Among the first measures of the Supreme Military Council after the conclusion of the Brest Peace was the creation of the so-called curtain or Western curtain. In modern literature, not without reason, it is written about this veil as the most important front of the Soviet Republic in the period from spring to summer 1918. Its creation coincided with the formation of the Red Army on a volunteer basis 71. The creators of the curtain include M.D. Bonch-Bruevich, and a number of other former generals - V.N. Yegoriev, D.P. Parsky, A.A. Samoilo, K.K. Baiova, P.P. Sytin, A.A. Svechina, V.V. Chernavina, A.V. Schwartz, B.V. Gerua, A.V. Novikova, N.G. Semenova 72.
At the beginning of September 1918, the Supreme Military Council was abolished, and its headquarters was reorganized into the Headquarters of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, new organ created on September 6, which carried out direct management of the army and navy, as well as all institutions of the military and naval departments. The leadership of the Revolutionary Military Council, along with others, included two former colonels - I.I. Vatsetis and S.S. Kamenev, one Admiral V. Altfater and not a single former general. But on the other hand, the Field Headquarters was headed by former generals N.I. Rattel, F.W. Kostyaev, M.D. Bonch-Bruevich and P.P. Lebedev. In modern literature, with reference to A.A. Brusilov, it is even written that P.P. Lebedev, who joined the Red Army in 1918 " was, in fact, a true organizer and leader of the army"73.
In 1918, a significant number of former generals joined the Red Army
The assistant to the Chief of the Field Staff was former General G.N. Khvoshchinsky, the chiefs of the General Staff directorates, former generals V.I. Mikhailov, M.M. Zagyu, the chiefs of departments are former generals V.A. Afanasyev, S.M. Volkov, N.G. Myslitsky, S.N. Savchenko, K.M. Ushakov, former General V.K. Peterson was among the assistants to the heads of the departments, and among the heads of the departments were Generals A.A. Neznamov, S.K. Segerkranz. The supply inspector under the Chief of the Field Headquarters was former General N.A. Suleiman. And this, not counting a number of officers who worked there as well.
In general, in 1918 a significant number of former generals joined the Red Army. So, in May of this year, the former Lieutenant General, who in 1917 was elected commander of the 9th Army Corps A.E. Snesarev, famous traveler and an orientalist. He will initially become the military leader of the North Caucasian Military District, will take part in the defense of Tsaritsyn, then he will command Western army, and from the summer of 1919 he will head the Academy of the General Staff. In 1928 he will become the Hero of Labor 75.
Even earlier, in March 1918, the already mentioned F.F. Novitsky, who participated in the Russo-Japanese and First World Wars. He was a major general, a corps commander, and held a number of command posts in the Red Army. During the Great Patriotic War FF Novitsky was a teacher at the Military Academy. Frunze. His older brother V.F. Novitsky rose to the rank of lieutenant general. He also joined the Red Army voluntarily, in October 1918. He taught at the Military Academy, and in 1922 was a military expert for the Soviet delegation at the Hague Conference. V.F. Novitsky left a number of major works on military history, of which his two-volume history of World War I stands out 76.
General of Infantry N.A. Danilov, who commanded the army on the North-Western Front, also joined the Red Army in 1918. He would become a professor at the Military Academy of the Red Army, and in the early 30s. will be an inspector of the headquarters of the Red Army. In the same year, in February, he joined the Red Army and Major General A.A. Samoilo, Chief of Staff of the 10th Army. In the Civil War, he would command the army and then the Eastern Front. He died in 1963 at the age of 94, having lived more than other old generals who served in the Red Army. A.A. Samoilo left detailed memoirs, where, among other things, he wrote: “ My transition to the service of the Soviet regime was in line with my political convictions."77.
In March 1918, Major General A.A. Svechin, who became a prominent Soviet military theorist and military historian. He was at first an assistant to the head of the Petrograd fortified region, then in various staff positions. Since October 1918 A.A. Svechin was a teacher at the Academy of the General Staff and then chairman of the Military-Historical Commission on the use of the experience of the First World War. Also in March of the same year he joined the Red Army and Major General F.V. Kostyaev, who was appointed chief of staff of the Pskov region, and a little later, in the fall of 1918, became chief of staff of the Northern Front. Later he was in teaching and prepared a number of works on military history and theory.
In 1918, former generals P.P. Lebedev, D.N. Nadezhny, A.V. Stankevich, V.I. Selivachev and many others. The old generals went over to the Red Army, and in 1919, one of them was General of Infantry A.M. Zayonchkovsky participated in the Russo-Japanese and World War I, during which he consistently commanded a division, corps and army. During his service in the Red Army, he was chief of staff of the army, and from 1922 he was a professor at the Military Academy of the Red Army. Zayonchkovsky - famous specialist in military history, author of works on history Crimean War and the First World War. In the same 1919, the former Minister of War of the Provisional Government A.I. Verkhovsky. He also took part in the Russo-Japanese War and the First World War. After February revolution he, the commander of the troops of the Moscow military district, was opposed to the Kornilov revolt. His last rank in the old army is Major General. After going over to the side of Soviet power, he was in staff positions, as well as in scientific and teaching work. In 1922 he was one of the military experts of the Soviet delegation at the Genoa Conference. In general, at one time it was believed that in the spring of 1919 there were a little more than 200 former generals and about 400 former colonels and lieutenant colonels in the Red Army 78.
Former generals are known to have gone over to the side Soviet army and at a later time. In 1920, one of the most outstanding commanders of Russia of that time, A.A. Brusilov. He was still a participant Russo-Turkish War 1877-1878 In the Red Army, he was chairman of the Special Conference under the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic, then became an inspector of the Red Army's cavalry. From 1924 Brusilov was at the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR for especially important assignments79. In general, in connection with the attack in the spring of 1920 on Soviet Russia, Poland was followed by new stage the entry into the Red Army of former generals and officers. Generals such as A.A. Brusilov, A.M. Zayonchkovsky, V.N. Klembovsky, A.E. Guthor and others made an appeal “ To all former officers, wherever you are", Which called for" voluntarily go with complete dedication and hunting to the Red Army ..."80. To this appeal and the subsequent wave of new entry into the Red Army, as is known, V.I. Lenin, who stressed that “ even the former tsarist generals recognize Poland's claims as unfair and go to help us"81.
The fate of Lieutenant General Ya.A. Slashcheva. The first world war he graduated with the rank of colonel, then was an active participant white movement, commanded a brigade, division, corps. Was one of the white leaders of the Crimea. However, in August 1920 he came into conflict with Wrangel and was removed from the command of the corps. Already in exile, he publicly spoke out against Wrangel, was tried and demoted to the rank and file. At the end of 1921 he returned to Soviet Russia, received an amnesty, then was a teacher at the well-known courses of the command staff "Shot". Thanks to Slashchev's appeal to former soldiers and officers of the White Army, many of them returned to their homeland. In general, only from General Staff generals who went over to the side of Soviet power, whom we have not yet named, we should mention the generals from infantry D.V. Balanin, P.S. Balueva, L.N. Belkovich, N.P. Mikhnevich, V.A. Olokhova, A.A. Polivanova, D.S. Shuvaeva. In addition, there were significant groups of cavalry generals, lieutenant generals, major generals, a list of which is given in the monograph by A.G. Kavtaradze is the best and to this day study on this problem, written by the son of one of the military specialists 82.
A special conversation about the engineering personnel of the old army and navy and also about the gunners. In the literature, it is noted that in artillery the percentage of noble generals was even higher than in other branches of the army and reached 98%. TO October revolution the bulk of the artillery officers reacted with distrust 83. But back in October 1917, the All-Russian conference of plant representatives unanimously elected Major General V.S. Mikhailova. In 1918 he was elected head of the Main Artillery Directorate, and in 1919 he became Managing Director of the Central Board of Artillery Plants 84. V.M. Mikhailov is the author of a very remarkable monographic work "Essays on the history of the military industry."
It is also noteworthy that on February 23, 1918 she joined the ranks of the Red Army in full complement Mikhailovskaya Artillery Academy. General Yu.M. Scheidemann, who held this position until 1921. Moreover, having passed to the side of Soviet power, he continued his work almost entirely in the pre-revolutionary composition of the Main Artillery Directorate. In May 1919, a total of 29 generals worked in it and a total of 184 former officers, 85. Several other generals who served in the engineering department also collaborated with the Soviet government: N.G. Vysochansky, V.N. Dekhanov, N.V. Shulga 86. Military engineers were former generals V.P. Apyshkov, M.A. Bogdanovsky, K.I. Velichko, N.L. Kirpichev, V.A. Pykhachev, A.A. Satkevich, I.P. Stavitsky, S.A. Tsabel, A.V. Schwartz, A.P. Shoshin, V.V. Yakovlev 87. According to modern researchers, the potential of military experts-artillerymen was used even more fully than in the White Army.
A number of prominent naval leaders also collaborated with the Soviet government. In addition to the already mentioned Rear Admiral V.M. Altfater, a participant in the First World War, assistant chief of the Naval General Staff, the first commander of the Naval Forces of the Soviet Republic, a number of other admirals should be mentioned. Rear Admiral A.V. Nemitz, whose democratic views were manifested even during the revolution of 1905-1907, when he refused to participate in the execution of revolutionary sailors, at the end of 1917 was the commander of the Black Sea Fleet and went over to the side of Soviet power shortly after the October Revolution. Interestingly, during the Civil War, he at one time took part in ground hostilities, being the chief of staff of the Southern Group of Forces of the 12th Army under the command of I.E. Yakir. This group made the Southern campaign, famous in the history of the Civil War, the plan of which was developed primarily by Nemitz. Then he returned to the fleet and from February 5, 1920 to November 22, 1921. was the commander of the Naval Forces of the Soviet Republic. Subsequently, he was a teacher at military academies 89.
The fate of M.V. Ivanov, a participant in the First World War, a captain of the 1st rank, who since the summer of 1917 became the commander of the 2nd brigade of cruisers of the Baltic Fleet. On October 27, 1917, according to the old style, he became a member of the Supreme Maritime Collegium, then on November 4, he was also appointed Deputy Minister of the Sea, and on November 7, he was already the manager of the Naval Ministry. On November 21 (December 4) of the same year, the 1st All-Russian Congress of the Navy decided to assign M.V. Ivanov "for loyalty to the people and the revolution" the rank of Rear Admiral. This was the first such appropriation after the October Revolution. He did a great job of organizing the work of the Naval Ministry already in the conditions of Soviet power. Later he worked at the headquarters of the Southern Front, as an inspector of the Cheka troops, was engaged in the protection of the sea borders of the Land of the Soviets. In 1936 M.V. Ivanov became the Hero of Labor. Also in 1917, captain of the first rank E.A. Behrens, who became chief of the Naval General Staff in November of the same year. From April 24, 1919 to February 5, 1920, he commanded the republic's naval forces 90. Behrens was still a participant Russo-Japanese War, sailed as a navigator on the legendary cruiser "Varyag", on board which he fought in the famous battle at Chemulpo. At the beginning of the 20s. he was for especially important assignments at the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, and in 1924 he was the naval attaché of the USSR in England and France.
The role of the old generals in the Civil War was undoubtedly very significant. Some of them - A.A. Samoilo, P.P. Lebedev, V.A. Olderogge, D.N. Reliable, P.P. Sytin, V.N. Egoriev, D.P. Parsky commanded the fronts. They also commanded the armies. In addition, the armies were also commanded by former generals A.A. Baltiyskiy, M.N. Vasilevna. Zhdanov, E.A. Iskritsky, A.V. Novikov, S.I. Odintsov, A.K. Remezov, A.E. Snesarev, N.V. Henrikson, V.V. Chernavin. Former generals even more often served as chiefs of staff of fronts and armies, as well as in other command positions. Their fate was different. At the hands of whites, except for General A.A. Taube fell A.V. Stankevich, A.P. Nikolaev, A.V. Sobolev. It is known that A.V. Stankevich, who voluntarily joined the Red Army in 1918 and commanded the 55th Infantry Division there because of the betrayal of the chief of staff of this division, former General A.A. Laurica was captured by the White Guards and responded with a categorical refusal to the offer to go over to their side. A.V. Stankevich was hanged by them, but then in 1919, by order of the Revolutionary Military Council, he was reburied on Red Square. In 1920 he was posthumously awarded the order Of the Red Banner.
A similar fate awaited the former general A.V. Sobolev, who commanded the 7th rifle division and awarded the order Red Banner in 1919. In February of the following year, 1920, he was also captured by the Whites and, refusing to go to their service, was shot. Another former Major General A.P. Nikolaev, the commander of the brigade, was taken prisoner by the Whites in May 1919; he was also killed by them for refusing to go to their service. In 1920 he was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Banner. And former Lieutenant General A.P. Vostrosablin, who went over to the side of Soviet power in 1918, died after being seriously wounded in 1921.
Some former generals died in the battles of the Civil War or as D.P. Parski died of illness. There are also known some examples of going to whites. In addition to the cases already mentioned, one can mention the treason of the first chief of the All-Russian General Staff, Lieutenant General N.N. Stogov, who went over to the side of the Whites and then played a noticeable role in the emigration 91. One of the leaders ran across to the whites. military intelligence former general P.F. Ryabikov 92. There were also those who were subjected to repressions at the end of the 1920s, for example, V.S. Mikhailov, N.G. Vysochansky, V.N. Dekhanov, N.V. Shulga. The literature provides statistics on arrests in 1930-1931. during the so-called Operation Spring. Then 20 former generals were arrested, and only 172 former military specialists. Some of them were even shot. But the majority received short terms, and some were released altogether. Subsequently, a number of prominent artillerymen, including those arrested in the Vesna case, will be awarded the State Prize 93.
Even more military specialists were repressed in the 1930s. - A.E. Snesarev, A.A. Svechin, A.I. Verkhovsky, etc. But there are also known former generals who lived great life and died a natural death. Soviet lieutenant generals were M.D. Bonch-Bruevich, N.F. Drozdov, A.A. Ignatiev, F.F. Novitsky, A.A. Samoilo, and vice-admiral A.V. Nemitz. A.V. Nemitz died at the age of 88 in 1967 and was apparently the last to die of the old generals and admirals who had tied their lot with the Red Army. It is curious that naming the most authoritative and recognized leaders of the Soviet military elite of the 1920s, and highlighting the seven commanders, the modern author S.T. Minakov mentions, along with M. Tukhachevsky and S. Budyonny, A. Brusilov, A. Snesarev, A. Zayonchkovsky, A. Svechin and P. Lebedev, that is, five generals 94. Leaving aside the dubious term elite, in relation to the leaders of the Red Army and a specific seven (the author does not include M.V. Frunze in its composition, recognizing, however, his military talent and the fact that he was an outstanding military leader 95) authority in the Red Army of a number of old generals who have won respect for their undoubted business and human qualities.
In terms of conservation own life serving with the red was also more promising
In general, speaking about the military specialists of the Red Army, it is necessary to take into account both their total number and their share in relation to the former officer corps of the old army. It was generally accepted in the literature that about 75 thousand military specialists served in the Red Army. Of these - 775 former generals, 980 colonels, 746 lieutenant colonels 96. Considering that in October 1917 the entire officer corps of the old army was about 250 thousand people, then about 30% joined the Red Army. This is a very large percentage, given social character October Revolution and the fact that hereditary nobles among generals accounted for 87.5%, staff officers - 71,%, and chief officers - 50.4% 97. In 1913, the percentage of nobles among generals was even higher, accounting for 89.2% among generals, headquarters officers - 72.6%, chief officers - 35-50% 98. Recently, somewhat different data on the number of military specialists in the Red Army began to appear in the literature. S. Volkov operates with a total of 276 thousand officers, including those who had not returned to service by the time of the October Revolution. In his opinion, the whites had 62%, the Bolsheviks, respectively, only 19 - 20%, but excluding the captured former white officers, 5-6% served in the armies of the newly formed states and only 10% did not participate for various reasons in the Civil War. He also calculated casualties among the officer corps. In his opinion, over 60% of officers died in the ranks of the Whites, over 10% among the Reds, 4-5% in the national armies and 22-23% fell victims of anti-officer terror.
It is difficult to say which figures are closer to the truth - A. Kavtaradze or S. Volkova. New, impartial and solid calculations are needed. In any case, if in the Red Army there were only 20% of the former officers, and those who switched from whites to red should be included in them, then this percentage, given the class composition of the former officers, was quite high. And the fact that 5-6 times fewer officers died in the ranks of the Red Army than in the White Army also speaks volumes. From the point of view of preserving their own lives, serving with the Reds was also more promising, not to mention the fact that it was they who won a convincing victory.
The reasons for the entry of former officers and generals into the Red Army have repeatedly attracted the attention of researchers. At times, all sorts of generalizations were made. They are also done in modern literature. In one of the books specially dedicated to Soviet managers, it is noted “ the tragedy of people forced to defend a power alien to them, moreover, under the control and supervision of political commissars who did not trust them. Most of them, with hesitation and anxiety, entered the service of the Red Army, forced by material deprivation or under the threat of reprisals. A certain part of the military specialists went over to the side of the "Reds", accepting the Bolshevik ideas, believing that the Soviet government was fighting for "the happiness of the people." 100 .
How to understand that 775 former generals, that is, as Bonch-Bruyevich wrote, “ best generals tsarist army ", Joined the Red Army, being almost 90% of noble origin? Of course, there was a material need, and a need for the usual service, there were also suspicions on the part of the commissars. But you need to see the main thing. The further, the more the former generals became convinced that the Bolsheviks were in favor of re-creating great country and that, despite all the difficulties and even, at times, dissatisfaction, they are still supported by the mass of people. It is no coincidence that even A.I. Denikin wrote that he was more and more convinced that the Russian people themselves were against them, that is, against the Whites. Support of the people, focus on rebuilding a great country, progressive transformations in different areas and convinced these old generals of the correctness of their choice.
In this respect, the evolution of the views of M.D. Bonch-Bruevich, who believed that “ The civil war in Russia began even before the Great October Socialist Revolution"101. And then he wrote: “ The anti-popular nature of all these white formations, which were only a screen for foreign interference in the internal affairs of Russia, was always clear to me."102. And, speaking of himself as an old-regime general, he showed in his detailed memoirs how he came to understand the ideas of Lenin and the October Revolution. It was the convinced old generals who served in the Red Army who defeated the white generals. And their merits were recognized by V.I. Lenin emphasized the role of tens of thousands of old officers and “ only with the help of their, - as he emphasized, - The Red Army could have won the victories that it won". Moreover, he also wrote that “ without them the Red Army would not exist"103. This was a high assessment of the role of former military specialists who made up a significant part of the command staff Red Army. In 1918, military specialists made up 75% of the commanding staff of the Red Army, in 1919 - 53%, in 1920 - 42% and at the end of 1921 - 34% 104. Among them, as one could see, a special role was played by the old generals, who made a significant contribution to the creation and formation of the new army, which then fell to the responsible mission of defeating world fascism.
71. I.I. Strekalov. Construction of the Red Army in the veil troops (spring - summer 1918). Abstract of thesis ... Ph.D. M., 2001, p. 3.
72. Egoriev V.N. From the life of the western veil // Stages of the Great Path. Memories of the Civil War. M., 1962, p. 138; A.G. Kavtaradze Decree. cit., p. 201.
73. Minakov S.T. Soviet military elite 20s (composition, evolution, socio-cultural characteristics and political role). Orel, 2000, p. 28.
74. Kavtaradze A.G. Decree. cit., p. 199.
75. See: V. Dudnik, D. Smirnov All life - to science // Military history journal. 1955, no. 2.
76. See: V.F. Leonidov. Vasily Fedorovich Novitsky (on the centenary of his birth) // Military History Journal. 1960, no. 3.
77. Samoilo A. Two lives. M., 1958, p. 182.
78. Quoted. Quoted from: Fedyukin S.A. Soviet power and bourgeois specialists. M., 1965, p. 68.
79. See: A.A. Brusilov. My memories. M., 1943.
80. Fedyukin S.A. Decree. cit., p. 70.
81. Lenin V.I. Full collection op. T.41, p. 121.
82. Kavtaradze A.G. Decree. cit., pp. 236-258.
83. Savchenko O.I. Decree. cit., p. 11, 13.
84. General V.S. Mikhailov ..., p. 4-5, 25.
85. Savchenko O.I. Decree. cit., pp. 14-15.
86. General V.S. Mikhailov ..., p. 81-82.
87. Kavtaradze A.G. Decree. cit., p. 179.
88. Savchenko OI Decree. op. with. 15.
89. See: Commander of the Republic's naval forces // Marine collection. 1969, no. 5.
90. Gimpelson E.G. Decree. cit., p. 112.
91. Molodtsygin M.A. Decree. cit., p. 97; Russian military emigration ... V.4, p. 277, 297, 329.
92. Kolpakidi A., Prokhorov D. Decree. cit., p. 58.
93. Savchenko O.I. Decree. cit., p. 21.
94. Minakov S.T. Soviet military elite of the 1920s: composition, socio-cultural characteristics and political role. Abstract of the thesis. dis ... Doctor of History Orel, 2000, p. 34.
95. Ibid, p. 34, 43-44.
96. Kavtaradze A.G. Decree. cit., p. 176-178; Gimpelson E.G. Decree. cit., p. 112.
97. Kavtaradze A.G. Decree. cit., p. 21, 178.
98. Quoted. Quoted from: Fedyukin S.A. Decree. cit., p. 51.
99. Volkov S. The tragedy of the Russian officers. The officer corps of Russia in the revolution, the Civil War and in foreign lands. M., 2002, p. 398.
100. Gimpelson E.G. Decree. cit., p. 113.
101. Bonch-Bruevich M. D. Decree. cit., p. 233.
102. Ibid, p. 234.
103. V.I. Lenin Full collection op. T. 40, p. 199, 218.
104. Great October socialist revolution... Encyclopedia. M., 1987, p. 91.
Instead of an epigraph:
"... in the Red Army by June 22, 41st was the only officer of the tsarist army who was not subjected to repression - Marshal BM Shaposhnikov" (Vladimir Strelnikov "Secret statistics of the great war" "Evening Moscow" May 13, 1996)
“During the repressions of the late 1930s ... the last former officers who held prominent positions in the army were exterminated, so that by the beginning of the war only a few hundred former officers remained in the ranks of the army (some of them continued to occupy important posts up to front commanders) "(S.V. Volkov" The Tragedy of Russian Officers ").
Perhaps the first statement will seem to some to be the delirium of a madman, but in fact, this historical question is relevant in our time. The second quotation from the book of a fairly well-known historian is interesting for its contradictory nature: “the LAST former officers who held visible positions in the army were exterminated,” and at the same time, “by the beginning of the war, there were ... several hundred former officers in the ranks of the army,” and even "Important posts". Probably, these were the "most inconsistent" officers. But I was interested in something else - exactly how many former officers served in the Red Army by 1941? In Volkov's book, despite the rich factual material(the book is literally replete with numbers) this question is bypassed. It was not possible to find any generalizing work either in the literature or on the Internet, I started searching myself. As a starting point, I took the statistical collection "The Red Army in June 1941." 2003 edition. Now, after 10 years, there is more information on such statistics; the collection itself also contains a number of inaccuracies. The result turned out to be far from what was expected, but, as they say, what are the rich. Therefore, the figures below are not complete and I will be grateful for any additional information on this topic.
To complete the picture, I took into account not only the commanders of former officers who were in the ranks before the war, but also those who served during the Great Patriotic War in the Red Army, RKKF, NKVD, NKGB, since the difference between the employees of the first two and the last two departments is rather subtle.
The term "officer of the tsarist army" in in this case is not entirely accurate, because many servicemen received officer shoulder straps already under the Provisional Government, many were promoted in rank, including becoming generals or admirals, and some of the office-work machine that worked out of inertia issued new shoulder straps already under Soviet power - before the mass demobilization of the army in early 1918 Therefore, I will use the term 20-40-ies - "old army", implying that the Red, White, newly formed armies on the territory of the disintegrated Russian Empire states are "new" armies. Further in the text the phrase "officer of the old army" will be used, for short "officer of the SA".
So:
From 22.06.1941 on 05/09/1945 in the ranks of the Red Army, RKKF, NKVD, NKGB at different times, in different (combat and non-combatant) positions, in different (command, political, etc.) compositions, in the ranks from lieutenant to Marshal of the Soviet Union (and similar to them: "military engineer", military lawyer ", etc.) served 450 commanders who served in the old army and navy in ranks from ensign to lieutenant general (and similar naval). Indeed, "a few hundred". This number includes those who served the entire war or only part of it:
- those who have passed away for any reason or taken prisoner;
- those who retired during the war for old age or health reasons (for example, Lieutenant General of the Red Army, he is also Lieutenant General S.A. D.N. Nadezhny), or vice versa, who returned from retirement to service in connection with the outbreak of the war;
- those who were imprisoned as a result of pre-war repressions and released during the war (for example, second lieutenant with a.a., division commander, then lieutenant general of the Red Army M.F. Bukshtynovich) or vice versa, convicted by tribunals during the war;
- non-professional military personnel who worked before the war in a civilian specialty or were at party work, who entered the army at the beginning of the war and received military ranks (for example, warrant officer S.A., red partisan commander in civilian, partisan commander in WWII, major general RKKA A.K. Flegontov)
DO NOT INCLUDE those who, for any reason, did not serve in the armed forces during the war, including those who were repressed before the war, released but did not return to the army, rehabilitated in the 50s and then reinstated in the army with the assignment of ranks ...
Of these 450 red commanders in the old army, two were lieutenant generals, twelve were major generals, two were counter admirals, and the rest were no higher than a colonel (captain of the 1st rank). In addition, thirteen of them were White Guard officers, and two received generals' shoulder straps in the White Army. Six more before entering the Red Army served as officers in the freshly baked national (Ukrainian, Baltic, Caucasian) armies. The most famous representative of the first category is Marshal of the Soviet Union L.A. Govorov, the second is again Marshal of the Soviet Union I.Kh. Baghramyan. And, finally, two more managed to serve both whites and in the national armies, and only then in the Red.
Further, of the same 450 commanders as of 06/21/1941. in the ranks were 103 commanders with the rank of no higher than colonel (and equal to him). At least 94 of them later became generals or admirals.
As of 06/21/1941, the share of former officers of the s.a. in the ranks of the Red Army looks like this:
Marshals of the Soviet Union - 20% (out of 5 - one Shaposhnikov). In general, of the 22 Marshals of the USSR born before 1900, the officers of the S.A. there were seven - 32%. Five of them died as a result of repressions, officers of the S.A. of them there were two.
Note: I met the statement that Marshal of the USSR S.K. Timoshenko in the old army was not a non-commissioned officer, but a lieutenant, but he hid it. I have not yet found any confirmation of this.
Army generals - 40% (two out of five).
The highest percentage of SA officers in the Red Army was among the lieutenant generals - 57.4% and, strange as it may seem, among the division commanders - those who had not yet been re-certified as generals - 43.3%.
Among the major generals, the share of SA officers much lower - 25.1%, but it must be borne in mind that many of them did not serve in the old army at all simply because of their age. This especially applies to the "young" combat arms, primarily to aviation. To very many major generals of aviation in 1941. was not 40 years old. Among the combined-arms major generals, officer S.A. was every third.
The highest percentage of SA officers at that time it was observed among admirals - 66.7% (two out of three), except for them - among vice admirals -60%. But among rear admirals - only 22.2%.
This is according to the titles. And this is according to positions on 06/21/1941:
Neither the People's Commissar of Defense, nor the Chief of the General Staff by the officers of the S.A. were not, but
among the commanders of the districts (one of them was called the front commander), the share of officers of the s.A. 41.2%.
- among their deputies - 52.9%
- among the chiefs of staff of districts -47%
Among the army commanders - 65%
Among the corps commanders:
- rifle -30.4%
- mechanized - 23%
- airborne - 0% - again the same tendency about "young" military branches.
But for the "old" types of troops:
- cavalry -50%
In the course of the war, by position, the statistics are as follows:
The Supreme Commander-in-Chief was not an officer, but among those who headed the General Staff during the war, officers of the S.A. was 75%.
Among the commanders (at different times) of the ground fronts - 40.5%.
Among the chiefs of staff of the fronts - 30.2%
Among the commanders of the armies - 32%, and with a breakdown by type of troops:
-separate, shock, combined arms - 39.6%
And then again the same rejuvenation system:
- tank - 15.4%
- sapper - 12.5% (according to incomplete data)
- air - 7.4% ( average age commanders in 1941. -38 years)
- Air defense - 0% (until 1900, only one was born).
Among the listed red commanders there were many nobles, both personal and hereditary. Since 1856 personal nobility was acquired with the rank of staff captain (headquarters captain, podsaul, in the navy - lieutenant), hereditary - colonel (captain of the 1st rank). Thus, Marshal of the USSR B.M. Shaposhnikov, vice-admirals A.V. Nemitz and A.V. Shtal were hereditary nobles, Marshals of the USSR A.M. Vasilevsky and F.I. Tolbukhin - personal. There were also titled nobles in the Red Army (the most famous example is the Major General of the old and the Lieutenant General of the Red Army, Count A.A. Ignatiev).
This concludes the dry statistics, consider a few personal data.
Officers of the SA have reached high government positions in their careers. Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky (Chief of General Staff and Minister of the Armed Forces) and State Security Commissioner of the 1st rank, then General of the Army V.N. maternal line princely blood. Officer S.A. there was such a very famous (in the worst sense of the word) personality in the army of that time as the chairman of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, an armored military lawyer, then Colonel-General of Justice V.V. Ulrikh.
Of the people with rather exotic biographies, A.Ya. Kruse should be noted. Lieutenant colonel of the old army, he grew up to major general in the army of Kolchak, by 1941 he moved down to the colonel of the Red Army and ended his career with the rank of lieutenant general of the Soviet Army.
The fate of V.M. Dogadin. Colonel S.A. he, as his cousin assures us, "received major general epaulettes for the construction of the Perekop fortifications from Baron Wrangel." According to the words attributed to Dogadin himself: “the Bolsheviks literally climbed the mountains of their corpses on the Perekop bastions built by him” (http://magazines.russ.ru/zerkalo/2004/24/sm10.html). It is curious: now some historians, trying to explain the breakthrough of the Reds through Perekop, say that its famous fortifications existed only on paper. And if this is so, and taking into account that V.M. Dogadin later quietly served in the Red Army, what should one think about him personally and about his service with the whites?
However, let's turn to other characters national history with even more interesting biographies.
The general's son (i.e. hereditary nobleman) second lieutenant B.V. Duchen, a member of the RSDLP (m) since 1903 (! (of course, BLOODLY and BLOOD suppressed by the Bolsheviks), and later served in the Department of PROPAGANDA (party-revolutionary training came in handy!) at the headquarters of the army N.N. Yudenich (and they also say that the White Guards are sissies before propaganda did not humiliate themselves). He rose to the rank of captain, emigrated, in emigration BECAME COOPERATE with the OGPU. In 1926. returned to the USSR, worked in the People's Commissariat for Education. In 1935 he was arrested and convicted as a counter-revolutionary, in 1940. released early. He never returned to the People's Commissariat for Education, but entered the service of ... the NKVD. Colonel.
Another example is even cooler. He served in the old army as a staff captain (and therefore a nobleman) V.L. Abramov. In March 1918. He joined the Red Army (if in March, it means voluntarily, the Bolsheviks introduced mobilization later), from which, a couple of months later, REMOVED to the whites. Then he was taken prisoner by the Reds and ... remained with them to serve. Now forever. Later he moved ... again to the NKVD. Major General. You will not say anything, a suitable contingent to fight the counter-revolution! And how not to remember the old truth that good specialist will not be left without work!
But all this is nonsense compared to how V.J. Skaystlauks served. Lieutenant of the Russian army, general of the Latvian, since 1940. - Major General of the Red Army, from 1943 - Standartenfuehrer, from 1944 - SS Oberfuehrer (somewhere between a colonel and a brigadier general). You have to be able to do this!
I would like to single out another category of red commanders - Soviet officers who are not officers of the SA. In June 1941. thirteen people served in the Red Army (six of them had a rank higher than colonel), who fought on the side of the whites in the civil war as "lower ranks" - soldiers or non-commissioned officers. One of them is the deputy. Head of the MAIN POLITICAL DEPARTMENT, ARMY COMMISSIONER 2nd rank V.N. Borisov, the other - Colonel NS. Skripko, in the future - Air Marshal. In addition to these thirteen, one was a former officer of the Azerbaijani army, the other was a private in the Georgian army, the third (before the war was in reserve) was a private in the Ukrainian army.
Epilogue
Over the past 25 years, one often hears that the Bolsheviks did badly whatever they took on. It seems that worst of all they managed to accomplish the task of exterminating classes and estates.
From an article by Evgeny Zhirnov.
In the spring of 1944, the head of the Main Directorate of Personnel of the NKO of the USSR, Colonel-General Philip Golikov decided to deal with the issue that officers who served in military registration and enlistment offices in the deep rear, in front-line and remote headquarters, as well as in various kinds of rear logistics personnel wrote to him countless times. parts and institutions.
The problem was that in 1941 the decree State Committee Defense N 929 for frontline officers set reduced terms of service until the next rank.
To obtain the rank of major, military officers had to fight in captain's shoulder straps for three months. Unlike captains-logisticians, who were entitled to the next rank only after four years.
The 1941 decree was adopted precisely so that the officers had an effective incentive to serve in the army, and not in the rear. However, for a considerable number of commanders who settled in the headquarters and rear services, it turned into an incentive for writing reports and letters stating that they were doing an equally important job, but turned out to be bypassed in ranks.
Therefore, Colonel-General Golikov, who in his position had to deal with all this stream of appeals, tried, as it was said then, to reduce the severity of the problem.
However, the question of seniority in the ranks of the personnel problems of the Red Army were not limited to. The head of the Main Directorate of Personnel of the NKO of the USSR believed that there were too many generals in the troops, and especially in the rear.
If before the war there were 994 of them, then on May 15, 1944 - 2952. Moreover, such a significant increase, to put it mildly, did not meet the needs of the army even in wartime. Therefore, on May 18, 1944, Golikov sent a report to Stalin, in which he outlined the essence of the question:
"Already now we have almost 3 thousand generals (2952 people). This is a very serious figure. In comparison with other armies, it will look like this: the United States - 1065 generals, the land army of England - 517 generals, Germany - 2198 generals (without sanitary and Veterinary Services), Japan - 1209 generals.
Requirements for the assignment of new and new general ranks do not stop and do not weaken. They are especially great along the lines of the rear services of the Red Army (at the same time, they are the most restrained from the active army and along the combined arms line).
From the point of view of the full-time, we may be presented with demands for the assignment of 6 thousand general ranks. This follows from the fact that in the currently operating states of the military department, 9007 posts have been established, which should and can be replaced by persons of the general staff.
This figure is 3 times more quantity existing generals. In addition, it should be borne in mind that in a number of cases the central directorates seek to achieve the rank of general, even to those persons whose official position is determined by the category of "Lieutenant Colonel-Colonel". "
Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov - Soviet Russian composer, choral conductor, choirmaster, teacher. People's Artist of the USSR (1937), Major General (1943).
Golikov's report also described the path that they resort to to obtain an excess of the number of generals' ranks:
"The main central directorates of NPOs nominate themselves to the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR for the assignment of generals, each independently, based on their own criteria and their limited service interests.
At the same time, they try to avoid submission through the Main Directorate of Human Resources of the NPO and get rid of its control. This is most clearly manifested on the part of the Logistics Directorate, where the desire to produce as many generals as possible and raise them to the highest rank is clearly expressed.
Already, there are 326 generals in the rear service, which amounts to the total 11.04%. This circumstance leads to the facts of undeserved assignment of general ranks.
So, by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of 05/11/1944, general ranks were assigned to 24 officers and generals of the Logistics Service, of which at least 6 people, in my opinion, the title was awarded undeservedly, among them:
1. Head of the Administrative and Economic Department VV Polyakov. He only received the rank of Major General on 12/20/1942. In the Red Army, he served only 6 years and 5 months, of which one year as a private, 5 years as a military commissar of the financial department and 5 months as the head of the administrative and economic department of an NGO.
He has no military education. He could successfully still be in the rank of "Colonel of the Quartermaster Service". There is no such rapid movement in ranks even in the army in the field.
2. The head of the Office of the Base of the NCO Center, AM Azizbekov, has been in the Red Army for only 8 months, has no experience, no military education, or no length of service in the army.
3. Head of the 1st department of the Quartermaster's Office, Chistyakov V.A. Although he has been in the army since 1918, his entire service since 1920 was held only in the military-economic management of an NCO, in clerical positions, starting with a junior clerk in his position. higher than Major-Lieutenant Colonel, and now he holds the post of not a general, but only a colonel. Since 1920, not a single month of service in the army.
4. Chief Automotive Office Belorussian district Naberukhin I.M.He was awarded the rank of colonel only in April 1943. Being surrounded in 1941, according to the Smersh Counterintelligence Directorate, he surrendered to the Romanians, tore up and threw away his party card.
In captivity, he was interrogated, after which he was released and sent to work. When leaving the encirclement, he was repeatedly detained by the Germans and the police. He left the encirclement in a single order, which he is trying to hide. In 1942, during the siege of Stalingrad by the Germans, he expressed defeatist sentiments.
And this is the "wedding general". Scammer: 
5. Deputy head of clothing department Paleev Boris Solomonovich. His entire service in the Red Army since 1919 is exhausted by four months as a private and chief of the battalion's intelligence in 1919, eight years of study at economic universities (from 1920-1928) and 16 years of continuous service in the quartermaster office of an NCO, starting from the post of ml. inspector in Moscow; not a single day of service in the troops.
6. Deputy Head of the personnel department of the logistics department Bavin I. V. He occupied and holds a position assigned to the rank of "Lieutenant Colonel-Colonel". Has a break from military service for 7 years. "
Photo of a real military general, a prototype of the legendary Maestro from the movie "Only Old Men Go to Battle", Honorary Citizen of Moscow, Magadan, Sochi, Kiev, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Gagra, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Parndorf and Krasnik Vitaly Popkov.
Golikov also reported that in the rear organizations and headquarters different levels there are more generals than directly in the troops, and there is a tendency for an increase in the number of generals not in contact with the front:
"Of the 2952 generals of the Red Army, 1569 people (or 57.5%) are in the governing bodies, of which 395 are in the Central Office of the NKO, 1174 are in the front, district and army apparatus.
In the army (in corps, divisions, brigades, schools, academies and research institutes) there are 1256 generals (or 42.5%).
For all the importance of command and control bodies, it is nevertheless necessary to establish a more correct distribution of generals between the command apparatus and between the troops.
Now we have 276 division commanders, 74 brigade commanders and 67 school chiefs in the rank of "colonel". As they grow, they will become part of the generals.
But even when full established posts generals in the troops, the number of generals in the administrative apparatus remains very large; it is even larger by state. "
G. I. Obaturov. In January 1979, Obaturov was sent to Vietnam as Chief Military Adviser to the Ministry of National Defense of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Military rank General of the Army, he was awarded by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 19, 1979
The chief of the personnel headquarters also complained that a considerable number of generals have rather weak military training:
"The number of generals who do not have any military education is very large - 142 people. (4.8% of the total composition of generals). Also a very large number of generals who have military education only in the volume of the military school (443 people) and courses (769 people), which is 41.05% (for both figures).
Serious requirements must be presented to the generals in relation to their own military education. First of all, it is necessary to require from persons who do not have a military education at all, prepare and pass for a military school.
For generals who have graduated only from military schools and courses, establish a specific plan for obtaining academic education, at least according to an abbreviated program (in accordance with the specialty) - for some by passing through academic courses, for others by self-improvement, for others by wide organization of correspondence and evening training in the Red Army ".
The oldest Marshal of the planet Sergei Sokolov. He died in 2012 at the 102nd year of his life.
To solve the problems, Golikov proposed two main ways - to reduce the number of general positions:
"a) to establish an indicative number of generals for the armed forces of the Soviet Union in order to adhere to it;
b) Thoroughly reduce the number of generals established today, especially since an excessively large number of generals will negatively affect the authority of the generals. "
And also the establishment of strict control over the assignment of general ranks:
"For a more correct approach and in order to strengthen control, it is necessary to establish that submissions to general ranks go only through the Main Directorate of Human Resources of the NCO and be reported to them.
Of course, there may be exceptions, but even then the head of any central Directorate who personally reports on the issue of conferring a general's rank must have the opinion of the Main Directorate of Human Resources of an NCO on the material. "
Mustafa Jafar oglu Nasirov (1921-2012) - deputy chief of the troops of the Red Banner Transcaucasian border district of the KGB of the USSR (1972-1987). Honored Lawyer of the Azerbaijan SSR (1984), Honorary Citizen of Derbent (1996). The first Azerbaijani to have served in the border troops to the rank of major general.
However, this report turned out to be nothing more than a set of good wishes. As evidenced by the collection of statistical materials "Military Personnel of the Soviet State in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945", issued in 1963, by the end of the war there were already 5,625 generals.
And only one part of Golikov's report on generals led to a change the existing system encouragement of military personnel. Among other facts about the generals, the head of the personnel department of the NCO mentioned: "204 generals have no awards at all."
“Among the senior staff there are persons who, for 20-25 years of service in the Army, have no awards at all, such as, for example, the commanders of the armies of the Far Eastern Front Generals Mamonov, Cheremisov, Maksimov.
At the present time, 4 corps commanders, 9 division commanders and 74 regiment commanders have no awards at all on the Far Eastern and Transbaikal fronts.
Of the current army commanders before the war, 20 people did not have any awards at all and had one award - 22 people. Of the current front commanders, before the war, they were not awarded at all - 1 person, were awarded one order - 2 people, two - 7 people.
Moreover, for the most part, these awards were received by them for military distinctions in the civil war, in battles with the White Finns, in the Khasan and Khalkhin-Gol regions.
Many servicemen who have served in the army for 20-25 years raise the question through letters, personal statements or simply anonymous letters about the need for rewards for long-term impeccable service in the army.
The statutes of orders and legal provisions do not provide for the issue of awards for length of service. Based on the foregoing, I consider it necessary to reward for blameless service in officer positions:
a) for 10 years - the Order of the Badge of Honor,
b) for 15 years - the Order of the Red Star,
c) for 20 years - the Order of the Red Banner of Labor,
d) for 25 years - the Order of Lenin. "
Cosmonaut Nikolaev, Andriyan Grigorievich. He is the author of the books "Let's Meet in Orbit" and "Space - the Road without End". The last and most valuable book of Nikolaev was written by him in his declining years - "The Earth's Gravity".
"I am submitting a proposal to servicemen who have served 25-26-27 years by November 7, 1944, to be awarded the Order of the Red Banner, due to the Decree for the 20th anniversary, and on May 1, 1945, to award them with the Order of Lenin, which they have also already served. groups to establish the following, strictly by decree, but also the most favorable order:
A) who served 20-21-22-23-24 and more than 24 years by November 7, 1944 - to reward the Order of the Red Banner they have served;
b) those who served by November 7, 1944 15-16-17-18-19 and more than 19 - to reward them with the Order of the Red Star;
c) those who served on November 7, 1944, 10-11-12-13-14 and more than 14 years old, should be awarded the medal "For Military Merit" they had earned.
Those of them who, on May 1, 1945, will turn 25-20-15 years of service, respectively, should be awarded an order corresponding to the length of service on May 1, 1945. "
Vertelko Ivan Petrovich. Since 1983, he served as the 1st Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the Border Troops of the KGB of the USSR. Retired since 1990.
Vertelko is the author of the memoirs "Secretly. Served The Soviet Union". In it, he talks about his service in the border troops of the KGB of the USSR. He is also a member of the Writers' Union of Russia.
At the same time, Golikov modestly did not mention that among those who, thanks to such a clarification to the Decree of June 4, 1944, will receive two orders, he himself is included.
As well as the fact that thanks to the instructions prepared by him, the number of awardees will be significantly more people than previously thought. The colonel-general did not ignore those repressed in 1937:
"The time spent under investigation or in custody (in 1937-1939, etc.) is counted in the length of service, but only if the previously issued order on dismissal from the army was canceled or the enrollment again in the cadres of the Red Army was carried out immediately after the termination of the investigation or release from custody ... ".
ADDITION: the photo shows the generals' corps "in all its glory", not just the "rear generals".
Colonel General Philip Golikov.
In what proportions did the officers of the Russian imperial army between the whites and reds in the Civil. The quintessence of research is given in the book by V. Kozhinov “Russia. Century XX "(blym: an author with a pronounced monarchist orientation, in a sense, an anti-Soviet):
“Who knew how to collect information V.V. Shulgin wrote - and, as it has now become clear, rightly so - back in 1929: " Almost half of the officers of the General Staff remained with the Bolsheviks. And how many rank-and-file officers there were, no one knows, but a lot ", M.V. Nazarov refers to an article by the emigrant General A.K. Bayov (by the way, his brother Lieutenant General K.K. Bayov served in the Red Army!), Published in 1932 in the Parisian newspaper Chasovoy, and a treatise by the excellent military historian A.G. Kavtaradze, published in 1988 in Moscow. But M. B. Nazarov takes on faith exactly the figure of A.K. Baiov, who was unable to count the number of officers in the Red Army. Meanwhile, A.G. According to the documents, Kavtaradze established the number of generals and officers of the General Staff who served in the Red Army (the overwhelming majority of them appear in his book even by name), and it turned out that by no means 20, but 33 percent of them ended up in the Red Army.
If we talk about the officer corps in general, as a whole, then they served in the Red Army, according to A.G. Kavtaradze, 70,000-75,000 people, that is, about 30 percent of its total composition (a smaller share than among the general staff, which had its own significant reason). However, even this figure - 30 percent - is essentially disorienting. For, as A.G. Kavtaradze, another 30 percent of the officers in 1917 were outside of any army service in general (op.cit., p. 117). This means that the Red Army did not serve 30, but about 43 percent of the available officers by 1918, while in the White Army, 57 percent (about 100,000 people).
But especially expressive is the fact that from "the most valuable and trained part of the officer corps of the Russian army - the officer corps of the General Staff"(p. 181) 639 (including 252 generals) people turned out to be in the Red Army, which was 46 percent - that is, in fact, about half - continued serve after October 1917 as officers of the General Staff; there were about 750 of them in the White Army (cit. cit., pp. 196-197). So, almost half of the best part, the elite of the Russian officer corps, served in the Red Army!
Until recently, the figures cited were unknown to anyone: neither the Whites nor the Reds wanted to recognize this historical fact (since this revealed one of the true, but not honoring, reasons for their victory over the Whites); however, this is still an indisputable fact. By the way, it recreated it quite weighty fiction; Let us recall at least the image of Colonel of the General Staff Roshchin in "Walking in agony" by A.N. Tolstoy. But this image, completely characteristic of the era, was perceived by the majority of readers as a kind of exception, as a deviation from the "norm." Of course, one can try to assert that generals and officers went into the Red Army under duress, or out of hunger, or for the subsequent transition to the Whites (however, much more officers went from the White Army to the Red Army than vice versa). But when it comes to choices made by tens of thousands of people, such explanations do not seem reliable. The matter is, no doubt, much more complicated.
Incidentally, a calculation has recently been published according to which (I quote) "The total number of regular officers who participated in the civil war in the ranks of the regular Red Army was more than 2 times higher than the number of regular officers who took part in hostilities on the side of the whites."("Questions of history", 1993, N 6, p. 189). But this is obviously an exaggeration. "Enough"; and the fact that the number of officers in the White Army did not greatly exceed their number in the Red.
* * *
To understand the mindset of a patriot who found himself in a white camp, read the memoirs of General Ya.A. Slashchev. And, of course, the work by A.N. Tolstoy's "Walking through the agony".
* *
Blym for reference: V.V. Shulgin is a monarchist,
