URI:
   DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       WebWar
  HTML https://webwar.createaforum.com
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       *****************************************************
   DIR Return to: Ιστορία κ&#...
       *****************************************************
       #Post#: 24064--------------------------------------------------
       Οrder of the Day no. 270
       By: National Bolshevik Date: July 30, 2016, 9:10 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Order of the Supreme Command of the Red Army on August 16, 1941,
       No. 270; "On the responsibility of the military for surrender
       and leaving weapons to the enemy"
       Not only our friends, but also our enemies are forced to
       acknowledge that, in our war of liberation from German-Fascist
       invaders, that elements of the Red Army, the vast majority of
       them, their commanders and commissars conduct themselves with
       good behavior, courageously, and sometimes – outright
       heroically. Even those parts of our army who, by circumstances
       are detached from the army and encircled, preserve the spirit of
       resistance and courage, not surrendering, trying to cause more
       damage to the enemy and to leave the encirclement. It is known
       that such parts of our army continue to attack the enemy, and
       take every opportunity to defeat the enemy and break out of
       their encirclement.
       Deputy Commander of the Western Front, Lieutenant-General
       Boldin, while in the 10th Army near Bialystok and surrounded by
       German-Fascist troops, organized from deep in the enemy's rear
       Red Army troops, who fought for 45 days behind enemy lines and
       made their way to the main forces of the Western Front. They
       destroyed the headquarters of two German regiments, 26 tanks,
       1,049 passenger vehicles, transport vehicles and staff cars, 147
       motorcycles, five batteries of artillery, four mortars, 15
       machine guns, eight machine guns, one airplane at the airport
       and a bomb arsenal.
       More than a thousand German soldiers and officers were killed.
       On 11 August Lieutenant-General Boldin struck the Germans from
       behind, broke through the German front, united with our troops,
       and led out of the encirclement 1,654 personnel and officers of
       the Red Army, including 103 wounded.
       The commissar of the 8th Mechanized Corps, Brigade Commissar
       Popiel and the commander of the 406th Rifle Regiment, Colonel
       Novikov, have fought out of encirclement with 1,778 soldiers.
       During a bitter battle with the Germans, the Novikov-Popel group
       travelled 650 kilometres, causing huge losses to the enemy's
       rear.
       The commander of the 3rd Army, Lieutenant-General Kuznetsov and
       Member of the Military Council, Army Commissar 2nd Rank Biryukov
       fought out of encirclement with 498 soldiers and officers of the
       3rd Army, and led out of encirclement the 108th and 64th
       Infantry Divisions.
       All these and many other similar facts show the resilience of
       our troops; the high morale of our soldiers, commanders and
       commissars.
       But we can not hide that recently there have been some shameful
       acts of surrender. Certain generals have been a bad example to
       our troops.
       The commander of the 28th Army, Lieutenant General Katchalov who
       – together with his headquarters troops – was surrounded, showed
       cowardice and surrendered to the German fascists. However, the
       headquarters of Katchalov came out of encirclement, a small
       group from the encirclement of Katchalov's group, and Lt.-Gen.
       Katchalov chose to surrender – chose to defect to the enemy.
       Lieutenant-General Ponedelin, commander of the 12th Army was
       encircled by the enemy, but had ample opportunity to get through
       them, as did the vast majority of his army. But Ponedelin has
       not shown due persistence and will to win, was panicked,
       frightened – and surrendered to the enemy, deserted to the
       enemy, thus committing the crime against the country of breaking
       a military oath.
       The commander of the 13th Rifle Corps, Major General Kirillov,
       was surrounded by German-Fascist forces and, rather than to
       fulfill his duty to the country, entrusted to him to organize
       stubborn resistance of the enemy and to move out of
       encirclement, deserted the field of battle and surrendered to
       the enemy. As a result the 13th Rifle Corps was broken, and some
       of them without serious resistance surrendered.
       It should be noted that in all the above situations some
       military council members, commanders, political workers, special
       section members, that were present in the encirclement, showed
       an unacceptable distraction, shameful cowardice and did not even
       try to become motivated to prevent Katchalov, Ponedelin,
       Kirillov and others to surrender to the enemy.
       These shameful facts surrender our sworn enemy suggests that the
       Red Army, bravely and selflessly protect them from their vile
       invaders Soviet Motherland, there are unstable, cowardly,
       cowardly elements. And these cowardly elements are not only
       among the Red Army, but also among the commanding staff. As you
       know, some commanders and political workers by their behavior,
       not only at the front of the Red Army did not show a sample of
       courage, strength and love of country, and vice versa hide in
       crevices in the offices are busy, do not see and do not observe
       the field of battle, and when the first serious challenges to
       combat shrink from the enemy, tear off his insignia, a deserter
       from the battlefield.
       Can we put up with in the Red Army cowards, deserters who
       surrender themselves to the enemy as prisoners or their craven
       superiors, who at the first hitch on the front tear off their
       insignia and desert to the rear? No we can not! If we unleash
       these cowards and deserters they, in a very short time, will
       destroy our country. Cowards and deserters must be destroyed.
       Can we assume battalion commanders and commanders of regiments,
       who hide in crevices during combat, do not see the battlefield,
       and make no progress on the field of battle are regimental
       commanders and battalions? No we can not! These are not
       commanders of regiments and battalions, they are impostors.
       If such impostors are unleashed, they soon turn our army into a
       into a massive bureaucracy. These impostors should be
       immediately dismissed from office, reduced in post to the rank
       and file, transferred, and if necessary shot on the spot, before
       appointng in their place bold and courageous people from the
       ranks of junior command personnel or soldiers.
       I order:
       That commanders and political officers who, during combat tear
       off their insignia and desert to the rear or surrender to the
       enemy, be considered malicious deserters whose families are
       subject to arrest as a family, for violation of an oath and
       betrayal of their homeland.
       All higher commanders and commissars are required to shoot on
       the spot any such deserters from among command personnel.
       Encircled units and formations to selflessly fight to the last,
       to protect materiel like the apple of their eye, to break
       through from the rear of enemy troops, defeating the fascist
       dogs.
       That every soldier is obliged, regardless of his or her
       position, to demand that their superiors, if part of their unit
       is surrounded, to fight to the end, to break through, and if a
       superior or a unit of the Red Army – instead of organizing
       resistance to the enemy – prefers to become a prisoner they
       should be destroyed by all means possible on land and air, and
       their families deprived of public benefits and assistance.
       Division commanders and commissars are obliged to immediately
       shift from their posts commanders of battalions and regiments,
       who hide in crevices during battle and those who fear directing
       a fight on the battlefield; to reduce their positions, as
       impostors, to be demoted to the ranks, and when necessary to
       shoot them on the spot, bringing to their place bold and
       courageous people, from among junior command personnel or those
       among the ranks of the Red Army who have excelled.
       This order is to be read in all companies, squadrons, batteries,
       squadrons, teams and staffs.
       Headquarters of the Supreme Command, Red Army
       Chairman of the State Defence Committee J. STALIN
       Deputy Chairman of the State Defence Committee V. MOLOTOV
       Marshal S. BUDYONNY
       Marshal S. TIMOSHENKO
       Marshal B. SHAPOSHNIKOV
       General of the Army G. ZHUKOV
       *****************************************************