On the 22nd June 1941, Germany launched one of the biggest invasions that warfare had
ever seen. It opened up the Eastern Front of the Second World War, and saw the German
tanks roll into the Soviet Union with Hitler determined to smash Communism, Stalin and
the Red Army. Hitler thought it would be a quick victory, however today we associate
Operation Barbarossa with the ultimate failure of the Nazis, with it leading to the downfall
of Third Reich. The failings of Operation Barbarossa saw dozens of thousands of German
soldiers freezing to death, however initially when the invasion began they were rather successful
taking large amounts of Soviet territory. Initially the Nazis and Soviets had drawn
up a pact as how to split Poland between the two when the Germans invaded, and inside of
the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact was an agreement for 10 years of peace between the two nations.
However this didn’t last long. After Hitler defeated France, only Britain was left standing
against Germany so he turned his attention to expanded the German Empire east, and to
the Soviet Union. He hope was to repeat the Blitzkrieging lightning war of earlier invasions,
and with over 3 million German and Axis soldiers, they invaded along a 1800 mile front. Around
80% of the Wehrmacht were used in the invasion, and Stalin was initially taken by surprise
as he refused to believe that Hitler infact was planning an attack.
Barbarossa pitted the Soviet Red Army against the German Wehrmacht, and saw some of the
most brutal and bloody fighting of the Second World War. It saw millions of soldiers killed,
but what didn’t help things is that Stalin’s government were actually causing harm to their
own army. Stalin is remembered as a dictator in which he reigned over with an iron fist,
and oversaw many bloody purges, but the 1941 Purge of the Red Army actually caused more
harm than good to the war effort. So join us today as we look at, ‘The BRUTAL Executions
Of Stalin’s Red Army Purge.’ Remember to support please make sure to subscribe.
When the Second World War broke out, Hitler’s plans were to expand his German Empire across
Europe establishing a powerful thousand year Reich. Hitler also sought to smash communism
and Bolshevism which he saw as evil and backwards, and for this he would eventually have to invade
the Soviet Union. However before the start of the war in 1939, Stalin had carried out
a reign of terror over his people in bloody fashion. Between 1936 and 1938 he had carried
out a large scale repression of his people, which consisted of killing lots of peasants,
ethnically cleansing the population, purging the Communist Party government officials and
also targeting the Red Army.
It was known as ‘The Great Terror’ and the aim was to eliminate all dissenting members
of the communist party as in anyone who complained about Stalin or simply were suspected of questioning
his authority and power. He even went after some of his alleged friends, with the NKVD
the Soviet Secret Police organising and conducting many of the executions. Stalin during this
time it’s alleged killed between 950,000 to over 1.1 million of his own people. Inside
of the Gulags there were also many deaths, but during the purge he did target the Red
Army and the Military specifically.
The Great Purge removed 3 of the 5 Marshals of the Soviet Union, and 13 of the 15 army
commanders, along with 8 of 9 admirals were all executed. The Navy in particular was greatly
affected, and the Red Army’s leadership also had a huge hit. 154 out of 186 division
commanders were executed, all of the army commissars were killed too. The severity at
the time of the purge estimated that Stalin had killed up to half of his officers, but
today it’s accepted that around 7% were killed. Many soldiers were banned from the
military and expelled from the Communist party, being purged from their livelihoods. The effects
of this was that Stalin’s military was weakened, and that at the time he chose to prioritise
loyalty over military power. By doing this he ensured that his power was ultimate over
the Red Army, and that dissent was not a thing.
Many inside of the army were terrified of the knock on the door in the middle of the
night that they would be executed, and many even took their own lives for the fear. Over
a third of the officers expelled and discharged from the army did successfully appeal their
sentences and were reinstated to the Red Army but the damage had been done to the leadership
of the army. Many of the most talented officials and generals inside of the Army had been killed
or were forced out, leaving the army weaker than it should have been. Stalin wanted the
military to do whatever he wanted, and he wanted to call the shots.
Now one of the most powerful figures within the Soviet Union was Lavrentiy Beria, a brutal
and barbaric man who became the Chief of the NKVD, the Secret Police. Beria was a murderer,
and sadist who was responsible for the deaths of thousands. He was responsible for organising
purges including the Katyn Massacre in which 22,000 Polish officers were killed during
World War 2 after the Soviets invaded Poland. He oversaw the Gulags, the concentration camp
system inside of the Union, and even oversaw the Soviet efforts to make the atom bomb.
However from October 1940 to February 1942, the NKVD under Beria’s command carried out
a new purge that hit the Red Army, especially during the midst of Operation Barbarossa and
whilst they were fighting the Second World War.
The Red Army had never been in a good state of affairs, during World War 1 for example
it experienced heavy losses. Soldiers were rather ill-disciplined, many suffered from
alcoholism and there were excessive shortages of equipment and weapons at the time in the
Second World War. The soldiers were also poorly trained, and the quality of the leaders and
officers at the time following the Great Purge was not ideal. Following the purge, many officers
who had no formal military education had risen at young ages into positions of power, and
the Red Army itself had tripled in size. In four years it had risen from 1.3 million soldiers
to in 1941 4.5 million. Despite the growth, it was in a poor state and when Operation
Barbarossa was launched, they suffered heavy losses.
However Beria had began his campaign of terror against the Red Army before. In October 1940
he started a new purge aimed to first hit the People’s Comissariat of Ammunition,
the People’s Aviation Industry and the People’s Commissariat of Armaments. These industries
that made weapons, ammunition and supplies vital to the war effort and the army were
hit heavily. Beria would drag into interrogation the high up officials involved in these industries
and bodies, interrogate them and torture them brutally until they confessed guilt that they
were involved in treason against Stalin. The NKVD also then got these men to testify against
others, and they were arrested and executed on charges of sabotage, spying and anti-Soviet
activity. This led to an issue inside of these industries which would be integral to the
war.
The Air Force were also targeted in 1941, as an inquiry found a high accident rate in
the Air Force which led to many arrests and executions. The Head of the Air Force Pavel
Rychagov was executed in this. In May of 1941 a German JU 52 also landed in Moscow and had
been undetected, and this was seen by Stalin and Beria as disgraceful, and there was a
huge number of arrests linked to the airforce. The most senior figures were arrested, interrogated,
tortured and then shot by Beria’s men. He believed there must have been a conspiracy
to allow the aircraft to land in Moscow, but following the invasion of the Soviet Union
further arrests and executions continued.
Initially when the Germans invaded, they overwhelmed the Red Army’s forces on the ground and
the air, and this caused a havoc amongst the military’s high command. They did not understand
the severity of the catastrophe for the soviet military, and those forces based at the border.
The initial stages of Barbarossa were a complete disaster for the Red Army, with very high
losses and casualties, and the NKVD and Beria sought to purge to punish. During the early
stages of the conflicts, he executed scores of commanders who were blamed for the failings
of the Red Army.
All were killed in the same way, mostly by firing squad or by simply being shot. These
executions did not help the war effort, elating to weaknesses in the ranks, and also he continued
to purge with great severity. Even during the Battle of Moscow, with the fighting erupting
around the city, Beria and his NKVD carried out a purge executing around 300 commanders
and majors on the 16th October 1941. More shootings occured on Beria’s orders including
many colonels and generals, and politicians were also targeted.
Beria purged the Red Army with ruthless efficiency, and he even asked Stalin to make it easier
to sentence those inside of the military to death. He was granted extra powers to execute
generals and high up members of the military, and these were carried out.
The hundreds killed were all blamed for the failings to repel the German Army, and they
were made out as if the blood of the soldiers was on their hands. One example is Pyotr Pumpur,
who was a leftenant general.
He had a rich history inside of the military, and was even awarded the Hero of the Soviet
Union award for his efforts in the Air Force during the Spanish Civil War. However due
to failings in the Air Force, he was shot by Beria’s NKVD. General Ernst Schacht was
another who was executed by Firing squad on the orders of Beria for the air force’s
failings, and he also was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union award. These were not
just ordinary soldiers purged, it was the elite with rich history’s within the military.
On the Day of the Red Army, on February 23rd 1942 46 people along with those two just mentioned
were dragged out in front of a firing squad and were shot. However what is interesting
is that after the Second World War, and after the death of Stalin it was found that the
death sentences and executions of those inside of the Red Army because of Beria’s purge
were unjust. It was found that Beria himself had committed terrorist acts by organising
the purge, and carrying it out. But how did this affect the war effort during the Second
World War for the soviets?
It did not help matters. 1941 was a disaster for the Red Army, as the Soviets were battered
by the Wehrmacht’s quick moving troops. Millions were taken prisoner and the Einsatzgruppen
followed the German Army executing civilians including many Soviet Jews and Commissars.
Hitler ordered all captured enemy officers from the Soviet Union should be shot immediately,
and many other soviet POWs were killed after they were captured. The disaster of 1941 was
the result of a number of things, the rapid expansion of the armed forces using poor trained
soldiers, a poor lack of leadership and also the effects of the purges that greatly limited
the number of skilled generals and even men on the ground to face Hitler’s army. It
seemed that Stalin and those within his government valued loyalty more than military skill, and
at the time it was likely that thousands were executed unjustly and unfairly, being forced
to admit charges under torture. The Purge and Executions of the Red Army of 1941 were
not positive for the war effort, and made things more difficult for Stalin facing up
against the invasion from Hitler.
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