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On June 12, 1937, after a one-day show trial, eight Soviet generals were sentenced to death and executed by the NKVD. An excerpt from the article:
"Without a doubt, Stalin wanted to eliminate specific top officers and commissars whom he unjustifiably suspected of outright disloyalty to him, failing to support his policies, or being unreliable in a crisis. Among those purged were some of his best officers, notably Robert Eideman, Iona Iakir, Innokentii Khalepskii, August Kork, Aleksandr Sediakin, Aleksandr Svechin, Mikhail Tukhachevskii, and Ieronim Uborevich, while Stalin’s incompetent cronies—Marshals Semen Budenny, Grigori Kulik, and Kliment Voroshilov survived.
As commissar of defense, Voroshilov submitted to Stalin a list of some 300 officers to be repressed. Voroshilov wanted to put an end to the struggle over modernizing the Red Army that his cohorts were waging against Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevskii’s group of rising professional officers, who wanted to emphasize armor and aviation at the expense of cavalry. Also, Stalin and Voroshilov held personal grudges against certain officers. Yet none of that explains the scale of the repression that extended not just to the military but to all sectors of Soviet society and government. Nor do any of the many theories suggested for the terror adequately explain all of its variations. The best we can do is accept that Stalin promoted the Ezhovshchina purge because he was afraid of losing his own political power. We may never know how he decided who was a threat to him or why he allowed his murderous measures to extend to people who could not possibly have been a threat.
The progression of the Ezhovshchina within the military shows that the army itself was at least partly culpable: Stalin initiated the purge by ordering some of the truly professional officers of the Tukhachevskii group to be arrested on false charges, emanating from the security services, that they were traitors in the pay of Nazi Germany. Voroshilov subsequently called on all servicemen to vigilantly report suspicious activity and denounce enemies of the people hidden in their ranks. Officers and men enthusiastically heeded these instructions, especially those in Communist Party organizations. As a result, a wave of denunciations spread throughout the armed forces. From June through December 1937, 2,238 officers were arrested and 15,426 discharged. By the time the Ezhovshchina was over, twothirds of the more than 9,500 arrests had been orchestrated by special sections of Ezhov’s NKVD assigned to the army; the People’s Commissariat of Defense (NKO), playing Stalin’s game, had ordered the arrest of the remaining third."
"Without a doubt, Stalin wanted to eliminate specific top officers and commissars whom he unjustifiably suspected of outright disloyalty to him, failing to support his policies, or being unreliable in a crisis. Among those purged were some of his best officers, notably Robert Eideman, Iona Iakir, Innokentii Khalepskii, August Kork, Aleksandr Sediakin, Aleksandr Svechin, Mikhail Tukhachevskii, and Ieronim Uborevich, while Stalin’s incompetent cronies—Marshals Semen Budenny, Grigori Kulik, and Kliment Voroshilov survived.
As commissar of defense, Voroshilov submitted to Stalin a list of some 300 officers to be repressed. Voroshilov wanted to put an end to the struggle over modernizing the Red Army that his cohorts were waging against Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevskii’s group of rising professional officers, who wanted to emphasize armor and aviation at the expense of cavalry. Also, Stalin and Voroshilov held personal grudges against certain officers. Yet none of that explains the scale of the repression that extended not just to the military but to all sectors of Soviet society and government. Nor do any of the many theories suggested for the terror adequately explain all of its variations. The best we can do is accept that Stalin promoted the Ezhovshchina purge because he was afraid of losing his own political power. We may never know how he decided who was a threat to him or why he allowed his murderous measures to extend to people who could not possibly have been a threat.
The progression of the Ezhovshchina within the military shows that the army itself was at least partly culpable: Stalin initiated the purge by ordering some of the truly professional officers of the Tukhachevskii group to be arrested on false charges, emanating from the security services, that they were traitors in the pay of Nazi Germany. Voroshilov subsequently called on all servicemen to vigilantly report suspicious activity and denounce enemies of the people hidden in their ranks. Officers and men enthusiastically heeded these instructions, especially those in Communist Party organizations. As a result, a wave of denunciations spread throughout the armed forces. From June through December 1937, 2,238 officers were arrested and 15,426 discharged. By the time the Ezhovshchina was over, twothirds of the more than 9,500 arrests had been orchestrated by special sections of Ezhov’s NKVD assigned to the army; the People’s Commissariat of Defense (NKO), playing Stalin’s game, had ordered the arrest of the remaining third."
Stalin Attacks the Red Army
Posted from historynet.com
Communism
Murder
World History
Military History
Officers
Posted >1 y ago
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And everybody wonders why the Red Army did so bad at the start of WWII. But this is what dictators do. Thank God we got rid of ours.
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1LT William Clardy
Don't forget that the Red Army also was heir to a long history of professional excellence in the Russian Army (and Navy).
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MAJ Byron Oyler
We did not get rid of Obama, his two terms were up, and by law he could not be elected again.
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The allies made a deal with the devil in 1941 after Adolf Hitler ordered the German Wehrmacht
invasion of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin had joined with Hitler in the invasion and occupation
of Poland in 1939. Stalin changed over to the allied side to help save his communist dictatorship
from Hitler's Nazi dictatorship. Stalin and Hitler two men that ruled over their people in much
the same way with fear and death.
invasion of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin had joined with Hitler in the invasion and occupation
of Poland in 1939. Stalin changed over to the allied side to help save his communist dictatorship
from Hitler's Nazi dictatorship. Stalin and Hitler two men that ruled over their people in much
the same way with fear and death.
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MAJ Ken Landgren
Sometimes commanders are foolish. They predicted a lot on winning quick decisive battles or wars. Napoleon and Hitler made those mistakes. This posed huge logistical challenges. The Russians burned everything edible or useful. The Russian winter is a huge bear that would help destroy armies. The Russian armies were pissed off and chased the French and Germans as they retreated from Russia. They showed no mercy as they methodically slaughtered those who were fleeing. Karma is a bitch!
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SPC Woody Bullard
MAJ Ken Landgren - Adolf Hitler's Operation Barbarossa blitzkrieg
invasion of the Soviet Union in June of 1941 was initially successful with Wehrmacht
troops defeating the Soviet red army and taking five million Soviet troops as prisoners
of war. Over three million of those Soviet red army POWs were starved to death or
executed by the Wehrmacht troops guarding the Soviet POWs. In October of 1941 the
German 3rd Panzer Group had advanced to within 87 miles of Moscow when the
tide of war turned against the Wehrmacht and the drive to capture Moscow stalled.
The brutal Russian winter arrived and German troops were low on their supplies.
The large amount of Soviet territory captured by German troops worked against
the Germans by making their supply lines long. Operation Barbarossa was a military
blunder by Adolf Hitler which turned Joseph Stalin and the Soviet red army from
Nazi Germany's ally to a new enemy. The millions of Wehrmacht troops and their
equipment sent to the new war on the eastern front would have been a big problem
for the allied forces on the western front had those German forces deployed west.
invasion of the Soviet Union in June of 1941 was initially successful with Wehrmacht
troops defeating the Soviet red army and taking five million Soviet troops as prisoners
of war. Over three million of those Soviet red army POWs were starved to death or
executed by the Wehrmacht troops guarding the Soviet POWs. In October of 1941 the
German 3rd Panzer Group had advanced to within 87 miles of Moscow when the
tide of war turned against the Wehrmacht and the drive to capture Moscow stalled.
The brutal Russian winter arrived and German troops were low on their supplies.
The large amount of Soviet territory captured by German troops worked against
the Germans by making their supply lines long. Operation Barbarossa was a military
blunder by Adolf Hitler which turned Joseph Stalin and the Soviet red army from
Nazi Germany's ally to a new enemy. The millions of Wehrmacht troops and their
equipment sent to the new war on the eastern front would have been a big problem
for the allied forces on the western front had those German forces deployed west.
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