, other types of troops are needed.) And there are not enough barrier detachments to guard the greatly expanded penal battalions. And then there will be nothing left to scare the military personnel. So at least they were still afraid of the penal battalions. (Someone).
They had to answer for their agents. If an agent was killed, additional interrogation protocols were required. Who did you go with? When was the last time you saw? Etc. And at the same time it was impossible to expose the agent even after death. How can you avoid being exposed when asking such questions? Do you always ask questions like this about every murdered person? They'll definitely put you in a mental hospital. So they messed around. He will compose interrogation reports and say that “that’s how it happened.” There's no one to check anyway. And it was even worse if the agent ran over to the Germans. Then, in addition to all of the above, you had to write your own explanation of how you came to live like this?
There was also a plan to identify and punish special officers. Another reason not to stick your neck out. You never know who at the top will not like your activity. And you can always find a reason to find fault. Yes, here you go: for careerist reasons, he fabricated a case against the hero. And he let a traitor pass through his ranks. One consolation was that they would not send us further than the front. And they were not transferred to the infantry as privates. Unless it's for something really creepy. There were not enough competent special officers. They simply demoted him in rank and sent him back. Sometimes in a year the rank was reduced twice, and then restored again for military merits.
Army officers did not like the special officers, but they appreciated their work. And not because they were afraid. The front-line officer was no longer afraid of anything. It’s just that at the beginning of the war, when not only there were not enough officers in the units, but also special officers (and both of them had not yet learned to do their job), power in the units was often seized by criminal elements. Yes, this happened later too. Especially if a hundred people from one village were sent to the unit. Or even from one zone. The commanders were written off as battle losses, and they themselves began to loot rather than fight. Or the whole unit deserted with weapons.
And experienced warriors learned to use special forces. An experienced soldier sensed it long before the attack (whether ours or the Germans). As soon as he smells it, he begins to talk: “But at lunchtime the German trenches smelled of fried cutlets. I'm drooling! They feed the Germans well! Not like us." And so on until they report it to the special officer. According to the instructions, the special officer in this case must arrest the “agitator” and transfer him to a special department of the army for further investigation. Which is what he did. There he was interrogated for two weeks. (The deadline for the inquiry was set this way. There was no point in rushing and shortening the time frame for the inquiry. Other cases would be pinned on the nimble investigator), and then they were returned, but to another unit. (And the offensive had already run out of steam by this time). Again, according to the instructions. So that the military collective does not disintegrate. Where else should I put it? To the rear? Or against the wall? Who will fight? And they weren’t always sent to the penal battalion. There was no configuration plan. Yes, and there were some cunning soldiers. We learned to get out.
After the war, some said this when they met a special officer they knew: “Thank you to the special department. It was only thanks to him that I remained alive!” They were mocking you, you bastards!
During the offensive, the special officer moved forward along with the headquarters. Behind the part. According to the charter. Well, so that your own people don’t get shot. (And the headquarters was guarded by the commandant’s platoon of machine gunners). When retreating too. Contrary to the stupid films of the post-perestroika era, special officers did not leave the unit for the army headquarters to sit out during the battles. Firstly, because they don’t go to higher headquarters without an order. If you leave a unit without an order, the patrols will be intercepted on the way and you yourself may end up in a penal battalion. And secondly, there was no point. Especially in the first years of the war. German aviation and artillery, and especially German intelligence officers and saboteurs, hunted headquarters and staff vehicles even more than tanks and infantry. And even in the conditions of chaos in the front line of the first days of the war, our dear deserters and marauders could have been intercepted along the way. (Companies of machine gunners will not be allowed to cover redeployment to the rear). But these ones will definitely finish you off. It's good if there is no torture or bullying. And later, to avoid chaos in the front line, barrier detachments were set up. And these first shot, and then found out. (If found out). And patrols combed the area. AND SMERSH. And they had their own instructions. They could also lean it against the wall. Or “for insubordination and resistance” we can do without any kind of wall. No person - no problem! If he stays alive, then unsubscribe for him. To prevent something like this from happening, when moving around the rear of your army, you had to pre-order a pass. If the command approves, they will discharge you. Will it approve? You can try and sneak by, but at your own risk. If you get caught, at least you will receive a disciplinary action. If you stay alive. Do you need it?
So it was wiser to stick with our own people. It's safer in a pack. During the war, everyone, including special officers, firmly knew the principle: stay away from the command and closer to the kitchen!
The special officers themselves did not judge anyone. They had no right. They drew up documents for the criminal and handed them over to the army special department. And they could hand it over to the tribunal. Or they might not have conveyed it. The authorities know better.
Special officers rarely shot anyone during the war. Only together with army commanders, when they stopped panic. Or according to the verdict of the tribunals. However, the tribunals had their own executors. Although, in some cases they also brought in outsiders. Including special officers. But not regimental ones. Closer was enough. (It was only in our post-perestroika films that the special officers did nothing but torture and shoot military officers. They had no greater pleasure than torturing a hero. And in the end, shoot him if he did not die from torture.)
Although, at the front they were most often shot without any sentences. Or barrage detachments, or commanders. Alarmists and deserters. And sometimes the soldiers themselves. (“Dad! This is what’s going on here, Dad! We killed one of us here... He turned out to be a bastard.”)
And not special departments and tribunals at all.
However, about the tribunals another time.