The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the ''

Stavka The ''Stavka'' (Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff ...

'' Reserve or RVGK ( ru , РВГК)) comprises reserve military formations and units; the Stavka Reserve acted as the principal

military reserve A military reserve, active reserve, reserve formation, or simply reserve, is a group of military personnel or units that is initially not committed to a battle by its commander, so that it remains available to address unforeseen situations or ex ...

of the Soviet

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

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and the RVGK now operate as part of the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

under the control of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces ( ru , Верховный главнокомандующий) - the President of the Russian Federation.

History

World War II

Forces from the Reserve were assigned by the ''

'' (Supreme High Command) to individual '' fronts'' (army groups) that were conducting major operations. These formations were designed to support any forms of operations but especially penetrations and exploitations in accordance with the Soviet deep battle doctrine. Beginning in 1943, the formations and units in the Reserve ranged from battalions to whole armies (e.g. the Reserve Armies), with an emphasis on artillery and mechanised formations, and were capable of large-scale, independent operations. For example, as of April 1943, an artillery penetration corps contained as many as 1,500 gun tubes and rocket launchers each. Tank armies, which also emerged in 1943, included one or two tank corps and one mechanised corps, plus supporting units. These mechanised formations were capable of conducting operational exploitations of up to 500 kilometers.

Modern period

Most of the military units of the Airborne Forces, which are part of the Reserve of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, are also guards. With reference to the Russian airborne troops, as the reserve of the Supreme Commander, officially used two largely equivalent term: reserves and fund - the latter reflects an instrumental status of forces among a set of other measures of military and non-military nature for the implementation of state power at the disposal of the supreme leader of the country. The airborne troops have always been the reserve of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The most important, but not the only factor that makes the Airborne being a reserve force of the Supreme Commander, is their mobility - to ensure the defense of the territory of such a large scale country as Russia, is only possible with the use of airborne compounds, which at any time could be parachuted to any theater of operations. To accomplish this task, the Airborne Forces are the most suitable, which de facto fulfill the function of rapid reaction forces.

History

World War II

Modern period

See also

Citations

References

Further reading