Order No. 227 () was an order issued on 28 July 1942 by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

, who was acting as the People's Commissar of Defence. It is known for its line "Not a step back!" (, ''Ni shagu nazad!''), which became the primary slogan of the

Soviet press Printed media in the Soviet Union, i.e., newspapers, magazines and journals, were under strict control of the Communist Party and the Soviet state. The desire to disseminate propaganda is believed to have been the driving force behind the creatio ...

in summer 1942. The order established that each

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

must create one to three

penal battalion Penal military units, including penal battalions, penal companies, etc., are military formations consisting of convicts mobilized for military service. Such formations may contain soldiers convicted of offenses under military law, persons enrolled ...

s ('' Shtrafbats''), which were sent to the most dangerous sections of the front lines. From 1942 to 1945, a total of 422,700

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

personnel were sentenced to penal battalions as a result of

courts-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

. The order also directed that each

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

must create " blocking detachments" at the rear that would shoot "panic-mongers and cowards". In the first three months, blocking detachments shot 1,000 penal troops and sent 24,000 to penal battalions. By October 1942, the idea of regular blocking detachments was quietly dropped. Intended to galvanise the morale of the hard-pressed Red Army and emphasize patriotism, it had a generally detrimental effect and was not consistently implemented by commanders who viewed diverting troops to create blocking detachments as a waste of manpower. On 29 October 1944, blocking detachments were disbanded by Stalin's order No. 349 citing the changed situation at the front.

History

During the first part of the war on the Eastern Front, the Soviets suffered heavy losses along with mass retreat and desertion.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

released order No. 227 intending to re-establish discipline in the

in the battle against the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

and

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

: It goes on to state that The Supreme General Headquarters of the Red Army commands:

Effect

Marshal of the Soviet Union,

Aleksandr Vasilevsky Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky ( ru , Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Василе́вский) (30 September 1895 – 5 December 1977) was a Soviet career-officer in the Red Army who attained the rank of Marshal of the Soviet ...

, wrote: "...Order N 227 is one of the most powerful documents of the war years due to its patriotic and emotional content... the document was motivated by rough and dark times... while reading it we were thinking to ourselves if we were doing everything it takes to win the battle." No commander had the right to retreat without an order. Anyone who did so was subject to a

military tribunal Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bod ...

of the corresponding seniority level. Order No. 227 established that each

must create one to three

s (russian: штрафной батальон, translit=shtrafnoy batalyon, links=no, lit=penalty battalion, commonly known as russian: штрафбат, translit= shtrafbat, links=no, label=none) of up to 800 middle-ranking commanders and high-ranking commanders accused of disciplinary problems. Penal battalions were sent to the most dangerous sections of the front lines. Each front had to create penal

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

for privates and NCOs. By the end of 1942 there were 24,993 troops serving in penal battalions, which increased to 177,694 in 1943. The number decreased over the next two years to 143,457 and 81,766 soldiers in 1944 and 1945, respectively. The total of Red Army personnel sentenced by courts-martial was 994,300, with 422,700 assigned to penal battalions and 436,600 imprisoned after sentencing. Not included are 212,400 deserters, who were not found and escaped the custody of the military districts. The order also directed that each

must create " blocking detachments" (russian: заградительный отряд, translit=zagraditelny otryad, abbreviated to russian: заградотряд, translit=zagradotryad, label=none) at the rear that would shoot "panic-mongers and cowards". Both measures were cited in the preamble of the order as having been successfully used by the Germans during their winter retreat. In the first three months, blocking detachments shot 1,000 penal troops and sent 24,000 to penal battalions. According to an internal list of the NKVD from October 1942, 15,649 soldiers were picked up by the restricted forces who fled the front line on the Stalingrad Front from August 1, 1942 to October 15, 1942. Of these, 244 soldiers were imprisoned, 278 were shot, 218 were sent to penal companies, 42 to penal battalions and 14,833 to return to their units. ill, Alexander: The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, 1941–45. A documentary reader. Abingdon 2009, p. 103./ref> By October 1942, the idea of regular blocking detachments was quietly dropped. Intended to galvanise the morale of the hard-pressed Red Army and emphasize patriotism, it had a generally detrimental effect and was not consistently implemented by commanders who viewed diverting troops to create blocking detachments as a waste of manpower. On 29 October 1944, blocking detachments were disbanded by order No. 349 of the People's Commissar of Defence (

) citing the changed situation at the front. Order 227 page 1.jpg, Page 1 Order 227 page 2.jpg, P. 2 Order 227 page 3.jpg, P. 3 Order 227 page 4.jpg, P. 4 Order 227 page 5.jpg, P. 5 Order 227 page 6.jpg, P. 6 Order 227 page 7.jpg, P. 7

Notes

References

* Sellas, Anthony (1992). ''The Value of Human Life in Soviet Warfare'', New York: Routledge. * History Channel, Monday 24 Nov 2008 @ 1400hr Eastern Time.

History

Effect

See also

Notes

References

Further reading