PENAL BATTALIONS BREACHING ENEMY DEFENCES (Harsh Truth of the WWII Eastern Front)

Voice of Russia ^ | Jan 23, 2003 | Voice of Russia

[sergey1973]

The hot summer of 1942. Thousands of Soviet troops were retreating in confusion amid huge clouds of dust. Air space was dominated by German “Junkers” dive-bombers and “Messerschmitt” fighters. The impression was that of chaos, total confusion and the worst moments of 1941, when Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union. Military archives still have quite a few sternly-worded cabled demands by the then Soviet leader Joseph Stalin that the army group commanders should check the troop retreat, bring order out of chaos, fight to the last ditch and not to withdraw from the positions held. Stalin is fed up with the Red Army defeats. The nation is on the verge of a dreadful disaster, and the only tested way to avert it that he seems to know of is to resort to some extremely tough measures. And that is what he does when he signs his Order 227 in late July 1942. Under that document anyone who retreats without order will retreat into one’s death. When he orders the troops not to make even a single step back, he uses the words in their literal meaning. The Order 227 has a special paragraph about setting up penal battalions in the army groups and penal companies in the armies.

[sergey1973]

This is really a riveting tale of what happened on the World War II Eastern Front. It shows both heroism of Ordinary Soviet Soldiers and the despicable cruelty of the Stalin Regime that wasted people lives by millions. Unfortunately, upcoming May 9th 60th celebrations of victory over Nazi Germany in Moscow, is turning into a pompous parade and attempts are made to whitewash Stalin and his murderous regime role once again in World War II ignoring or downplaying the Molotov-Ribbentropp pact of 1939 that initially put USSR and Nazi Germany as temporary allies who carved up Eastern Europe among themselves until Hitler broke the pact and attacked USSR in June 22, 1941 resulting in the bloodiest chapter of World War II.

However, it should not diminish the respect to 27-30 million of Soviet Citizens (incl. 10 million of Soviet Soldiers) perished in World War II.

[sergey1973]

PING ! Just wanted to share with you the article I found about what really happened on the WWII Eastern Front.

[struwwelpeter]

Vladimir Vysotskiy - Penal Battalions

	They're only giving the shelling an hour.
        Just an hour of respite for the infantry.
        Just an hour until the most important of matters:
        Who gets a medal, and who gets the gallows.  

        For an hour we don't write a single line.
        We prayed to the gods of war - to the artillerymen!
        Since we aren't regulars, we're penal soldiers.
        They don't write us: "Count like a communist".  

        Before the attack - vodka?  Alright here!
        We drank ours up in civilian life.
        So we won't shout "hurrah!",
        We'll play with death quietly.  

        Penal soldiers have only one law, only one ending -
        Chop up that Fascist tramp!
        And if your chest doesn't catch some lead,
        Your chest will catch a medal "for courage".  

        You strike with a bayonet, but it's better to strike by hand -
        It's more reliable, yes and quieter.
        And if you remain alive,
        Walk in the trench even higher!  

        The enemy thinks that we're morally weak.
        Behind him lay burned forests and cities.
        You should have chopped the forest into the coffins -
        Penal battalions now enter the breach!  

        Now it's O-six-hundred, and there's the barrage.
        Well, god of war!  Do it without respite!
        Only an hour until the most important matters:
        Who gets a medal, and who gets the gallows.  

[sergey1973]

Thanks--I know this song very well. Listened to it quite a few times. Although we need better poetic translation of Vysotsky to English, it's a good start.