History 04/02/20 stabbity the Wehrmacht: how they fought German soldiers
About the Soviet detachments and battalions in the great Patriotic war did not mention just lazy. But the armies of all countries of the world fought alarmism and desertion the most stringent methods.
In the First world war, especially “famous” for its reprisals against surrendering and fleeing from the battlefield — the Italians. And in the Russian army at the initiative of individual commanders was legalized measures such as shooting at retreating without orders parts. However, they have not been approved throughout the army, and about real cases of their application history is silent.
During the Second world war, the desertion of a suffering a defeat at the front, Soviet troops were at first mass. The struggle with deserters in the rear of the army from the first days of the war were operational barriers special departments of the NKVD and the actual barrage detachments of the NKVD. Both structures were created in the NKVD before the war, in so-called peacetime. They were detained by soldiers, stragglers from units, I investigated the causes of the backlog and, depending on the severity of the offence, sent to a penal unit, or subjected to arrest and subsequent transfer to the Tribunal.
In the historical literature common figure — 420 thousand soldiers of the red Army, sent to the penal company. This estimate is much too low (probably it applies only to penal battalions, formed in the army – see below) and does not match the number stated in the reports of the NKVD. Only from 22 June to 10 October 1941 operatlona and detachments of the NKVD detained outside military units 657 364 soldiers. Of them were arrested on 25 878 people, the rest of 632 486 sent to the front in penal units.
Before the war the red army had 5 million soldiers, with the outbreak of war to October 1941 was mobilized about 5 million waym, in the penal battalions during the first three and a half months of the war has been over 6% of the total number of soldiers of the red army. I suppose that until the end of 1941 and in 1942 this number increased. Thus, it is unlikely that we will greatly mistaken if we assume that at least every tenth soldier who participated in the great Patriotic war, went through the battalions.
As you can see, in the rear of the army deserters fought by the Agency, not subordinate to the people’s Commissariat of defense. Directly on the front by the commanders and Commissars were ordered to shoot in the place of the deserters and panic-mongers. This situation prevailed until the summer of 1942.
the Famous order No. 227 of 28 July 1942 (“not one step back!”) Stalin ordered to create penal companies of 150-200 fighters, 5-10 for each army. In addition, each army was supposed to create 3-5 “well-armed” detachments of the red army, numbering no more than 200 people. On combined-arms army, whose ranks were about one hundred thousand fighters, was supposed defensive strength to a maximum of 1,000. This is hardly a lot.
it is significant that in the order No. 227, contained such lines as would justify his introduction: “After his winter retreat… the Germans to restore the discipline has adopted some harsh measures, which led to good results… They formed more than one hundred and penal companies of the fighters… They formed, then, about ten penal battalions from the commanders… They formed, at last, special groups of an obstacle, put them behind unstable divisions and ordered them to shoot on a place of alarmists in case of attempt of unauthorized abandonment of position and if you attempt to surrender”.
Thus, Stalin seemed to take into consideration the experience of the Wehrmacht to restore discipline. But was really taken by the German army the measures that the Soviet leader has mentioned in his order?
Here we deal with substitution of concepts. Indeed, in the Wehrmacht with the alarmism and desartista fought the Wehrmacht. No Gestapo or other law enforcement agencies are not caught behind the soldiers. All functions of maintaining order and discipline in the immediate rear were attributed to feldgendarmerie and military police. So what about the experience of the Wehrmacht can only speak in the sense that now the Red Army was assigned the same functions of the struggle with deserters in his immediate rear.
However, Stalin’s order No. 227 was not abolished, the same detachments and operatlona of the NKVD. And penal units they continued to cobble together. Detachments and penal companies in the armies were not created instead Nkvdshnyh, but in addition to them. The area of responsibility of the army and KGB service delimiting.
the mention in the orders of Stalin the influence of the winter retreat of the Germans on the adoption of measures to increase the discipline should be attributed to propaganda techniques. Indeed, in the winter of 1941-42. the Germans there was a crisis at the front, and frequent cases of desertion, and death sentences to deserters. However, traces of any special measures taken at that time by the Germans, the documents is not. All of this is pre-war field provided by the Charter of the Wehrmacht.
Only at the very end of the war, commander of army group G on the Western front SS-obergruppenführer Hausser offered the Supreme command to fire on the Wehrmacht fleeing in panic from their positions. However, even if his proposal was not approved.
The same Stalinist order gives ground for a comparison of German and Soviet events. According to Stalin, in the winter of 1941-42, the Germans made a total of 100 penalty Roth at 5-million Wehrmacht. Under its order of such penal companies in the red Army was planned to create not less than 350, even if we take the minimum norm of five penalties on Roth army. It wasn’t one penalty unit formed of the NKVD.
a Much broader use of punitive measures to maintain discipline in the red Army compared Vermahtom follows from the other digits. Above it has been estimated that approximately every tenth soldier was punished with a penal battalion of the NKVD. They should add another 420 thousand people, perebivay, according to statistics, in the penal battalions created on the basis of the order No 227.
In the Wehrmacht for the time of the Second world war were mobilized 13.5 million people. Of them in penalty units spent a total of 190 thousand, less than half a percent.
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