If a military leader's job is to simply win the war regardless of the price it will take, then Stalin is without a doubt one of the greatest military leaders in history. He was able to muster a significant amount of forces that would go into battle knowing that they would probably die, he won the war, and he effectively secured communist dominance over fascism. So, he must have been one of the greatest military leaders of all time, right? Wrong, a military leader's goal is not to simply win the war, but they must also protect their people from the threat that their country faces. How can it be possible to be considered a great wartime leader if you win the war, but fail to protect the nation you were fighting the war for?
Stalin neglected the reports that the Nazis were amassing an army on the Soviet border and his negligence to act upon the reports cost many civilian lives. With his orders such as 227 he ordered the murder of his own troops if they did not move fast enough or attempted to retreat. Stalin's tactics were clumsy, barbaric, and ruthless. He was detached from reality and the true implications of his actions and as a result many people died unnecessarily for the "glory of the motherland." He did not appear to have a true strategy other than throwing his people at the Nazi forces until they were so overwhelmed that they could not survive. Human lives should never be used as the primary fuel for a war machine because many are guaranteed to die without proper munitions. Stalin was a horrendous leader and the only reason that I believe the Soviets won the war was that they feared Stalin's power more than a death in fighting the Nazis.
So why is Stalin such a beloved figure in Soviet history? Perhaps it is because he accomplished something that no other Russian leader was capable of in history. He left a significant mark on world history that Russians today can look back to and be proud of. Their ancestors "saved the world" from the Nazi threat. They were the ones that truly subdued the Nazi threat and crushed them until nothing was left standing. The world had them to thank, and as leader Stalin was a representation of them, so perhaps this is why Russians still admire him today. History is always open to interpretation and Stalin is one of the most controversial characters, because he puts a face on the philosophical question; do the ends justify the means?
World War Two was the deadliest war in history with approximately 61 million casualties in only about six years.The Germans suffered 3,250,000 military and
3,810,000 civilian casualties, which equals 7,060,000 total casualties. This seems like an incredibly substantial sum, but it pales in comparison to the total for the Allies. Great Britain had
388,000 casualties, 62,000 of which were civilian and America had 295,000 total casualties all of which were military. These numbers for the Allies may not seem that large and the German casualties may appear substantial, but once the numbers for the Soviets are factored in for the Allies, all of these statistics appear miniscule.
The Soviets had a total of 25,568,000 casualties with
16,900,000 being civilian and
8,668,000 being military. This number for the Soviets is so immense that is unimaginable to even begin to comprehend its true magnitude. We are detached from the true scale of Soviet loss and cannot even fathom over 25 million people being dead or wounded. This is also how I believe Stalin viewed this number with one of his most famous quotes being "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic." This is an accurate view, but was this detachment from the scale of events appropriate for the leader of the Soviet people? Probably not, but how else can someone even begin to rationalize the number of casualties and make sense of why so many people died. Their deaths were on Stalin's hands and I don't believe he was ever able to truly face how many people were killed or injured under his leadership.
The following video from France 24 briefly discusses the use of rape by the soviets in WWII and the effect it has left on the survivors.
This documentary begins with the account of a woman who remembers that when the soviets entered the town in Germany where she resided all of her friends ran, but her leg was injured so she had no choice but to stay. She was only nineteen and was raped by four different Soviet soldiers. It is estimated that two million women shared this fate and are still terrified by the events of their past. Most of these events are believed to have taken place in the post war years, but no one focused on the suffering of German citizens because the World was too preoccupied with viewing the crimes of the Nazis.
I believe that the Soviets thought they could utilize rape as a method to strike back at the Germans for invading the Soviet Union, but such crimes are unforgivable. Whether or not it is true that many Soviet women were raped during the Nazi invasion, it does not justify terrorizing the populace and using them as a tool to strike back at the Nazis. Also, the war was over when most of this was believed to have taken place, the Nazis were in ruins and this would not be a strike against them, but instead a strike against the German civilian. This distinction between civilian and political party however, is unfortunately rarely determined in times of war and if one is believed to be "the enemy" than they both are the enemy. The behavior of Soviet soldiers was unjustified, unforgivable, and quite simply a crime against humanity.
The Amount of destruction that the Soviets unleashed during the Battle of Berlin was astounding, but was the magnitude of this destruction necessary for success?
I believe the magnitude of destruction that the Soviets was more personal than necessary. The Nazis were surrounded on all sides without any method of exiting the city, but the Soviets destroyed, not just a small portion of the city, but almost the entire city. I do not believe the Soviets goal was ever to simply defeat the Nazis, but instead crush the Nazis in an effort to make them pay for their crime of attacking the Soviet Union. However, the SS remaining in Berlin were the best the Nazis had to offer and were superior to the Soviets, so some artillery would have been necessary to break defensive lines and advance forward. But, this looks like payback in a similar manner to what the Nazis did to Leningrad. By surrounding Berlin the Soviets had secured their victory, but the battle that took place in Berlin itself, truly demonstrates that the Soviets were driven by a personal vendetta against the Nazis that did not stop until they were decimated.
The Battle of Berlin was the final step in stopping the Nazi war machine and ending the war. Hundreds of thousands had already died for the Soviets to make it to this point and in the 16 day operation known as the battle of Berlin, an estimate of 200,000 more soviet soldiers ere killed. In the following documentary from Russia Today the Battle of Berlin is discussed from the crossing of the Oder river to the capture of Berlin itself.
After the liberation of Poland the Soviets were able to cross the Oder river in under 20 days, which enabled them to cover 500km in a matter of almost three weeks. This placed the Soviet forces within 70km of Berlin, but Stalin ordered all forces to hold their position. The battle of Poland had exhausted most of the Soviets supplies and it was crucial to send munitions to these forces before beginning the final assault. However, simply resupplying their forces took the Soviets approximately two months. During this time the Nazis were preparing a defensive line that was 20km long and only 6.5km from the position where the Soviets were waiting. This area was known as the Seelow Heights and faced the brunt of the Soviets final offensive. Historian Anatoly Davydenko claims that before the battle began "a total of 3.5 million troops from both sides, some 10,000 tanks, scores of thousands of assault guns, and 11,000 aircraft" were gathered to decide the fate of Berlin.
Joseph Stalin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill
By this time in the war the Americans were advancing at a rapid pace towards Berlin because most of the Nazis were pulled from the Western front and were placed on the Eastern Front to engage the Soviets. Also, the leader of the British, Winston Churchill, stated "If the Russians also take Berlin, will their impression that they have been the overwhelming contribution to our common victory be unduly imprinted on their minds, and may this not lead them into a mood which will raise grave and formidable difficulties in the future?" Meaning, that he did not want the Soviets to take Berlin because they would see themselves as the victors of the war and not the Allies, which would lead to them becoming a dominant force politically and militarily. What Churchill wanted was for the Soviets to handle most of the attack and being weakened, while also weakening the Nazis to the brink of destruction. The Americans also wanted the Soviets to handle the majority of the conflict, which is evident through the fact that when it was estimated that 30,000 soldiers would die if they advanced towards Berlin, the Americans were ordered to hold their position because the estimate would be an unacceptable loss. Stalin however, trusted FDR and is believed to have been open to the American playing a role in the battle for Berlin, but when FDR died Stalin saw it as a necessary action to take Berlin without aid, which would prevent the Allies from using their involvement in the final days as a political tool.
Map of the Seelow Heights
When the Soviets began their attack on Seelow Heights an initial barrage, that included thousands of arttilery pieces, shell the Nazis fo over half an hour. After the barrage tanks and infantry moved in and the battle ensued. Also, after the barrage, the Soviets used 140 high-power searchlights to aim at the Nazis and prevent any kind of adequate return-fire. Tens of thousands of Soviet soldiers lost their lives in this battle and the Nazis retreated to the small town of Halbe, but at this point it was clear that Germans could not organize a resistance to repel the Soviets. In one case, that the Video points out, the Nazis already in Halbe opened fire on the retreating Nazis mistaking them for a soviet advance. This confusion on the part of the Nazi's allowed the Soviets to enter Halbe with relative ease. By the end of a three day battle in Halbe, 60,000 Nazis were killed and another 120,000 are taken prisoner by the Soviets. One day after the conflict in Halbe one group of Soviets enter the town of Torgau on the Elbe river and are surprised to see the Americans on the other bank. The Soviets and Americans then began to celebrate, because they knew the war was coming to an end and the Nazis would be defeated.
Soviet Flag over the Reichstag
On April 28th the Soviets had entered Berlin and encircled the center of the city, focusing their efforts on the Reichstag. However, the Germans had blown all of the bridges to cross the canals throughout the city and the Soviets were forced to cross only a few at a time in small rafts. The documentary estimates that over half of the men whose role was to secure the canal were killed before they could even cross. All that was left after the this was the Reichstag, but the only Nazis that remained to defend the city were some of Hitler's most elite soldiers from the SS. On April 30th Hitler committed suicide knowing that he had no chance of surviving the war, but his SS still continued to fight. Shortly after the Soviets successfully captured the top floor of the Reichstag and raised the Soviet flag above it to show that they had captured the Reichstag. The fighting did not stop until May2nd though, when the Nazi General in charge of the defense of Berlin met with the Soviets to request a cease fire, which he was granted. This was the end of the war for the Soviets.
The Battle of Berlin was not only one of the most important events of WWII, but also for the history of the Soviet union. By ending the war the Soviets achieved a triumphant moment where they were able to demonstrate their military superiority and achieve a moment of nationalism for their country that I believe is unsurpassed. It was a moment when the Soviet people could stop worrying about the problems their country faced in ways such as, production, and the poor economy; but instead this was a moment where the people could simply be proud that they were a member of the Soviet Union, and that their country had just been victorious in the bloodiest war that they had ever seen.
The Katyusha rocket launcher was an invaluable tool of the Soviets in WWII. It allowed for massive rocket volleys that were capable of large-scale destruction. The base of the vehicle was a truck, so it was agile and could be readily pulled from a position depending on how close the Nazi advance was getting and how fast they were approaching. The launcher on the back of the truck consisted of 16 rail guides, which could each hold one missile. This capability to hold a vast number of rockets that all could fire simultaneously. For instance in the image above it is hard to tell but there appears to be approximately six launchers, which adds up to 96 rockets. Although, it did take longer to reload these artillery pieces they were capable of mass destruction through the sheer number of vehicles that were located at a given location. Along with this, the Katyusha was cheap to produce because it was basically just a truck with a steel frame mounted on to the back for the missiles. Overall, the Katusha's capabilities were a significant factor in helping the Soviets achieve victory in the war and were one of the most effective tools to suppress the Nazis.
Below are some of the features of the Katyusha BM-13 and facts regarding its development
(If the image is too small, click on the link below it for a much larger version)
A pogrom is a Russian word that is defined as “to wreak havoc, to demolish violently,”but through the actions of the Russians in the 1800's it became a term to describe the eradication of Jewish populations. The first pogrom is believed to have occurred in Odessa in 1821 during anti-Jewish riots, but these events did not become common until the assassination of Tsar Alexander II. In the years 1881-1884 Jews were scapegoated as the Tsar's killer's and thousands of Jews were killed as a result. However, these events did not stop with the fall of the tsarist regime. In the years 1918-1920, immediately after the Bolshevik revolution, Ukrainian nationalists, Polish officials, and Red army soldiers waged a pogrom in western Belorussia and Poland's Galicia province, which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Jews.The Soviet Union did engage in behavior similar to the Nazis during the Holocaust, but this would not be the end of pogroms.
Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass)
In 1938 the Nazis infamously engaged in what can be considered their first "pogrom"" on November 9-10 in Berlin, during what is now known as Kristallnacht. During these two days Hitler encouraged the population to take up violent actions against Jews leaving through such actions as destroying their homes and businesses and also physical assault against individuals. Following these events and after the invasion of the Soviet Union the Nazis created mobile killing units to carry out the Holocaust. However, these groups did not work alone. In many instances the Nazis were ordered to encourage the people in the areas they had taken from the Soviets to launch pogroms in "towns such as Bialystok, Kovno, Lvov, and Riga." It may never be known how many times this occurred after the Nazi invasion, but through these actions the Nazis would achieve success in their goal to eliminate the Jewish population of the Soviet union.
So, what is the difference between the Soviets and Nazis in regards to their treatment of the Jewish population? They both used them as a scapegoat for problems their countries were facing and destroyed them to appease their people. The soviet union had engaged in pogroms after its founding and before being occupied by Germany, so it is obvious that this mentality was never truly absent from the early Soviet Union. There is no difference between the Nazis and Soviets in this regard, both the Holocaust and pogroms were cold blooded murder for no other reason than placing a face on the problems their countries faced.
"Pogroms." United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum . January 6, 2011.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005183 (accessed April 22,
2012).
Head-on deliberate midair collision is a weapon of heroes. Glory to the Stalin's falcons, threat to the fascist predators!
When I created an entry for propaganda I had found this fascinating image that I believe says a lot about the type of army that Stalin was trying to build. It seems as though he was constructing an army that was closely related to the Japanese of WWII. The Japanese are well known for the Kamikazes, which is the exact strategy that is being advocated above. The reason that the Japanese willingly did this was that they believed they were bringing glory to their homeland, which is exactly what I believe Stalin wanted. However, the Japanese had constructed the concept of self sacrifice through tradition, dating all the way back to the days of the samurai. Stalin however, was forcing this ideology that was relatively nonexistent through Russian history. So, the question that must be asked is why would the Soviet people adopt this concept?
I believe the to answer this question is that they did not willingly adopt this concept, but were forced to with such orders as order 227, which I discussed in an earlier post. But, why did they not turn on Stalin when in many cases they were forced to march to their death in a fashion with an outcome similar to a banzai charge? I believe the people feared Stalin's power to such an extent that they were unwilling to go against him. If they failed to usurp his power they would have surely been killed, but if they had begun to organize there was a strong chance the NKVD would have discovered them and subjected them to similar circumstances as the trials that either killed or banished anyone that was suspected of conspiring against Stalin. I believe Stalin was able to create a fanatical army like the Japanese not through tradition like them, but through pure fear of the power that Stalin was capable of unleashing.
In September 1941 the city of Leningrad had fallen victim to a siege that would continue until January 1944. The Germans goal was to terrorize and starve the population into submission, which was accomplished through cutting off all railway access to the city and bombarding the city itself. Eventually the only path that was left was the frozen lake Ladoga, which became known as the "Road of Life." However, this route was incredibly difficult to cross; many of the convoys that attempted to cross fell through the ice, while others fell victim to strafing runs from the Luftwaffe. The efforts of the Germans to force the city into submission was successful and as one citizen recorded in their diary "We have returned to prehistoric times: life has been reduced to one thing -- the hunt for food."
As the Winter set in, fuel supplies became scarce and just to stay alive the citizens chopped down trees and break down wooden houses for heating. Also, as stated on the website Seventeen Moments in Soviet History "People ate anything to stay alive -- rats, mice, cats, dogs, birds,
bark, tooth powder, glue, and (in how many instances can never be known)
human flesh." When people succumbed to death they were simply left in the streets and because of the massive amount of deaths it can be assumed that many were not collected for burial when they were initially placed in the street. In January 1944 the Siege was lifted with a staggering 800,000 dieing from starvation, and another 200,000 dieing in both the defense of the city and bombardments.
This was truly a traumatic event for Russia during the Nazi invasion, but the story of Leningrad could help the war effort. The citizens of Leningrad were forced to face grueling and Hellish conditions for roughly 900 days, but the city survived. Although many people were lost the city refused to fall and approximately 600,000 still lived. I believe the Soviets viewed this event as a point of the war that they could turn to when things looked bleak to believe that they would survive no matter what the Nazis threw at them. The siege of Leningrad was an incredibly horrific event, but it can be seen as a rallying point for nationalism during the war.
Geldern, James von. Seventeen Moments in Soviet
History. 2012.
http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1943leningrad&Year=1943
(accessed April 15, 2012).
The battle of Kursk was one of the largest tank battles in history with hundreds of tanks participating on either side. The battle had begun when the Soviets had captured a group of Nazi engineers who were sweeping for mines and received confirmation of the German advance. The engagement was scheduled for the following day, so the Soviets used the element of surprise to their favor by unleashing an artillery bombardment on the suspected German positions. However, the Soviets simply disrupted artillery an observations with the initial barrage because of their lack of intelligence on the enemies actual positions. This surprise attack then forced the Germans to begin their advance prematurely and engage the Soviets.
Over the following days the German attempted to push through the Soviet defensive line, but only gained a few miles by the second day. During this time the Soviets fought with an extreme passion, attempting to use any means possible to prevent the German advance. In one case the Soviets are said to have "even brought their 45mm guns (which were ineffective against the Tiger's armor) into action to fire at the tracks of the Tigers, in an effort to immobilize them." Many may see this as pure stupidity on the part of the Soviets but I view it as an act of extreme dedication to Russia because they used any means available to attempt to weaken the Germans.
After a few days of the German advance the battle reached its most intense moments. On July 12 the Germans were pushing forward with a force of about 600 tanks, 100 of which were Tigers. This was all that remained of the Germans initial force. The Soviets were standing ready with 850 tanks and self propelled guns waiting to receive the German forces. Before these forces met the Soviets began a brief artillery bombardment to weaken the advancing forces, but the Germans responded with their own artillery, heavy tanks, and airstrikes. In the moments that followed the Soviet front-lines of tanks were advancing so fast that they went straight through the German forces. This forced the tanks to fire at point blank ranges, which was one of the weaknesses of the Tiger tank because it was easier to punch through their front and side armor at close ranges. As hundreds of tanks poured onto the field the battle raged on and as Major Enrique Ramos pointed out in his thesis "the battlefield was a heap of broken and burning steel, machines, and human bodies." Shortly after the battle Hitler withdrew all forces to reposition troops for the Allied invasion of Sicily. Regardless of the reason for the German retreat, the Soviets inflicted massive casualties and won the battle.
The battle of Kursk was a major victory for the Soviets because even-though the Germans had better tanks, the Soviets still succeeded. Also, the Russians had brilliantly executed a strategy of close quarter attacks to destroy the enemies heavy tanks. This can also be attributed to the Soviets having significantly more tanks in the battle, but it was still a great achievement for the Soviet morale. The might of the Soviets tanks had been proven. By defeating an advance that included some of the most powerful tanks in the war, the Soviets knew that they had the superior force and would achieve victory.
(The main pages of interest with the link to the PDF are pages 75-83)
Ramos, Enrique, MAJ. “Analysis
and Significance of the Battle of Kursk in July 1943.” Master’s thesis, 1995.
Defense Technical Information Center. Accessed April 13, 2012.
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA299270.
To fully understand WWII it is important to analyze the home-front as well as military engagements. One of the best ways to get a glimpse into this aspect is reviewing the propaganda that was presented to ordinary citizens. Also, by viewing these images one can gain an understanding of the military strategy that was pursued by the government to attempt to win the war.
Cut the enemy!
The first image is very interesting because it is presenting a soldier that is using a sword and a horse to defeat his enemy. During WWII both swords and horses had become obsolete in military engagements throughout the World because they were replaced by guns, cars, tanks, etc... However, if one truly ponders the meaning of this image they will gain an understanding of the Soviets in the war. The Soviets did not have a proper supply of munitions and this image shows that they were utilizing the resources that they had, regardless of the chances for success. With this in mind it is hard to imagine charging semi-automatic weapons with a horse, but it is understandable that the Russians needed to use anything they had in order to present a significant opposition.
Our forces are uncountable
This image is rather interesting because it presents one of the primary strategies the Soviets used during the war, which was to utilize people as the primary resource for the war effort. This presents the same concept as the first image, which is the military utilizing the resources that they had. There were not enough munitions to go around, but what Russia had plenty of was human resources. It did not matter how many people would die, it only mattered that they could crush all opposition through simply having a larger force. This idea of people as an expendable resource may seem disturbing to some, but it was necessary for the success of the Russians in the war.
If you are surrounded, fight till the last drop of your blood
This image presents an idea that may seem counterproductive to the war effort by presenting a soldier who will die in the war. However, by ordering soldiers to take as many Nazis with them before they die a nationalistic feeling is created. This image presents the idea that it did not matter if a soldier died in the war, so long as they died as a hero defending Russia. Even though this image presents soldiers as heroes, it still seems peculiar to remind soldiers that they probably wont be returning from the battlefield.
All of these images truly demonstrate how Russia planed to win the war, which was to use a vast supply of people to destroy the German forces. It is hard to imagine people willingly going to battle under these conditions, but if a government appeals to a citizens love for their country almost anything is possible.
Ever since the beginning of Russia's involvement in WWII Stalingrad had gained significant importance. Stalingrad had become one of Russia's largest arsenals of the war and was tasked with the production and maintenance of tanks, artillery, mortars,sub-machine guns, and various other military supplies. It was for this reason that Stalingrad had gained strategic significance during the war. The Wehrmacht believed that the capture of Stalingrad was essential to the war effort and believed that the Soviets had an inferior army and could easily be decimated.
Soon after the Nazis had acquired Stalingrad as a primary objective, the Soviets began a defensive campaign by forming a 2,800 Kilometer defensive line to prevent the advancement of enemy forces. 250,000 citizens of Stalingrad aided in the construction of this line; forming four defense contours at "the approaches to the city: the outside one,
the middle one, the inside one and the urban one." These defensive zones were ill equipped, but provided much needed support for the Soviet forces mostly by stalling the Nazi advance.
Stalingrad during the war
After the battle had begun it took the Nazis three weeks from July 17th to the 10th of August to force the Soviets into retreat.The Soviets sought refuge at the close approaches of the city however, this victory was bitter-sweet for the Nazis because they failed to drive back tank division and advance on the city.
By the 23rd of August the Nazis had successfully broken through the defensive lines and made an attempt to capture the city. Inside the perimeter of Stalingrad the Nazis faced not only the 10th rifle division of the Soviets, but also the armed workers of the Stalingrad plants and factories. In the weeks that ensued Soviets were forced into violent and bloody cases of close-quarters combat in an urban setting, which was a relatively new concept. Despite the Soviets resolve however, on the 14th of September the Germans had a major success in breaking through the Soviet defense, captured the village of Kuporosone, and reached the Volga in the southern region of Stalingrad. However, reaching the Volga would be the final success the Nazis had during the battle.
Russian artillery barrage
The Soviets than began to devise a plan to defeat the German advance and push them out of the region. The beginning counterattack was formed out of 900 tanks and 13,500 armaments and mortars. By strategically concentrating bombardments from the tanks, artillery, and also aviation units; the Soviets successfully brought new rifle formations into the region to aid in the counterattack. In some areas of the offensive to push the Nazis back, the Soviets outnumbered their enemy two to one and in some cases three to one. The goal of the counterattack was to encircle the Nazis, cut off supply lines, and destroy them from all the sides. This operation received the codename "The Ring" and would be the downfall of the Nazis in the battle of Stalingrad.
By the time the Germans were fully encircled a total of 22 divisions and 160 separate units were forced into the center of the Soviet onslaught. Soon-after, the Germans attempted to supply their units through airdrops but were unsuccessful. In total the Germans lost approximately 700 planes to the Soviets and were unable to reach their troops. The battle was over. From the 10th of January to the 2nd of February the Soviets imprisoned 91,000 soldiers and officers. By the end of the conflict the Germans lost more than 800,000 soldiers and officers and the Soviets had lost more than 1.1 million people.
The battle of Stalingrad's significance was paramount in the war for the Soviets. Not only did it force the enemy into a retreat that would not end until the battle reached Berlin, but it proved the military capabilities of the USSR to the world. Until this point there was not a major conflict where the Soviets could prove their military might, and after the embarrassment of needing to withdraw from WWI in the USSR's founding days, no one knew how the Soviets would perform in the war. Also, Japan refused to take active action against the USSR because they had proved there military might and Japan could not handle a two front war against two capable opponents. The battle of Stalingrad was the turning point in the war against the Nazis and proof that the USSR had a capable army that could not be easily trampled.
The following link is out of the information center for Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) and is a rough translation from Russian to English.
"The conclusion is that it is time to stop the retreat.
Not a single step back!
This should be our slogan from now"
Before I analyze any of the battles that took place, I thought it would
be fitting to provide a brief overview of what was expected of the
soldiers and the mentality of their leader, Joseph Stalin. In order to
do this I will be analyzing one of the most well known orders of the
Soviets during the war, order 227. It was an order to prevent any retreat in an effort to stop the Nazi advance and push them back.
This order provides insight into the mind of Stalin through such passages as "Some
unwise people at the front comfort themselves with arguments that we can
continue the retreat to the east." This shows that Stalin thought that many people in the military were incompetent and that they were comforted by the thought of always having a way out. However, if a person believes they can run instead of fight and die, then they will almost always choose to run, and this was how Stalin viewed them. Although it is not clear whether or not these were the thoughts of the Soviet people, but instead this may have been simply a result of Stalin's frustration for losing so much ground in the war. Nevertheless, this order was brutal and forced the Soviet troops to march froward even if their death was guaranteed.
The Soviet troops were forced to endure incredibly difficult circumstances not just because of the war but also because of this order. One such example of this is part 1C, which states "Form within each Front 1 to 3
(depending on the situation) penal battalions (800 personnel), where
commanding, senior commanders and political officers of corresponding ranks
from all services, who have broken discipline due to cowardice or instability,
should be sent. These battalions should be put on the more difficult sections
of a Front, thus giving them an opportunity to redeem their crimes against the
Motherland by blood." This is plain and simple a death sentence for being deemed a coward for such actions as falling back. Another example of this can be found in part 2B, which states "Form 3 to 5 well-armed guards
(barrage) units (zagradotryads), deploy them in the
rear of unstable divisions and oblige them to execute panic-mongers and cowards at site." This is Stalin's method of crowd control, which is no more than killing his own people to rule with fear.
In many cases the Soviet soldiers can be viewed as walking corpses. If they stepped back they were dead and by forcing them to march into circumstances that would cause any other army to retreat they were basically marching to their death. However, by throwing his forces against a brick wall Stalin would eventually break through and force the Nazis to retreat back to Berlin and face defeat.
The actions of Stalin must make us stop and ask, do the ends justify the means? In this case I would disagree. However, what if Stalin didn't create this order, would the Soviets have surrendered? This would force the Nazis to only fight on one front in the war and it is unknown whether or not they could have been defeated without the Soviets. With all of this said, Stalin's tactics were barbaric, but they would eventually win the war against the Nazis.
"ORDER #227 BY THE PEOPLE’S COMMISSAR OF
DEFENCE OF THE USSR (Stalin)." Ashland.edu. n.d.
http://personal.ashland.edu/~jmoser1/227.htm (accessed April 4, 2012).
Hello, my name is Nicholas Eller and I am a student at Harford Community College. Currently I am enrolled in Dr. Karmel's History of Russia class and this blog was assigned as a project for the class. With that being said, I am actually excited about doing a project that is far from the traditional term paper and allows me to explore history and provide my interpretation to anyone who wishes to view my blog.
As soon as I received the news that I would be doing a blog for my class, I immediately knew that I wanted my topic to involve WWII. I have studied various aspects of the war and find almost everything about it fascinating. However, I have only ever studied America's involvement in the war and almost nothing else. Over the course of analyzing the topic I have found that many people believe that America had the most significant role in the war, but I know that this is far from the truth. The nation that played the most significant role was the Soviet Union and over the course of a few weeks I will prove the significance of the Soviets in the war.
In the weeks to come I will cover the role of the Soviets in WWII starting with the turning point of the war with Stalingrad and ending with the battle of Berlin. Throughout my analysis I will also provide an overview of Stalin as a military leader and also the mentality of the Soviet soldiers. I believe this will be a very interesting learning experience for myself and also anyone who reads this blog.
