In 1918 - 1922 and the Ground Forces of the Soviet Union Socialist Republics in 1922 - 1946. After the war it was the largest army in Europe.
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Controls
The supreme governing body of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR (since the formation of the USSR - the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR). The leadership and management of the army was concentrated in the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs, in the special All-Russian Collegium created under it, since 1923, the Labor and Defense Council of the USSR, and since 1937, the Defense Committee under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. In 1919 - 1934, direct leadership of the troops was carried out by the Revolutionary Military Council. In 1934, to replace it, the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR was formed.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, On June 23, 1941, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command was formed (from July 10, 1941 - the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, from August 8, 1941, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command). From February 25, 1946 until the collapse of the USSR, the control of the armed forces was carried out by the USSR Ministry of Defense.
Organizational structure
Detachments and squads - armed detachments and squads of sailors, soldiers and workers, in Russia in 1917 - supporters (not necessarily members) of left parties - Social Democrats (Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and “Mezhraiontsev”), Socialist Revolutionaries and anarchists, as well as detachments of Red partisans became the basis of the Red Army units.
Initially, the main unit of formation of the Red Army, on a voluntary basis, was a separate detachment, which was a military unit with an independent economy. The detachment was headed by a Council consisting of a military leader and two military commissars. He had a small headquarters and an inspectorate.
With the accumulation of experience and after attracting military experts to the ranks of the Red Army, the formation of full-fledged units, units, formations (brigade, division, corps), institutions and establishments began.
The organization of the Red Army was in accordance with its class character and military requirements of the early 20th century. The combined arms formations of the Red Army were structured as follows:
- the rifle corps consisted of two to four divisions;
- division - consisting of three rifle regiments, an artillery regiment (artillery regiment) and technical units;
- regiment - consisting of three battalions, an artillery division and technical units;
- division - consisting of three rifle regiments, an artillery regiment (artillery regiment) and technical units;
- cavalry corps - two cavalry divisions;
- cavalry division - four to six regiments, artillery, armored units (armored units), technical units.
The technical equipment of the military formations of the Red Army with fire weapons (machine guns, guns, infantry artillery) and military equipment was basically at the level of modern advanced armed forces of that time. It should be noted that the introduction of technology brought changes to the organization of the Red Army, which were expressed in the growth of technical units, in the emergence of special motorized and mechanized units and in the strengthening of technical cells in the rifle troops and cavalry. The peculiarity of the organization of the Red Army was that it reflected its openly class character. In the military bodies of the Red Army (in divisions, units and formations) there were political bodies(political departments (political departments), political units (political units)), leading, in close cooperation with the command (unit commander and commissar), political and educational work and ensuring the political growth of the Red Army soldiers and their activity in combat training.
During the war, the active army (that is, those troops of the Red Army that conduct military operations or support them) is divided into fronts. Fronts are divided into armies, which include military formations: rifle and cavalry corps, rifle and cavalry divisions, tank, aviation brigades and individual units (artillery, aviation, engineering and others).
Compound
Rifle troops
Rifle troops are the main branch of the military, constituting the main backbone of the Red Army. The largest rifle unit in the 1920s was the rifle regiment. Rifle Regiment consisted of rifle battalions, regimental artillery, small units - communications, sappers and others - and regimental headquarters. Rifle battalion consisted of rifle and machine gun companies, battalion artillery and battalion headquarters. Rifle company- from rifle and machine gun platoons. Rifle platoon - from squads. A squad is the smallest organizational unit of rifle troops. It was armed with rifles, light machine guns, hand grenades and a grenade launcher.
Artillery
The largest unit of artillery was an artillery regiment. It consisted of artillery battalions and regimental headquarters. The artillery division consisted of batteries and division control. The battery is made up of platoons. There are 4 guns in a platoon.
Breakthrough Artillery Corps (1943 - 1945) - a formation (corps) of artillery of the Red Army in the armed forces of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. The breakthrough artillery corps were part of the reserve artillery of the Supreme High Command.
Cavalry
The basic unit of cavalry is the cavalry regiment. The regiment consists of saber and machine gun squadrons, regimental artillery, technical units and headquarters. Saber and machine gun squadrons consist of platoons. The platoon is divided into sections. The Soviet cavalry began to form simultaneously with the creation of the Red Army in 1918. From the disbanded old Russian army, only three cavalry regiments became part of the Red Army. In the formation of cavalry for the Red Army, a number of difficulties were encountered: the main areas that supplied the army with cavalrymen and riding horses (Ukraine, South and South-East Russia) were occupied by the White Guards and occupied by armies foreign countries; There were not enough experienced commanders, weapons and equipment. Therefore, the main organizational units in cavalry were initially hundreds, squadrons, detachments and regiments. From individual cavalry regiments and mounted detachments, the transition soon began to the formation of brigades, and then divisions. So, from a small horse partisan detachment S. M. Budyonny, created in February 1918, in the fall of the same year, during the battles for Tsaritsyn, the 1st Don Cavalry Brigade was formed, and then the combined cavalry division of the Tsaritsyn Front.
Particularly energetic measures to create cavalry were taken in the summer of 1919 to confront Denikin’s army. To deprive the latter of its advantage in cavalry, cavalry formations larger than the division were needed. In June - September 1919, the first two cavalry corps were created; By the end of 1919, the number of Soviet and opposing cavalry was equal. The fighting in 1918 - 1919 showed that Soviet cavalry formations were a powerful striking force, capable of solving important operational tasks both independently and in cooperation with rifle formations. The most important stage in the construction of the Soviet cavalry was the creation in November 1919 of the First Cavalry Army, and in July 1920 the Second Cavalry Army. Cavalry formations and associations played an important role in operations against the armies of Denikin and Kolchak at the end of 1919 - beginning of 1920, Wrangel and the army of Poland in 1920.
In the years Civil War in some operations, Soviet cavalry accounted for up to 50% of the infantry. The main method of action of cavalry units, units and formations was an attack on horseback (mounted attack), supported by powerful fire from machine guns from carts. When terrain conditions and stubborn enemy resistance limited the actions of cavalry in mounted formation, it fought in dismounted battle formations. Soviet command during the Civil War, it was able to successfully resolve the issues of using large masses of cavalry to carry out operational tasks. The creation of the world's first mobile units - cavalry armies - was an outstanding achievement of military art. Cavalry armies were the main means of strategic maneuver and development of success; they were used en masse in decisive directions against those enemy forces that at this stage posed the greatest danger.
Red cavalry on the attack
The success of the combat operations of the Soviet cavalry during the Civil War was facilitated by the vastness of the theaters of military operations, the enemy armies on wide fronts, the presence of gaps that were poorly covered or not occupied by troops at all, which were used by cavalry formations to reach the enemy’s flanks and carry out deep raids into his rear. Under these conditions, the cavalry could fully realize its combat properties and capabilities - mobility, surprise attacks, speed and decisiveness of action.
After the Civil War, cavalry in the Red Army continued to be a fairly numerous branch of the military. In the 1920s, it was divided into strategic (cavalry divisions and corps) and military (units and units that were part of rifle formations). In the 1930s, mechanized (later tank) and artillery regiments, anti-aircraft weapons; New combat regulations were developed for the cavalry.
As a mobile branch of troops, strategic cavalry was intended to develop a breakthrough and could be used by decision of the front-line command.
Cavalry units and units took an active part in the hostilities of the initial period of the Great Patriotic War. In particular, in the battle for Moscow, the cavalry corps under the command of L. M. Dovator showed itself valiantly. However, as the war progressed, it became increasingly clear that the future lay with new, modern types of weapons, so by the end of the war, most cavalry units were disbanded. At the end of the Great Patriotic War, cavalry as a branch of the military finally ceased to exist.
Armored forces
Tanks produced by KhPZ named after Comintern - the largest tank plant in the USSR
In the 1920s, the USSR began producing its own tanks, and with it the foundations for the concept of combat use of troops were laid. In 1927, in the “Combat Manual of the Infantry” Special attention was devoted to the combat use of tanks and their interaction with infantry units. For example, in the second part of this document it is written that the most important conditions success are:
- the sudden appearance of tanks as part of the attacking infantry, simultaneous and mass application them in a wide area for the purpose of dispersing artillery and other anti-armor weapons of the enemy;
- echeloning tanks in depth while simultaneously creating a reserve from them, which makes it possible to develop an attack to great depth;
- close interaction of tanks with infantry, which secures the points they occupy.
The issues of use were most fully discussed in the “Temporary Instructions for the Combat Use of Tanks,” issued in 1928. It provided for two forms of participation of tank units in battle:
- for direct infantry support;
- as an advanced echelon operating outside of fire and visual communication with it.
The armored forces consisted of tank units and formations and units armed with armored vehicles. The main tactical unit is tank battalion. It consists of tank companies. Tank company consists of tank platoons. The composition of a tank platoon is up to 5 tanks. An armored vehicle company consists of platoons; platoon - of 3-5 armored vehicles.
T-34 in winter camouflage
Tank brigades began to be created for the first time in 1935 as separate tank brigades of the reserve of the High Command. In 1940, on their basis, the tank divisions, included in the mechanized corps.
Mechanized troops, troops consisting of motorized rifle (mechanized), tank, artillery and other units and subunits. The concept of "M. IN." appeared in various armies by the early 1930s. In 1929, the Central Directorate of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army was created in the USSR and the first experimental mechanized regiment was formed, deployed in 1930 for the first time. mechanized brigade as part of tank, artillery, reconnaissance regiments and support units. The brigade had 110 MS-1 tanks and 27 guns and was intended to study issues of operational-tactical use and the most advantageous organizational forms of mechanized formations. In 1932, on the basis of this brigade, the world's first mechanized corps was created - an independent operational formation, which included two mechanized and one rifle-machine-gun brigades, a separate anti-aircraft artillery division and numbered over 500 tanks and 200 vehicles. By the beginning of 1936 there were 4 mechanized corps, 6 separate brigades, as well as 15 regiments in cavalry divisions. In 1937, the Central Directorate of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army was renamed the Automotive and Tank Directorate of the Red Army, and in December 1942 the Directorate of the Commander of Armored and Mechanized Forces was formed. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945, armored and mechanized troops became the main striking force of the Red Army.
Air Force
Aviation in the Soviet Armed Forces began to take shape in 1918. Organizationally, it consisted of separate aviation detachments that were part of the district air fleet administrations, which in September 1918 were reorganized into front-line and army field aviation and aeronautics departments at the headquarters of the fronts and combined arms armies. In June 1920, field directorates were reorganized into air fleet headquarters with direct subordination to front and army commanders. After the Civil War of 1917-1923, the air forces of the fronts became part of the military districts. In 1924, the aviation detachments of the air forces of the military districts were consolidated into homogeneous aviation squadrons (18-43 aircraft each), transformed into aviation brigades at the end of the 20s. In 1938-1939, the aviation of the military districts was transferred from a brigade to a regimental and divisional organization. The main tactical unit became aviation regiment(60-63 aircraft). Aviation of the Red Army was based on the main property of aviation - the ability to inflict quick and powerful blows from the air over long distances, inaccessible to other branches of the military. Aviation combat assets were aircraft armed with high-explosive, fragmentation and incendiary bombs, cannons and machine guns. Aviation at that time had high flight speed (400-500 or more kilometers per hour), the ability to easily overcome the enemy’s battle front and penetrate deep into his rear. Combat aviation was used to destroy enemy personnel and technical equipment; to destroy its aircraft and destroy important objects: railway junctions, enterprises military industry, communication centers, roads, etc. Reconnaissance aircraft were intended to conduct aerial reconnaissance behind enemy lines. Auxiliary aviation was used to correct artillery fire, for communications and surveillance of the battlefield, for transporting sick and wounded to the rear requiring urgent medical care (ambulance aviation), and for the urgent transportation of military cargo (transport aviation). In addition, aviation was used to transport troops, weapons and other means of combat over long distances. The main unit of aviation was the aviation regiment (air regiment). The regiment consisted of air squadrons (air squadrons). An air squadron is made up of flights.
"Glory to Stalin!" (Victory Parade 1945)
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the aviation of military districts consisted of separate bomber, fighter, mixed (assault) aviation divisions and separate reconnaissance aviation regiments. In the fall of 1942, aviation regiments of all types of aviation had 32 aircraft; in the summer of 1943, the number of aircraft in the attack and fighter aviation regiments was increased to 40 aircraft.
Corps of Engineers
Divisions were to have an engineer battalion, and rifle brigades - a sapper company. In 1919, special engineering units were formed. The leadership of the engineering troops was carried out by the inspector of engineers at the Field Headquarters of the Republic (1918-1921 - A.P. Shoshin), the chiefs of engineers of fronts, armies and divisions. In 1921, command of the troops was entrusted to the Main Military Engineering Directorate. By 1929, there were full-time engineering units in all branches of the military. After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in October 1941, the post of Chief of the Engineering Troops was established. During the war engineering troops built fortifications, created obstacles, mined the area, ensured the maneuver of troops, made passages in the enemy’s minefields, ensured the overcoming of his engineering obstacles, crossed water obstacles, participated in the assault on fortifications, cities, etc.
Chemical forces
Chemical forces began to form in the Red Army at the end of 1918. On November 13, 1918, by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic No. 220, the Chemical Service of the Red Army was created. By the end of the 1920s, all rifle and cavalry divisions and brigades had chemical units. In 1923, anti-gas teams were introduced into the staff of rifle regiments. By the end of the 1920s, all rifle and cavalry divisions and brigades had chemical units. During the Great Patriotic War, the chemical forces included: technical brigades (for setting up smoke and camouflaging large objects), brigades, battalions and companies of anti-chemical protection, flamethrower battalions and companies, bases, warehouses, etc. During military operations they maintained high readiness anti-chemical protection of parts and connections in case of use by the enemy chemical weapons, destroyed the enemy with the help of flamethrowers and carried out smoke camouflage of troops, continuously conducted reconnaissance in order to reveal the enemy’s preparations for a chemical attack and timely warning of their troops, participated in ensuring the constant readiness of military units, formations and associations to carry out combat missions in conditions of the possible use of chemical weapons by the enemy weapons, destroyed enemy personnel and equipment with flamethrowers and incendiary weapons, and camouflaged their troops and rear facilities with smoke.
Signal Corps
The first units and communications units in the Red Army were formed in 1918. October 20, 1919 Signal troops were created as independent special troops. In 1941, the post of Chief of the Signal Corps was introduced.
Automotive troops
As part of the Logistics Service of the Armed Forces of the USSR. They appeared in the Soviet Armed Forces during the Civil War. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, they consisted of subunits and units. In the Republic of Afghanistan, military motorists were given a decisive role in providing OKSVA with all types of materiel. Automobile units and subunits transported goods not only for troops, but also for the civilian population of the country.
Railway troops
In 1926, military personnel of the Separate Corps of Railway Troops of the Red Army began to conduct topographical reconnaissance of the future BAM route. 1st Guards Naval Artillery Railway Brigade (transformed from the 101st Naval Artillery Railway Brigade) Red Banner Baltic Fleet. The title "Guards" was awarded on January 22, 1944. 11th Guards separate railway artillery battery of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. The title "Guards" was awarded on September 15, 1945. There were four railway buildings: two BAM were built and two in Tyumen, roads were laid to each tower, bridges were erected.
Road Troops
As part of the Logistics Service of the Armed Forces of the USSR. They appeared in the Soviet Armed Forces during the Civil War. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, they consisted of subunits and units.
By mid-1943, the road troops consisted of: 294 separate road battalions, 22 military highway departments (VAD) with 110 road commandant areas (DKU), 7 military road departments (VDU) with 40 road detachments (DO), 194 horse-drawn transport companies, repair bases, bases for the production of bridge and road structures, educational and other institutions.
Labor Army
Military formations (associations) in the Armed Forces Soviet Republic in 1920-22, temporarily used in work to restore the national economy during the Civil War. Each labor army consisted of ordinary rifle formations, cavalry, artillery and other units engaged in labor activities and at the same time maintaining the ability to quickly transition to a state of combat readiness. A total of 8 labor armies were formed; in military-administrative terms they were subordinate to the RVSR, and in economic-labor terms - to the Council of Labor and Defense. The predecessor of military construction units (military construction detachments).
Personnel
A political commissar, or political instructor, was appointed to each Red Army unit with the authority to cancel orders from the unit commander. This was necessary, since no one could know which side the former tsarist officer would take in the next battle. When enough new command cadres had been raised by 1925, control was relaxed.
Number
- April 1918 - 196,000 people.
- September 1918 - 196,000 people.
- September 1919 - 3,000,000 people.
- Autumn 1920 - 5,500,000 people
- January 1925 - 562,000 people.
- March 1932 - 604,300 people.
- January 1937 - 1,518,090 people.
- February 1939 - 1,910,477 people.
- September 1939 - 5,289,400 people.
- June 1940 - 4,055,479 people.
- June 1941 - 5,080,977 people.
- July 1941 - 10,380,000 people.
- Summer 1942 - 11,000,000 people.
- January 1945 - 11,365,000 people.
- February 1946 5,300,000 people.
Conscription and military service
Red Army soldiers go on the attack
Since 1918, the service has been voluntary (based on volunteers). But the self-awareness of the population was not yet high enough, and on June 12, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars issued the first decree on the conscription of workers and peasants of the Volga, Ural and West Siberian military districts for military service. Following this decree was issued whole line additional decrees and orders on conscription into the armed forces. On August 27, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars issued the first decree on the conscription of military sailors into the Red Fleet. The Red Army was a police force (from the Latin militia - army), created on the basis of a territorial police system. Military units in peacetime consisted of a registration apparatus and a small number command staff; Most of it and the rank and file, assigned to military units on a territorial basis, underwent military training using the method of non-military training and at short-term training camps. The system was based on military commissariats located throughout the Soviet Union. During the conscription campaign, young people were distributed on the basis of General Staff quotas by branch of the armed forces and services. After distribution, the conscripts were taken from the units by officers and sent to the young fighter course. There was a very small stratum of professional sergeants; Most of the sergeants were conscripts who had undergone a training course to prepare them for positions as junior commanders.
Service life in the army for infantry and artillery is 1 year, for cavalry, horse artillery and technical troops- 2 years, for the air fleet - 3 years, for navy- 4 years.
Military training
The military education system in the Red Army is traditionally divided into three levels. The main one is the system of higher military education, which is a developed network of higher military schools. Their students are called cadets. The duration of training is 4-5 years, graduates receive the rank of lieutenant, which corresponds to the position of platoon commander.
If in peacetime the training program in schools corresponds to obtaining a higher education, in wartime it is reduced to secondary specialized education, the duration of training is sharply reduced, and short-term command courses lasting six months are organized.
One of the features of military education in the USSR was the system of military academies. Students who study there receive higher military education. This is the difference from Western countries, in which academies usually train junior officers.
The military academies of the Red Army have experienced a number of reorganizations and redeployments, and are divided into various branches of the military (Military Academy of Logistics and Transport, Military Medical Academy, Military Academy of Communications, Academy of Missile Forces Strategic Purpose, and etc.). After 1991, the factually incorrect point of view was propagated that a number of military academies were directly inherited by the Red Army from the tsarist army.
Reserve officers
Like any other army in the world, the Red Army organized a system for training reserve officers. Its main goal is to create a large reserve of officers in case of general mobilization in wartime. The general trend of all armies of the world during the 20th century was a steady increase among officers in the percentage of people with higher education. In the post-war Soviet Army, this figure was actually increased to 100%.
In keeping with this trend, the Soviet Army viewed virtually any civilian with a college education as a potential wartime reserve officer. For their training, a network of military departments has been developed at civilian universities, their training program corresponds to a higher military school.
Such a system was used for the first time in the world, in Soviet Russia, adopted by the United States where a significant portion of officers are trained in non-military training courses for reserve officers, and in officer candidate schools.
Weapons and military equipment
The development of the Red Army reflected general development trends military equipment in the world. These include, for example, the formation tank troops And air force, mechanization of infantry and its transformation into motorized rifle troops, the disbandment of the cavalry, the appearance of nuclear weapons on the scene.
Role of the cavalry
A. Varshavsky. Cavalry advance
First World War, in which Russia took an active part, differed sharply in character and scale from all previous wars. A continuous multi-kilometer front line, and a protracted “ trench warfare"made the widespread use of cavalry almost impossible. However, the Civil War was very different in nature from the First World War.
Its features included excessive stretching and unclear front lines, which made possible a wide combat use cavalry. The specifics of the civil war include the combat use of “carts,” which were most actively used by the troops of Nestor Makhno.
The general trend of the interwar period was the mechanization of troops, the abandonment of horse-drawn traction in favor of automobiles, and the development of tank forces. However, the need to completely disband the cavalry was not obvious to most countries of the world. In the USSR, some commanders who grew up during the Civil War spoke in favor of the preservation and further development of cavalry.
In 1941, the Red Army consisted of 13 cavalry divisions, deployed to 34. The final disbandment of the cavalry occurred in the mid-50s. The US Army command issued an order to mechanize the cavalry in 1942; the existence of cavalry in Germany ceased with its defeat in 1945.
Armored trains
Soviet armored train
Armored trains were widely used in many wars long before the Russian Civil War. In particular, they were used by British troops to protect vital railway communications during the Boer Wars. They were used during the American Civil War, etc. In Russia, the “armored train boom” occurred during the Civil War. This was caused by its specifics, such as the virtual absence of clear front lines, and the intense struggle for railways, as the main means for the rapid transfer of troops, ammunition, and grain.
Some of the armored trains were inherited by the Red Army from the tsarist army, while mass production of new armored trains, many times superior to the old ones, was launched. In addition, until 1919, mass production of “surrogate” armored trains continued, assembled from scrap materials from ordinary passenger cars in the absence of any drawings; such an armored train had worse protection, but could be assembled literally in a day.
By the end of the Civil War, the Central Council of Armored Units (Tsentrobron) was in charge of 122 full-fledged armored trains, the number of which was reduced to 34 by 1928.
During the interwar period, armored train production technology was constantly improved. Many new armored trains were built, and railway air defense batteries were deployed. Armored train units played an important role in the Great Patriotic War, primarily in protecting the railway communications of the operational rear.
At the same time rapid development tank troops and military aviation, which occurred during the Second World War, sharply reduced the importance of armored trains. By a resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers of February 4, 1958, further development of railway artillery systems was stopped.
The rich experience accumulated in the field of armored trains allowed the USSR to add railway-based nuclear forces to its nuclear triad - combat railway forces missile systems(BZHRK), equipped with RS-22 missiles (in NATO terminology SS-24 “Scalpel”). Their advantages include the ability to avoid impact due to the use of a developed railway network, and the extreme difficulty of tracking from satellites. One of the main demands of the United States in the 80s was the complete disbandment of the BZHRK as part of a general reduction nuclear weapons. The United States itself has no analogues to the BZHRK.
Warrior rituals
Revolutionary Red Banner
Each individual combat unit of the Red Army has its own revolutionary Red Banner, awarded to it by the Soviet government. The revolutionary Red Banner is the emblem of the unit and expresses the internal unity of its fighters, united by a constant readiness to act at the first request of the Soviet government to defend the gains of the revolution and the interests of the working people.
The revolutionary Red Banner is in the unit and accompanies it everywhere in its marching, combat and peaceful life. The banner is awarded to the unit for the entire duration of its existence. The Order of the Red Banner awarded to individual units is attached to the revolutionary Red Banners of these units.
Military units and formations that have proven their exceptional devotion to the Motherland and have shown outstanding courage in battles with the enemies of the socialist fatherland or have shown high success in combat and political training in peacetime, are awarded the “Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner.” The “Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner” is a high revolutionary award for the merits of a military unit or formation. It reminds military personnel of the ardent love of the Lenin-Stalin party and the Soviet government for the Red Army, of the exceptional achievements of all personnel parts. This banner serves as a call to improve the quality and pace of combat training and constant readiness to defend the interests of the socialist fatherland.
For each unit or formation of the Red Army, its Revolutionary Red Banner is sacred. It serves as the main symbol of the unit, and the embodiment of its military glory. In case of loss, the Revolutionary Red Banner military unit is subject to disbandment, and those directly responsible for such disgrace are subject to trial. A separate guard post is established to guard the Revolutionary Red Banner. Each soldier, passing by the banner, is obliged to give it a military salute. On especially solemn occasions, the troops perform a ritual of solemnly carrying out the Revolutionary Red Banner. To be included in the banner group directly conducting the ritual is considered a great honor, which is awarded only to the most worthy military personnel.
Military oath
It is mandatory for recruits in any army in the world to take an oath. In the Red Army, this ritual is usually carried out a month after conscription, after the young soldier has completed the course. Before being sworn in, soldiers are prohibited from being entrusted with weapons; There are a number of other restrictions. On the day of the oath, the soldier receives weapons for the first time; he breaks ranks, approaches the commander of his unit, and reads a solemn oath before the formation. The oath is traditionally considered an important holiday, and is accompanied by the ceremonial carrying out of the Battle Banner.
The text of the oath read as follows:
I, a citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, joining the ranks of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, take the oath and solemnly swear to be an honest, brave, disciplined, vigilant fighter, strictly keep military and state secrets, unquestioningly carry out all military regulations and orders of commanders, commissars and bosses.
I swear to conscientiously study military affairs, to protect military property in every possible way and to my last breath to be devoted to my people, my Soviet Motherland and the workers' and peasants' government.
I am always ready, by order of the workers' and peasants' government, to defend my Motherland - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and, as a warrior of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, I swear to defend it courageously, skillfully, with dignity and honor, not sparing my blood and life itself to achieve complete victory over the enemy.
If, out of malicious intent, I violate this solemn oath of mine, then may I suffer the severe punishment of Soviet law, the general hatred and contempt of the working people.
Military salute
When moving in formation, the military greeting is performed as follows: the guide puts his hand to the headdress, and the formation presses his hands at the seams, all together moving to a formation step and turning his head as he passes by the authorities he meets. When passing towards units or other military personnel, it is enough to perform a military salute by the guides.
When meeting, the junior in rank is obliged to greet the senior first; if they belong to different categories of military personnel (soldier - officer, junior officer- senior officer), a senior in rank may perceive failure to perform a military greeting upon meeting as an insult.
In the absence of a headdress, a military salute is given by turning the head and adopting a combat position (arms at your sides, body straightened).
#army #army history #front #food #nutrition
During the war, any material value could be devalued, but not food: even a stale piece of bread became coveted. Good nutrition was especially important at the front, and the rear did everything possible to ensure that the soldiers did not experience hunger.
On a special regime
From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR authorities began to carry out strict accounting of all food supplies, which was a necessary condition introduction of the distribution system. Not only the number of products was cut, but also their list. Rationing was subject to strict wartime discipline.
First of all, products were used that were more abundant in warehouses; goods in short supply were temporarily held back. Moreover, the accounting records displayed only the total amount of meat, fats, and vegetables without subdividing them into types - the assortment was secondary. Strategic food reserves began to be replenished in 1938 and, in some respects, reached the planned level by the beginning of the war. This primarily concerned flour, cereals, milk powder and tea.
In the first months of the war, food reserves and the possibility of replenishing them began to steadily decline as the Germans captured more and more of Soviet territory. By the end of 1942, the USSR lost over 70% of farmland, on which, in particular, up to 38% of sugar beets and 84% of grain were grown. In addition, a significant part of the able-bodied population was sent to the front. male population and equipment involved in collective farms.
Everything for the front
In it hard times the whole country worked for the front. The bulk of available food was sent to the front line. Tens of thousands of cooks also served in the army, for whom the front became a real culinary laboratory. They tried their best, making the soldiers’ diet as rich and nutritious as possible. Many war veterans admitted that they had never eaten such delicious porridge as during the war.
Often Red Army soldiers received parcels from people they did not know. On personal initiative, citizens sent traditionally Russian products to the front - wild berries, pine nuts, dried mushrooms, pickled apples, as well as honey and jam. The village pampered the fighters with lard, homemade sausage and pastries.
The Kazakhs sent fermented milk products to the front line - kumis and khurunga, the Uzbeks sent mainly dried apricots, raisins and dried melons, the residents of Transcaucasia - lemons and tangerines. Such delicacies could not be bought in stores during the war.
Differentiated norms
The highest standards of daily allowance for military personnel were in the active army. Irina Tazhidinova and Evgeny Krinko in the book “Nutrition for military personnel in 1941-1945.” they write that in combat units, privates and officers were entitled to from 800 g to 900 g of rye bread (depending on the time of year), 500 g of potatoes and 320 g of other vegetables (cabbage, beets, carrots) and herbs, 170 g of cereals and pasta, 150 g meat, 100 g fish, 50 g fat and 35 g sugar.
The Air Force flight technical personnel were given enhanced rations (with a hot breakfast). The daily allowance of bread and potatoes for the pilot was the same as for the infantryman, otherwise it was higher, and among other things, it also contained other products: 190 g of cereals, 390 g of meat and poultry, 90 g of fish, 80 g of sugar, 20 g condensed milk, 20 g cottage cheese, 10 g sour cream, 20 g cheese and half an egg. In addition, food reserves were kept on the planes in case of unscheduled landings, which included canned food, including condensed milk, and cookies.
If we compare the daily allowance of Red Army soldiers during the Great Patriotic War with what was given to the soldiers of the Imperial Army during the First World War, then in terms of caloric content it was lower, mainly due to the fact that in the soldiers’ diet Tsarist Russia there was more bread and meat.
Bread on the front line
The basis of food for soldiers during the war was bread, which made up approximately 80% of the ration. Rear bakeries provided primarily for the army. True, if the supply of bread to the front was delayed, it was baked right on the front line in floor-standing braziers.
Given that rye flour was in short supply, barley flour was often used to produce bread. Barley bread made with sourdough was especially tasty. Sometimes wallpaper flour was used to bake front-line bread, which was mixed with barley flour. This type of bread required longer cooking and turned out to be harder.
If there was a shortage of flour, as during the Battle of Moscow, then bread was baked from potatoes and bran - it was called “Rzhevsky”. In fact, potatoes often replaced bread for soldiers. “We’ll pick potatoes from the first garden we come across and cook them right in a bucket, and then we’ll sit around like gypsies and eat, some with our hands, a knife, a spoon, and some just with a chopstick,” recalled one of the fighters.
Why not soup?
There had to be hot food at the front; soups and stews were cooked from almost any ingredients that were at hand. Pea soup was especially popular. In a good situation, it was cooked with pearl barley, fried onions and carrots, as well as potatoes and stewed meat.
If there were no ingredients for soup, they could be content with decoctions. For example, front-line cook Georgy tried not to throw out the water in which the rice was cooked; he filtered it and distributed it among the soldiers’ mugs. He did the same with pasta broth. This “bread water” was also filling and partly replaced the soup.
In times of famine, the Red Army soldiers used horse meat to prepare stew, often slaughtering healthy horses. Guard Major Boris Slutsky wrote that this was practiced in the spring of 1942: “I still remember the sweaty sweet smell of horse meat soup.”
What will the German send?
Sometimes Soviet soldiers supplemented their diet with food trophies. For example, having taken possession field kitchen Romanians, our soldiers feasted on hominy. And in the German rations there was a pea concentrate that was exotic for Soviet people, and a hybrid of honey and butter was also surprising - the Red Army soldiers willingly spread this mixture on bread.
Dropping boxes of food over the positions of Wehrmacht units, German pilots often missed, and the coveted food went straight to our soldiers. Devouring the sausages and chocolates they received, the Soviet soldiers “sent gratitude” to the hungry and licking Krauts, who were located literally a couple of hundred meters away from them.
And without chocolate
Since the fall of 1943, during the general counteroffensive, the provision situation at the front has noticeably worsened. Some commanders solved the food problem by procuring vegetables, creating subsidiary farms in their units.
Back in the summer of 1942, the People's Commissariat of Defense issued a decree according to which, “for additional food for the troops,” responsible persons were obliged to collect wild berries, mushrooms, nuts, herbs and root crops, as well as organize fishing and hunting both in the combat zone and in territories of military garrisons.
Since 1944, the food supply to the army has gradually normalized; in letters from soldiers you can often find lines like this: “The food is excellent, we eat fatty, tasty and a lot.” Boris Slutsky, mentioned above, wrote: “The lower standard of living of pre-war life helped, and did not harm, our passion-suffering. We overthrew the army, which included chocolate, Dutch cheese and candy in the soldiers’ rations.”
MOSCOW, February 23 - RIA Novosti, Mikhail Sevastyanov. The founding day of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA) is considered to be February 23, 1918. On this day, mass registration of volunteers began in the Red Army formations, created in accordance with the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On the Red Army" dated January 28, 1918. At the same time, near Pskov and Narva, the advance of the German troops that violated the truce was stopped.
In the century that has passed since the abolition of the Russian Imperial Army and the creation of the Red Army, the armed organization of society in the largest country in the world, now called the Russian Federation, has been tested by the Civil War, the Soviet-Finnish War, the Second World War and many local military conflicts. It has gone through various reorganizations and renamings. Today the Russian army is again one of the strongest in the world.
Celebrations with medals
The Russian Ministry of Defense began holding ceremonial events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Red Army in all military districts and the Northern Fleet in November 2017.
Rare historical documents and chronicles of the creation of the Red Army are exhibited in the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War and the Central Museum of the Russian Armed Forces. A number of scientific and practical conferences with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Defense and leading military experts are dedicated to the anniversary.
The All-Russian public organization veterans of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, establishing on December 14, 2017 a commemorative anniversary medal "100 years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and Navy."
Lenin and the Germans
The twenty-third of February is celebrated as the Day of Military Glory in Russia. memorable date- Defender of the Fatherland Day. The significance of the holiday is evidenced by artillery salutes dedicated to it in hero cities, as well as cities where the headquarters of military districts, fleets, combined arms armies and the Caspian Flotilla are located. For the first time in the RSFSR this date was officially recognized on February 23, 1922.
After the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917, Soviet Russia, which had emerged from the First World War by the beginning of 1918, was faced with the need for military protection from external and internal opponents.
Russian Imperial Army for the most part was demoralized and, under the control of soldiers' committees, ceased to exist as a single strategic structure. Sailors, especially the Baltic and Black Sea Fleet, made a great contribution to the victory of October and worked hard as gravediggers of the Russian imperial fleet. Legally, the pre-revolutionary armed forces of Russia were disbanded in November 1917. The military support of Soviet power was mainly the Red Guard units.
Taking advantage of the actual absence of armed forces in Soviet Russia, more than 50 divisions from German and Austrian troops On February 18, 1918, they violated the truce and launched an offensive along the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea. At the same time, Turkish troops were already advancing in the South Caucasus.
In such a situation, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin, on February 22, 1918, issued a decree “The Socialist Fatherland is in danger!” It is believed that the next day, a mass enrollment of volunteers in the Red Army and the formation of Red Army detachments began, which immediately began clashes with the Germans near Pskov and Narva, stopping their advance. Thus, a date appeared in Russia, celebrated annually on February 23 - the Day of the Red (Soviet) Army and Navy, now - Defender of the Fatherland Day.
For the socialist fatherland
By the spring of 1918, the Red Army numbered about 200 thousand soldiers. Of course, the detachments, then the regular units and formations of the Red Army, were to be commanded not by self-taught people, but by trained military specialists. The beginning was made on February 20, 1918, when generals led by Mikhail Bonch-Bruevich arrived in Petrograd. These first dozen Russian generals became the core of the Supreme Military Council of the RSFSR, which managed to recruit most of the officer corps of the former imperial army, which numbered about 150 thousand people, into service in the Red Army.
During the Civil War, more than 70 thousand officers (including senior officers) served in the Red Army. For comparison, less than 35 thousand participants in the White movement former commanders and engineers of the Russian Imperial Army.
During this period, six military academies and more than 150 courses were established in Soviet Russia, graduating about 60 thousand commanders of the Red Army and Navy at various levels.
By the way, although the election of commanders was abolished in the Red Army, the old military personnel did not enjoy complete trust new government. To control them, the institute of commissars was created in the troops and navies, without whose knowledge the commanders could not give orders.
Along with this, to motivate conscientious service in the Red Army of military experts “from the former,” the practice was to take hostage members of their families, who were subject to execution in the event of treason by the newly minted Red commanders.
In March 1918, the Supreme Military Council, chaired by Leon Trotsky, was created to manage the activities of the military and naval departments. At the same time, the formation of military districts and the formation of three-battalion regiments began as the main combat unit of the Red Army.
The Red Army was not built for long on the voluntary principle of recruitment. It was replaced by universal conscription and the involvement of representatives of the “non-labor” classes in the rear militia.
In July 1918, all those liable for military service between the ages of 18 and 40 were registered for military service, which made it possible to streamline mobilization activities and quickly increase the composition of the Red Army to almost half a million people.
In September of the same year, instead of the Supreme Military Council, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic was formed, headed by Trotsky.
In November 1918, an emergency military body appeared in the RSFSR - the Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense, headed by Lenin. During the Civil War and foreign intervention, this council supervised the activities of all military administration bodies, as well as structures in the industrial, transport and food spheres.
In January 1919, buttonholes and sleeve patches were introduced for Red Army commanders. Later, in 1935, the rank of Marshal was introduced in the Red Army Soviet Union, in 1940 - general and admiral ranks. Sergeant and, in fact, officer ranks were also introduced.
In 1920, there were about 5 million people in the Red Army. It consisted of 22 armies, 174 infantry and cavalry divisions, six dozen aviation detachments equipped with more than 300 airplanes, and separate artillery and armored vehicle units.
The newly formed armed forces of the young Soviet state won the Civil War (1917-1922) and forced the interventionists of 14 states (1918-1921) to leave the occupied territory of Russia.
On the eve of World War II
After the end of the Civil War, the Red Army personnel experienced a series of reductions and reforms, including - under the leadership of the People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs Mikhail Frunze - a partial transition to a territorial police system, when conscripts served intermittently for a total of eight months. In 1920-1924, demobilization was carried out, which reduced the Red Army to half a million people. By 1925, territorial units made up the majority of the Red Army. In 1939, the USSR adopted a law on universal military duty, which abolished the territorial police system.
As a result of industrialization Soviet state had the opportunity by 1938 to build a modern personnel army, not inferior in technical equipment armed forces of leading countries.
In the construction of the Armed Forces of the USSR, the experience of local wars and military conflicts in which the Red Army participated was taken into account. By the beginning of World War II, the Red Army had combat experience gained during the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940, clashes with the Chinese army in 1929 on the Chinese Eastern Railway, Japanese troops on Lake Khasan in 1938 and on the Khalkhin River. Goal in 1939. Soviet volunteers, in particular pilots and tank crews, improved their combat skills, as they said at that time, by fulfilling their international duty in Spain and China.
The main test
Emergency services named the most likely scenarios for war with RussiaAccording to experts, the enemy can use modern means defeats, primarily high-precision weapons, as well as the use of sabotage groups. However, the use of weapons of mass destruction is unlikely.The main test for the Red Army was the 1418 days of the Great Patriotic War, which became the most important part of the Second World War of 1939-1945.
By the time of the attack on the Soviet Union without an official declaration of war on June 22, 1941, Germany occupied 12 European states, taking full advantage of their economic and military capabilities. Adolf Hitler planned that even before winter the Red Army would be defeated and the war with the USSR would end.
On June 23, 1941, the Headquarters of the Main Command of the Armed Forces was created USSR. Its members included People's Commissar of Defense Semyon Timoshenko (chairman), Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army Georgy Zhukov, People's Commissar of the Navy Nikolai Kuznetsov, People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov, the first Soviet marshals Kliment Voroshilov and Semyon Budyonny.
In fact, the work of the headquarters was led by the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) Joseph Stalin. Then, from June 30, 1941 to September 4, 1945, he headed State Committee defense
Stalin’s role in leading the Armed Forces of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War, by the way, was highly appreciated by the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition states - US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The hero fortress of Brest became a symbol of the fight against Nazi aggression in the first days of the war. Its garrison of less than 10 thousand people held the defense against almost twice the enemy forces for more than a month.
Near Smolensk, the Red Army troops managed to stop the enemy’s advance and delay the Germans’ advance towards Moscow. On August 30, 1941, the Elninsk offensive operation began, during which Soviet troops liberated the city of Yelnya and eliminated the ledge that threatened the Western and Reserve fronts. It was then that the first four divisions of the Red Army received the honorary titles of Guards.
In Moscow, despite the announcement on October 19 state of siege, On November 7, a military parade was held to commemorate the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution. From Red Square, Red Army soldiers and people's militias followed to the front, located two dozen kilometers from the capital of the USSR.
Commander at the time Western Front Zhukov, who is called the Marshal of Victory, has repeatedly noted crucial defense of the capital and the counteroffensive that began on December 5, 1941 near Moscow in the subsequent defeat of Germany in the spring of 1945.
In the Battle of Moscow, the German Wehrmacht actually suffered its first defeat and ceased to be considered invincible.
The offensive near Moscow continued until April 1942, becoming the forerunner of the breakthrough and lifting of the blockade of Leningrad and victory in the Battle of Stalingrad.
It was at the walls of Stalingrad that a radical turning point occurred in the Great Patriotic War and in World War II in general. The high spirit, courage and skill of the Red Army soldiers who defended the city on the Volga made it possible to defend Stalingrad, encircle and capture more than two dozen divisions of the 6th Field Army of Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, which took Paris, and prevent the troops of Germany and its satellites from reaching the oil-bearing regions of the USSR.
On January 10, 1943, when the Battle of Stalingrad was still going on, by order of the People's Commissariat of Defense, the personnel of the Red Army and Navy were informed of the adoption of the decree of the presidium Supreme Council USSR dated January 6, 1943 "On the introduction of shoulder straps for the personnel of the Red Army." Red Army and Red Navy commanders with the rank of junior lieutenant were officially called officers. Thus, the Red Army, at least outwardly, came closer to the appearance of the Russian Imperial Army and its traditions.
In 1943, the Red Army seized the strategic initiative from the enemy, won a victory at the Kursk Bulge, liberated Belgorod, Orel, Kharkov...
In 1944, the Red Army carried out 10 strategic offensive operations, which were called Stalin’s attacks, and completely liberated the occupied territory of the USSR.
In January, the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted. In January-April, the Korsun-Shevchenko operation was carried out. In March, Soviet troops reached the border with Romania. Crimea was liberated in May. In June-August, the Finnish army was defeated in Karelia, which forced this country to withdraw from the war. From June 23 to August 29, the offensive of four fronts took place during Belarusian operation, named "Bagration" - in honor of the Russian commander during the Patriotic War of 1812.
In August, the Lviv-Sandomierz operation ended with the liberation of Western Ukraine from the occupiers. At the same time, the Iasi-Kishinev operation was carried out, which resulted in the withdrawal of Romania and Bulgaria from Germany's allies.
July-October was marked by the liberation of the Soviet Baltic states. In October from German occupiers The Soviet Arctic region, the northeastern part of Norway, and the capital of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, were cleared.
In the spring of 1945, the Red Army completed the European campaign with the liberation of Warsaw, Prague, the capture of Budapest, Koenigsberg, Vienna and Berlin and won an unconditional victory over the armed forces of Germany.
From August 9 to September 2, 1945, the Red Army and Navy, as part of the fulfillment of the USSR's obligations to its allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, which had been at war with Japan since 1941, fought in the territory of Manchuria, Korea, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands against armed forces of this country.
Soviet troops defeated a million-strong Japanese Kwantung Army, which largely predetermined the general surrender of Japan in World War II.
Hot cold
The Cold War is generally considered to have begun with a speech delivered on March 5, 1946. American city Fulton at that time was the leader of the British opposition, Winston Churchill, who called for lowering the “Iron Curtain” between the West and the Soviet Union, along with the states of the then socialist camp. The confrontation began on a planetary scale, ending with the collapse of the USSR.
The Red Army was renamed the Soviet Army on February 25, 1946, and with this name, its military contingents, as well as military advisers, participated in many military conflicts in a variety of “hot spots”.
Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Afghanistan, the countries of the Middle East and Africa... In modern Russia and neighboring countries there are many veterans who served in the Soviet Army and the USSR Navy in the territories and off the coasts of these states.
Then the Armed Forces of the USSR began to be involved in resolving interethnic conflicts in the spaces of the Soviet Union, until the matter ended with the cessation of its existence.
Russian again
Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Russian Federation were officially formed on May 7, 1992. Formally on post-Soviet space in 1992-1993, the United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States existed, but, as it turned out, this formation was suitable mainly for the withdrawal of nuclear weapons into Russian territory from some former union republics and “civilized divorce” events.
By the way, Defender of the Fatherland Day on February 23 is now officially celebrated not only in Russia, but also in Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, which, along with Armenia and Kazakhstan, are allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
The Russian Armed Forces were almost immediately affected by military-political problems in Tajikistan, Transnistria and a long counter-terrorism operation in the North Caucasus. Then there was the enforcement of peace from Georgia, which attacked in August 2008 South Ossetia and the Russian peacekeepers who were there. In 2014, “polite people” serving in the military Russian army and the Navy made a significant contribution to the bloodless return of Crimea.
On September 30, 2015, at the request of the President of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar al-Assad for military assistance, the Russian Armed Forces group began, in fact, a strategic operation against armed formations of international terrorist organizations " Islamic State" and "Jabhat al-Nusra" (both banned in Russia).
On December 11, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the end of active phase this operation and the withdrawal of most of the group due to the successful completion of the tasks.
At the same time, Russia has not abandoned its obligations to supply the Syrian government with weapons and military equipment, as well as training military specialists; The Khmeimim airbase and the Russian Navy logistics center in Tartus are still operating. Air defense RF Armed Forces groups in the SAR are provided with S-400 and Pantsir anti-aircraft missile systems. In addition, it works in Syria Russian Center to reconcile the warring parties.
From a NATO point of view
There is a lot of talk in Russia that the modern Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are for last years went to new level, demonstrated to the whole world their high combat readiness and combat effectiveness. This is confirmed by Western analysts. Yes, experts International Institute Strategic Studies (IISS) assessed the situation in the Russian Armed Forces and the Russian military-industrial complex in 2017. The annual Military Balance 2018 report, released in early February, states that despite financial difficulties, the Russian Federation is “pumping up its muscles” and is rightfully considered the second most powerful military power in the world.
As noted in the report, Russia demonstrates its determination to use its Armed Forces near and far from its own borders and, “unlike China, is able to take full advantage of their actual use.”
IISS experts stated that in 2017, Moscow continued its previously taken course of improving its armed forces and is relying on the creation of modern types of weapons, as well as on the formation of professional units and formations of a high degree of readiness.
Western analysts noted that the Russian contingent in Syria has become key factor, keeping President Assad in power. At the same time, according to their observations, Moscow has noticeably moved away from some important elements of the “new look” reform that began in 2008, as evidenced by last year’s decree of the Russian president to increase the number of military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces to 1,013,628 people.
The authors of the report associate the increase in the number of personnel in the Russian Army with the need to supplement the newly formed formations and believe that “this trend is likely to continue.”
The report also says that the Russian Federation plans to adopt a set of tools for strategic non-nuclear deterrence at sea - in particular, hypersonic missiles and unmanned systems - by 2025 in order to "maintain its position as the second naval power in the world."
Unlearned history lessons: US prepares for war in Russian winterUS Marines are preparing for battle in the most severe and merciless winter, American media report. They become familiar with combat tactics and logistics in tundra conditions. For what? – the question is, in general, rhetorical.All-Russian Center for Study public opinion(VTsIOM) On February 17-18, using a telephone interview, I conducted a survey among 2 thousand respondents in connection with the upcoming celebration of Defender of the Fatherland Day.
From its results it follows that February 23 is increasingly perceived among Russians as a holiday for the military (39%), rather than for men in general (34%). In 2005-2006, this date was considered more of a men's day (46% and 42%, respectively) than a military day (32% and 31%). Almost every fifth Russian (19%) recalls the Decree on the creation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, both 12 years ago and today.
According to the survey, the index showing how Russians assess the combat effectiveness of the Russian Armed Forces has reached a historical maximum over 30 years of measurements. Thus, in 1990, the corresponding combat readiness index (measured in points from minus 100 to 100) was minus 23 points, and in 2018 it rose to 73 points. At the same time, about a third of Russians (31%) consider their country’s army to be the best in the world, 52% - one of the best.
Also maximum value(71%) since the start of measurements in 2012, the number of Russians who want to see their relatives in the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces has reached. A year ago there were 68% of them, and in 2012 - 52% of the total number of respondents.
“To repay one’s debt to the Motherland, to serve the Fatherland—we have been recording the development of this trend in the opinions of Russians lately. The prestige of the profession of defender of the Motherland is growing against the backdrop of a difficult geopolitical situation,” RIA Novosti commented on these indicators CEO VTsIOM Foundation Konstantin Abramov.
Red Army soldier training and equipment
In peacetime, the training of Red Army soldiers took six months, but during the war it was reduced to several weeks. The training conditions were difficult. There were not enough weapons, ammunition, technical equipment, shooting ranges and training aids. There was also a shortage of experienced instructors. Often, reservists who themselves did not own new types of weapons had to be appointed to the position of instructor.
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Recruits took an oath, after which they were sent to the unit. The oath was usually taken on Sunday, a day off. The entire unit was built on a parade ground with banners. The conscripts individually took the oath, signed the document, and the issue of the soldier's book was dated that day.
Preparation of Red Army soldiers for bayonet combat shortly before the start of the war
Rising between 05:00 and 06:00, the recruits quickly got dressed and had breakfast. Studying took 10-12 hours a day, six days a week. There were no classes on Sunday; this day was reserved for cleaning the barracks, cleaning weapons, repairing equipment and cultural events.
After an hour of classes, short breaks were taken, an hour break was set aside for lunch. The recruits had dinner after completing their classes. The evening time was spent preparing for tomorrow's classes. In addition to military training, recruits listened to political information, watched films and participated in political discussions.
Bayonet training. In the Red Army, officers often performed duties assigned to sergeants in other armies. Summer 1941
In the first days, military regulations were read to the recruits and political classes were conducted. Practical training, having an instructor with real combat experience changed a lot, unfortunately this was not always the case. During the classes, the exercises were practiced until they became automatic. Weather permitting, classes were held outdoors. In winter, if time permitted, recruits learned to ski and snowshoe.
Drill training included practicing movement in formation, turning and manipulating a rifle. The meaning of the commands was explained to the recruits and they were taught to follow the commands. Soldiers also learned how to dig in, organize fighting positions, and dig trenches, drainage ditches, and shelters.
Red Army soldier equipment, more details here.
Red Army soldier 1941
Red Army soldier, with insignia of the 1941 model. The Red Army soldier’s equipment includes an overcoat with a raincoat, a duffel bag, a food bag, cartridge pouches, a sapper shovel, a flask and a gas mask bag, a helmet of the 1940 model and boots with windings.
The Red Army soldier is armed with a self-loading SVT-40 model 1940. Shown is a sapper shovel with a cover, an aluminum flask with a cover, and a cartridge belt for clips. Later, instead of leather equipment, canvas equipment was produced. The pot served both as a saucepan and as a bowl. Boots with wraps. BS gas mask with bag. The gas mask was equipped with a T-5 filter. Almost all of this type of field equipment was lost in the first year of fighting.
The infantry regulations of the Red Army of the 1936 model were simple and straightforward. In November 1942, a new charter was adopted, which took into account the experience of past battles.
At the same time, the charter retained its simplicity. The actions of the units and combat formation, as well as the organization of defensive positions were described in simple words. A minimum number of options were provided, feasible even for inexperienced fighters. At the same time, it was easy to control the fighters and rearrange them from one formation to another. The basic principles of formations, tactics and organization were applied at all levels down to regimental level.
During the war, any material value could be devalued, but not food: even a stale piece of bread became coveted. Good nutrition was especially important at the front, and the rear did everything possible to ensure that the soldiers did not experience hunger.
On a special regime
From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR authorities began to strictly account for all food supplies, which was a necessary condition for the introduction of a distribution system. Not only the number of products was cut, but also their list. Rationing was subject to strict wartime discipline. First of all, products were used that were more abundant in warehouses; goods in short supply were temporarily held back. Moreover, the accounting records displayed only the total amount of meat, fats, and vegetables without subdividing them into types - the assortment was secondary. Strategic food reserves began to be replenished in 1938 and, in some respects, reached the planned level by the beginning of the war. This primarily concerned flour, cereals, milk powder and tea.
In the first months of the war, food reserves and the possibility of replenishing them began to steadily decline as the Germans captured more and more of Soviet territory. By the end of 1942, the USSR lost over 70% of farmland, on which, in particular, up to 38% of sugar beets and 84% of grain were grown. In addition, a significant part of the able-bodied male population and equipment involved in collective farms was sent to the front.
Everything for the front
During this difficult time, the whole country worked for the front. The bulk of available food was sent to the front line. Tens of thousands of cooks also served in the army, for whom the front became a real culinary laboratory. They tried their best, making the soldiers’ diet as rich and nutritious as possible. Many war veterans admitted that they had never eaten such delicious porridge as during the war.Often Red Army soldiers received parcels from people they did not know. On personal initiative, citizens sent traditionally Russian products to the front - wild berries, pine nuts, dried mushrooms, pickled apples, as well as honey and jam. The village pampered the fighters with lard, homemade sausage and pastries.
The Kazakhs sent fermented milk products to the front line - kumis and khurunga, the Uzbeks sent mainly dried apricots, raisins and dried melons, the residents of Transcaucasia - lemons and tangerines. Such delicacies could not be bought in stores during the war.
Differentiated norms
The highest standards of daily allowance for military personnel were in the active army. Irina Tazhidinova and Evgeny Krinko in the book “Nutrition for military personnel in 1941-1945.” they write that in combat units, privates and officers were entitled to from 800 g to 900 g of rye bread (depending on the time of year), 500 g of potatoes and 320 g of other vegetables (cabbage, beets, carrots) and herbs, 170 g of cereals and pasta, 150 g meat, 100 g fish, 50 g fat and 35 g sugar.The Air Force flight technical personnel were given enhanced rations (with a hot breakfast). The daily allowance of bread and potatoes for the pilot was the same as for the infantryman, otherwise it was higher, and among other things, it also contained other products: 190 g of cereals, 390 g of meat and poultry, 90 g of fish, 80 g of sugar, 20 g condensed milk, 20 g cottage cheese, 10 g sour cream, 20 g cheese and half an egg. In addition, food reserves were kept on the planes in case of unscheduled landings, which included canned food, including condensed milk, and cookies.
If we compare the daily allowance of Red Army soldiers during the Great Patriotic War with what was given to the soldiers of the Imperial Army during the First World War, then in terms of calories it was lower, mainly due to the fact that the diet of the soldiers of Tsarist Russia contained more bread and meat.
Bread on the front line
The basis of food for soldiers during the war was bread, which made up approximately 80% of the ration. Rear bakeries provided primarily for the army. True, if the supply of bread to the front was delayed, it was baked right on the front line in floor-standing braziers.Given that rye flour was in short supply, barley flour was often used to produce bread. Barley bread made with sourdough was especially tasty. Sometimes wallpaper flour was used to bake front-line bread, which was mixed with barley flour. This type of bread required longer cooking and turned out to be harder.
If there was a shortage of flour, as during the Battle of Moscow, then bread was baked from potatoes and bran - it was called “Rzhevsky”. In fact, potatoes often replaced bread for soldiers. “We’ll pick potatoes from the first garden we come across and cook them right in a bucket, and then we’ll sit around like gypsies and eat, some with our hands, a knife, a spoon, and some just with a chopstick,” recalled one of the fighters.
Why not soup?
There had to be hot food at the front; soups and stews were cooked from almost any ingredients that were at hand. Pea soup was especially popular. In a good situation, it was cooked with pearl barley, fried onions and carrots, as well as potatoes and stewed meat.If there were no ingredients for soup, they could be content with decoctions. For example, front-line cook Georgy tried not to throw out the water in which the rice was cooked; he filtered it and distributed it among the soldiers’ mugs. He did the same with pasta broth. This “bread water” was also filling and partly replaced the soup.
In times of famine, the Red Army soldiers used horse meat to prepare stew, often slaughtering healthy horses. Guard Major Boris Slutsky wrote that this was practiced in the spring of 1942: “I still remember the sweaty sweet smell of horse meat soup.”
What will the German send?
Sometimes Soviet soldiers supplemented their diet with food trophies. For example, having taken over the Romanian field kitchen, our soldiers feasted on hominy. And in German rations there was a pea concentrate that was exotic for Soviet people, and a hybrid of honey and butter also caused surprise - the Red Army soldiers willingly spread this mixture on bread.Dropping boxes of food over the positions of Wehrmacht units, German pilots often missed, and the coveted food went straight to our soldiers. Devouring the sausages and chocolates they received, the Soviet soldiers “sent gratitude” to the hungry and licking Krauts, who were located literally a couple of hundred meters away from them.
And without chocolate
Since the fall of 1943, during the general counteroffensive, the provision situation at the front has noticeably worsened. Some commanders solved the food problem by procuring vegetables, creating subsidiary farms in their units.Back in the summer of 1942, the People's Commissariat of Defense issued a decree according to which, “for additional food for the troops,” responsible persons were obliged to collect wild berries, mushrooms, nuts, herbs and root crops, as well as organize fishing and hunting both in the combat zone and in territories of military garrisons.
Since 1944, the food supply to the army has gradually normalized; in letters from soldiers you can often find lines like this: “The food is excellent, we eat fatty, tasty and a lot.” Boris Slutsky, mentioned above, wrote: “The lower standard of living of pre-war life helped, and did not harm, our passion-suffering. We overthrew the army, which included chocolate, Dutch cheese and candy in the soldiers’ rations.”