Red Army: creation. History of the creation of the Red Army. Red Army: how the “invincible and legendary” was created

Creation of the Red Army

The main part of the armed forces of the RSFSR during the Civil War, the official name of the ground forces of the RSFSR is the USSR in 1918-1946. Arose from the Red Guard. The formation of the Red Army was announced in the “Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People,” approved on January 3, 1918 by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. 01/15/1918 V.I. Lenin signed a decree on the creation of the Red Army. The formations of the Red Army received a baptism of fire when repelling the German offensive on Petrograd in February - March 1918. After the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty in Soviet Russia, full-scale work began on the creation of the Red Army under the leadership of the Supreme Military Council created on March 4, 1918 (the Air Force headquarters was partly created on the basis of the former Headquarters Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and later, on the basis of the council headquarters, the Field Headquarters of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic (RVSR) arose). An important step to strengthen the Red Army and to attract former officers to it was the order of the Supreme Military Council of March 21, 1918, which abolished the elective principle. To move from the volunteer principle of army recruitment to universal conscription, a military-administrative apparatus was needed, which was created in Soviet Russia in the spring of 1918. An important advantage of the Bolsheviks over their opponents was the ability to rely on the ready-made management apparatus of the old army.

On March 22-23, 1918, at a meeting of the Supreme Military Council, it was decided that the division would become the main formation of the Red Army. On the twentieth of April 1918, the states of units and formations were published. In those same days, work was completed on a plan for the formation and deployment of a million-strong army.

Creation of military bodies and military districts

In April 1918, under the leadership of the Air Force, the formation of local military administration bodies began, incl. military districts (Belomorsky, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Oryol, Priuralsky, Volga and North Caucasus), as well as district, provincial, district and volost commissariats for military affairs. When forming the military-district system, the Bolsheviks used the front and army headquarters of the old army; the former corps headquarters played a role in the formation of the headquarters of the veil troops. The former military districts were abolished. New districts were formed by uniting provinces based on population composition. During 1918-1922. 27 military districts were formed or restored (after capture by the Whites or liquidation). The districts played a vital role in the formation of the Red Army. The rear districts were subordinate to the General Staff, the front-line districts were subordinate to the Field Headquarters of the RVSR, the RVS of the fronts and armies. A network of provincial, district and volost military commissariats was created locally. By the end of the Civil War, there were 88 provincial and 617 district military registration and enlistment offices. The number of volost military registration and enlistment offices was measured in the thousands.

At the beginning of July 1918, the 5th All-Russian Congress of Soviets decided that every citizen between the ages of 18 and 40 must defend Soviet Russia. The army began to be recruited not voluntarily, but by conscription, which marked the beginning of the formation of a massive Red Army.

Organization of the political apparatus of the Red Army

The political apparatus of the Red Army was formed. By March 1918, to organize party control and restore order in the troops, the institution of commissars was formed (two in all units, headquarters and institutions). The body that controlled their work was the All-Russian Bureau of Military Commissars, headed by K.K. Yurenev, originally created by the Air Force. By the end of 1920, the party-Komsomol layer in the Red Army was about 7%, the communists made up 20% of the command staff of the Red Army. By October 1, 1919, according to some sources, there were up to 180,000 party members in the army, and by August 1920 - over 278,000. During the Civil War, over 50,000 Bolsheviks died at the front. To strengthen the Red Army, the Communists repeatedly carried out party mobilizations.

The Air Force organized a record of military units and united them into veil detachments under the leadership of experienced military leaders. The forces of the curtain were grouped in the most important directions (Northern section and the Petrograd region of the curtain, Western section and the Moscow defense region, later, by decree of the Air Force of August 4, 1918, on the basis of the Voronezh region of the Western section of the curtain, the Southern section of the curtain was formed, and on August 6 for defense from the interventionists and whites in the North, the North-Eastern section of the curtain was created). The sections and districts were subordinate to the veil detachments, which, according to the Air Force order of May 3, 1918, were deployed into territorial divisions, which were named after the names of the corresponding provinces. The first conscription into the Red Army took place on June 12, 1918. The Air Force outlined a plan for the formation of 30 divisions. On May 8, 1918, the All-Russian General Staff (VGSH) was created on the basis of the GUGSH (i.e., the General Staff) and the General Staff.

RVSR

On September 2, 1918, by a resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on the initiative of Trotsky and the Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Ya.M. Sverdlov, the RVSR was created, to which the functions of the Air Force, the operational and military-statistical departments of the Higher General Staff and the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs were transferred. The composition of the new body was as follows: chairman L.D. Trotsky, members: K.Kh. Danishevsky, P.A. Kobozev, K.A. Mekhonoshin, F.F. Raskolnikov, A.P. Rozengolts, I.N. Smirnov and commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the republic. The Air Force headquarters was transformed into the headquarters of the RVSR. N.I. became the chief of staff of the RVSR. Rattel, who previously served as head of the Air Force headquarters.

Almost all military administration bodies were gradually subordinated to the RVSR: the Commander-in-Chief, the Higher Military Inspectorate, the Military Legislative Council, the All-Russian Bureau of Military Commissars (abolished in 1919, the functions were transferred to the Political Department, later transformed into the Political Directorate of the RVSR), the administration of the affairs of the RVSR, the Field headquarters, Higher General Staff, Revolutionary Military Tribunal of the Republic, Central Army Supply Directorate, Higher Attestation Commission, Main Military Sanitary Directorate. In fact, the RVSR absorbed the People's Commissar for Military Affairs, especially since the key positions in these two bodies were occupied by the same people - People's Commissar for Military Affairs L.D. Trotsky, who is also the chairman of the RVSR and his deputy in both bodies, E.M. Sklyansky. Thus, the RVSR was entrusted with solving the most important issues of the country's defense. As a result of the transformations, the RVSR became the highest body of military command of Soviet Russia. According to the plans of its creators, it was supposed to be collegial, but the realities of the Civil War led to the fact that, despite the fictitious presence of a large number of members, few actually participated in the meetings, and the work of the RVSR was concentrated in the hands of Sklyansky, who was in Moscow, while Trotsky was the hottest time of the Civil War spent traveling around the fronts, organizing military administration in places.

The post of commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the republic was introduced in Soviet Russia by a resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on September 2, 1918. The first commander-in-chief was the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front, former Colonel I.I. Vatsetis. In July 1919, he was replaced by former Colonel S.S. Kamenev.

The headquarters of the RVSR, which arose on September 6, 1918, was deployed to the Field Headquarters of the RVSR, which actually became the Soviet Headquarters of the Civil War era. At the head of the headquarters were former general staff officers N.I. Rattel, F.V. Kostyaev, M.D. Bonch-Bruevich and P.P. Lebedev.

The field headquarters was directly subordinate to the commander in chief. The structure of the Field Headquarters included departments: operational (departments: 1st and 2nd operational, general, cartographic, communications service and magazine section), intelligence (departments: 1st (military intelligence) and 2nd (intelligence intelligence) intelligence departments, general department and journal section), reporting (duty) (departments: accounting (inspector), general, economic) and military-political. As in the High School, the structure changed. The following departments were created: operational (departments: operational, general, intelligence, communications service), organizational (accounting and organizational department; later - administrative and accounting department with an accounting and organizational department), registration (agent department, intelligence department), military control, Central Directorate of Military Communications and Field Directorate of the Air Fleet. An important achievement of Soviet military development was that the dream of many old-school General Staff officers finally came true: the Field Headquarters was freed from organizational and supply issues and could concentrate on operational work.

On September 30, 1918, the Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense was created under the chairmanship of V.I. Lenin, designed to coordinate the resolution of military issues with civilian departments, as well as to restrain the almost unlimited power of the chairman of the RVSR, Trotsky.

The structure of the field control of the fronts was as follows. At the head of the front was the Revolutionary Military Council (RMC), to which the front headquarters, the revolutionary military tribunal, the political department, military control (counterintelligence), and the department of the chief of supplies of the front armies were subordinate. The front headquarters included departments: operational (departments: operational, reconnaissance, general, communications, maritime, topographical), administrative and military communications, inspection of infantry, artillery, cavalry, engineers, and the department of the chief of aviation and aeronautics.

Fronts of the Red Army during the Civil War

During the Civil War, 11 main fronts of the Red Army were created (Eastern June 13, 1918 - January 15, 1920; Western February 19, 1919 - April 8, 1924; Caucasian January 16, 1920 - May 29, 1921; Caspian-Caucasian December 8 1918 - March 13, 1919; Northern September 11, 1918 - February 19, 1919; Turkestan August 14, 1919 - June 1926; Ukrainian January 4 - June 15, 1919; South-Eastern October 1, 1919 - January 6, 1920 .; South-Western January 10 - December 31, 1920; Southern September 11, 1918 - January 10, 1920; Southern (second formation) September 21 - December 10, 1920).

Armies in the Red Army during the Civil War

During the Civil War, 33 regular armies were created in the Red Army, including two cavalry ones. The armies were part of the fronts. The field administration of the armies consisted of: RVS, headquarters with departments: operational, administrative, military communications and inspectors of infantry, cavalry, engineers, political department, revolutionary tribunal, Special department. The operational department had departments: intelligence, communications, aviation and aeronautics. The army commander was a member of the RVS. Appointments to the RVS of fronts and armies were carried out by the RVSR. The most important function was performed by reserve armies, which provided the front with ready-made reinforcements.

The main formation of the Red Army was the rifle division, organized according to a ternary scheme - three brigades of three regiments each. The regiments consisted of three battalions, each battalion had three companies. According to the staff, the division was supposed to have about 60,000 people, 9 artillery divisions, an armored vehicle detachment, an air division (18 aircraft), a cavalry division and other units. Such a staff turned out to be too cumbersome; the actual number of divisions was up to 15 thousand people, which corresponded to the corps in the white armies. Because staffing levels were not followed, the composition of the various divisions varied greatly.

During 1918-1920. The Red Army gradually grew stronger and stronger. In October 1918, the Reds could field 30 infantry divisions, and in September 1919 - already 62. At the beginning of 1919, there were only 3 cavalry divisions, and at the end of 1920 - already 22. In the spring of 1919, the army numbered about 440,000 bayonets and sabers with 2,000 guns and 7,200 machine guns in combat units alone, and the total number exceeded 1.5 million people. Then superiority in strength over the whites was achieved, which then increased. By the end of 1920, the number of the Red Army exceeded 5 million people, with combat strength about 700,000 people.

Command cadres represented by tens of thousands of former officers were mobilized. In November 1918, an order was issued by the RVSR on the conscription of all former chief officers under 50 years of age, staff officers under 55 years of age, and generals under 60 years of age. As a result of this order, the Red Army received about 50,000 military specialists. The total number of military experts of the Red Army was even higher (by the end of 1920 - up to 75,000 people). The “military opposition” opposed the policy of attracting military experts.

Personnel training

Red commanders were also trained through an extensive network of military educational institutions (about 60,000 people were trained). Such military leaders as V.M. were promoted to the Red Army. Azin, V.K. Blucher, S.M. Budyonny, B.M. Dumenko, D.P. Zhloba, V.I. Kikvidze, G.I. Kotovsky, I.S. Kutyakov, A.Ya. Parkhomenko, V.I. Chapaev, I.E. Yakir.

By the end of 1919, the Red Army already included 17 armies. By January 1, 1920, the Red Army at the front and in the rear numbered 3,000,000 people. By October 1, 1920, with a total strength of the Red Army of 5,498,000 people, there were 2,361,000 people at the fronts, 391,000 in reserve armies, 159,000 in labor armies and 2,587,000 in military districts. By January 1, 1921, the Red Army numbered 4,213,497 people, and the combat strength included 1,264,391 people or 30% of total number. At the fronts there were 85 rifle divisions, 39 separate rifle brigades, 27 cavalry divisions, 7 separate cavalry brigades, 294 light artillery divisions, 85 howitzer artillery divisions, 85 field heavy artillery divisions (4888 guns in total) different systems). Total in 1918-1920. 6,707,588 people were drafted into the Red Army. An important advantage of the Red Army was its comparative social homogeneity (by the end of the Civil War, in September 1922, 18.8% of workers, 68% of peasants, 13.2% of others served in the Red Army. By the fall of 1920, 29 different charters had been developed in the Red Army , another 28 were in operation.

Desertion to the Red Army

A serious problem for Soviet Russia was desertion. The fight against it was centralized and concentrated from December 25, 1918 in the Central Temporary Commission for Combating Desertion from representatives of the military department, the party and the NKVD. Local authorities were represented by the corresponding provincial commissions. Only during raids on deserters in 1919-1920. 837,000 people were detained. As a result of amnesties and explanatory work, from mid-1919 to mid-1920, more than 1.5 million deserters voluntarily turned up.

Armament of the Red Army

On Soviet territory in 1919, 460,055 rifles, 77,560 revolvers, and over 340 million were produced. rifle cartridges, 6256 machine guns, 22,229 checkers, 152 three-inch guns, 83 three-inch guns of other types (anti-aircraft, mountain, short), 24 42-line rapid-fire guns, 78 48-line howitzers, 29 6-inch fortress howitzers, about 185,000 shells , 258 airplanes (50 more repaired). In 1920, 426,994 rifles were produced (about 300,000 were repaired), 38,252 revolvers, over 411 million rifle cartridges, 4,459 machine guns, 230 three-inch guns, 58 three-inch guns of other types, 12 42-line rapid-fire guns, 20 48- linear howitzers, 35 6-inch fortress howitzers, 1.8 million shells.

The main branch of the ground forces was infantry, and the striking maneuver force was cavalry. In 1919, the equestrian corps of S.M. was created. Budyonny, then deployed to the 1st Cavalry Army. In 1920, the 2nd Cavalry Army of F.K. was created. Mironov.

The Red Army was turned by the Bolsheviks into an effective means of widely disseminating their ideas among the masses. By October 1, 1919, the Bolsheviks opened 3,800 Red Army literacy schools; in 1920, their number reached 5,950. By the summer of 1920, over 1,000 Red Army theaters were operating.

The Red Army won the Civil War. Numerous anti-Bolshevik armies were defeated in the South, East, North and North-West of the country. During the Civil War, many commanders, commissars and Red Army soldiers distinguished themselves. About 15,000 people were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The honorary Revolutionary Red Banner was awarded to 2 armies, 42 divisions, 4 brigades, 176 regiments.

After the Civil War, the Red Army underwent a significant reduction of approximately 10 times (by the mid-1920s).

Parade on Red Square, Moscow, 1922.

Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (abbr. RKKA) - formation (armed forces, later ground forces) of the RSFSR in 1918-1922 and the Ground Armed Forces of the USSR in 1922-1946 (from 1946 - Soviet army).

The Red Army is the official name of the branches of the armed forces: the ground forces and the air force, which, together with the Red Army MS, the NKVD troops of the USSR (Border Troops, Internal Security Troops of the Republic and the State Guard Convoy) made up the Armed Forces of the RSFSR / USSR from 10 (23) February 1918 to February 25, 1946.

The day of the creation of the Red Army is considered to be February 23, 1918 (see Defender of the Fatherland Day). It was on this day that mass enrollment of volunteers began in the Red Army detachments, created in accordance with the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR “On the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army,” signed on January 15 (28), 1918.

History of the Red Army

...The Council of People's Commissars decides: to organize a new army under the name "Workers' and Peasants' Red Army", on the following grounds:

1) The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army is created from the most conscious and organized elements of the working classes.

2) Access to its ranks is open to all citizens of the Russian Republic at least 18 years of age. Anyone who is ready to give their strength, their life to defend the won October Revolution, and the power of the Soviets and socialism, joins the Red Army.

On January 10, 1918, a document was signed in Kharkov on the formation of the Chervonnaya Cossacks, led by V. M. Primakov, which soon became part of the Red Army.

<…>All to arms. All in defense of the revolution. Whole-scale mobilization for digging trenches and sending out trench detachments is entrusted to the councils with the appointment of responsible commissars with unlimited powers for each detachment. This order is sent as instructions to all councils in all cities.

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 outbreak 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 management of the armed forces was carried out by the USSR Ministry of Defense (the Central Office was reorganized on February 14, 1992 into the corresponding Russian Ministry).

Military authorities

The direct leadership of the Red Army is carried out by the Revolutionary Military Council of the RSFSR (Union) (RVS) (formed on September 6, 1918), headed by the People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs and the Chairman of the RVS.

People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs - committee, consisting of:

10/26/1917 - ? - Antonov-Ovseenko, Vladimir Alexandrovich (in the text of the Decree on the formation of the Council of People's Commissars - Avseenko)

10/26/1917 - ? - Krylenko, Nikolai Vasilievich

10/26/1917 - 3/18/1918 - Dybenko, Pavel Efimovich

People's Commissars for Military and Naval Affairs:

8.4.1918-26.1.1925 - Trotsky, Lev Davidovich

The central apparatus of the Red Army consists of the following main bodies:

Headquarters of the Red Army, since 1921 General Staff of the Red Army.

Main Directorate of the Red Army.

Directorates subordinate to the head of armaments of the Red Army.

Artillery (since 1921 Main Artillery Directorate)

Military Engineering (since 1921 Main Military Engineering Directorate)

On August 15, 1925, the Military Chemical Directorate was created under the chief of supply of the Red Army (in August 1941, the “Directorate of Chemical Defense of the Red Army” was renamed the “Main Military Chemical Directorate of the Red Army”). In January 1918, the Council of Armored Units ("Tsentrobron") was created, and in August 1918 - the Central, and then the Main Armored Directorate. In 1929, the Central Directorate of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army was created, in 1937 it 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.

Office of the Navy.

Military health department.

Military Veterinary Department.

The body in charge of party-political and political-educational work in the Red Army is the Political Directorate of the Red Army.

Local military control is carried out through revolutionary military councils, commands and headquarters of military districts (armies), to which all troops located on the territory of a given district, as well as regional military commissariats, are subordinated. The latter are the bodies for registering the population liable for military service. All the work of central and local authorities management in the Red Army is carried out in close connection with party, Soviet and professional organizations. In all parts and divisions of the Red Army there are organizations of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Komsomol.

By decree of the Council of People's Commissars of May 4, 1918, the territory of the Republic was divided into 11 military districts (MD). Yaroslavl, Moscow, Oryol, Belomorsky, Ural and Volga Military Districts were formed in May 1918 during the Civil War. At the head of the troops located on the territory of the military districts was the Military Council of the district, the chairman of which was the commander of the troops of the given district. The leadership of the troops, as well as military commissariats in military districts, was carried out through the headquarters, the political department of the district and the departments of the heads of the military branches and services. Over time, the number of military districts changed.

Organizational structure

Detachments and squads of the Red Guard - 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 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 battalion 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)), conducting political and educational work in close cooperation with the command (commander and commissar of the unit) and ensuring the political growth of the Red Army masses 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).

The USSR Law “On Compulsory Military Service”, adopted on September 18, 1925 by the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, determined the organizational structure of the Armed Forces, which included rifle troops, cavalry, artillery, armored forces, engineering troops, signal troops, air and naval forces, troops of the United State Political Administration (OGPU) and convoy guards of the USSR. Their number in 1927 was 586,000 personnel.

The organization of the armed forces of the working people is the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army of the USSR.

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army is divided into land, sea and air forces.

The Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army also includes troops special purpose: troops of the United State Political Administration and escort troops.

Article 2., Section I., Law of the USSR “On Compulsory Military Service”, Approved by the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, August 13, 1930, No. 42/253b.

Composition (army branches and special services)

Infantry

Infantry is the main branch of the military, constituting the main backbone of the Red Army.

...The infantry, being the most numerous branch of the military, performs the most difficult and responsible combat work...

Combat regulations of the Red Army infantry of 1927.

The largest rifle unit in the 1920s was the rifle regiment. The rifle regiment consisted of rifle battalions, regimental artillery, small units - communications, engineers and others - and the regimental headquarters. The rifle battalion consisted of rifle and machine gun companies, battalion artillery and battalion headquarters. Rifle company - made up of 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 2 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 Soviet cavalry or cavalry was initially small in number. By the end of 1918, there were only about 40,000 sabers in the theaters of military operations of the Civil War, this accounted for 10% of the composition of the entire Active Red Army. Most cavalry formations were part of rifle divisions. 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 the armies of foreign states; 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. Thus, from the small equestrian partisan detachment of 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 of 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.

During the 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. During the Civil War, the Soviet command 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 were in at this stage posed the greatest danger.

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 extension of enemy armies on wide fronts, and 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 in 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).

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.

Later, during the demobilization period, the main cavalry unit was 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. In the 1930s, mechanized (later tank) and artillery regiments and anti-aircraft weapons were introduced into the cavalry divisions (later this experience was considered unsuccessful); New combat regulations were developed for the cavalry.

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 childbirth troops (forces), so by the end of the war most of the cavalry units were disbanded. At the end of the Great Patriotic War, in 1945, cavalry as a branch of the military practically ceased to exist.

Automotive armored forces

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, the “Combat Manual of the Infantry” paid special attention 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 support of infantry and 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 a separate tank battalion. It consists of tank companies. A 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.

First tank brigades began to be created 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. But due to the huge losses in tanks suffered by the Red Army at the beginning of the war, and the insufficient production of NKO tanks of the USSR, it was decided to make significant adjustments to the organizational structure of the armored forces. In accordance with the directive letter of the Supreme Command Headquarters dated July 15, 1941, the abolition of mechanized corps began, which continued until the beginning of September 1941. In connection with their disbandment, tank divisions were transferred to the subordination of army commanders, and motorized divisions were reorganized into rifle divisions. Because of these reasons, it was necessary to move from the divisional to the brigade organization of armored forces, established by order of the USSR NKO No. 0063, and in September 1941 - to the creation of separate tank battalions of various staff sizes (from 29 to 36 tanks per battalion). Tank brigades and separate tank battalions became the main organizational forms in the Soviet armored forces. On December 1, 1941, the Red Army had 68 separate tank brigades and 37 separate tank battalions, used mainly for direct support of rifle troops. Such an organization was forced in the conditions of 1941. In 1942, in connection with the restoration of tank corps, and then mechanized corps, tank brigades were formed and became part of them. The brigade included 2 tank and 1 motorized rifle and machine gun battalions, as well as a number of separate units (53 tanks in total). Subsequently, the organizational and staffing structure of tank battalions was improved in order to increase its independence, strike and firepower. Since November 1943, the brigade had three tank battalions, a motorized battalion of machine gunners, an anti-aircraft machine gun company and other units (a total of 65 T-34 tanks). For military merits, 68 tank brigades received the title of guards, 112 were given honorary titles, and 114 were awarded orders. In 1945-1946, tank brigades were reorganized into tank regiments. In 1942-1954, these troops were called armored and mechanized troops. They consisted of tank (since 1946 - mechanized) armies, tank, heavy tank, mechanized, self-propelled artillery, motorized rifle brigades(since 1946 - regiments). Since 1954 they began to be called armored forces; they included tank and mechanized units.

Mechanized troops, troops consisting of mechanized (tank), motorized rifle, artillery and other units and subunits. The concept of "M. V." 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, which was deployed in 1930 into the first mechanized brigade consisting 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. The name "M. V." was enshrined in 1932 in a temporary manual for the mechanized troops of the Red Army, which is called “Driving and combat of independent mechanized formations.” 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 Directorates, which in September 1918 were reorganized into front-line and army field aviation and aeronautics directorates at the headquarters of 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 was the aviation regiment (60-63 aircraft). Aviation of the Red Army, based on the main property of aviation - the ability to inflict fast and powerful air strikes on the enemy 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 his aircraft and destroy important objects: railway junctions, military industry enterprises, communications 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.

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 assault and assault regiments fighter aircraft was increased to 40 aircraft.

Corps of Engineers

Divisions were to have an engineer battalion, and rifle brigades were to have engineer 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, the 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

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.

In 1923, anti-gas teams were introduced into the staff of rifle regiments.

In 1924-1925, during military reform, laid the foundations of modern troops and service, made important step to the creation of centralized management of them, the beginning of planned military chemical training in units was laid.

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 supported high availability anti-chemical protection of units and formations in case the enemy used 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 possible application the enemy with chemical weapons, destroyed enemy personnel and equipment with flamethrower and incendiary weapons, and camouflaged their troops and rear facilities with smoke.

Signal Corps

The first communications units in the Red Army were formed in 1918. On October 20, 1919, the Signal Troops were created as independent special troops. In 1941, the position 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.

59th separate logistics brigade

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 KBF. The title "Guards" was awarded on September 15, 1945. There were four railway buildings: two built BAM and two in Tyumen (they built bridges and laid roads to each tower).

Road Troops

As part of the Logistics Service of the USSR Armed Forces. 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

Labor Army (Trudarmiya) - military formations (associations) in the Armed Forces of the Soviet Republic in 1920-1922, 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 activity 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).

The Bolsheviks appointed a political commissar, or political instructor, to each Red Army unit, with the power to override the unit commander's orders if they went against the principles of the Communist Party. Although this reduced the effectiveness of the command, the Party felt an urgent need to control the unreliable "military specialists" from among the former royal officers, on which the army depended heavily. Control was weakened in 1925, since by this time enough new command cadres had been raised.

Ranks

The early Red Army rejected officer ranks as a phenomenon, declaring it a “relic of tsarism.” The word “officer” itself was replaced by the word “commander”. The shoulder straps were canceled, canceled military ranks, instead of which job titles were used, for example, “division commander” (division commander), or “komkor” (corps commander). On July 30, 1924, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR ordered No. 989 to award the entire command staff of the Red Army the rank of “commander of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army.” Also this year, “service categories” were introduced, from K-1 (lowest) to K-14 (highest), corresponding to the experience and qualifications of the commander. When addressing a commander whose position was unknown, one should name the position corresponding to the category, for example, “comrade of the regiment commander” for K-9. Triangles (for junior command personnel K 1 and 2), squares (for middle command personnel K 3-6), rectangles (for senior command personnel K 7-9) and rhombuses (for senior command personnel K-10 and above) were used as insignia ). The types of troops on their uniforms were distinguished by the color of their buttonholes.

On September 22, 1935, service categories were abolished and personal ranks were introduced. They were a mixture of job titles and traditional ranks, such as "divisional commander." Separate ranks were introduced for political workers (“brigade commissar”, “army commissar 2nd rank”), for technical services (“engineer 3rd rank”, “divisional engineer”), for medical workers and so on.

On May 7, 1940, the personal ranks of “general” and “admiral” were introduced, replacing the previous “divisional commander”, “commander” and others. On November 2, 1940, official ranks for junior command personnel were abolished, and the rank of lieutenant colonel was introduced.

At the beginning of 1942, the ranks of technical and logistics services were brought into line with the traditional ones (“engineer major”, “engineer colonel” and others). On October 9, 1942, the system of political commissars, along with special ranks, was abolished. Job titles remained only for medical, veterinary and legal services.

At the beginning of 1943, the unification of the surviving official ranks took place. The word “officer” returned to the official lexicon again, along with shoulder straps and the previous insignia. The system of military ranks and insignia remained virtually unchanged until the collapse of the USSR; modern Russian Armed Forces actually continue to use the same system. The old official ranks of “battalion commander” (battalion commander), “brigade commander” (brigade commander), “div commander” (division or division commander) are still retained in unofficial (jargon) use.

It should be noted that, despite the fact that the military ranks of the Red Army of the 1943 model were developed on the basis of the ranks of the Russian Imperial Army, they, nevertheless, are not an exact copy of them. First of all, the following differences can be noted:

The non-commissioned officer ranks of sergeant major and sergeant major (cavalry rank) were not restored.

The chief officer ranks of second lieutenant, lieutenant, and staff captain were not restored.

The rank of ensign (in Old Church Slavonic - “standard bearer”, from “prapor” - banner), which was classified as an officer in the tsarist army, was established in the Soviet Army only in 1972. The ranks “warrant officer” and “senior warrant officer” are separated into a separate category and do not belong to officers.

The ranks that existed only in the cavalry were not restored - cornet (corresponding to second lieutenant), staff captain (corresponding to staff captain), captain (corresponding to captain).

At the same time, the rank of major was established, which was abolished in the tsarist army in 1881.

a number of changes occurred in the ranks of senior officers, for example, the rank of general-feldtzeichmeister was not restored, and others.

In general, the military ranks of junior command personnel (sergeants and foremen) of the Red Army correspond to the tsarist (Russian) non-commissioned officer ranks, the ranks of junior officers - chief officer (the statutory address in the tsarist army is “your honor”), senior officers, from major up to colonel - staff officer (the statutory address in the tsarist army is “your honor”), senior officers, from major general to marshal - general (“your excellency”).

A more detailed correspondence of ranks can only be established approximately, due to the fact that the very number of military ranks varies. Thus, the rank of second lieutenant approximately corresponds to the military rank of lieutenant, and royal rank captain roughly corresponds to the Soviet military rank of major.

It should also be noted that the insignia of military ranks of the Red Army, model 1943, were also not an exact copy of the royal ones, although they were created on their basis. Thus, the rank of colonel in the tsarist army was designated by shoulder straps with two longitudinal stripes and without stars; in the Red Army, military rank had insignia, on the shoulder straps - two longitudinal stripes, and three medium-sized stars, arranged in a triangle.

Command staff

A significant part of the command staff of the Red Army until the early 1930s were people who received officer ranks in the tsarist and partly in the white armies. Their replacement with commanders trained in Soviet military institutions took a long time. According to a memo by Ya. B. Gamarnik (May 1931), there were 5,195 “former” officers in the command structure, including 770 in the senior command of the ground forces (67.6% of the senior command of the ground forces), 51 people in the Naval Forces (53.4% ​​of the senior command of the naval forces), 133 people in the Air Force (31.1%).

Repressions of 1937-1938

Part of the Great Purge of 1937-1938, according to some, was the so-called “purge of Red Army personnel.” Its goal was to cleanse itself from “unreliable elements,” mainly among the highest ranks. It is debatable whether the purge caused a weakening of the Red Army. Proponents of the opposite point of view point out that the number of the Red Army increased at the peak of the purges. In 1937 it was 1.5 million people, having more than tripled by June 1941. Part of the Great Purge of 1937-1938, according to some, was the so-called “purge of Red Army personnel.” Its goal was to cleanse itself from “unreliable elements,” mainly among the highest ranks. Not most of of which was returned after the attack Nazi Germany to the USSR. According to some sources, the “Stalinist purge” of the Red Army was one of the factors that gave Hitler confidence in the success of his attack on the Soviet Union. Declassified data indicates that in 1937 the Red Army numbered 114,300 officers, 11,034 of whom were repressed, and were not rehabilitated until 1940. However, in 1938, the Red Army already numbered 179 thousand officers, 56% more than in 1937, of which 6,742 were repressed and not rehabilitated before 1940.

As a result of the work done, the army was largely cleared of spies, saboteurs, untrustworthy foreigners, drunkards, and plunderers of national property.

From the report of the command staff of the Red Army, dated May 5, 1940, sent to the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR K. E. Voroshilov.

Number

By the end of April 1918 - 196,000 people.

By the beginning of September 1918 - 550,000 people.

By the end of October 1918 - almost 800,000 people.

By the end of 1919 - 3,000,000 people.

By the fall of 1920 - 5,500,000 people.

By January 1925 - 562,000 people.

In 1927 - 586,000 people.

March 1932 - 604,300 people (the entire Red Army (Red Army, Red Air Force and Red navy)).

By January 1941 - 4,200,000 people.

By the spring of 1942 - 5,500,000 people (active army and navy).

Since the spring of 1942 - 5,600,000 people (active army and navy).

By the summer of 1942 - about 11,000,000 people.

By the beginning of 1945 - 11,365,000 people.

By May 1945 - 11,300,000 people.

By February 1946 - 5,300,000 people.

Conscription and military service

Since 1918, the service has been voluntary (based on volunteers). But volunteerism could not provide the required number of fighters to the armed forces at the right time. On June 12, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars issued the first decree on conscription military service workers and peasants of the Volga, Priural and West Siberian military districts. Following this decree, a number of additional decrees and orders on conscription into the armed forces were issued. 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 an accounting apparatus and a small number of command personnel; 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 construction of the Red Army from 1923 to the end of the 30s was carried out on the basis of a combination of territorial police and personnel formations. In modern conditions, with the growth of technical equipment of the armed forces and the complication of military affairs, the police armed forces have practically become obsolete. 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.

After the Civil War, representatives of the “exploiting classes” - children of merchants, priests, nobles, Cossacks, etc. - were not conscripted into the Red Army. In 1935, the conscription of Cossacks was allowed; in 1939, restrictions on conscription based on class were abolished, but restrictions on admission to military schools remained. .

The period of service 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 the navy - 4 years.

Military training

In the first half of 1918, universal education went through several stages of its development. On January 15, 1918, a decree was issued on the organization of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the All-Russian Collegium for the formation of the Red Army was created under the People's Commissariat for Military and Naval Affairs. She launched active work in the center and locally. In particular, all military specialists and career officers were registered. In March 1918, the VII Congress of the RCP(b) decided on universal training of the population in military affairs. The day before, Izvestia All-Russian Central Executive Committee published an appeal: “Every worker, every woman worker, every peasant, every peasant woman must be able to shoot a rifle, revolver or machine gun!” Their training, which had already practically begun in the provinces, districts and volosts, was to be supervised by military commissariats formed in accordance with the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR of April 8. On May 7, the Central Department of All-Russian Education was established at the All-Russian General Headquarters, headed by L. E. Maryasin, while local departments were created at the military registration and enlistment offices. On May 29, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee issued the first decree on the transition from recruiting volunteers to the mobilization of workers and poor peasants.

In June 1918, the First Congress of General Education Workers took place, which made important decisions. In accordance with them, the activities of local educational institutions were also structured. Back in January, a provincial military department with an accounting subdepartment arose in Kostroma. The People's Commissariat for Military Affairs published instructions on the operating procedures of such bodies, recruitment centers were opened to enroll volunteers in the Red Army, and for the first time, widespread military training was launched. In February - March, Kostroma and Kineshma residents, mainly workers, enlist in the proletarian Red Army detachments. The military departments were training them. On March 21, the very day when the elective beginning in the Red Army was canceled (by order of the Supreme Military Council of the RSFSR), the All-Russian Collegium appealed to military specialists, to all officers of the old army, with an appeal to join the Red Army for command positions.

Vasilevsky A. M. “Life’s Work”

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 traditionally called cadets in the Red Army, which roughly corresponds to the pre-revolutionary rank of “junker”. 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 war time it is reduced to secondary specialized training, the duration of training is sharply reduced, and short-term command courses lasting six months are organized.

A traditional feature of Russia is the system of secondary military education, consisting of a network of cadet schools and corps. After the collapse of the Armed Forces of the Russian Empire (Russian Imperial Army and Navy) in 1917-1918, this system ceased to exist. However, in the 40s, it was actually restored as part of the general turn of the USSR to pre-revolutionary Russian traditions caused by the Great Patriotic War [source not specified 2793 days]. The leadership of the Communist Party authorized the founding of five Suvorov military schools and one Nakhimov naval school; The pre-revolutionary cadet corps served as a model for them. The training program in such schools corresponds to obtaining a complete secondary education; Suvorov and Nakhimov students usually enter higher military schools.

After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, a number of new educational institutions were organized in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, directly named “ cadet corps" The pre-revolutionary military rank of “cadet” and the corresponding insignia have been restored.

Another traditional feature Russia has a system of military academies. Students who study there receive higher military education. This is in contrast to Western countries, where academies typically 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 named after Peter the Great, etc.). After 1991, the point of view was promoted that a number of military academies were directly inherited by the Red Army from the tsarist army. In particular, the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze comes from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, and the artillery Academy comes from the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy, founded by Grand Duke Mikhail in 1820. This point of view was not shared during the Soviet period, because the history of the Red Army began in 1918. In addition, the Higher Military Scientific Courses (VVNK), created in the White emigration on the initiative of the former, were considered the direct successor of the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. Supreme Commander-in-Chief Russian Army Vel. Book Nikolai Nikolaevich the Younger as the successor and continuer of the traditions of the Academy of the General Staff.

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have retained the Soviet system of military education in general outline, disbanding a number of schools as part of the general reduction of the Armed Forces in the 90s of the 20th century. However, the greatest loss for the military education system was the collapse of the USSR. Since the Soviet Army was a single system for the USSR, military schools were organized without taking into account the division into union republics. As a result, for example, out of 6 (Leningrad, Kolomenskoye, Tbilisskoye, Sumy, Odessa, Khmelnitsky) artillery schools of the USSR Armed Forces, 3 remained in Ukraine, despite the fact that the Ukrainian army did not require such a number of artillery officers.

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 deployed at civilian universities, the training program in them corresponds to a higher military school.

A similar system was used for the first time in the world, in Soviet Russia, and adopted by the United States, where a significant part of officers are trained in non-military training courses for reserve officers, and in officer candidate schools. The developed network of higher military schools is also very expensive; the maintenance of one school costs the state approximately the same as the maintenance of a division fully deployed in wartime. Reserve officer training courses are much cheaper, and the United States places great emphasis on them.

The Red Army was created, as they say, from scratch. Despite this, she managed to become a formidable force and win the civil war. The key to success was the construction of the Red Army using the experience of the old, pre-revolutionary army.

On the ruins of the old army

By the beginning of 1918, Russia, which had survived two revolutions, finally emerged from the First World War. Her army was a pitiful sight - soldiers deserted en masse and headed to their homes. Since November 1917, the Armed Forces did not exist de jure - after the Bolsheviks issued an order to dissolve the old army.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the former empire, new war- civil. In Moscow the battles with the cadets had just died down, in St. Petersburg - with the Cossacks of General Krasnov. Events grew like a snowball.

On the Don, generals Alekseev and Kornilov formed the Volunteer Army, in the Orenburg steppes the anti-communist uprising of Ataman Dutov unfolded, in the Kharkov region there were battles with cadets of the Chuguev Military School, in the Yekaterinoslav province - with detachments of the Central Rada of the self-proclaimed Ukrainian Republic.

Labor activists and revolutionary sailors

The external, old enemy was not asleep either: the Germans intensified their offensive on the Eastern Front, capturing a number of territories of the former Russian Empire.

At that time, the Soviet government had at its disposal only Red Guard detachments, created locally mainly from labor activists and revolutionary-minded sailors.

During the initial period of general partisanship in the civil war, the Red Guards were the support of the Council of People's Commissars, but it gradually became clear that voluntariness should be replaced by the conscription principle.

This was clearly shown, for example, by the events in Kyiv in January 1918, where the uprising of the working detachments of the Red Guard against the power of the Central Rada was brutally suppressed by national units and officer detachments.

The first step towards the creation of the Red Army

On January 15, 1918, Lenin issued a Decree on the creation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. The document emphasized that access to its ranks is open to all citizens of the Russian Republic at least 18 years of age who are ready to “give their strength, their lives to defend the won October Revolution and the power of the Soviets and socialism.”

This was the first, but half-hearted step towards creating an army. So far it was proposed to join it voluntarily, and in this the Bolsheviks followed the path of Alekseev and Kornilov with their voluntary recruitment of the White Army. As a result, by the spring of 1918, no more than 200 thousand people were in the ranks of the Red Army. And its combat effectiveness left much to be desired - most of the front-line soldiers were resting at home from the horrors of the World War.

A powerful incentive to create a large army was given by the enemies - the 40,000-strong Czechoslovak corps, which in the summer of the same year rebelled against Soviet power throughout Trans-Siberian Railway and overnight captured vast areas of the country - from Chelyabinsk to Vladivostok. In the south of the European part of Russia, Denikin’s troops were not asleep; having recovered from the unsuccessful assault on Ekaterinodar (now Krasnodar), in June 1918 they again launched an attack on Kuban and this time achieved their goal.

Fight not with slogans, but with skill

Under these conditions, one of the founders of the Red Army, People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs Leon Trotsky proposed moving to a more rigid model of army building. According to the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars on July 29, 1918, military conscription was introduced in the country, which made it possible to increase the number of the Red Army to almost half a million people by mid-September.

Along with quantitative growth, the army also strengthened qualitatively. The leadership of the country and the Red Army realized that slogans alone that the socialist fatherland was in danger would not win the war. We need experienced personnel, even if they do not adhere to revolutionary rhetoric.

So-called military experts, that is, officers and generals of the tsarist army, began to be conscripted en masse into the Red Army. Their total number during the Civil War in the ranks of the Red Army was almost 50 thousand people.

The best of the best

Many later became the pride of the USSR, such as Colonel Boris Shaposhnikov, who became Marshal of the Soviet Union and Chief of the Army General Staff, including during the Great Patriotic War. Another head of the General Staff of the Red Army during World War II, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky entered the Civil War as a staff captain.

Another effective measure to strengthen the middle command ranks were military schools and accelerated training courses for Red commanders from among soldiers, workers and peasants. In battles and battles, yesterday's non-commissioned officers and sergeants quickly rose to become commanders of large formations. Suffice it to recall Vasily Chapaev, who became a division commander, or Semyon Budyonny, who headed the 1st Cavalry Army.

Even earlier, the election of commanders was abolished, which had an extremely harmful effect on the level of combat effectiveness of units, turning them into anarchic spontaneous detachments. Now the commander was responsible for order and discipline, albeit on an equal basis with the commissar.

Kamenev instead of Vatsetis

It is curious that a little later whites also joined the conscript army. In particular, the Volunteer Army in 1919 largely remained so only in name - the ferocity of the Civil War imperiously demanded that opponents replenish their ranks by any means.

Former colonel Joakim Vatsetis was appointed the first commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the RSFSR in the fall of 1918 (since January 1919, he simultaneously led the actions of the army of Soviet Latvia). After a series of defeats for the Red Army in the summer of 1919 in European Russia, Vatsetis was replaced in his post by another tsarist colonel, Sergei Kamenev.

Under his leadership, things went much better for the Red Army. The armies of Kolchak, Denikin, and Wrangel were defeated. Yudenich's attack on Petrograd was repulsed, Polish units were driven out of Ukraine and Belarus.

Territorial police principle

By the end of the Civil War, the total strength of the Red Army was more than five million people. The Red Cavalry, initially numbering only three regiments, over the course of numerous battles grew to several armies that operated on widely extended communications of countless fronts of the civil war, serving as shock troops.

The end of hostilities required a sharp reduction in the number of personnel. This, first of all, was needed by the country's war-depleted economy. As a result, in 1920-1924. demobilization was carried out, which reduced the Red Army to half a million people.

Under the leadership of the People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs Mikhail Frunze, most of the remaining troops were transferred to the territorial-militia principle of recruitment. It consisted in the fact that a small part of the Red Army soldiers and unit commanders carried out permanent service, and the rest of the personnel were called up for five years for training sessions lasting up to a year.

Strengthening combat capability

Over time, Frunze's reform led to problems: the combat readiness of the territorial units was much lower than the regular ones.

The thirties, with the advent of the Nazis in Germany and the Japanese attack on China, began to smell distinctly of gunpowder. As a result, the USSR began transferring regiments, divisions and corps to a regular basis.

This took into account not only the experience of the First World War and the Civil War, but also participation in new conflicts, in particular, the clash with Chinese troops in 1929 on the Chinese Eastern Railway and Japanese troops on Lake Khasan in 1938.

The total number of the Red Army increased, the troops were actively rearming. This primarily concerned artillery and armored forces. New troops were created, for example, airborne troops. Mother infantry became more motorized.

Premonition of World War

Aviation, which previously performed mainly reconnaissance missions, was now becoming powerful force, increasing the share of bombers, attack aircraft and fighters in its ranks.

Soviet tank crews and pilots tried their hand at local wars taking place far from the USSR - in Spain and China.

In order to increase prestige military profession and the convenience of serving in 1935, personal military ranks were introduced to career military personnel - from marshal to lieutenant.

The territorial-militia principle of recruiting the Red Army was finally put to rest by the law on universal conscription of 1939, which expanded the composition of the Red Army and established longer terms of service.

And there was a big war ahead.

near Narva 23.02.1918

With the coming to power communist party Bolsheviks in November 1917, the country's leadership, relying on K. Marx's thesis about replacing the regular army with the universal armament of the working people, began the active liquidation of the imperial army of Russia. On December 16, 1917, the Bolsheviks issued decrees of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars "On the elective principle and organization of power in the army" and "On the equal rights of all military personnel." To protect the gains of the revolution, under the leadership of professional revolutionaries, Red Guard detachments began to be formed, headed by the Military Revolutionary Committee, which directly led the October armed uprising, led by L.D. Trotsky.

On November 26, 1917, the “Committee on Military and Naval Affairs” was created, instead of the old War Ministry, under the leadership of V.A. Antonova-Ovseenko, N.V. Krylenko and P.E. Dybenko.

V.A. Antonov-Ovseenko N.V. Krylenko

Pavel Efimovich Dybenko

The "Committee on Military and Naval Affairs" was intended to form armed units and lead them. The committee was expanded to 9 people on November 9 and transformed into the "Council of People's Commissars for Military and Naval Affairs", and from December 1917 it was renamed and became known as the College of People's Commissars for Military and Naval Affairs (Narkomvoen), the head of the board was N. AND. Podvoisky.

Nikolai Ilyich Podvoisky

The Collegium of the People's Commissariat of Defense was the governing military body of Soviet power; in the first stages of its activity, the collegium relied on the old War Ministry and the old army. By order people's commissar For military affairs, at the end of December 1917, in Petrograd, the Central Council for the Management of Armored Units of the RSFSR - Tsentrabron - was formed. He supervised the armored vehicles and armored trains of the Red Army. By July 1, 1918, Tsentrobron formed 12 armored trains and 26 armored detachments. The old Russian army could not provide the defense of the Soviet state. There was a need to demobilize the old army and create a new Soviet army.

At a meeting of the military organization under the Central Committee. RSDLP (b) On December 26, 1917, it was decided, according to the installation of V.I. Lenin created a new army of 300,000 people in a month and a half, the All-Russian Collegium for the organization and management of the Red Army was created. IN AND. Lenin set before this board the task of developing, in as soon as possible, principles of organization and construction new army. The fundamental principles for building the army developed by the board were approved by the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which met from January 10 to 18, 1918. To protect the gains of the revolution, it was decided to create an army of the Soviet state and call it the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

On January 15, 1918, a decree was issued on the creation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and on February 11 - the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet on a voluntary basis. The definition of “worker-peasant” emphasized its class character - the army of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the fact that it should be recruited only from working people of the city and countryside. The "Red Army" said that it was a revolutionary army.

To form volunteer units The Red Army was allocated 10 million rubles. In mid-January 1918, 20 million rubles were allocated for the construction of the Red Army. As the leadership apparatus of the Red Army was created, all departments of the old War Ministry were reorganized, downsized or abolished.

In February 1918, the Council of People's Commissars appointed the leading five of the All-Russian Collegium, which issued its first organizational order on the appointment of responsible department commissars. German and Austrian troops, more than 50 divisions, violating the truce, began an offensive on February 18, 1918 in the entire zone from the Baltic to the Black Sea. The offensive began in Transcaucasia on February 12, 1918 Turkish troops. The demoralized old army could not resist the attackers and abandoned their positions without a fight. From the old Russian army, the only military units that retained military discipline were the regiments of Latvian riflemen, who went over to the side of Soviet power.

In connection with the offensive of German and Austrian troops, some of the generals of the tsarist army proposed forming detachments from the old army. But the Bolsheviks, fearing that these detachments would act against Soviet power, abandoned such formations. To attract officers from the tsarist army to serve, a new form of organization called the “veil” was created. A group of generals, led by M.D. Bonch-Bruevich, consisting of 12 people on February 20, 1918, who arrived in Petrograd from Headquarters and formed the basis of the Supreme Military Council, began to recruit officers to serve the Bolsheviks.

Mikhail Dmitrievich Bonch-Bruevich

By mid-February 1918, the “First Corps of the Red Army” was created in Petrograd. The basis of the corps was a special-purpose detachment, consisting of Petrograd workers and soldiers, consisting of 3 companies of 200 people each. During the first two weeks of formation, the strength of the corps was increased to 15,000 people.

Part of the corps, about 10,000 people, was prepared and sent to the front near Pskov, Narva, Vitebsk and Orsha. By the beginning of March 1918, the corps included 10 infantry battalions, a machine gun regiment, 2 horse regiments, an artillery brigade, a heavy artillery division, 2 armored divisions, 3 air squads, an aeronautical detachment, engineering, automobile, motorcycle units and a searchlight team. In May 1918 the corps was disbanded; its personnel were sent to staff the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th rifle divisions formed in the Petrograd Military District.

By the end of February, 20,000 volunteers had signed up in Moscow. The first test of the Red Army took place near Narva and Pskov; it entered into battle with German troops and repulsed them. February 23 became the birthday of the young Red Army.

When the army was formed, there were no approved states. Combat units were formed from volunteer detachments based on the capabilities and needs of their area. The detachments consisted of several dozen people from 10 to 10,000 or more people, the created battalions, companies and regiments were of different types. The company size ranged from 60 to 1600 people. The tactics of the troops were determined by the heritage of the tactics of the Russian army, the geographical, political and economic conditions of the combat area, and also reflected personality traits their leaders, such as Frunze, Shchors, Chapaev, Kotovsky, Budyonny and others. This organization excluded the possibility of centralized command and control of troops. A gradual transition began from the volunteer principle to the construction of a regular army based on universal conscription.

The Defense Committee was disbanded on March 4, 1918 and the Supreme Military Council (SMC) was formed. One of the main creators of the Red Army was People's Commissar L.D. Trotsky, who on March 14, 1918 became the head of the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs and chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic. Being a psychologist, he was involved in the selection of personnel in order to know the state of affairs in the army. Trotsky created March 24 .

death of the commissar

The Revolutionary Military Council decided to create cavalry as part of the Red Army. On March 25, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars approved the creation of new military districts. At a meeting in the Air Force on March 22, 1918, a project for organizing a Soviet rifle division was discussed, which was adopted as the main combat unit of the Red Army.

When recruited into the army, fighters took an oath approved on April 22 at a meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the oath was taken and signed by each fighter.

Solemn Promise Formula

approved at the meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Councils of Workers, Soldiers, Peasants and Cossack Deputies on April 22, 1918

1. I, the son of the working people, a citizen of the Soviet Republic, accept the title of warrior of the workers' and peasants' army.

2. In the face of the working classes of Russia and the whole world, I undertake to bear this title with honor, to conscientiously study military affairs and, like the apple of my eye, to protect people's and military property from damage and theft.

3. I undertake to strictly and unswervingly observe revolutionary discipline and unquestioningly carry out all orders of commanders appointed by the authority of the Workers' and Peasants' Government.

4. I undertake to refrain myself and to restrain my comrades from all actions that discredit and humiliate the dignity of a citizen of the Soviet Republic, and to direct all my actions and thoughts towards the great goal of the liberation of all working people.

5. I undertake, at the first call of the Workers' and Peasants' Government, to come out in defense of the Soviet Republic from all dangers and attempts by all its enemies, and in the struggle for the Russian Soviet Republic, for the cause of socialism and the brotherhood of peoples, to spare neither my strength nor my life itself .

6. If, out of malicious intent, I deviate from this solemn promise of mine, then may universal contempt be my lot and may the harsh hand of revolutionary law punish me.

Chairman of the Central Election Commission Y. Sverdlov;

The first holder of the order was Vasily Konstantinovich Blucher.

VC. Blucher

The command staff consisted of former officers and non-commissioned officers who went over to the side of the Bolsheviks and commanders from the Bolsheviks, so in 1919 1,500,000 people were called up, of which about 29,000 were former officers, but the combat strength of the army did not exceed 450,000 people. The bulk of the former officers who served in the Red Army were wartime officers, mainly warrant officers. The Bolsheviks had very few cavalry officers.

From March to May 1918, a lot of work was done. Based on the experience of three years of the First World War, new field manuals were written for all branches of the military and their combat interaction. A new mobilization scheme was created - the system of military commissariats. The Red Army was commanded by dozens of the best generals who had gone through two wars, and 100 thousand excellent military officers.

By the end of 1918, the organizational structure of the Red Army and its management apparatus had been created. The Red Army strengthened all the decisive sectors of the fronts with communists; in October 1918 there were 35,000 communists in the army, in 1919 - about 120,000, and in August 1920 300,000, half of all members of the RCP (b) of that time. In June 1919, all the republics that existed at that time - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia - concluded a military alliance. A unified military command and unified management of finance, industry, and transport were created.

By Order of the RVSR 116 of January 16, 1919, insignia were introduced only for combatant commanders - colored buttonholes on collars, by branch of service and commander stripes on the left sleeve, above the cuff.

By the end of 1920, the Red Army numbered 5,000,000 people, but due to a shortage of uniforms, weapons and equipment, the army's combat strength did not exceed 700,000 people; 22 armies, 174 divisions (of which 35 cavalry), 61 air squadrons (300-400 aircraft) were formed. , artillery and armored units (units). During the war years, 6 military academies and more than 150 courses trained 60,000 commanders of all specialties from workers and peasants.

During the Civil War, about 20,000 officers died in the Red Army. There are 45,000 - 48,000 officers left in service. Losses during the Civil War amounted to 800,000 killed, wounded and missing, 1,400,000 died from serious illnesses.

red army badge

RED ARMY - Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA) from January 1918 to February 1946, the official name of the ground forces, air force and naval forces of the RSFSR, then the USSR. Since February 1946 - Soviet Army.

Created by Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of January 15 (28), 1918, signed by V. I. Lenin. At the same time, the Workers' and Peasants' Red Air Fleet was created as an integral part of the army (KVF - the first air detachment was organized on October 28 (November 10) to fight the troops of A.F. Kerensky - P.N. Krasnov, advancing on Petrograd) and the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of 29 January (February 11) - Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet (RKKF). One of the active organizers of the Red Army was L. D. Trotsky, People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs since the spring of 1918. The supreme governing body of the Red Army was the Council of People's Commissars, with direct leadership and management carried out by the Commissariat for Military Affairs.

Initially, the Red Army was formed on a class basis and the principles of voluntariness from among the most conscious citizens of the Republic. To join the army, a recommendation from military committees, party committees, trade unions, etc. was required. mass organizations supporting Soviet power. However, the escalation of the Civil War in Russia in 1918-1922. demanded mass recruitment into the army, and then general, compulsory mobilization - July 10, 1918. The V All-Russian Congress of Soviets legislated the transition to recruiting the army and navy on the basis of universal conscription. In addition, it was decided to use the military experience and knowledge of the “old” military specialists, who made up 48% of the senior command staff. A major role in the construction and victories of the Red Army in the Civil War was played by its first commanders-in-chief I. I. Vatsetis (September 2, 1918 - July 9, 1919) and S. S. Kamenev (July 10, 1919 - April 1, 1924; in 1924 the position of commander in chief was abolished) , front commanders A. I. Egorov and M. N. Tukhachevsky, as well as advanced “young” military leaders: V. A. Antonov-Ovseenko, V. K. Blyukher, S. M. Budyonny, S. K. Timoshenko, M F. Frunze, I. E. Yakir, etc. Party-political work in the Red Army was carried out by military commissars acting under the leadership of the Central Committee of the RCP (b): K. E. Voroshilov, S. M. Kirov, G. K. Ordzhonikidze, I.V. Stalin and others. The Institute of Military Commissars existed (with interruptions) until 1942.

In Soviet times, the birthday of the Red Army was celebrated annually (since 1919) on February 23, but this was the day of the first mass recruitment into the army in Petrograd and Moscow due to the need to repel the German troops advancing near Petrograd. Recruitment was carried out on the basis of the decree-appeal “The Socialist Fatherland is in Danger!” (February 21, 1918), published February 22.

Orlov A.S., Georgieva N.G., Georgiev V.A. Historical Dictionary. 2nd ed. M., 2012, p. 251-252.