In penal companies and battalions, the People's Commissars were issued. History of penal battalions. Separate assault battalions

Among the huge number of tragic pages of the Second World War, the history of penal units occupies a special place. Despite the fact that more than 75 years have passed since the end of the war, disputes around the penal battalions still do not subside.

In Soviet times, this topic was not liked. It cannot be said that the USSR completely denied the existence of penal companies and battalions during the war, but historians could not get accurate information about the number of penalties, their use at the front and the losses of such units.

In the late 1980s, as usual, the pendulum swung in the opposite direction. A huge amount of materials on penal battalions began to appear in the press, films were made on this topic. Articles about the heroes of the penal battalions, who were shot in the back by the NKVD officers from the detachments, became fashionable. The apotheosis of this campaign was the series about the war, "Penal Battalion," directed by Nikolai Dostal in 2004. Despite the good cast, only one thing can be said about this work: almost everything shown in it is not true.

What is it, the truth about penalties? It is bitter and tough, just like the entire era to which this phenomenon belongs. However, the topic of penal battles does not have that despair that opponents of the communist regime often portray.

The idea of ​​creating penal units absolutely fit into the logic of the system, extremely tough and inhuman, it did not cause special accusations of injustice at that time: if you are guilty - atone in blood. At that time millions Soviet citizens were wiped out into "camp dust" without any possibility of redemption.

By the way, in this respect, the Soviet penal battalions and penal battalions can be called more "humane" than the penal battalions of the Wehrmacht - they know much less about them - in which it was only possible to survive by a miracle.

V last years good research on this topic appeared, veterans who served in penal battalions wrote memoirs (Pyltsin "How an officer's penal battalion reached Berlin"), documentaries were shot. Anyone can get objective information about this side of the war. We will also make our contribution to this good cause.

Penalty: punishment and atonement

Penal units are military units manned by servicemen who have committed certain - usually not too serious - crimes. For serious offenses, the death penalty was usually imposed, which was widely used in the Red Army and the Wehrmacht. Accordingly, the soldiers of the penal units were usually called penalty boxes.

During World War II, there were two types of penal units in the USSR: penal battalions and penal companies. Around the middle of the war - 1943 - in the Red Army, separate assault rifle battalions began to be created, which included soldiers and officers who had been in the occupied territory for a long time. Service in such units was practically no different from penal battalions, and the practice of their use was similar. However, the assault battalions had some differences, which will be described below.

However, one should not assume that penalty boxes are a Soviet invention: penal units appeared in Germany even before the start of World War II. Although, the practice of using guilty soldiers in the most dangerous areas of hostilities is much older.

Penalties were used back in Ancient Sparta, wrote about this the ancient Greek historian Xenophon. Special units, consisting of deserters and deviators, were also in the Grand Army of Napoleon, to raise morale from behind they were "encouraged" by artillery fire.

In the Russian imperial army Penalty units were formed at the end of the First World War, in 1917. But at that time, even such a measure could not save the situation at the front, the penalty boxers did not take part in the battles, and after a few months these units were disbanded.

Penalty parts were used during the period Civil War... In 1919, by order of Trotsky, penal companies were formed for deserters and persons who committed criminal offenses.

In the USSR, the appearance of penal companies and battalions is associated with the famous order No. 227, which our military historians often call the order "Not a step back!" It was published in July 1942, the most difficult for Soviet Union the period of the war, when German units were rushing to the Volga. It would not be an exaggeration to say that at that moment the fate of the country was hanging in the balance.

It should be noted that the personnel of penal units in the USSR was divided into two categories: permanent and variable. The permanent composition included the battalion (company) command, including the subunit headquarters, company and platoon commanders, political workers, medical instructors, foremen, signalmen and clerks. So the commander of the penal battalion (or penal battalions) could not be a penalty box. The commanding staff of such units were entitled to rather substantial benefits: one month of service was counted as six.

Now a few words about the personnel of the Soviet penal units. Officers were sent to penal battalions, and civilians who had committed certain crimes could also be sent to penal battalions, in addition to soldiers and sergeants. However, the courts and military tribunals were prohibited from sending people convicted of especially grave crimes (murder, robbery, robbery, rape) to penal companies. Could not get into such units and recidivist thieves or people who were previously brought to court under especially grave articles of the Criminal Code. The logic of such actions is clear: professional criminals have a special psychology that is hardly compatible with the army service.

Not sent to penal companies and convicted on political charges, which can also be easily explained: these people were considered "enemies of the people" who cannot be trusted with weapons.

However, a large number of The facts that have come down to us testify that hardened criminals and people convicted under Article 58 did end up in the penal units. However, this cannot be called a mass phenomenon.

The armament of the penal units was no different from that used in combat units. The same can be said for food rations.

How important were the penalties

Separate assault battalions

These units appeared in 1943. They were recruited by servicemen who had been in the occupied territory: in captivity or surrounded. Such people were considered unreliable, they were suspected of possible cooperation with the Germans.

They were sent to the assault battalions for two months, while the servicemen did not lose their rank, but even the officers in such units performed the tasks of ordinary privates. As in penal battalions, an injury meant the end of the sentence, and the fighter was sent to a regular combat unit.

The use of assault units was similar to the use of penal battalions.

Wehrmacht fines

In Germany, there were also penal units, and they appeared earlier than the Soviet ones, and their attitude towards the military was even more harsh than in the USSR.

In 1936, the so-called Special Units were created in the Wehrmacht, to which servicemen were sent for various offenses. These parts were used to perform various construction and sapper works. They were not involved in the hostilities.

After the victorious end of the Polish campaign, Hitler disbanded the German penal units, saying that now only those who deserve it will wear military uniforms. However, the campaign that began in the East forced the Reich leadership to reconsider this decision.

In 1942, the so-called 500th battalions (500th, 540th, 560th, 561st), which were also called "test troops", were formed at the front. These units were very reminiscent of the Soviet penal battalions, but the Germans treated them a little differently. It was believed that the person who committed the crime was given another chance to prove his love for Germany and the Fuehrer. Soldiers sent to the 500th battalion usually faced shooting or a concentration camp. So the penal battalion was kind of a favor to him. True, it is very conditional.

Among the Germans, unlike the Red Army, the wound did not give rise to the termination of punishment. From the 500th battalion, they could be transferred to a regular combat unit for valor in battle or the performance of some important task... The problem was that the transfer was made according to the report of the commander, who was sent upstairs to the authorities, where it was scrupulously studied. It usually took several months to consider the case, but they still had to live in the penal battalion.

However, despite this, the 500th battalions fought very desperately. The 561st battalion defended the Sinyavinsky heights near Leningrad, which cost the Red Army enormous blood. Paradoxically, sometimes the 500th battalion performed the functions of detachments, supporting the rear of unstable divisions. More than 30 thousand servicemen passed through the German penal battalion.

There were also field penal units in the Wehrmacht, which were recruited directly in the combat zone and were immediately used.

If you have any questions - leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them.

The truth about the penalties of the great Patriotic war

During perestroika, many different myths and rumors related to the period of the Great Patriotic War were born, one of them about penal battalions, that some criminals were recruited there, that unarmed, naked and hungry fighters were driven onto German machine guns and many other conjectures and reflections , was all this really so? What were these penal units, what tasks did they perform, who served and fought in them?

Penal divisions battalions and companies appeared in the Red Army only in July 1942 after the release of the famous order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR N 227 dated July 28, 1942, the famous order "Not a step back." It was a time when mortal danger hung over our country, German troops were rushing to Stalingrad.

According to order No. 227 in the Red Army, for persons of middle and senior command and political personnel guilty of violating discipline due to cowardice or instability, from 1 to 3 penal battalions (800 people in each) were created within the front. For ordinary soldiers and junior commanders guilty of similar violations, from 5 to 10 penal companies were created within the army (from 150 to 200 people in each). Penalty units were supposed to be sent to the most difficult sectors of the front in order to give them the opportunity to atone for crimes against the Motherland with blood.

As we can see, the main difference between penal battalions is that the command staff (senior and middle commanders, later officers) served in them, and ordinary soldiers and junior commanders (later privates, sergeants and foremen) served in penal companies.

The term of punishment was calculated from a month to three, an injury received even on the first day of being in a penal unit automatically returned the soldier to the unit to the same position, in the same military rank, so that service in the penalties when the battles were going on was not even considered days. and for hours, so it was deadly and dangerous.

Penalty battalions were under the jurisdiction of the military councils of the fronts, penal companies - the military councils of the armies. For the direct conduct of hostilities, penalty units were attached to rifle divisions, brigades, and regiments.

Servicemen were sent to penal battalions by order of the division (corps, army, front - in relation to units of the corresponding subordination), and to penal companies - by order of the regiment (separate unit) for a period of 1 to 3 months. For the same period, they could send to the penal unit persons convicted by a military tribunal with the application of a postponement of the execution of the sentence until the end of the war (on the basis of Article 28-2 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR, 1926). All those who were sent to the penal units were subject to demotion to the rank and file, their awards while in the penal unit were to be transferred to the personnel department of the front (army) for storage. The commanders and commissars of battalions and regiments could be sent to a penal battalion only on the verdict of a military tribunal.

Later on September 28, 1942, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, Army Commissar 1st Rank E. Shchadenko, issued order No. 298, which announced the provisions on penal battalions and penal companies, as well as the staff of a penal battalion, a penal company and a barrage detachment.

According to these documents, the servicemen of the penal units were divided into permanent and variable composition. The permanent staff was recruited "from among the strong-willed and most distinguished commanders and political workers in battles." For the special conditions of military service, they received corresponding benefits. The permanent staff of the penal battalion included the battalion command, staff and command officers, company and platoon commanders, company and platoon political leaders, foremen, clerks and company medical instructors. In the penal company, the permanent composition included the commander and military commissar of the company, the clerk of the company, commanders, political instructors, foremen and medical instructors of platoons.

That is, the command staff of penal units consisted not of penalty boxes, but of specially selected commanders and political workers, since not every commander was able to manage such a specific unit as penal battalions and companies, where it was necessary not only to be able to command correctly, but also in to raise the decisive moment of the battle and lead the penalty box to the attack.

As for the variable composition, that is, penalties, regardless of the previous military rank, they served as privates, and could also be appointed to the posts of junior command personnel. So the former colonels and captains with rifles and machine guns in their hands clearly followed the orders of lieutenants, commanders of penal platoons and companies.

It was not only the guilty servicemen who got into the penal units. Persons convicted by judicial authorities were also sent there, but the courts and military tribunals were prohibited from sending to the penal units those convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes, banditry, robbery, robberies, recidivist thieves, persons who had a previous conviction for the crimes listed above, as well as repeatedly deserted from the Red Army. In other categories of cases, when deciding on the postponement of the execution of the sentence with the transfer of the convicted person to the active army, the courts and military tribunals, when making a decision, took into account the personality of the convicted person, the nature of the crime committed and other circumstances of the case. Not everyone was given such an opportunity as to atone for their guilt with blood at the front.

A year later, already in 1943, another type of penal units appeared in the Red Army, these are the so-called separate assault rifle battalions, for some reason we know much less about them. So on August 1, 1943, the order of the People's Commissar of Defense No.Org / 2/1348 "On the formation of separate assault rifle battalions" was issued, which prescribed: in partisan detachments, with arms in hand, to prove their loyalty to the Motherland "These penal units were formed only from the contingents of commanding officers held in special camps of the NKVD. At the beginning, 4 such assault battalions of 927 people each were formed. The assault battalions were intended for use in the most active sectors of the front. The period of stay of personnel in individual assault rifle battalions was established for two months of participation in battles, either until the award was awarded for their valor in battle or until the first injury, after which personnel, with good qualifications, could be assigned to the field troops for the corresponding positions of command and control. commanding staff ". Subsequently, the formation of the assault battalions was continued. Their combat use, in principle, did not differ from penal battalions, although there were also significant features. So, unlike penalties, those who were sent to assault battalions were not convicted and deprived of their officer ranks. As strange as it sounds, the families of the personnel assigned to the battalions from the special camps of the NKVD were granted all the rights and advantages defined by law for the families of the commanding staff of the Red Army. There was another difference between assault battalions and ordinary penal battalions, so if in penal battalions (as well as in penal companies) the permanent staff occupied all positions, starting with platoon commanders, then in the assault battalions only the positions of the battalion commander and his deputy for political affairs belonged to the permanent composition , chief of staff and company commanders. The rest of the positions of the middle command personnel were occupied by the soldiers themselves from the personnel of the assault battalion. And in the assault battalions, the appointment to the positions of commanding personnel, both junior and middle, was made after a careful selection of commanders from the special contingent.

The period of stay in the assault battalion was two months (in the penal battalion - up to three months), after which the personnel were restored to their rights. In practice, this has often happened even earlier.

According to the recollections of the front-line soldiers, those who went through the penal battalions, the weapons of these units did not differ in any way from the weapons of ordinary rifle units. So, for example, the battalion consisted of three rifle companies, in which there was a light machine gun for each division of rifle platoons, the company also included a platoon of company (50 mm) mortars. There was also a company of machine gunners in the battalion, armed with PPD submachine guns, gradually replaced by more modern PPSh, and a machine-gun company, which was armed with not only the well-known easel "Maxims", but also more modern, lightweight machine guns of the Goryunov system. As part of the b-on there was also an anti-tank missile company, which was armed with multiply-charged "Simonovskie" rifles, was in the composition of the b-on and a mortar company - 82 mm mortars. The supply of ammunition was also uninterrupted, the penalty box before the offensive often threw out gas masks in order to fill the vacant bag to the limit with grenades or cartridges. The same should be said about the organization of food, all penalties were on boiler allowance, similar to any other military organization.

In total, in the Red Army from 1943 to May 1945, in some periods there were up to 65 penal battalions and up to 1037 penal companies, however, these figures cannot be considered accurate, since the number of penal battalions and companies was constantly changing, they were not permanent units, some were disbanded. others were reformed, etc.

Penal units existed in the Red Army from September 1942 to May 1945. In total, 427,910 people were sent to the penal units throughout the war. On the other hand, through the Soviet Military establishment during the war, 34 476.7 thousand people passed. It turns out that the share of servicemen who have been in penal companies and battalions is only 1.24% of the entire personnel of the Red Army.

In the course of hostilities, penal units usually performed the following tasks:

Conducting reconnaissance in force in order to identify firing points, lines and demarcation lines of enemy defense;

Breaking through enemy lines of defense to capture and hold assigned lines, strategically important heights and bridgeheads;

The assault on the enemy's defense lines in order to carry out diversionary maneuvers, to create favorable conditions for the offensive of the Red Army units in other directions;

Conducting "disturbing" positional battles, holding down enemy forces in a certain direction;

Fulfillment of combat missions as part of the rearguard to cover the Red Army units when retreating to previously prepared positions.

Since the penalties were assigned the most difficult combat missions, therefore, their losses, both in the permanent and in the variable composition of penal units, were quite high. So, in 1944, the average monthly losses of a variable composition in killed, dead, wounded and sick reached 10,506 people, permanent - 3685 people. This is 3-6 times more than the level of casualties of personnel of conventional troops in the same offensive operations.

Penalties who were wounded in battle were considered to have served their sentence, were reinstated in rank and in all rights and, upon recovery, were sent for further service in regular units, and the disabled were assigned pensions from the salary of their last position before being enrolled in the penal battalion.

The families of the deceased penalty boxers were assigned a pension on a common basis with all the families of the commanders from the salary of the last post until they were sent to the penal battalion.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, all penal units in the Red Army were disbanded, this is the story of penal battalions, the people who passed through these battalions and companies endured all the hardships, hardships and horrors of the war, while showing courage and heroism, they will forever remember their memory for this.

When writing materials were used from:

http://mbpolyakov.livejournal.com/250923.html

http://liewar.ru/content/view/133/4/

http://www1.lib.ru/MEMUARY/1939-1945/PEHOTA/pylcin.txt_with-big pictures.html

Conversation between the chairman of the St. Petersburg Historical Club, Professor Andrei Leonidovich Vassoevich, with Major General Alexander Vasilyevich Pyltsyn about penal battalions during the Great Patriotic War.

Leading: Today we will touch upon a problem that for many years it was not customary to talk about. This is the problem of penal battalions in the history of the Great Patriotic War. It's not a secret for anyone, for those who remember the so-called stagnant era, that for many years it was not blessed to commemorate penal battalions on television and even in newspaper and magazine articles. This was a figure of silence precisely because they were free throws. And when Gorbachev's perestroika burst out a quarter of a century ago, the topic of penal battalions, on the contrary, began to gain frenzied popularity, but at the same time the essence of the phenomenon was more and more distorted with each new publication, and today a huge number of people in our country have the most perverted , the most distorted idea of ​​what penalty battalions were like during the Great Patriotic War.

Today in the studio of the St. Petersburg Historical Club, Major General Alexander Vasilyevich Pyltsyn is the commander of a platoon and company of the 8th penalty battalion of the 1st Belorussian Front.

Host: Alexander Vasilyevich, since the anniversary celebrations are behind us, today we can talk frankly with you about the problem of penal battalions during the Great Patriotic War. What, then, were the penal battalions, as structural units of the workers 'and peasants' red army, in reality?

A.V. Pyltsyn: Penalty battalions are separate officers' penalty battalions. In contrast to the penal army companies, which were established by Stalin's order No. 227 of 1942, known as the order "Not one step back." The officer penal battalions had nothing in common, except for the name, with penal companies. Penal officer battalions consisted and were staffed only by officers. I mean by the military officers. They were deprived of military officer ranks for their misdeeds, crimes, and some other violations of military discipline and constituted the bulk of the penal battalion as privates.

Host: Thank you, Alexander Vasilievich. This means that former officers, deprived of their officer ranks, but, naturally, not devoid of officer military experience, fought in penal battalions.

A.V. Pyltsyn: Firstly, they are not only former officers, but also future officers, because each of them, having redeemed his guilt with blood or a heroic deed and, perhaps, above all, a heroic deed, received all his officer rights again. It was returning to him military rank... He went to the same position in which he was before the penal battalion. Orders and medals were returned, he could receive an order or a medal in the penal battalion itself for a feat.

Host: You, Alexander Vasilyevich, had a chance to command first a platoon of such penalized officers, and then a whole company. It is very interesting to know how your own military biography developed.

A.V. Pyltsyn: A military biography was born with the beginning of the war. We finished ten grades high school two days before the start of the Great Patriotic War, and therefore, with the end of school, our military life... We all ended up in queues at the military registration and enlistment offices in order to get to the front faster, and not only we, young people, but also adults with experience. After two days, in the end, we managed to get to the military commissar, who told us: “There are no places in the military school (to which we were aiming). They are all full, go serve as soldiers. " But we were delighted: we would go to the front, as soldiers ... As they said then, as Red Army men. We ended up in military units, only not to the front, but in the same place, to Far East because relations with Japan were very tense, tense, and an army was needed in the Far East as well. The Far Eastern District began to be called Far Eastern Front, although not active, but the front. Therefore, they kept us there, and then six months later I ended up in a military school. Graduated military school at a six-month rate. He graduated excellently, and we, excellent students, who were awarded the rank of lieutenant, were left there, in the Far East, as the best trained, and all junior lieutenants who did not pass the exams as brilliantly as we did were sent to the front, and we had envy of them and regret that we were not sent.

Host: How did you get to the Soviet-German front from the Far East?

A.V. Pyltsyn: Until 1942 we waited tensely: what if Japan would attack us in Manchuria? And then, after the battle for Stalingrad, it became clear that Japan had ceased to strive for an attack, so it became possible to send troops from the Far East to the front. We wrote a report every week: "I want to go to the front." We were punished for this, they say, we need to stay here too, here is also a front. We say, "Inoperative." In response to us: "So tomorrow he may turn out to be so effective that you yourself will not envy." In short, we got to the front.

Host: From your story, it is clear that you not only didn’t go wrong during your service in the Far East, but were generally an exemplary officer who graduated with honors from a military school. How did it happen that your further military fate was connected with penal battalions?

A.V. Pyltsyn: By order of Stalin "Not a step back" penal battalions were formed. But the regulation on penal battalions, developed by General of the Army Zhukov, then approved by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in this rank, it was written that the command staff in penal units and, in particular, penal battalions were selected from among experienced military officers. Many were taken with those who really had combat experience. Since I still had no combat experience, but only served in the Far East, apparently, my Far Eastern training was taken into account, and I was born a Far East and a descendant of Siberians. And my height was decent, apparently appearance I have matched. I liked the one who selected: "You will go to our penal battalion, lieutenant." At first I was taken aback: for what in the penal battalion? I didn't know, but understood that only the guilty are taken to the penal battalion. He says: "You will be in command of the penalties, help them to atone for their guilt before the Motherland." This is how I commanded them.

Host: Then I have a question generated by my scientific specialty. After all, you were a young lieutenant with no combat experience, and you were offered to command officers who went through fire and water. It is immeasurably difficult, because no one glorified the penalty box. After all, probably, it was also not easy to subordinate people to their will, some of whom were, probably, both captains and majors ...

A.V. Pyltsyn: And even colonels ...

Host: Tell us how this difficult work began.

A.V. Pyltsyn: It began with the fact that I myself thought: how can I command, I, a young lieutenant, I am only twenty years old? I thought, well, I can still command a junior lieutenant, or I can also conquer an equal to myself, so to speak. But the major, the captain, the colonel - how can I deal with them, how can I, the lieutenant, command them? Well, and then, when they brought us in, they gave us a unit, and when I got to know them, I realized that this is not at all the way it happened in my imagination, that they are criminals, criminals, and even in such military ranks ... in fact, they were not criminals, in the sense in which we are used to understanding. There was not a single unofficial officer, there were only officers. Well, imagine an officer who would have been convicted three times for theft, the same could not have been, he was not an officer then. Or an officer who would be engaged in stealing money or robbery. There were no such people. And the fact that in this "Penal Battalion" by Volodarsky, which he made, which was already boring, there are hooligans, crooks, thieves in law, and even political ... We had none of these. By the way, there were never any politicians in the penal battalions; they were not even allowed to go to the front. A large mass of people from prison were sent to the army penal companies, but mainly for minor crimes, not repeat offenders.

Lead: Alexander Vasilyevich, so, under your command, as a platoon commander, and then, as a company commander, there were officers who had fined. And what were these offenses? It is clear that the Stalinist officer and criminality were incompatible things. But, nevertheless, at that time they were punished very severely for a number of offenses. Using the example of two or three cases, how did these officers end up in the penal battalion, what were they guilty of?

A.V. Pyltsyn: I must say that in wartime the laws are very strict. And if in peacetime an officer could receive a guardhouse for several days, perhaps a reprimand, a remark, then in wartime everything was punished severely. Therefore, many ended up in the penal battalion: some by sentence, others by order of the commander, because division commanders and above were given the right to send without trial for cowardice, for treason, for some other violations of military discipline during the war. And there were also those who committed any crime. For example, one officer, being wounded, ended up in a hospital and found himself close to his place of residence. He wrote a letter to his wife: "I am in the hospital, seriously wounded, please come to me at least to visit." And suddenly he gets an answer from her: "I can't, I have such circumstances here that I can't come." The man suspected that something was wrong, escaped from the hospital after some time, came home unexpectedly and found his wife with his "circumstance", and killed both. For murder he was sentenced to ten years, and ten years were commuted to three months in a penal battalion. If eight years, then, respectively, two months were given, five years - one month of the penal battalion. During this time, in the penal battalion, he must show himself in such a way as to atone for his guilt before the Motherland and get his officer rank again. The second example: there was such a commander for the repair of ship radio stations, he knew German well, for which he got. It turns out that when the radio station was being repaired, including (checking the frequency ranges), he came across Goebbels' speech in German, and said to the others: "Oh, guys, Goebbels is chatting!" - They asked: "What is he talking about there?" Well, he started translating because he knew German well. And the next day, because he contributed to the enemy propaganda, he was sent to a penal battalion.

Leading: Yes, this, of course, is such a crime, already with an ideological connotation. Although I do not think that neither in 1941, nor in 1942, Dr. Joseph Goebbels was able to influence negatively the consciousness of Soviet people with his speeches.

A.V. Pyltsyn: Well, it was, more likely already in the forty-third, forty-fourth year, all the more could not.

Host: All the more so. Then Dr. Joseph Goebbels could call for total war. And the Germans in the building of the sports palace shouted “Yes! We want total war! ". And this propaganda action was focused, first of all, on the Germans, and secondly on the British, because Goebbels periodically asked: "The British assert ..." loyalty to Adolf Hitler. But, let's take another example related to the violations committed by your subordinates.

A.V. Pyltsyn: Well, I was talking about sentences. There were cases when the division commander, the corps commander could send officers to the penal battalion by their own decision. Here I had Major Rodin. He arrived in the battalion from the position of the division's reconnaissance commander. You know that the reconnaissance company is the most selected people, the most courageous and brave. He already had before that three Orders of the Battle Red Banner - the highest military order. And so he was sent to a penal company for cowardice. Well, as a major, the commander of a reconnaissance company with three military orders for the extraction of "tongues", what kind of cowardice could he show? Apparently, there was some kind of disobedience, he scolded someone with a bad word, and some zealous boss: “Oh, you disobey? Then you will be sent to the penal battalion for this. It's a pity, it's a pity, I remember him well, he died in Poland. And many of them ended their penal activities with orders and medals. And many did not atone for their guilt with blood, but atoned for by exploit. For example, when we took Rogachev in Belarus, by order of the commander of the army Gorbatov, the battalion commander was Colonel Osipov, not some commander - the penalty box himself, as they say now that, behold, the penalty box officers commanded themselves. The battalion received the task to break through the front line and operate behind enemy lines in order to disrupt communication, control of enemy troops, so that our troops from the front could go on the offensive and capture Rogachev, which happened. We fought behind enemy lines for five days, fought well, frankly. When General Gorbatov spoke in front of the battalion, he said: "If you fight well, regardless of whether you are wounded or not, we will free you all." And, indeed, when we withdrew from the battle, having completed an excellent combat mission, Commander Gorbatov, according to orders approved by the front commander Rokossovsky, reinstated 600 officers in all their rights, without injuries and without them fighting for three months. For five days they fought in such a way that they were all returned to the officer rank and thus freed from being in penal battalions.

Host: Alexander Vasilyevich, another question related to the punishments your subordinates were subjected to. You mentioned a man who received three Orders of the Battle Red Banner. These three orders were confiscated from him if he ended up in a penal battalion?

A.V. Pyltsyn: All awards, all insignia were removed, shoulder straps, or then even before their introduction, buttonholes with sleepers, all this was removed. He was a private. But, as in one of the films, it was called "A feat by sentence", it was shown that even stars were removed from caps or caps - this is not true. The asterisk belongs to the Red Army, and we are all units of the Red Army, how can you also remove an asterisk? Party cards were taken away, respectively, and then, when he returned, they all returned to him - and the party card, including, by decision of the party meeting. As a rule, the party was reinstated, and such a person was a full-fledged commander who gained experience in combat as a private. And so he is now in a completely different way, maybe he himself commanded the privates.

Host: Alexander Vasilyevich, but you, commanding a platoon and then a company, were you a party or Komsomol commander?

A.V. Pyltsyn: I was still a Komsomol member in the eighth grade, and then, when I graduated from college and became a lieutenant, I was accepted as a candidate for party membership. This was in 1943, before being sent to the front. The company commander and the battalion chief of staff gave me a recommendation. I considered this a huge trust and a great reward, because to become a member of the party at the front means to become even better, more exemplary than I was.

Host: At the same time, this is a terrible threat to life, because the Germans did not stand on ceremony with the holders of party cards.

A.V. Pyltsyn: Firstly, we had such a firm concept: the alternative to captivity is only death. We had no idea that we could be captured. I had such a case when I was seriously wounded and was afraid that I would crawl five meters: it was on the Oder, the boat was nailed to the island, and I did not know whose it was ours or in German hands. And I crawled to this island in the hope that if this would be our island, then I was already saved, and if a German appeared, I would immediately shoot myself, because it was unthinkable for me to be captured.

Host: Now I would like to know how was your first battle, when you commanded a platoon of penalties?

A.V. Pyltsyn: I did not have the first battle, since I arrived at Zhlobin, on the defensive, after the penal battalion suffered heavy losses in battles, and we, 18 people were taken away, since 18 officers, unit commanders were out of action: wounded or killed ... And so they took us there. And only then we received the first assignment from General Gorbatov to break through the front line and act behind enemy lines. And these five days - this was my first combat operation, and there I got my first command experience already in real combat conditions.

Host: And the former captains, majors and lieutenant colonels under your command, did they obey your commanding will?

A.V. Pyltsyn: Undoubtedly. They all understood perfectly well that since they got into the penal battalion as privates, they must carry out all the commands of their senior chiefs, their commanders. Therefore, I did not feel any particular difficulties in managing my platoon. At first I was a reconnaissance platoon commander, then I acted in the rear, I was put in the rearguard, which covered the rear of our battalion, in case the enemy suddenly attacked from behind. It seemed to work well, in less than a year I became a company commander.

Host: Alexander Vasilyevich, on my table, in addition to two editions of your book "Pages of the History of the Eighth Penal Battalion of the 1st Belorussian Front", there is also a box, such as the one into which DVDs are packed today. And I read for our radio listeners: film director Alexander Golubkin, "Penalty". This is a film about you. This is your military nickname. How did it happen that you, a young lieutenant, turned out to be for people who were older than you and in many ways more experienced, after all, just "penal battalions"?

A.V. Pyltsyn: Firstly, I was already a senior lieutenant, one step higher, and combat experience appeared. The fact is that we had a battalion commander, Osipov, everyone called him "dad". He was such a caring and very skillful commander that one could feel his concern for all penalties. And after this five-day raid to the rear, 600 people of the penalty box were released for the feat without shedding blood. Of course, both he and the commander Gorbatov were called "baty". Then the time came, the battalion commander was replaced for us, our "father" Osipov was promoted to the division - a big promotion, he was already a colonel at that time, and we were sent a new battalion commander, a lieutenant colonel. But somehow it turned out that he was not such a caring person as his predecessor, and no one even tried to call him "batya" even mentally. And I already had the experience gained from Osipov, who also understood what penal officers are: tomorrow he can become an officer if he remains alive, so I also had a desire to save lives as much as possible. And if the penalty box showed himself as having accomplished a feat, I wrote a submission to the battalion commander in order to release him. But the new battalion commander did not always respond to this, he returned this penalty box to battle formations - he was not wounded yet, let him fight. The penalties did not like him, we didn’t like him, and he didn’t favor us. But me, because I showed such sympathy for this category of officers and the desire to save their lives, or because I am such a young company commander, only 21 years old, was taken and named "penal battalion". At first, when I found out that they call me that (the platoon commander reported to me), I was at first taken aback, and then, I think, we should be proud of this, that I, a boy, are called that by adults both by age and by rank. And then the “fine” was somehow gradually eliminated, and I was just a “baty”. I even let go of the sideburns at that time in order to seem older, somehow correspond ...

Host: Alexander Vasilievich, you were wounded and, obviously, more than once ...

A.V. Pyltsyn: Yes, I got three wounds during the fighting in the penal battalion. Penalty, if he is wounded, he atoned for his guilt in blood and leaves the penal battalion. And I was returning to this battalion again after being wounded. Not because I am obliged, but because I want to return to these people who have entrusted their lives to me. They even taught me, because they are military officers, where I will go to such a school. I was persuaded in the hospital not to return, in one and in the other ... 21 is a young age for a commander of such a rank, maybe there was youthful bravado that so many military officers obey me, a boy, where I will still command such people.

Host: Probably, your fighters were really outstanding? Because they have huge commanding experience, and here they find themselves in the position of privates.

A.V. Pyltsyn: When they ask how they were raised to attack ... That some, as if, barrage detachments with machine guns, pistols were raised to attack, or, as in Volodarsky's "Penal Battalion", the battalion commander on his knees with tears begs them to rise to the attack, is all untrue. People rose because they knew that if they did not rise, they would no longer become officers, and their officer's honor was already in their blood. It was clear to them that in war they kill everywhere, not only in the penal battalion. It is difficult for each person to stand up and go on the attack, I myself know. Our penalties, as a rule, did not run in dashes to the attack - run across, lie down, then stand up again. Standing up every time is forcing yourself to overcome fear every time. Better to get up once, so don't go to bed anymore. It was difficult with these people in many cases, but they were truly officer cadres.

Leading: Alexander Vasilyevich, a huge number of people of my generation learned about penal battalions during the time of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev from the song of Vladimir Vysotsky “You better chop wood for coffins, penalty battalions are going to break through”. Do you think that Vladimir Vysotsky, as a person from the post-war period, correctly understood the situation in this song?

A.V. Pyltsyn: The concept of "penal battalions" has always been very complex, a forbidden topic, frankly speaking. We were told: "Do not spread your word about your penal battalions." We did not spread. They invited me to tell something about the war, I had to say: "Well, I had fighters - experienced, good ...". I never called them penalties, it was impossible to do that. As for Vysotsky ... Do you remember his first such phrases: "Take a walk, flaw, from a ruble and above" - ​​what are these, officers? Is the officer's penal battalion a flaw? He used rumors because there was no official concept of what penal battalions were. Someone heard something, someone thought of something. And so he also imagined that the penal battalions are flaws, criminality, those who drank vodka in civilian life, that they were forbidden to shout "hurray". All this is nonsense. Vysotsky is a talented poet, he knew how to express thoughts deeply, but in this case he simply did not know the truth and what he heard, he talentedly, frankly, portrayed in his song. His song was the first open form of mentioning penalties.

Leading: I am very grateful to you, Alexander Vasilievich. Indeed, it turns out that such a gifted person as Vladimir Vysotsky did not escape general views about the great Patriotic War... You have now twice - in 2009 and in 2010, had the pleasure of leafing through your book “Pages of the History of the Eighth Penal Battalion”, both the first and the second time the book was published in Minsk. Is it by chance that it is the Belarusians who show such an interest in your memories, or is there some regularity associated with the peculiarities of military-patriotic education in our fraternal union state?

A.V. Pyltsyn: These two editions are Belarusian, and before that there were, firstly, two editions in St. Petersburg, which were made for us by the "Knowledge" society. Then there was a publication in Moscow: the Yauza publishing house published my book, which has already been added by many materials from the archives of the Ministry of Defense. The book was called The Truth About Penal Battals. Then another publishing house, "Eksmo", released it under the title "The main book on penal battalions: a military bestseller." As soon as she was not called. And then in Belarus, I contacted the area in which we had to fight in the rear. I told the whole story there, they grabbed: "How is it, but we do not have such a book, because we are talking about our Rogachev district of the Gomel region, Brest, and we do not have such a book, only in Russia it was published." Well, I promised to make a version of the book for Belarus, and I did.

Leading:So, how many times has your book been published? How many publications are there in total?

A.V. Pyltsyn: Consider: two in St. Petersburg, three in Moscow, one book in London in English, and now it turns out in Belarus. A total of nine editions with a total circulation of about 50 thousand copies.

Leading: I sincerely congratulate you, because with the help of all publications, including the English one, you have reached the forefront of the circulations that were characteristic of the Soviet Union.

A.V. Pyltsyn: In addition, others began to rely on my book, for example, the former British ambassador to the Soviet Union. He is now engaged in the history of the Soviet country during the war, found out about my book, asked my permission to take something from it and published his book: “Moscow. 1941 year. City and people during the war. " It was published in Russian, English and three more languages. There is a mention of my book, our penal battalion, he even managed to place my portrait there. In addition, the Moscow publishing house "Yauza" has published two wonderful books on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Victory. The first one is "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Great Patriotic War", where for the first time a broad article was published on penal battalions, taking into account the data they got from my books.

Host: In fact, you are the first chronicler of the history of penal battalions in our country.

A.V. Pyltsyn: If we speak first, then the first truthful, because there was a film by Lev Danilov "Penalties", then Volodarsky's film was released, and before that his novel, also "Penalties", was released, on which the film was made. Then there was such a book "Gu ga", too, about penal companies, it seems that the penalty boxers were forbidden to shout "Hurray", so they shouted "Gu ga", some ridiculous combination of sounds - we never had such a thing. They shouted "Hurray", and "For Stalin", and "For the Motherland". To let them go to the front line, they would try to raise a platoon or company without shouting "Forward, follow me!", "For the Motherland!", "For Stalin!" Motherland and Stalin were the concepts of the most dear, the most valuable for a person, these were not just names, they were symbols of the era.

Host: Alexander Vasilyevich, then you will not mind if I include a documentary recording in our program, and we hear the voice of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief announcing victory over Nazi Germany.

A.V. Pyltsyn: Who will object? This is what we have been waiting for throughout the war.

Stalin's speech is being recorded.

Presenter: Alexander Vasilyevich, our sound engineer Anton Viktorovich Nikitin aired a fragment of Stalin's speech on May 9, 1945. Did you hear this speech then?

A.V. Pyltsyn: No, we didn’t hear that speech. But from May 8 to May 9, we expected that there should be a signal that Germany had surrendered. We sat and waited: it was already twelve in the morning, the first one in the morning. And we had a communications chief, he brought out the loudspeaker from his radio station. And suddenly they heard: everything, victory, surrender! We did not hear anything else, because such firing began, such a salute from all types of small arms, that we shot all our cartridges almost until morning. And in the afternoon our battalion commander organized a holiday at a German stadium near Berlin, and we celebrated the first Victory Day there. I even remembered that in December 1944 I wrote this poem to my mother and wife: "And in the spring, in early May, the Victory salute will thunder over the ground ...". And when this fireworks thundered, I remembered that, as a prophet, I had written specifically about spring, early May ...

Prepared the text: Marina Dymova

Penalties have one law, one end -

Koli-slash the fascist vagrant,

And if you don't catch lead in your chest -

You will catch a medal on your chest for courage

The enemy believes: we are morally weak -

Behind it, both the forest and the cities were burned.

You better chop wood for coffins -

Penalty battalions are going to break through!

Introductory part. purpose of work

This year Russia will celebrate the 65th anniversary of the victory of Soviet troops in the Great Patriotic War. Since the victory, historians have written thousands of studies on the heroic struggle of the Soviet army against the fascist invaders. However, many facts of the struggle of the Soviet people for the freedom of their homeland still remain classified as "Secret". Until recently, this topic was the history of the formation of penalty units.

All this time, penal veterans had no right to talk about their front-line past. And more recently, the former penalty boxers were able to publish their memories without fear of being harmed by the regime.

At the same time, a surge of interest in the history of penal units and, at the same time, lack of knowledge of the topic contributed to the formation of legends about penal units. Information about this side of the war is often presented with a negative emotional connotation, which is disrespectful towards veterans who served in penal units.

Attempts to invade this area of ​​the history of people who did not boil in hellish cauldrons, such as penal officers' battalions, create misconceptions about penal battalions that took their place in that history, played their (just their!) Role.

Modern researchers today have sources that can help to reconstruct a relatively objective picture of the participation of penal units in the war. Respect for those who fought in such units is an important moral imperative for today's generations to know history as it was.

The purpose of my researchis the study of the event picture of the formation and participation in the Great Patriotic War of penal units of the Soviet army, as well as debunking the myths about penal battalions and creating a real picture of the existence of these units.

Main part. Penal battalions of the Great Patriotic War.

Order number 227

Penalty units in our army began to form after leaving order number 227.

By early July 1942, the martial law of the Soviet Union was dire. German troops captured the Crimea, the Kuban, practically reached the Volga, penetrated the North Caucasus. All these factors served as the impetus for the creation of the famous Stalinist Order No. 227 “Not a step

back".

Here's what we read in it:

The enemy is throwing ever new forces to the front and, disregarding the great losses for him, climbs forward, rushes deep into the Soviet Union, seizes new areas, devastates and ravages our cities and villages, rapes, plunders and kills the Soviet population. The battles are taking place in the Voronezh region, on the Don, in the south at the gates of the North Caucasus. German invaders are striving for Stalingrad.

It follows from this that it is time to end the retreat. No step back! This should now be our main appeal. We must stubbornly, to the last drop of blood, defend every position, every meter of Soviet territory, cling to every piece of Soviet land and defend it to the last possible extent.

a) unconditionally eliminate the retreating sentiments in the troops and with an iron hand suppress the propaganda that we can and should allegedly retreat further to the east, that there will be no harm from such a retreat;

c) to form within the front from 1 to 3 (depending on the situation) penal battalions (800 people each), where to send middle and senior commanders and relevant political workers of all branches of the military, guilty of violating discipline due to cowardice or instability, and put them on more difficult sectors of the front, to give them the opportunity to atone for their crimes against the Motherland with blood.

The order was aboutthe problem of discipline and moral decay in the troops, in particular about such a category of soldiers as alarmists.

"Part of the troops of the Southern Front, following the alarmists, left Rostov and Novocherkassk without serious resistance and without an order from Moscow, covering their banners with shame ... One cannot tolerate further commanders, commissars, political workers, whose units and formations willfully leave their combat positions."

This explains the creation of penal battalions in the army.

Penal battalion (penal battalion) - a penal unit at the rank of a battalion.

Order No. 227 was read out to all branches of the Soviet Army.

Formation of penal battalions

From whom were the penal battalions formed?

In the Red Army, servicemen of the officer corps of all branches of the army, convicted of military or ordinary crimes, went there. The basis for sending a soldier to a penal military unit was a court sentence for committing a military or ordinary crime (with the exception of a crime for which the death penalty was provided as a punishment).

Penal battalions were intended for senior and middle-level commanders and political workers. The commanders and commissars of battalions and regiments could be sent to the penal battalion only by the verdict of the military tribunal of the front, the rest - simply by order of the command of the army or even the division. Private Red Army men and junior commanders were sent to the penal companies according to the regimental order without any tribunals.

Penalty companies also became "family" for the criminal elements, who expressed a desire to "wash away all their faults before the state with blood." So, in 1942-1943 alone, more than 155 thousand former convicts were sent to the front. All penalty boxers were to be demoted to the rank and file and deprived of awards while serving their sentences.

The commanding staff of penal units was appointed from among the strong-willed and most experienced commanders and political workers. Commanders received unlimited power over their subordinates. For example, the commander of a penal battalion had the authority of a division commander among his fighters and could shoot each of them on the spot for the least offense or disobedience.

As an alternative measure of punishment, it was allowed to send civilians convicted by a court and by a court verdict for committing a minor and medium-gravity ordinary crime to penal companies. Persons convicted of grave and state crimes served sentences in places of deprivation of liberty.

Recently, in the press, in the literature, the opinion has spread that persons serving sentences for serious criminal offenses were sent to penal battalions. This statement is not based on any basis, in view of the fact that, in accordance with the normative legal acts that were in force at that time, regulating the procedure for sending to penal units, the acquisition of these units by this category of persons was not provided. Likewise, thieves in law who are serving their sentences could not be sent to penal battalions

Why did you end up in the penal battalion?

For the surrender of positions without an order, the misuse of weapons, their loss ... War is a very cruel thing. But they also got it on denunciation, slander. The company commander, Captain Avdeev, after the seizure of the village, having received food for the entire company, did not return the food of the dead. We decided to arrange a commemoration for our friends, and, as they say, a “washing” of our awards. And thundered as a private in the penal battalion.

Lieutenant Commander of the Northern Fleet, checking the operation of the repaired radio, came across Goebbels' speech and, owning German, began to translate it. Someone reported, and he was accused of "contributing to enemy propaganda." There were also "entourage", some part of those who fled from captivity and did not stain themselves with cooperation with the enemy.

Here is what retired Major Amosov recalls:

I was sent to the 15th penal battalion by order of the front commander, Konev, so that even the commander of our unit did not immediately find out about it. The order read: "For negligence ..." The new identity card was simply typed on a typewriter. The mood was heavy. But, it turned out, nothing, you can live, and in the OSHB, and there people like people - and joke, and sad. I was the youngest in the penal battalion.

Aleksey Dubinin, a private soldier of the penal battalion, says:

The order to send me to the penal company was not shown or read out to me. I am a sergeant and served as an aircraft technician in the 3rd Squadron of the 16th Reserve Fighter Aviation Regiment. My Yak-7B plane crashed while landing with an instructor pilot and a young pilot in February 1944. The commission found that the disaster was the fault of the instructor, but the "switchman" was still found ...

Where were penal battalions used?

Penal battalions in battles were used, as a rule, as part of divisions and regiments in the most fortified sectors of the German defense. They also performed independent tasks: they occupied dominant heights to improve the positions of the defense, counterattacked the enemy who had wedged into our defense, conducted reconnaissance in force - broke through the enemy defense. The full battalion was rarely used

Most often they went to battle alone. Penalties usually either attacked or stormed, broke through the defenses, carried out reconnaissance in force, took the "tongue" - in a word, made daring raids on the enemy, which successfully put pressure on his psyche.

Retired captain Gudoshnikov tells about the battles of his battalion:

This was especially noticeable at the Kursk Bulge, at the very beginning of events. The Germans, advancing towards the Oboyan station, occupied the village of Berezovka on July 8. Our penalty company was ordered to take it back by storm straight from the march. It was late afternoon, we approached the copses and, shouting "Hurray!" And there turned out to be a real crowd of troops and equipment, especially tanks. Everything was in motion, a heated battle ensued, and we had to retreat. They did not take the village, but they gave the enemy a good ostrostka.

These units were beneficial to the command. On the one hand, their existence made it possible to somehow maintain the level of discipline. And on the other hand, with the help of penalty boxes and due to the "cheap" soldier's strength, it was possible to check the correctness the decision... For example, the commander was tasked with capturing this or that line. How do you know what forces the enemy has concentrated there? An order was given to the commander of the penal company to conduct reconnaissance in force at night. Nobody worried whether there would be losses in the company or not. The main thing is to prevent losses of line units. After all, the capture of strong settlements, cities was attributed not to penal units, but to linear ones.

Not a single official message of the Information Bureau has ever indicated that this or that height, the settlement was taken by the forces of a penal company or a penal battalion. This was strictly prohibited! The regiment, division, army that entered the village or city immediately after the penalty box were named. The purpose of the penal battalions was to be the first to breach the enemy and thus provide the road for those following us. We were the vehicle for the success of others.

Penalty battalions are breakthrough units that assaulted enemy defenses in the hottest sectors of the front, average monthly losses in penalty companies were 3-6 times higher than losses in conventional rifle units.

The hard life of the penal boxers forced them to rally in order to survive during the fight. As eyewitnesses testify, often getting wounded, and, consequently, forgiveness, the penalties remained to fight until the unit completed the assigned task of the command.

Many, even relatively lightly wounded, remained to fight on. They could have left legally, but did not leave. But they already had all the rights to this: they shed blood, “redeemed their guilt with blood,” but they could still fight and fought! Such cases were not isolated, and they testified not to personal interests, but to the high consciousness of these fighters. Of course, there were others when the slightest scratch was passed off as "abundantly shed blood." But here it is already a matter of conscience and military solidarity.

Thus, there was a place for the phenomenon of "front-line brotherhood" in the penal divisions as well.

“Everyone fought there decisively and courageously. Nobody left their positions. I remember then it occurred to me to compare the task of not letting the enemy through with the examples of the resilience of our Red Army near Moscow and in Stalingrad. Let, then, I said to my subordinates to the penalties, this line will be for each of you your Moscow and your Stalingrad. Maybe those words of mine sounded pompous, but I saw: they worked! Indeed, until the day when the remaining encircled group of Germans was captured, for two more days the Nazis were desperately trying to break through to the west. But both the guards and our penalties fought to the death. As near Moscow, as in Stalingrad ", - writes in his book" Penalty Kick "A.V. Pyltsyn

The attitude of the ordinary infantry units to the penal battalions was positive, while the contact of penal units with ordinary infantry units was not allowed in the interval between battles, exactly as well as relations with the civilian population. However, the common goal, the desire to fight for the freedom of their homeland, united the soldiers and officers of the Soviet army, regardless of which divisions they served in.

The attitude of officers and soldiers of the penal battalion

And yet, what was the attitude of the officers towards the penalty box?

“How were the personnel treated? The way it is supposed to treat a person living nearby. Army commander General Pukhov told me about this when I was appointed.

Service and life were organized in accordance with the regulations, political and educational work was carried out, as usual in army conditions. Reproaches to the soldiers from the commanders that they were, they say, convicted and are in the penalty area, were not allowed. They addressed in the charter: "Comrade fighter (soldier)." The food was the same as in the regular units, - says Major Tretyakov, - we did not apply any special disciplinary or other sanctions to the penalty box, except for the statutory ones.

They went into battle only by order, without threats and violence, without the notorious detachments from behind, I have not seen them anywhere, although they say they were. I often forgot that I was commanding an unusual unit. I always went into battle together with penalties, often right in battle formations, this gave them more confidence (“the commander is with us”), decisiveness, and me - hope for success. "

Barrage detachments detained deserters and a suspicious element in the rear of the front, and stopped retreating troops. In a critical situation, they often fought the Germans themselves, and when the military situation changed in our favor, they began to perform the functions of commandant companies.

Carrying out its direct tasks, the detachment could open fire over the heads of fleeing units or shoot cowards and alarmists in front of the formation - but certainly on an individual basis. However, none of the researchers has yet managed to find in the archives a single fact that would confirm that the barrage detachments fired to kill their troops.

“As a rule, there were friendly relations between the commanders and subordinates of the penal battalions. There could be no other attitude in those conditions. There was a harsh law: during a battle, you must support your comrade with fire, when he performs a dash, and then he - you. If you don’t do this, you will not have life in the company, ”recalls Private Alexei Dubinin.

A.V. Pyltsyn in his book "Penalty Kick" writes:

“Many at first considered themselves to be suicide bombers, especially those who came from prisons by the end of the war. But when they saw that the command staff was exerting all their strength, with might and main tried to teach them the techniques of infantry combat, the use of weapons (especially pilots, tankmen, medics, quartermasters), they gradually ceased to feel like cannon fodder, began to understand that not only blood, but they can also redeem their guilt, voluntary or involuntary, by military merit. "

“Were there death row prisoners? I think yes! When out of 1200 people in the battalion remained in the ranks of 48 - is that not enough? And here's another fact. During one of the attacks, we came under heavy fire from six-barreled mortars, and some of the soldiers tried to retreat and hide in the forest. They were detained by a detachment and shot. It was a great happiness to survive the penalty box, ”recalls retired senior lieutenant Ivan Korzhik.

The penalties were not rewarded generously. Before crossing the Oder, one sergeant from a neighboring battalion went on a boat to reconnaissance and returned - presented to the rank of Hero. Our penalty boxes on heavy, from dry wood boats, under a hail of fire, got over to the enemy shore. With small forces, they seized the bridgehead with battle, held it with their last strength, and only one company commander was awarded. Yes, at his insistence, one penalty box, a former pilot, Captain Ridiculous, was presented for an award for an unparalleled feat. Posthumously. But did this award take place? Do not know...

The vast majority of penalty boxers, despite the blows of fate, have retained a human sense of military friendship and gain, a true sense of devotion to the Motherland. How many cases were there when in the most tense conditions those who washed away the guilt with their blood, whatever it may be, did not leave the battlefield. I think this is heroism. And those who walked hand-to-hand and smashed the heads of the hated Fritzes with a sapper shovel - isn't that heroism?

I remember now one Uzbek heroic build, who, during hand-to-hand combat, grabbed his almost one and a half pound anti-tank rifle by the end of the barrel and wielded it like a heroic club. He knocked out two tanks with well-aimed fire. Thus, ensuring our success, and ourselves - the Order of the Patriotic War (for each knocked out tank relied on such an award) and the restoration of their officer rank. When I wanted to send him to the headquarters, he refused, saying even with some resentment: "To whom will I leave my gun?" What feeling can I have for such people? Only tenderness. " The writer served as an ordinary officer in the penal battalion.

Rehabilitation

How did the rehabilitation of the soldiers take place?

Here is what the retired captain Gudoshnikov tells about this:

“After one of the battles I was summoned by a company commander and ordered to draw up a so-called reinforcement sheet for all penalties, in which all the soldier's ammunition was put down against each surname. “We will rehabilitate the guys and transfer them to the replenishment of a neighboring regiment,” the company commander explained to me. - They fought well. Some of them stayed with us longer than they should. Consider that everyone has redeemed their guilt. Explain this to them. You cannot collect all in one place, you cannot build, and I where several at once, where one by one announced the rehabilitation. To my surprise, I saw and heard neither a sigh of relief, nor a joyful exclamation, nor any other emotions. Some of my platoon even regretted that we would have to leave ... Then commanders from a neighboring regiment came to our location, and we handed over the soldiers to them right at the combat positions. "

Only those penalty boxers who redeemed their guilt directly in battle were underway. There was not a single case to rehabilitate those who did not participate in the battles.

Major Amosov recalls: The restoration of rights was not delayed. Already in the medical battalion, when filling out the medical card, they indicated my previous military rank - lieutenant and the unit from which I arrived at the penal battalion.

Captain Tretyakov: Not only the wounded could have been rehabilitated ahead of time. By order of our commander, such an order was introduced. A definite combat mission was set in the offensive. When performing it, as soon as they left the battle, a military tribunal was summoned from the army, he removed the criminal record and handed over a certificate of this. As for the awards upon serving the term, we did not have that. We tried to present to them, but we were told: "The penalty boxer expiates his guilt, for what to reward him."

Conclusion

Penal battalions remained in action until the surrender of Germany.

Memories of soldiers and officers of penal units are the most important historical sources, working with which you can prepare a scientific study, as a result of which you can come to the following conclusions:

The events that unfolded in the summer of 1942 had a catastrophic effect on the defense capability of the USSR, which required decisive measures on the part of the Soviet command. Order number 227 was the decisive measure that stopped the retreat Soviet troops... Also, order number 227 determined the creation of penal units - special military units consisting of guilty soldiers and officers of the Red Army.

Naturally, special relations among the personnel were formed in penal units. However, an analysis of the memories showed that, despite the criticality of the situation in which the penalty boxers were, they were able to maintain normal and strong relationships, without which it would have been impossible to stay alive in the war. The attitude of the superiors to their subordinates was almost always respectful, and the commanders of the penal battalions managed to rally the entire “difficult” contingent of penal officers around them.

During the battle, the penalty boxers performed their combat missions with flying colors, and always with heavy losses. Penalty companies and battalions were thrown into the most difficult sectors of the front, but not barrage detachments, and the morale of soldiers and officers ensured their difficult, unobtrusive and, at the same time, very important victories. However, it is also obvious that the attitude of the high command to the penal units was often extremely negative, and society was forced to share their opinion. However, this does not apply to the entire Soviet command.

Thus, the opened historical facts oblige us to reconsider our attitude to the role forgotten after the victory of penal units in the Great Patriotic War, paying tribute to the veterans of penal companies and battalions of the Soviet army who did not receive awards and did not know honors.

Literature

1. A.V. Pyltsin. Free kick. SPb .: Knowledge IVESEP, 2003
2. A.V. Pyltsin. The Truth About Penal Battals, M6 Eksmo, 2008
3. Yu.V. Rubtsov. Penalties of the Great Patriotic War), Moscow: Veche, 2007
4. M. Suknev. Notes of the commander of the penal battalion. Memories of the battalion commander. 1941-1945, Moscow 6 Tsentropoligraf, 2006
5. Wikipedia. Penalty military units.
6. Newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" from 28.04.2005. Article by Inna Rudenko "Penal battalion: what it was not in the cinema"
7. Order No. 227
8. Photos of the war years

Until now, despite the many publications about penalties of the Great Patriotic War and a clear interest in this topic, many amateurs military history do not know about the fundamental difference between penal battalions of the Great Patriotic War and separate (army) penal companies.

Alexander Pyltsyn, platoon commander, then the company of the 8th separate penal battalion of the 1st Belorussian Front, the author of the book of memoirs "Penalty strike, or how an officer's penal battalion reached Berlin" battalions and army penal companies ”.

At the same time, in the memoirs of a real, and not a literary and cinematic veteran, about the recruitment of the battalion, it is constantly emphasized that its "variable composition" consists exclusively of different categories of punished officers. Variable composition - these are those who served their sentences in the penal division. Let's turn to the main document on the "penalty" topic.

In the famous order of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 227 of July 28, 1942, it is very clearly stated:

“The Supreme High Command of the Red Army orders:

1. The military councils of the fronts and, above all, the commanders of the fronts:
c) to form within the front from one to three (depending on the situation) penal battalions (800 people each), where to send middle and senior commanders and relevant political workers of all branches of the military, guilty of violating discipline due to cowardice or instability, and put them on more difficult sectors of the front, to give them the opportunity to atone for their crimes against the Motherland with blood.

2. Military councils of armies and, above all, commanders of armies:
c) form within the army from five to ten (depending on the situation) penal companies (from 150 to 200 people in each), where to send ordinary soldiers and junior commanders guilty of violating discipline due to cowardice or instability, and put them in difficult areas army to give them the opportunity to atone for their crimes against the Motherland with blood ... ”.

Each combined-arms army had three penal companies. The air and tank armies did not have their own penal units and sent their penalties to the combined arms. There were two penal companies at the same time on the front line. In them from neighboring regiments daily replenishment arrived - one or two people. Any regiment commander had the right to send a soldier or sergeant to the penal company by his order. In addition, prisoners arrived in the penal companies, who were allowed to "wash off the guilt with blood."

* * *

Perhaps the most detailed description of what the separate penal companies were and how they fundamentally differed from penal battalions was written by Efim Holbraikh, who was the deputy commander of a separate army penal company of the 51st Army in 1944-1945.

According to him, the reason for sending to the penal company from the front-line units could be “failure to comply with the order, manifestation of cowardice in battle, insult to the senior commander, fight, theft, looting, AWOL, or maybe just the regiment’s PZh didn’t trample, and so on and so forth.”

The company consisted of eight officers and four non-commissioned officers. After a troop train with prisoners arrived from the rear, about four hundred people, the company in terms of personnel exceeded the usual rifle battalion. The prisoners were accompanied by escort troops, who handed them over according to the act to the officers of the "permanent composition" of the penal company.

Of course, the “variable composition” of a separate penal company was very different from the “variable composition” of penal battalions, which consisted of officers who had fined. In some companies, the morale was much worse than in battalions:

“What a people. There are bandits, and recidivist criminals, and those hiding from the draft, and deserters, and just thieves. It happened that unjustly victims also arrived from the rear. Being late for work more than twenty minutes was considered absenteeism, they were tried for absenteeism, and the term could be replaced by a penal company. A teenager arrived with one of the echelons, almost a boy, at least he seemed like that. On the way, the criminals took away his rations, he was so weak that he could not get out of the car on his own. They sent him to the kitchen. "

It was possible to get into the penal company for any reason. For example, this is what Arkady Vasilyevich Maryevsky recalls, who later fought in tank troops... Having been drafted into the army and awaiting the formation of an infantry unit, he stood guard near the warehouse. The chief of the guard, senior sergeant Naumkin, approached him. Behind him is a sleigh with two horses in harness. After talking a little with the guard, Naumkin took the rifle from him, unlocked the bayonet, went to the warehouse door and tore off the lock. Then he loaded the groceries and short fur coats intended for the soldiers onto the cart and left.

Of course, Maryevsky had to prevent this, but he was only seventeen years old, and the chief of the guard was doing all this. So the soldier simply remained at his post and was silent. He remained silent the next day, when Naumkin, who was an assistant to the platoon commander, treated him to breadcrumbs and bacon. It simply did not occur to the young Red Army soldier that he had become an accomplice in theft.

But the theft was quickly revealed - the storekeepers made a fuss, and Naumkin, and with him the unlucky guard, was arrested. Without any tribunal, the special department sentenced them to death, especially since Maryevsky did not deny it.

They would be in the next world, if not for the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Bubnov. It was a few days before the unit was sent to the front and, apparently, he agreed with the NKVD workers to replace the execution with a referral to a penal company. That's how Maryevsky got into the penalty boxes. He went to the front together with everyone, only penalty boxes, of which there were a lot, were traveling in a separate carriage.

* * *

This is how he recalled his first and the last battle in the penalty company: “I don't know how it happened ... I only remember that before the first attack we were given ten rounds for a rifle. And then I stand, click the bolt, shoot, and I already have no cartridges. Suddenly a soldier slaps me on the shoulder: "Enough, the German has already escaped." Around the corpses of our penalty box, and I am alive. I think: "How so?" I don’t understand anything, as if I’m mad. After the battle, they wrote a performance, removed my criminal record and even awarded me a medal "For Courage", sending me to their unit. "

It is striking how incomparable were the crimes and misdemeanors for which one could end up in penalty boxes. There is evidence from front-line soldiers that even for the murder of an officer, they could not be shot, but sent to a penal company.

Here is what, for example, the former artilleryman Vsevolod Ivanovich Olimpiev recalls. In 1944, he went to the front with a group of soldiers who had recovered from wounds: “I remember a young intelligent-looking guy with a guitar who sang the song of the penalties in a pleasant voice.

On the dusty road, the penalty company is walking tired ...
Faces are furrowed, eyebrows are stern,
only forward and forward,
redemption awaits us ...
Who is there, who is there whimpering,
I remembered my wife or mother -
you are not alone, but a whole company of us,
and everyone is ready to die ...

We started talking. I asked why he had ended up in a penal company. It turns out, being a radio operator on one of the ships Black Sea Fleet, he was on leave in Novorossiysk and unfortunately caught the eye of the city commandant. I didn't quite understand what happened between them, but the meeting ended with the young Red Navy man shooting the officer with a pistol. "

* * *

The fundamental difference in the moral stability and combat effectiveness of "officer" penal battalions and semi-criminal penal companies was very clearly formulated by Efim Golbraikh:

In penal battalions - this cannot be. Everything is at stake here. These officers are not stripped of ranks and in most cases have no criminal record. If they are injured or have served their term, they are entitled to their previous positions. "

Indeed, Alexander Pyltsyn did not have to drive his "variable" officer contingent into the attack with shots. The penalty box is not the same for the penalty box.

Holbraich explains this difference in behavior in the same way as his colleague Pyltsyn - in penal battalions, officers who have fined are serving their sentences, hoping to deserve a return to their former positions in battle.

* * *

In addition, there were noticeable differences in the armament of the "variable composition" of penal battalions and army penal companies.

Pyltsyn writes: “I would like to draw the attention of the reader to the fact that our battalion was constantly replenished with new weapons in sufficient quantity. We already had new PPSh submachine guns, which were not yet widely used in the troops, instead of PPD. We also received new anti-tank rifles PTR-S (i.e., Simonovskie) with a five-round magazine. In general, we have never experienced a shortage of weapons. I am talking about this because often in post-war publications it was asserted that penalty boxers were driven into battle without weapons or were given one rifle for 5-6 people, and everyone who wanted to arm himself wished the soonest death of the one who got the weapon. In army penal companies, when their number sometimes exceeded a thousand people, as I was told many years after the war, officer Mikhailov Vladimir Grigorievich (unfortunately, now deceased), then commander of such a company in the 64th Army, there were cases when it was just did not have time to bring up the required amount of weapons, and then, if there was no time left for additional equipment before completing an urgently posed combat mission, some were given rifles, and others were given bayonets from them. I testify: this did not apply in any way to the officers' penal battalions. There were always enough weapons, including the most modern, ”.

That is, the penal battalions, with their "variable composition" of officers, were well armed, but the army penal companies could send in the attack in the above-described variant ...

Maxim Kustov