Red Army
In January 1918, the Council of People's Commissars issued a decree establishing the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. This new force aimed to oppose military adversaries during the Russian Civil War, specifically targeting groups collectively known as the White Army. The initial structure relied on class-conscious elements from the working classes, with all citizens aged 18 or older eligible for service. Enlistment required guarantees from military committees or party organizations. Families of serving peasants received rations and farm assistance. Men and some women flooded recruitment centers, while those turned away collected scrap metal to fund tanks. By mid-August 1920, former tsarist personnel included 48,000 officers and 214,000 non-commissioned officers. Leon Trotsky abolished workers' control over the army in June 1918, replacing elected officers with traditional hierarchies. He criminalized dissent with the death penalty. In September 1918, Bolshevik militias consolidated under the Revolutionary Military Council. Jukums Vācietis served as the first commander-in-chief until July 1919. The Cheka operated special punitive brigades to suppress deserters and enemies of the state. One in ten returning deserters was executed after being held hostage by their villages.
The XI Congress of the Russian Communist Party adopted a resolution strengthening the Red Army in the early 1920s. By October 1924, the force had diminished to 530,000 soldiers. Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky led Soviet military theoreticians developing deep operation doctrine during the late 1920s and 1930s. This strategy envisioned simultaneous corps- and army-size maneuvers throughout enemy ground forces. The Great Purge of 1937, 1939 removed many leading officers, including Tukhachevsky himself. The doctrine remained unused at the Battle of Lake Khasan in 1938 and the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in 1939. The Winter War began on the 30th of November 1939 when Soviet forces attacked Finland. Semyon Timoshenko commanded three times more soldiers than the Finns but faced severe morale issues due to Stalin's purges. Over 30,000 officers were executed or imprisoned before fighting started. Finnish forces inflicted stunning losses on the Red Army for the first three months. Hostilities ceased in March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty. Finland ceded 9% of its pre-war territory and 30% of economic assets to the Soviet Union. In 1930, the army formed its first mechanized unit, the 1st Mechanized Brigade. By 1932, they created operational-level armored formations known as the 11th and 45th Mechanized Corps.
Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 during Operation Barbarossa. The Red Army's ground forces held 303 divisions and 22 separate brigades totaling 5.5 million soldiers. Axis forces deployed 181 divisions and 18 brigades comprising 3 million soldiers. Three Fronts defended the western borders: Northwestern, Western, and Southwestern. The Wehrmacht defeated many Red Army units in the first weeks. Stalin increased mobilization, raising strength to 401 divisions by the 1st of August 1941 despite losing 46 divisions in combat. The Battle of Moscow proved decisive in January 1942. The anti-Nazi Great Patriotic War conflated with the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon. Historical heroes like Alexander Nevsky appeared in propaganda. Repression of the Russian Orthodox Church temporarily ceased. Priests revived traditions blessing arms before battle. In 1942, Stalin established penal battalions composed of gulag inmates and deserters. These troops cleared minefields under dangerous front-line duties. Maximum sentences lasted three months. By 1944, over 90% of freed prisoners were cleared from filtration camps. About 8% were arrested or condemned to serve in penal battalions. In 1945, about 100 filtration camps processed more than 4 million people. By 1946, 80% civilians and 20% of POWs were freed.
The Soviet Union agreed to enter the Pacific Theater within three months of Europe's surrender at the Yalta Conference. This promise was reaffirmed at the Potsdam Conference held in July 1945. The Red Army began the invasion of Manchuria on the 9th of August 1945. This date fell exactly three days after Hiroshima and the same day Nagasaki received an atomic bomb. It also marked exactly three months after Germany surrendered. Mongolian forces supported the Red Army as they overwhelmed the Japanese Kwantung Army. Soviets advanced into Manchukuo, Mengjiang, and northern Korea via amphibious operations. Other operations included invading South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender on the 15th of August. The commanding general of the Kwantung Army ordered a surrender the following day. Some units continued fighting for several more days. A proposed invasion of Hokkaido was cancelled before execution. The campaign contributed significantly to ending World War II in the Pacific theater.
Every unit of the Red Army assigned a political commissar or politruk with authority to override commanders' decisions. Party leadership considered political control absolutely necessary due to reliance on pre-revolutionary officers. This system abolished in 1925 when enough Communist officers existed. In early 1943, unification saw abolition of all remaining functional ranks. The word officer became officially endorsed alongside epaulettes. During the Civil War, commander cadres trained at the Nicholas General Staff Academy. Senior commanders studied at Higher Military Academic Courses renamed Advanced Courses for Supreme Command in 1925. The General staff Academy reinstated on the 2nd of April 1936 became principal school for senior commanders. According to new data from the 21st century, Operation Vesna targeted former Imperial officers between 1930, 1931. Over 10,000 persons were convicted across Moscow, Leningrad, and Ukraine. In May 1931 alone, over 1,000 persons executed in Leningrad under the Guards Case. Thousands of senior officers dismissed from commands in 1936 and 1937 by Stalin's orders. Among victims was Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky perceived as a potential rival. Suicide rates among junior officers rose to record levels during purges. By 1941, only 5% or fewer army and military district commanders had two years command experience.
The Soviet Union expanded indigenous arms industry as part of Stalin's industrialization program in the 1920s and 1930s. An American journalist wrote in 1941 about mechanization campaigns forming first units in 1930. The 1st Mechanized Brigade included tank regiments and motorized infantry. Between February and March 1941, the NKO ordered creation of another twenty mechanized corps. All formations exceeded sizes theorized by Tukhachevsky. Authorized strength reached no less than 29,899 tanks by 1941 but actual availability totaled only 17,000. Nearly three-quarters of armored vehicles overdue for major maintenance. By the 22nd of June 1941, just 1,475 modern T-34s and KV series tanks available. These dispersed along front lines unable to provide mass for local success. The 3rd Mechanized Corps in Lithuania formed with 460 tanks including 109 newer models. The 4th Army composed of 518 obsolete T-26 tanks instead of authorized 1,031 newer medium tanks. Lend-Lease trucks and jeeps from United States appeared in large numbers starting 1942. U.S. deliveries amounted to $11 billion in materials worth over $180 billion today. Deliveries included over 400,000 jeeps and trucks plus 12,000 armored vehicles. Aircraft shipments totaled 14,015 including Bell P-39 Airacobras and Douglas A-20 Havocs. Food supplies reached 1.75 million tons.
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Common questions
When was the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army established?
The Council of People's Commissars issued a decree establishing the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in January 1918. This new force aimed to oppose military adversaries during the Russian Civil War, specifically targeting groups collectively known as the White Army.
Who commanded the Red Army during the Winter War against Finland?
Semyon Timoshenko commanded three times more soldiers than the Finns but faced severe morale issues due to Stalin's purges during the conflict that began on the 30th of November 1939. Hostilities ceased in March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty after Finnish forces inflicted stunning losses on the Red Army for the first three months.
What happened to Red Army officers during the Great Purge of 1937 and 1939?
Over 30,000 officers were executed or imprisoned before fighting started, including Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky who was perceived as a potential rival by Stalin. By 1941, only 5% or fewer army and military district commanders had two years command experience following these purges.
How many tanks did the Red Army have available by June 22nd 1941?
By the 22nd of June 1941, just 1,475 modern T-34s and KV series tanks were available despite an authorized strength reaching no less than 29,899 tanks by 1941. Nearly three-quarters of armored vehicles were overdue for major maintenance and dispersed along front lines unable to provide mass for local success.
When did the Red Army begin its invasion of Manchuria in 1945?
The Red Army began the invasion of Manchuria on the 9th of August 1945, which fell exactly three days after Hiroshima and the same day Nagasaki received an atomic bomb. This date also marked exactly three months after Germany surrendered and contributed significantly to ending World War II in the Pacific theater.