The army of the USSR is one of the most powerful military enclaves of the 20th century, the creation of which has expended considerable resources, primarily human resources. It is worth noting that it formed relatively quickly and firmly took the place of leader in world history, primarily due to the heroism and endurance on the verge of human capabilities that the Soviet soldiers showed in the fight against the Nazi invaders. After unconditional surrender, perhaps few of the world powers could challenge the obvious fact: the army of the USSR was the strongest in the world at that time. However, she kept this unspoken title almost until the end of the last century.
Stages of formation
Throughout its history, since the appearance of a more or less organized form, the Russian army has been famous for incredible courage, strength and faith in the cause for which the blood of soldiers was shed. The fall of the empire, in particular, entailed not only the demoralization of the armed forces, but also their almost complete destruction. This was also due to the fatal zeal to eliminate most of the officers. In parallel, red guards formed from those who wished to serve new ideas and a newborn state throughout the country. However, the First World War was still going on, despite internal events, Russia did not officially leave it, which means that there was a need for regular connections. This marked the beginning of the formation of the Red Army, the name of which a year later added the phrase "worker-peasant." The official birthday is February 23, 1918. At the time of the civil strife, there were 800 thousand volunteers in its ranks, a little later - 1.5 million.
The creation of the army of a new, not yet fully educated state was based on principles such as class, internationalism (citizens from other countries were accepted into the army), elective leadership, and two-heads, which provided for the mandatory presence in all divisions of military commissars, the so-called political workers .
The basic components of the armed forces have become land and sea. The army of the USSR became a full-fledged military association only in 1922, that is, when the Soviet Union legally began to exist. Until the disappearance of this state from the world map, the army did not change its external forms. After the formation of the USSR, the NKVD troops replenished it.
Organizational and managerial structure
Both in the RSFSR and later in the USSR, the Council of People's Commissars functioned to perform managerial functions, as well as to control various structures, including the army. The People's Commissar of Defense was created in 1934. During the Great Patriotic War, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was formed, headed directly by Joseph Stalin. The Ministry of Defense was later established. The same structure has been preserved to this day.
Initially, there was no orderliness in the army. Volunteers formed detachments, each of which was a separate and independent military unit. In an effort to cope with this situation, the army attracted relevant specialists who were engaged in its structuring. Initially, rifle and cavalry corps were formed. A powerful technological breakthrough, expressed in streamlined production of aircraft, tanks, armored vehicles, contributed to the expansion of the USSR army, mechanized and motorized units appeared in it, and technical units strengthened. During the war, regular units are converted into a field army. According to military rules, the entire length of hostilities is divided into fronts, which, in turn, include armies.
The size of the army of the USSR from the moment of its appearance totaled almost two hundred thousand soldiers; by the time of the attack of Hitler Germany there were already more than five million people in its ranks.
Types of troops
The USSR armies included rifle, artillery, cavalry, communications troops, armored, engineering, chemical, automobile, railway, road troops, and air forces. In addition, cavalry, which was formed simultaneously with the Red Army, occupied a considerable place. However, the leadership met with serious difficulties in the formation of this unit: those regions in which formations could form were under the authority of the White Guards or were occupied by a foreign corps. A serious problem arose with a lack of weapons and professional personnel. As a result, it was possible to form full-fledged cavalry units only by the end of 1919. During the Civil War, such units reached almost half of the number of foot soldiers in some combat operations. In the first months of the war with the most powerful German army at that time, cavalry, it must be said, showed itself selflessly and courageously, especially in the battle for Moscow. However, it was too obvious that their military power could not be compared with modern methods of warfare. Therefore, most of these troops were abolished.
Firepower of Iron
The twentieth century, especially the first half, was marked by rapid military progress. And the Red Army of the USSR, like the military forces of any other country, was actively acquiring ever new technological capabilities for the maximum destruction of the enemy. Conveyor production of tanks in the 1920s greatly simplified this task. When they appeared, military specialists developed a system of productive interaction of new equipment and infantry. It was this aspect that occupied a central place in the infantry combat charter. In particular, surprise was indicated as the main advantage, and among the capabilities of the new equipment was the strengthening with their help of the positions captured by the infantry, the implementation of maneuvers to deepen attacks on the enemy.
In addition, the tank armies of the USSR included paramilitary units equipped with armored vehicles. The formation of armies began in 1935, when tank brigades appeared, which later became the basis for future mechanized corps. However, at the very beginning of the war, these formations had to be disbanded due to serious losses of equipment. Separate battalions and brigades were formed again. However, by the beginning of the second year of the war, the supply of equipment had resumed and was established on an ongoing basis, mechanized troops were restored, and they included whole tank armies of the USSR. This is the largest formation in this kind of troops. As a rule, they were assigned the solution of independent combat missions.
Military aircraft
Aviation - another very serious amplifier of the armed forces. Since the first aircraft began to appear at the beginning of the 20th century, military aviation formations began to form in 1918. However, in the 1930s, it became obvious that in this type of troops the Soviet army was considerably inferior due to the rapid development of the aviation industry in the West. Attempts to modernize equipment at the beginning of the Second World War showed their futility. Luftwaffe cars, which launched their attacks on Soviet cities on a June morning, took the military command by surprise. It is known that in the early days about two thousand Soviet aircraft were destroyed , most of them on the ground. After six months of the war, the losses of Soviet aviation totaled more than 21 thousand aircraft.
The rapid build-up in the aviation industry allowed after a short time to achieve parity in the sky with the Luftwaffe fighters. The famous Yak fighters in various versions made the German aces lose their faith in a quick victory. Subsequently, the air fleet was replenished with modernized attack aircraft, bombers, and fighters.
Other armed forces
Among other arms, a fairly significant place during the Second World War took engineering troops. It was they who were entrusted with the obligation to build fortifications, structures, barriers, mine territories, and provide technical support for maneuvers, in addition, they helped to create corridors on mined fields, to overcome enemy fortifications, barriers, and other things. Chemical troops also significantly expanded their field of application precisely at that period, in each military unit there were corresponding departments. In particular, it was they who used flamethrowers and arranged smoke screens.
Ranks in the army of the USSR
As you know, the first thing the supporters of the revolution fought for is the destruction of everything that at least briefly reminded of class oppression. That is why the first thing was abolished officers, and with it the ranks and epaulets. Instead of the imperial table of ranks, military posts were established. Later, service categories appeared, designated by the letter "K". To distinguish by position, geometric figures were used - a triangle, a rhombus, a rectangle, according to military affiliation - colored buttonholes on the form.
However, individual officer ranks in the USSR army were nevertheless restored, although the truth is already closer to World War II. A year before the German attack, the ranks of "General", "Admiral" and "Lieutenant Colonel" were reanimated. Then they returned the official ranks in the technical and rear services. An officer as a military concept, epaulettes and other ranks was finally settled only in 1943. However, not all the titles that existed in pre-revolutionary Russia were restored in the army of the former USSR. This fact also influenced the composition of the ranks of the Russian army, since it was the system developed in 1943 that is still used today. Among those not included: non-commissioned officers sergeant major and wahmister, chief officers lieutenant, lieutenant, staff captain, as well as cavalry cornet, staff captain, captain. The ensign recovered only in 1972. At the same time, the major, who was removed in tsarist Russia in 1881, on the contrary, returned.
The brand-new general of the USSR army introduced in 1940 is one of the absolutely new ranks. By status he goes for the highest rank in the Soviet Union, which is the rank of marshal. The first new rank was awarded to well-known large army leaders Georgy Zhukov, Kirill Meretskov and Ivan Tyulenev. Before the war, two more were elevated to this rank - the military commanders Joseph Apanasenko and Dmitry Pavlov. During the war, the title "General of the Army of the USSR" was not awarded until 1943. Then shoulder straps were developed, which housed four stars. The first to receive the rank was Alexander Vasilevsky. As a rule, erected in this rank led the army fronts.
By the end of the war, the Soviet army of the USSR already numbered eighteen military leaders awarded this title. Ten of them were assigned to the rank of Marshal. In the 1970s, the title was no longer conferred on special merits and deeds to the Fatherland, but on the fact of the position that involves the assignment of a rank.
The terrible war is a great victory
By the time the Great Patriotic War began, the army of the USSR was quite strong, perhaps unnecessarily bureaucratic and somewhat beheaded due to the repressions organized by Stalin in the army in 1937-1938, when the command staff was very seriously cleaned up. This was partly the reason that in the first weeks the troops were demoralized, there were many losses of people, both military and civilian, equipment, weapons and other things. Although the army of the USSR and Germany was clearly not in equal positions at the time the war started, Soviet soldiers defended their homeland at the cost of countless casualties, and the first such feat was, of course, the defense of Moscow and keeping the city from invading troops. The war greatly accelerated the training of new aggressive methods, and the Red Soviet Army rapidly transformed into a military professional force, which at first desperately defended the borders and lost them, only forcing the enemy to pretty much lose in their ranks, and after the crucial battle of Stalingrad, the enemy frantically attacked and drove away.
The 1941 Army of the USSR consisted of more than five million soldiers. Of the small arms on June 22, there were about one hundred and twenty thousand guns and mortars. For a year and a half, the enemy quite freely felt himself in the Soviet lands and advanced deep into the country rather quickly. Until the moment I came across Stalingrad. Defense and the battle for the city opened a new stage in the historical confrontation, which turned into an inglorious flight of the enemy from Russian territory. The highest peak in the army of the USSR was reached at the beginning of 1945 - 11.36 million soldiers.
Military duty
At the beginning of its glorious history, the ranks of the Red Army replenished on a voluntary basis. But after some time, the leadership found that under such conditions, at critical moments, the country could be in danger due to the lack of a regular military corps. That is why, since 1918, decrees began to be regularly issued calling for compulsory military service. Then the service periods were quite loyal, the infantrymen and artillerymen served for a year, the cavalrymen for two years, they were called up for military aviation for three years, and the navy for four years. Military service in the USSR was regulated both by separate legislative acts and the Constitution. This duty was seen as the most active form of fulfilling their civic duty to protect the socialist Fatherland.
As soon as the war ended, the leadership understood that it was impossible to carry out conscription in the army in the near future. And therefore, until 1948, no one was called upon. Those liable for military service instead of the army were sent to construction work, the restoration of the entire western part of the country required a lot of hands. Then the leadership issued a new edition of the law on military service, according to which adult boys were required to serve for three years, in the Navy - for four years. The call was carried out once a year. Military service in the USSR decreased to one year only in 1968, and the number of calls was increased to two.
Professional holiday
The modern Russian army is counting its years from the moment of the formation of the first armed units in the new post-revolutionary Russia. According to historical data, Vladimir Lenin signed a decree on the formation of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army on January 28, 1918. German troops were actively advancing, and the Russian army needed new forces. Therefore, on February 22, the authorities appealed to the people with a request to save the Fatherland. Large-scale rallies with slogans and calls had their effect - crowds of volunteers surged. Thus, the historical date of the celebration of the professional Army Day appeared. On the same day, it is customary to celebrate the holiday of the Navy. Although, strictly speaking, the official date for the formation of the fleet is considered to be February 11, when Lenin signed a document on his formation.
Note that even after the Soviet Union ceased to exist, the military holiday remained, and it was still celebrated. However, only in 2008, the head of the country, Vladimir Putin, by his decree renamed the national holiday on Defender of the Fatherland Day. The holiday became an official day off in 2013.
The demoralization and destruction of the army of the Soviets began, of course, with the great collapse of the country itself. In the difficult years of the 1990s, the army was not a priority for the country's leadership, all subordinate institutions, units and other property fell into complete disrepair, were plundered and sold out. The military found themselves in the margins of life, no one needed.
In 1979, the Kremlin initiated the last military campaign, which marked the beginning of the inglorious end of a great state - the invasion of Afghanistan. The Cold War, which at that time was already in its third decade, depleted the reserves of the Soviet treasury in order. Over the ten years of the Afghan conflict, human losses from the Union nearly reached fifteen thousand soldiers. The Afghan campaign, the Cold War, and rivalry with the United States in terms of arms buildup made such gaps in the country's budget that it was no longer possible to overcome them. The withdrawal of troops that began in 1988 finished already in the new state, which did not care about either the army or its soldiers.