About the order number XXUMX
16 August 1941 was issued the famous Supreme Command Command Order No. XXUMX. The Stavka order was signed by Chairman of the State Defense Committee Joseph Stalin, Deputy Chairman of the State Defense Committee Vyacheslav Molotov, Marshals of the Soviet Union Semyon Budyonny, Kliment Voroshilov, Semyon Timoshenko, Boris Shaposhnikov and Army General George Zhukov.
The order should have been read in all divisions of the USSR Armed Forces. According to him, commanders and political workers who, during a battle, disrupted their insignia, surrendered or became deserters, were considered malicious deserters and were shot dead on the spot, and their families were subject to arrest. Caught in the environment ordered to resist to the last opportunity, take care weapon, make your way to their own, and commanders or Red Army men who want to surrender - to destroy by all means. Families of such traitors should have been denied state benefits and assistance. The order obliged to demotivate up to the rank and file, or even shoot (if necessary) cowardly commanders and political workers. And in their place to nominate courageous and courageous people from junior commanding staff or even distinguished privates.
In general, taking into account the situation at the front — a period of severe defeats for the Red Army, the loss of vast territories, the approach of German troops to the most important centers of the Soviet Union — Leningrad, Moscow, Kiev — the order was justified. It should be noted that he was mainly directed against cowardly commanders and political workers, traitors who did not justify the title of Soviet officer, people who were responsible for their units.
However, for a number of reasons, this order is regularly accused of “excessive and unjustified cruelty”. Many people lack an understanding of the era and time when order No. 270 appeared. 22 June 1941, the most bloody and brutal war began stories of mankind - another Western horde under the leadership of the Third Reich began a war in order to seize the "living space" in the East. Western ideologists planned to destroy a large part of the Russian people (respectively, and all the peoples of the USSR), writing it into the group of "inferior", and turning the remnants into slaves. It was about the very existence of the many thousands of Russian civilization, and not about the next military conflict in Europe. At such a time, it was necessary to take all possible and impossible measures in order to survive and eventually win. We must not forget, as Westerners and liberals like, that the Soviet military-political leadership not only punished, but morally and financially (financially) supported the Soviet soldiers and workers. In particular, you can offer to familiarize yourself with the work of M. Kustov "The Price of Victory in Rubles".
The Soviet leadership took all measures to win. We love to focus on the "Stalinist repression." Although it is obvious that repression is a common tool of any state. Even if we take the modern “stronghold of democracy”, the “beacon of democratic freedoms” - the United States, they are the world leader in terms of the number of prisoners in their prisons, their number per capita, and do not hesitate to give several life sentences and apply various types of capital punishment.
In the war of extermination there was no place for "soft" orders. Once again I pay attention that the order most of all concerned command and political structure. Since you are a commander, you must be an example for the rank and file, bear a great responsibility. And cowardice, panic and weak-willed part of the commanders often led to the hardest consequences that other people had to clear up with their heroism. We must not forget that during the war, according to the data of the head of the Defense Ministry to perpetuate the memory of those killed in the defense of the Fatherland, Major General Alexander Kirilin, commanders often sabotaged the order No. 270 on prisoners of war. According to the order of the family of ordinary Red Army soldiers who were captured, they were deprived of state aid, benefits and allowances. However, the commanders recorded the prisoners as missing. As a result, according to official reports, for the entire Great Patriotic War in the USSR, out of more than 5 million missing, only about 100 thousand people were recorded as prisoners of war. In fact, there were about 4,5 million people, that is, the vast majority of the missing were captured. Obviously, the highest military-political leadership of the USSR was aware of this, but preferred to close its eyes. And Stalin, “a terrible tyrant and a bloodsucker”, knowing this, issued an order according to which they wrote in the burial notice “faithful to the oath, military duty and socialist homeland,” disappeared without a trace. This document was at the same time a certificate according to which the family of the “missing person” was supposed to pay an allowance.
One of the reasons that causes a wave of criticism regarding the order number 270 is the attitude of supporters of the "European choice" of Russia to the Stalin era. The personality of Stalin and the system of measures that was implemented in the years when he was the leader of the state causes a sharp irritation and rejection among the Westerners. Therefore, any event associated with the name of Stalin is criticized, often completely unfounded. Emotions prevail over common sense.
War is not the time for ostentatious humanism. In order to understand at least approximately what happened then, it is necessary to clearly understand - in those years, the question of the future of Russia and its peoples was decided. Stake in the war was the future of the peoples of Russian civilization. Order No. 270 was a manifestation of Higher Justice. The commanders and political worker at that time should have given all their strength for the victory of the Motherland, there was no forgiveness for treason and the manifestation of cowardice. This order reinforced the weak in spirit, giving them the opportunity to realize the full measure of responsibility for the fate of the Fatherland. It should also be noted that during the war only an insignificant number of Red Army soldiers fell under the scope of this order.
Often there is an accusation against Stalin and the Soviet leadership that after the issuance of order No. 270, every soldier who was captured allegedly became treated as a traitor. However, this accusation is difficult to consider serious. It is enough to carefully read the order itself, and not to listen to the inventions of various exposers of the "bloody regime of Stalin." The order is about deliberately surrendering and deserting from the battlefield. The difference between captured and surrendered is obvious.
From this accusation another thing also follows - Stalin is accused of the fact that “prisoners of war from German concentration camps fell into the Soviet”. However, the accusers again forget (or consciously close their eyes) the atmosphere of war - the traitors did exist, some sincerely hated the Soviet system, others went to cooperate with the enemy because of weakness, the desire to survive. There were saboteurs, agents of the enemy, the Soviet counterintelligence ate bread for good reason. In addition, it is not necessary to associate the order number 270 with the test, which was carried out in respect of prisoners. We should not forget about the norms of the Soviet Criminal Code and documents of a later period than the order of 16 August 1941 of the year.
Acquaintance with the documents shows that the statement that Stalin sent all the prisoners of war to the Gulag is just one of the “black myths” about the Great Patriotic War, with which gullible people began to be stuffed as early as the late Soviet Union. According to official data, more than 90% of all liberated, until the end of World War II, after a short inspection in special filtration camps under the supervision of the NKVD and military counterintelligence, returned safely to their former service, life. Some were recruited into the army, others were sent to rebuild the ruined national economy. And only a small part was subjected to one or another punishment. About 4% was sent to the penalty parts. To get into the penalty part did not mean inevitable death, as it is often shown to us in works of art. Most of them served their sentences safely and they were transferred to regular units. Approximately 4% was arrested, but even here not all were sent to the Gulag, many were sent to special settlements (such as a link). A part was already amnestied in honor of the Victory.
In general, the Stalinist regime was quite humane against traitors. If they had planted everyone who collaborated with the enemy, according to the westerners, there would not have been enough camps. After 1991, when anti-Soviet and Russophobic sentiments were openly encouraged in the republics of the Baltic States and Ukraine, a rather significant number of shortages erupted. By their existence, they completely refute the fact of the “bloody nature of the Stalinist regime” and the assertion that entering the Soviet camps was definitely a death sentence.
16 1941 of August
Not only friends recognize, but our enemies are forced to admit that in our war of liberation against the German fascist invaders, the Red Army units, the vast majority of them, their commanders and commissars behave flawlessly, courageously, and sometimes directly heroically. Even those parts of our army that accidentally broke away from the army and were surrounded, retain the spirit of stamina and courage, do not surrender, try to inflict more harm to the enemy and leave the environment. It is known that separate parts of our army, once surrounded by the enemy, use every opportunity to defeat the enemy and escape from the environment.
Deputy Commander of the Western Front, Lieutenant General Boldin, being in the area of the 10th Army near Bialystok, surrounded by Nazi troops, organized units from the remaining units of the Red Army that had fought behind enemy lines for 45 days and made their way to the main forces Western front. They destroyed the headquarters of two German regiments, 26 tanks1049 cars, vehicles and staff cars, 147 motorcycles, 5 artillery batteries, 4 mortars, 15 easel machine guns, 8 light machine guns, I plane at the airport and the warehouse of air bombs. Over a thousand German soldiers and officers were killed. On August 11, Lieutenant General Boldin hit the Germans from the rear, broke through the German front and, joining our forces, withdrew 1654 armed Red Army soldiers and commanders, 103 of them wounded.
The commissar of the 8 th mechanized corps, the brigade commissar Popel and the commander of 406 cn, Colonel Novikov, with a battle, took out armed men from 1778's environment. In stubborn battles with the Germans, the Novikov-Popel group passed 650 kilometers, inflicting huge losses on the enemy’s rear.
The commander of the 3 Army, Lieutenant-General Kuznetsov, and a member of the Military Council, Army Commissar 2 of the rank Biryukov, with the battles, removed the 498 armed forces and the commanders of the 3 Army from the environment and left the 108 and 64 rifle divisions from the environment.
All these and many other similar facts testify to the resilience of our troops, the high morale of our fighters, commanders and commissioners.
But we cannot hide the fact that lately there have been several shameful facts of surrender to the enemy. Some generals set a bad example for our troops.
The commander of the 28 Army, Lieutenant General Kachalov, being surrounded by the headquarters of the group of troops surrounded, showed cowardice and surrendered to the German fascists. The headquarters of the Kachalov group left the encirclement, made their way out of the encirclement of a part of the Kachalov group, and Lieutenant General Kachalov preferred to surrender, preferred to desert to the enemy.
Lieutenant-General Ponedelin, who commanded the 12 army, being surrounded by the enemy, had the full opportunity to get through to his own, as the vast majority of his army units did. But Ponedelin did not show the necessary perseverance and will to win, panicked, cowed and surrendered to the enemy, deserted to the enemy, thus committing a crime against the Motherland as a violator of the military oath.
The commander of the 13 Infantry Corps, Major General Kirillov, who was surrounded by Nazi troops, instead of fulfilling his duty to the Motherland, organizing the units entrusted to him for a steady rebuff to the enemy and leaving the environment, he deserted from the battlefield and surrendered to the enemy . As a result of this, parts of the 13 Infantry Corps were broken, and some of them surrendered without serious resistance.
It should be noted that with all the above facts of surrender to the enemy, members of the military councils of the armies, commanders, political workers, special separatists who were surrounded, showed unacceptable confusion, shameful cowardice and did not even try to prevent Kachalov, Ponedelin, Kirillov and others from surrendering to captivity to the enemy.
These shameful facts of the surrender to our sworn enemy show that in the ranks of the Red Army, steadfastly and selflessly defending their Soviet Homeland from the vile invaders, there are unstable, cowardly, cowardly elements, And these cowardly elements are not only among the Red Army men, but among the commanding staff. As you know, some commanders and political workers by their behavior at the front not only do not show the Red Army models of courage, resilience and love for the Motherland, but, on the contrary, hide in the cracks, tinker in the offices, do not see and do not observe the battlefield, at first serious difficulties in they pass the battle before the enemy, tear off insignia, deserting from the battlefield.
Is it possible to tolerate cowards in the ranks of the Red Army, deserting to the enemy and surrendering to prisoners, or such cowardly bosses who, at the first hitch on the front, tear off their insignia and defecate to the rear? No you can not! If you give free rein to these cowards and deserters, they will in a short time lay down our army and ruin our homeland. Cowards and deserters must be destroyed.
Is it possible to consider the commanders of battalions or regiments of such commanders who hide in the gaps during the battle, do not see the battlefield, do not observe the course of battle on the field and still imagine themselves as regimental and battalion commanders? No you can not! These are not commanders of regiments or battalions, but impostors. If you give free rein to such impostors, they will in a short time turn our army into a solid office. Such impostors must be immediately removed from their posts, reduced by posts, transferred to the rank-and-file, and, if necessary, shot on the spot, pushing brave and courageous people from the ranks of junior commanders or Red Army men to replace them.
I order:
1. Commanders and political workers who, during a battle, tear off insignia and deserting to the rear or surrender to the enemy, be considered malicious deserters, whose families are to be arrested as oaths and those who have betrayed their homeland deserters.
To oblige all senior commanders and commissioners to shoot on the spot such deserters from the commanders.
2. The units and subunits that were encircled by the enemy selflessly fight to the last opportunity, to protect the material part, as the eyeball of the eye, to break through to their backs of the enemy troops, defeating the fascist dogs.
To oblige each soldier, regardless of his official position, to demand from a higher commander, if part of him is surrounded, to fight to the last opportunity to get to his, and if such a chief or part of the Red Army instead of organizing resistance to the enemy would prefer to surrender - to destroy by all means, both land and air, and the families of surrendered Red Army soldiers to deprive of state benefits and assistance.
3. To oblige the commanders and commissars of divisions to immediately remove from posts the commanders of battalions and regiments hiding in the gaps during battle and who are afraid to direct the course of battle on the battlefield, reduce them ex officio as impostors, transfer them to private soldiers and, if necessary, shoot them on the spot, putting forward their place is courageous and courageous people from the junior commanders or from the ranks of distinguished Red Army men.
The order to read in all companies, squadrons, batteries, squadrons, teams and headquarters.
The rate of the Supreme Main Command of the Red Army:
J. Stalin
Deputy Chairman of the State Defense Committee
V.Molotov
Marshal of the Soviet Union S. Budyonny
Marshal of the Soviet Union K. Voroshilov
Marshal of the Soviet Union S. Timoshenko
Information