Very controversial. Over time, historians cannot agree on when the army itself began to form, who the Vlasovites were and what role they played during the war years. In addition to the fact that the very formation of soldiers is considered, on the one hand, patriotic, and on the other, treacherous, there is still no exact data on when exactly Vlasov and his fighters entered the battle. But first things first.

Who is he?

Vlasov Andrey Andreevich was a famous political and military figure. He started out on the side of the USSR. He took part in the battle for Moscow. But in 1942 he was captured by the Germans. Without hesitation, Vlasov decided to go over to Hitler's side and began to cooperate against the USSR.

Vlasov remains a controversial figure to this day. Until now, historians are divided into two camps: some are trying to justify the actions of a military leader, others - to condemn. Vlasov's supporters shout furiously about his patriotism. Those who joined the ROA were and remain true patriots of their country, but not of their government.

Opponents have long decided for themselves who the Vlasovites are. They are sure that since their boss and they themselves joined the Nazis, they were, are and will remain traitors and collaborators. In addition, patriotism, according to opponents, is just a cover. In fact, the Vlasovites went over to Hitler's side only in the name of saving their lives. Moreover, they did not become respected people there. The Nazis used them for propaganda purposes.

Formation

For the first time, it was Andrei Andreevich Vlasov who spoke about the formation of the ROA. In 1942, he and Baersky created the "Smolensk Declaration", which was a kind of "helping hand" for the German command. The document dealt with a proposal to establish an army that would fight against communism on Russian territory. The Third Reich was wise. The Germans decided to report this document to the media in order to create a resonance and a wave of discussion.

Of course, this step was aimed primarily at propaganda. Nevertheless, the soldiers who were part of the German army began to call themselves the military of the ROA. In fact, this was permissible, theoretically the army existed only on paper.

Not Vlasovites

Despite the fact that already in 1943, volunteers began to form into the Russian Liberation Army, it was too early to talk about who the Vlasovites were. The German command fed Vlasov with "breakfasts", and in the meantime gathered everyone in the ROA.

At the time of 1941, the project included more than 200 thousand volunteers, but then Hitler did not yet know about such an amount of help. Over time, the famous "Xavi" (Hilfswillige - "willing to help") began to appear. At first, the Germans called them “our Ivans”. These people worked as security guards, cooks, grooms, drivers, loaders, etc.

If in 1942 a little more than 200 thousand javis were included, then by the end of the year there were almost a million "traitors" and prisoners. Over time, Russian soldiers fought in the elite divisions of the SS troops.

RONA (RNNA)

In parallel with the Hawi, another so-called army is being formed - the Russian People's Liberation Army (RONA). At that time, one could hear about Vlasov, thanks to the battle for Moscow. Despite the fact that RONA consisted of only 500 soldiers, it was a defense for the city. It ceased to exist after the death of its founder Ivan Voskoboinikov.

In parallel, the Russian National People's Army (RNNA) was created in Belarus. She was an exact copy of RON. Its founder was Gil-Rodionov. He served in the detachment until 1943, and after Gil-Rodionov returned to Soviet power, the Germans disbanded the RNNA.

In addition to these "Nevlasovites", there were also legions that were famous among the Germans and were held in high esteem. And also the Cossacks, who fought for the formation of their own state. The Nazis sympathized with them even more and considered them not Slavs, but Goths.

Inception

Now directly about who the Vlasovites were during the war. As we already remember, Vlasov was captured and from there began active cooperation with the Third Reich. He proposed to create an army in order for Russia to become independent. Naturally, this did not suit the Germans. Therefore, they did not allow Vlasov to fully implement their projects.

But the Nazis decided to play on the name of the military leader. They urged the soldiers of the Red Army to betray the USSR, to enroll in the ROA, which they did not plan to create. All this was done on behalf of Vlasov. Since 1943, the Nazis began to let the ROA soldiers show themselves more.

Perhaps this is how the flag of the Vlasovites appeared. The Germans allowed the Russians to use the sleeve patches. They looked like Although many soldiers tried to use the white-blue-red banner, the Germans did not allow it. The rest of the volunteers, of other nationalities, often used stripes in the form of national flags.

When the soldiers had stripes with the St. Andrew's flag and the inscription ROA, Vlasov was still far from the command. Therefore, this period can hardly be called "Vlasov".

Phenomenon

In 1944, when the Third Reich began to guess that a lightning-fast war did not work out, and at the front, their affairs were completely deplorable, it was decided to return to Vlasov. In 1944, SS Reichsfuehrer Himmler discussed with Soviet commander the question of the formation of the army. Then everyone already understood who the Vlasovites were.

Despite the fact that Himmler promised to form ten Russian divisions, the Reichsfuehrer later changed his mind and agreed to only three.

Organization

The Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia was formed only in 1944 in Prague. It is then that the practical organization of the ROA begins. The army had its own command and all branches of the army. Vlasov was both the chairman of the Committee and the commander-in-chief who, in turn, both on paper and in practice, were an independent Russian national army.

The ROA was connected with the Germans by allied relations. Although the Third Reich was also involved in financing. The money that the Germans gave out was credit and had to be paid as far as possible.

Vlasov's thoughts

Vlasov set himself a different task. He hoped that his organization would become as strong as possible. He foresaw the defeat of the Nazis and understood that after that he would have to represent the "third party" in the conflict between the West and the USSR. The Vlasovites had to implement their political plans with the support of Britain and the United States. Only at the beginning of 1945, the ROA was officially presented as the armed forces of the allied power. A month later, the fighters were able to get their own sleeve insignia, and on the cap - the ROA badge.

Baptism of fire

Even then, they began to understand who the Vlasovites were. During the war years, they had to work hard. In general, the army took part in only two battles. And the first happened against Soviet troops, and the second - against the Third Reich.

On February 9, the ROA first entered combat positions. Actions took place in the Oder area. ROA showed itself well, and the German command highly appreciated its actions. She was able to occupy Neulevin, the southern part of Karlsbiese and Kerstenbruch. On March 20, the ROA was supposed to seize and equip a bridgehead, as well as be responsible for the passage of ships along the Oder. The actions of the army were more or less successful.

Already at the end of March 1945, the ROA decided to gather "in a heap" and unite with the Cossack Cavalry Corps. This was done in order to show the whole world their power and potential. Then the West was rather cautious about the Vlasovites. They didn't really like their methods and goals.

The ROA also had escape routes. The command hoped to reunite with the Yugoslav troops or break into the Ukrainian insurgent army. When the leadership realized the inevitable defeat of the Germans, it was decided to independently go west to surrender there to the Allies. Later it became known that Himmler wrote about the physical elimination of the leadership of the Committee. This was the first reason for the ROA's escape from under the wing of the Third Reich.

The last event that remains in history was the Prague Uprising. Parts of the ROA reached Prague and rebelled against Germany along with the partisans. Thus, they managed to liberate the capital even before the arrival of the Red Army.

Education

Throughout history, there was only one school that trained soldiers in the ROA - Dabendorf. For all the time, 5 thousand people were released - this is 12 issues. The lectures were based on harsh criticism of the existing system in the USSR. The main focus was precisely the ideological component. It was necessary to re-educate the captured soldiers and raise convinced opponents of Stalin.

Real Vlasovites were released from here. The photo of the school's badge proves that it was an organization with clear goals and ideas. The school did not last long. At the end of February, she had to be evacuated to Gishubel. It ceased to exist in April.

Controversy

The main dispute is what was the flag of the Vlasovites. Many people to this day argue that it is the current state flag of Russia that is the banner of the "traitors" and followers of Vlasov. In fact, it is so. Some believed that the banner of the Vlasovites was with the St.Andrew's Cross, some individual collaborators used the modern tricolor of the Russian Federation. The latter fact was confirmed even by video and photography.

Also, questions began to be asked about other attributes. It turns out that the awards of the Vlasovites in one way or another relate to the currently famous dispute about george ribbon... And here it is worth explaining. The fact is that the ribbon of the Vlasovites, in principle, did not exist at all.

Now it is george ribbon belong to the defeated in the Great Patriotic War. She was used in awards for members of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia and the ROA. And initially it was attached to the Order of St. George back in imperial Russia.

In the Soviet award system, there was a guard tape. She was a special insignia. They used it in the design of the Order of Glory and the medal "For Victory over Germany".

After the victory Soviet Union demanded the extradition of the fugitive Vlasovites from the Western European countries and the armies of the allies. The latter was defended by the Russian emigration, which formed after the 1917 revolution. Protest actions were organized. Foreign Orthodox Church even wrote an appeal to Pope Pius XII with a request to protect the Russians who were under the threat of extradition and imminent death.

The Pontiff heeded the requests of the Russian emigration. He protested against the forcible extradition of the Vlasovites who asked for asylum in European countries. The demands of Pope Pius XII were considered in Washington until May 1946, when the remnants of the ROA army were practically finished.

Despite all the protests, the former members of the ROA were betrayed by almost all countries. The Vlasovites were sentenced to death in absentia in the USSR, and their relatives were sentenced to arrest. About this in the book "The Fall. General Vlasov and his entourage ”wrote the military historian Alexander Kolesnik.

In his work, he used valuable documentary evidence: materials from the NKVD, Hitler's transcripts, etc. Kolesnik said in "The Fall" that the fugitive Vlasovites were brutally dealt with. With those who tried to hide during the issue - instantly.

Deportations were carried out everywhere in Germany, France, Italy and other countries. Even neutral Switzerland did not stand aside. By September 7, 1945 alone, about 2.3 million people were issued. The executions were carried out right in front of the allies. So, in Judenburg, Soviet firing squads worked for several days.

In this Austrian town, the transfer of the Vlasovites from among the Cossacks took place. They were shot around the clock. To drown out the continuous sounds of gunfire, the Bolsheviks started the engines of the trucks. Those who tried to escape (and there were quite a few of them) were crushed with machine-gun bursts and crushed by tanks.

Type of:

Collaboration formation

Activity time:

1942 - 1945

Scene:

Eastern Europe, Czech

Russian Liberation Army(the informal abbreviation is often used ROA) or Vlasov- title armed forces KONR (Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia), as well as the totality of the majority of Russian anti-Soviet units and subunits from Russian collaborators in the Wehrmacht in 1942-1944, mainly used at the level of individual battalions and companies, and formed by various German military structures during World War II and having since January 28, 1945, the status of the armed forces of an allied power, which remains neutral with respect to the United States and Great Britain. The army was commanded by A.A. Vlasov.

The Russian Liberation Army was the main driving force Russian liberation movement aimed at overthrowing the Soviet regime and creating the Russian state.

Formation

In the first weeks and months of the war, the Wehrmacht began to use Soviet prisoners of war as auxiliary personnel (cooks, chauffeurs, grooms, handymen, ammunition carriers, sappers, kitchen assistants, messengers, signalmen) in their combat units. Later they began to be used as security and anti-partisan units. So the number of Russian soldiers in the German division reached 15% of the personnel. By the end of 1942, these people were reduced to the so-called "eastern battalions".

In July 1942, the Deputy Commander of the Volkhov Front (at the same time Commander of the 2nd Shock Army), Lieutenant General A.A. Vlasov, a former hero of the defense of Moscow, surrendered to the encirclement. Once captured, he decided to make a career for himself in the ranks of the Nazis and invited the German command from among Russian prisoners of war and civilians to create an army to fight the Soviet army. From about this time, everyone who, in one way or another, participated in the armed formations on the side of the Reich, began to collectively be called members (military personnel) of the ROA. However, the ROA did not really exist until late autumn 1944.

On April 4, 1943, symbols, insignia and the system of military ranks of the ROA were published in the Vlasov newspaper "Volunteer". By order of the Chief of the German General Staff of the Ground Forces (OKH) No. 5000/43 dated 04/29/1943, these signs, symbols and ranks were approved for the Russian volunteers of the Wehrmacht auxiliary service. Directive of the organizational department of the German General Staff of the Ground Forces (OKH) No. 14124/43 of 05/29/1943, these signs, symbols and titles were approved for everyone who participated in the war against the USSR.

On November 23, 1944, the formation of the 1st ROA division began at the Münsingen training ground. This division was fully formed. On January 17, 1945, the formation of the 2nd ROA division began at the Hoiberg training ground. The formation was not completed. A little later, the formation of the 3rd ROA division began, but only the division headquarters was formed and about 10 thousand people were collected. January 28, 1945 Hitler approved Vlasov as the commander-in-chief of the ROA. In the period from February to mid-April 1945, individual units of the ROA took part in the battles.

Participation in battles

ROA participation in the Prague uprising. Modern renovation.

On February 9, 1945, the strike group of Colonel Sakharov, consisting of three platoons, formed from volunteers of the guard battalion, the Dabendorf training camp and the cadet company, together with German troops took part in battles with the 230th rifle division of the Red Army, which took up defenses in the Oder region near the populated points Neulevin, Karlsbiese and Kerstenbruch. As a result of the battle, the command of the 9th Army was able on the evening of February 9 to report to the army group about the occupation of Neulevin, the southern part of Karlsbeise and Kerstenbruch after "fierce assault battles with the enemy, who staunchly and stubbornly held out in heavily fortified buildings." The actions of the Russian volunteers were highly appreciated by the German command. On March 7, 1945, Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels noted in his diary "the outstanding achievements of General Vlasov's troops." April 13, 1945 - the 1st ROA Infantry Division led fighting against the Red Army at the Erlengof bridgehead, in the area of ​​operation of the German 9th Army. Air support for the offensive was carried out by squadrons of night bombers of the ROA Air Force. After a powerful artillery barrage and air strikes, the 2nd and 3rd regiments attacked the positions of the 119th fortified area of ​​the Soviet 33rd Army south of Furstenberg. The attack of the 3rd regiment from the south, after a stubborn battle that turned into hand-to-hand combat, was repulsed by the middle of the day with heavy losses for the attackers. After a short respite, the attack was repeated, but again drowned. The divisions retreated to their original positions. More successful were the actions of the 2nd regiment, which attacked the bridgehead from the north with the support of 12 tanks and several self-propelled guns. Here they managed to advance 500 m, seize the first line of trenches and hold out on it until the next day. The casualties were 370 people. May 5 - 8, 1945 - participation of the 1st ROA Infantry Division in the liberation of Prague from German troops on the side of the Czech partisans and, in fact, liberating it from the approach of the Red Army units. After the Red Army units entered Prague, some of the captured Vlasovites were shot.

ROA parade in Pskov.

After that, units of the ROA began to move to the West in order to surrender to the Allied forces, since they were in for reckoning at home. Part of the ROA units was captured by the Soviet army, the rest were interned by the Americans on May 8-11 45. On May 12, 1945, the commander of the 1st ROA division gave the last order to disband the ROA. In the following days, the Americans transferred all the Vlasovites to the command of the Soviet Army. However, some members of the Russian Liberation Army were able to hide abroad. Initially, a public trial was planned in the Moscow House of Unions. But the Minister of State Security V.S.Abakumov and the chairman of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court V.V. Ulrikh appealed to Stalin with a request to hear the case in a closed court session. On August 1, 1946, Generals Zhilenkov, Malyshkin, Bunyachenko and Maltsev were hanged in the courtyard of the Butyrka prison along with Vlasov and Trukhin. Many others were shot by the verdict of the USSR court.

Symbolism

As the main symbol of the Russian Liberation Army, it was not at all the white-blue-red tricolor that was used, but the naval St.Andrew's flag Russian Empire... But nevertheless, the Russian tricolor was unofficially used by individual collaborators, in particular, the use of the tricolor was documented in the footage of the parade of the 1st Guards Brigade of the ROA in Pskov on June 22, 1943 and in the photo chronicle of the Vlasovites' formation in Münsingen. And also, some Vlasovites painted the tricolor on their helmets.

Army soldiers wore german uniform, with a POA patch on the shoulder.

Gallery

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On November 14, 1944, in the city of Prague, Andrei Vlasov promulgated the "Manifesto for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia", which was a universal program of Russian collaborators.

It was Vlasov who is the most famous Russian traitor during the Great Patriotic War... But not the only one: what was the real scale of the anti-Soviet movement?

The hanged ROA collaborators in last years wars

Let's start with the total. Throughout the war, the number of collaborators slightly exceeded 1,000,000. But it is important to note that most of them were so-called hivis, that is, prisoners employed in rear work. In second place are Russian emigrants from Europe, members of the white movement. The percentage of the population of the USSR involved in direct operations against and even more so in their leadership was extremely insignificant. The political composition of the participants was also extremely heterogeneous, which shows the lack of a powerful ideological platform among the collaborators.

ROA (Russian Liberation Army)

Commanding: Andrey Vlasov

Maximum number: 110-120,000 people

Vlasov in front of the soldiers

ROA Vlasov was the most numerous group that collaborated with the Germans. Nazi propaganda attached particular importance to it, therefore the very fact of its creation in 1942 was presented in the media as a "personal initiative of Vlasov" and other "fighters against communism." Almost all of its commanders were recruited from ethnic Russians. This, of course, was done for ideological reasons, in order to demonstrate "the desire of the Russians to join the liberation army."

True, at the first stage of the formation of the ROA, there were not enough qualified personnel from prisoners who wished to take the path of cooperation with the Nazis. Therefore, posts in the movement were occupied by former white officers. But by the end of the war, the Germans began to replace them with Soviet traitors, since understandable friction arose between the White Guards and the ex-Red Army men.

The number of Vlasov formations is usually determined at more than one hundred thousand people, but this is what stands behind this figure. At the end of 1944, when the Nazis finally decided to throw Vlasov's army to the front - before that its role was quite operetta - other Russian national formations like the "Cossack Stan" of Major General Domanov and the "Russian Corps" General Major Shteyfon. But the unification took place only on paper. There was still no unified control over the reinforced army: all its parts were scattered at great distances from each other. In reality, the Vlasov army is only three divisions - generals Zverev, Bunyachenko and Shapovalov, and the latter was not even armed. Their total number did not exceed 50,000 thousand.

By the way, legally, the ROA received the status of an independent "ally" of the Reich, which gives reason to some revisionists to represent Vlasov as a fighter against Stalin and Hitler at the same time. This naive assertion is shattered by the fact that all the financing of the Vlasov army was carried out from the funds of the Ministry of Finance of Nazi Germany.

Hivi

Khivi received special books confirming their status as military personnel

Population: about 800 thousand people.

Naturally, in the conquest of Russia, the Nazis needed helpers from the local population, civil servants - cooks, waiters, machine gun and boot cleaners. The Germans cordially recorded all of them in "Khivi". They did not have weapons and worked in rear positions for a piece of bread. Later, when the Germans had already been defeated at Stalingrad, the Goebbels department began to classify the Khivi as "Vlasovites", hinting that they had inspired them to betray communism political example Andrey Vlasov. In reality, many Khivi had a very vague idea of ​​who Vlasov was, despite the abundance of propaganda leaflets. At the same time, about a third of the Khivi were actually engaged in hostilities: as local auxiliary units and policemen.

"Russian Corps"

Maximum number: 16,000 people

Commanding: Boris Shteifon

The formation of the "Russian Corps" began in 1941: then the Germans captured Yugoslavia, where a large number of White emigrants lived. From their composition, the first Russian voluntary formation was created. The Germans, confident in their impending victory, treated the ex-White Guards with little interest, so their autonomy was minimized: throughout the war, the Russian Corps was mainly engaged in the fight against the Yugoslav partisans. In 1944, the "Russian Corps" was included in the ROA. Most of his employees ultimately surrendered to the Allies, which allowed them to avoid trial in the USSR and stay to live in Latin America, the United States and England.

"Cossack Stan"

Maximum number: 2000-3000 people

Commanding: Sergey Pavlov

Cossack cavalry under the SS flag goes on the attack

The history of the Cossack detachments was of particular importance in the Reich, since Hitler and his associates saw in the Cossacks not the Slavic population, but the descendants of the Gothic tribes, who were also the ancestors of the Germans. From this arose the concept of a "German-Cossack State" in the south of Russia - the stronghold of the Reich's power. The Cossacks inside the German army tried in every possible way to emphasize their own identity, so it came to curiosities: for example, Orthodox prayers for the health of "Hitler the Tsar" or the organization in Warsaw of Cossack patrols looking for Jews and partisans. The cossack movement of collaborationists was supported by Peter Krasnov, one of the leaders of the white movement. He characterized Hitler as follows: “I ask you to convey to all the Cossacks that this war is not against Russia, but against the communists, Jews and their henchmen who sell Russian blood. May God help German weapons and Hitler! Let them do what the Russians and Emperor Alexander I did for Prussia in 1813 "

The Cossacks were sent to various European countries as auxiliary units to suppress the uprisings. A curious moment is connected with their stay in Italy - after the Cossacks suppressed the uprisings of the anti-fascists, a number of the cities they occupied were renamed "stanitsa". The German press treated this fact favorably and wrote with great enthusiasm about "the Cossacks who assert Gothic superiority in Europe."

It should be borne in mind that the number of "Cossack Camp" was very modest, and the number of Cossacks who fought in the Red Army, significantly exceeded the number of collaborators.

1st Russian National Army

Commanding: Boris Holmston-Smyslovsky

Number: 1000 people

Smyslovsky in the uniform of the Wehrmacht

The project itself of the 1st Russian National Army is of little interest, since it did not differ in any way from the numerous small gangs that were formed under the wing of Vlasov. From the general series, it is distinguished, perhaps, charismatic personality its commander, Boris Smyslovsky, who had the pseudonym Arthur Holmston. Interestingly, Smyslovsky came from Jews who converted to Christianity and received a title of nobility during the tsarist era. However, the Nazis were not embarrassed by the Jewish origin of the ally. He was helpful.

In 1944, between Smyslovsky and Vlasov, the commander of the ROA, a conflict arose on the basis of interests. Vlasov told the German generals that the introduction of characters like Smyslovsky into his structure contradicted the idea of ​​the movement of ordinary Soviet people strangled by the Stalinist regime. Smyslovsky, on the contrary, considered everyone Soviet traitors primordial tsarist Russia... As a result, the conflict grew into a confrontation, and Smyslovsky's squads left the ROA, forming their own formation.

Boris Smyslovsky with his wife in the 60s. The calm life of a former executioner.

By the end of the war, the few remnants of his army withdrew to Liechtenstein. Smyslovsky's position that he was not a supporter of Hitler, but only an anti-Soviet, allowed him to remain in the West after the war. A little-known, but revered in certain circles French film "Wind from the East" was made about this story. The role of Smyslovsky in the film was played by the legendary Malcolm McDowell, the fighters of his army are depicted as heroes who fled from Stalin's tyranny due to repression. In the end, some of them, deceived by Soviet propaganda, decide to return home, but in Hungary the Red Army soldiers stop the train and, on the orders of political workers, shoot all the unfortunate. This is a rare nonsense, since most of Smyslovsky's supporters left Russia immediately after the revolution, and in the post-war USSR no one shot collaborators without trial.

Ethnic formations

Maximum number: 50,000 people

The motives of the members of the Ukrainian SS division "Galicia" or the Baltic SS-ovtsy are obvious: hatred of the USSR for invading their lands, plus the desire for national independence. However, if ROA Hitler allowed at least some formal autonomy, the Germans treated the national movements in the USSR much less leniently: they were included in the German armed forces, the overwhelming number of officers and commanders were Germans. Although the same Lviv Ukrainians, of course, could amuse the national feeling by translating German military ranks into their own language. For example, in “Galicia” the obershutz was called “senior strylets”, and the Haupscharführer was called “club”.

Ethnic collaborators were assigned the most rough work- the fight against partisans and mass executions: for example, Ukrainian nationalists were the main executors of executions in Babi Yar. Many representatives national movements after the war they settled in the West, after the collapse of the USSR their descendants and supporters play a significant role in the politics of the CIS countries.

According to some, during the Great Patriotic War, a million Soviet citizens went to fight under the tricolor flag. Sometimes it is even said about two million Russians who fought against the Bolshevik regime, but here probably 700 thousand emigrants are also counted. These figures are cited for a reason - they are an argument to the assertion that the Great Patriotic War is the essence of the Second Civil War of the Russian people. However, let's take a closer look at the number of Soviet citizens who fought on the side of Germany and their motives.

According to some, during the Great Patriotic War, a million Soviet citizens went to fight under the tricolor flag. Sometimes it is even said about two million Russians who fought against the Bolshevik regime, but here probably 700 thousand emigrants are also counted. These figures are cited for a reason - they are an argument to the assertion that the Great Patriotic War is the essence of the Second Civil War of the Russian people against the hated Stalin. What can I say here?

If it really happened that a million Russians stood up under the tricolor banners and fought for life and death against the Red Army for a free Russia, shoulder to shoulder with their German allies, then we would have had no choice but to admit that yes, The Great Patriotic War really became the Second Civil War for the Russian people. But was it really so?

To understand this or not, you need to answer several questions: how many were there? who were they? how did they get into the service? how and with whom did they fight? and what drove them?

WHOM TO COUNT?

Cooperation of Soviet citizens with the occupiers took place in different forms, both in the degree of voluntariness and in the degree of involvement in the armed struggle - from the Baltic SS volunteers who fiercely fought near Narva to the "Ostarbeiters" who were forcibly driven to Germany. I believe that even the most stubborn anti-Stalinists will not be able to enroll in the ranks of fighters against the Bolshevik regime without twisting their hearts. Usually, these ranks include those who received rations from the German military or police department, or held weapons obtained from the hands of the Germans or pro-German local government in their hands.

That is, to the maximum potential fighters against the Bolsheviks get:

Foreign military units of the Wehrmacht and SS;
- eastern security battalions;
- construction parts of the Wehrmacht;
- auxiliary personnel of the Wehrmacht, they are "our Ivans" or Hiwi (Hilfswilliger: "volunteers");
- auxiliary police units ("noise" - Schutzmannshaften);
- border guard;
- "air defense assistants" mobilized to Germany through youth organizations;

HOW MANY THEM WERE THERE?

We will probably never know the exact numbers, since no one really counted them, but some estimates are available to us. A bottom-up estimate can be obtained from the archives of the former NKVD - by March 1946, 283,000 "Vlasovites" and other uniformed collaborators were transferred to the authorities. The upper estimate can probably be taken from the works of Drobyazko, which serve as the main source of figures for the advocates of the Second Civilian version. According to his calculations (the method of which he unfortunately does not disclose), the following passed through the Wehrmacht, SS and various pro-German military and police formations during the war years:

250,000 Ukrainians
70,000 Belarusians
70,000 Cossacks

150,000 Latvians
90,000 Estonians
50,000 Lithuanians

70,000 Central Asians
12,000 Volga Tatars
10,000 Crimean Tatars
7,000 Kalmyks

40,000 Azerbaijanis
25,000 Georgians
20,000 Armenians
30,000 North Caucasian peoples

Since the total number of all former Soviet citizens wearing German and pro-German uniforms is estimated at 1.2 million, the share of Russians (excluding the Cossacks) remains about 310,000 people. There are, of course, other calculations that give a smaller total number, but we will not be trifling, we will take the upper estimate of it as the basis for further reasoning. Drobyazko.

WHO WERE THEY?

Hiwi and the soldiers of the construction battalions are hard to count as civil war fighters. Of course, their labor freed German soldiers for the front, but this applies to the same extent to the "Ostarbeiters". Sometimes hiwi received weapons and fought alongside the Germans, but such cases are described in the unit's combat logs more as a curiosity than as a mass phenomenon. It is interesting to count how many there were who actually held weapons in their hands.

The number of hiwi at the end of the war Drobyazko gives about 675,000, if we add construction parts and take into account the loss during the war, then I think we will not be much mistaken, assuming that this category covers about 700-750,000 people out of a total of 1.2 million. This is consistent and with a share of non-combatants among Caucasian peoples, in the calculation presented by the headquarters of the eastern troops at the end of the war. According to him, out of a total of 102,000 Caucasians who passed through the Wehrmacht and the SS, 55,000 served in the legions, the Luftwaffe and the SS and 47,000 in the hiwi and construction units. It should be noted that the proportion of Caucasians enrolled in combat units was higher than the proportion of the Slavs.

So, out of 1.2 million who wore the German uniform, only 450-500 thousand did it holding weapons in their hands. Let's now try to calculate the layout of the actual combat units of the Eastern peoples.

There were 75 Asian battalions (Caucasians, Turks and Tatars) formed (80,000 people). Including 10 Crimean police battalions (8,700), Kalmyks and special parts there are approximately 110,000 "fighting" Asians out of a total of 215,000. This quite beats with the layout separately for Caucasians.

The Baltic states endowed the Germans with 93 police battalions (later part of the regiments), totaling 33,000 people. In addition, 12 border regiments (30,000) were formed, partly staffed by police battalions, then three SS divisions (15, 19 and 20) and two volunteer regiments were created, through which about 70,000 people probably passed. Police and border regiments and battalions were partly directed to form them. Taking into account the absorption of some units by others, about 100,000 Balts passed through the warheads.

In Belarus, 20 police battalions (5,000) were formed, of which 9 were considered Ukrainian. After the introduction of mobilization in March 1944, the police battalions became part of the army of the Belarusian Central Rada. In total, the Belarusian Regional Defense (BKA) had 34 battalions, 20,000 people. Having retreated in 1944 along with the German troops, these battalions were consolidated into the SS Siegling Brigade. Then, on the basis of the brigade, with the addition of Ukrainian "policemen", the remnants of the Kaminsky brigade and even the Cossacks, the 30th SS division was deployed, which was later used to staff the 1st Vlasov division.

Galicia was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was viewed as potentially German territory. It was separated from the Ukraine, incorporated into the Reich, as part of the Governor-General of Warsaw, and put in a queue for Germanization. On the territory of Galicia, 10 police battalions (5,000) were formed, and subsequently the recruitment of volunteers for the SS troops was announced. It is believed that 70,000 volunteers came to the recruiting sites, but that was not needed. As a result, one SS division (14th) and five police regiments were formed. Police regiments were disbanded as needed and sent to replenish the division. Galicia's full contribution to the victory over Stalinism can be estimated at 30,000 people.

In the rest of Ukraine, 53 police battalions (25,000) were formed. It is known that a small part of them became part of the 30th SS Division, the fate of the rest is unknown to me. After the formation in March 1945 of the Ukrainian analogue of the KONR - the Ukrainian National Committee - the Galician 14th SS Division was renamed the 1st Ukrainian and the formation of the 2nd began. It was formed from volunteers of Ukrainian nationality recruited from various auxiliary formations, recruited about 2,000 people.

About 90 guard "ostbatalions" were formed from Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians, through which about 80,000 people passed, including the "Russian National People's Army", which was reorganized into five guard battalions. Among other Russian military formations, one can recall the 3,000th 1st Russian National SS Brigade Gil (Rodionov), which went over to the side of the partisans, the approximately 6,000th Smyslovsky Russian National Army and the Kaminsky Army (Russian Liberation People's Army), which arose as a self-defense force of the so-called. Lokot Republic. The maximum estimates of the number of people who passed through the army of Kaminsky reach 20,000. After 1943, Kaminsky's troops retreated with the German army and in 1944 an attempt was made to reorganize them into the 29th SS Division. For a number of reasons, the reorganization was canceled, and the personnel were transferred to the 30th SS Division for replenishment. In early 1945, the armed forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (Vlasov army) were created. The first division of the army is formed from the "Ostbatalions" and the remnants of the 30th SS Division. The second division is formed from the "Ostbatalions", and partly from the volunteer prisoners of war. The number of Vlasovites before the end of the war is estimated at 40,000, of which about 30,000 were former SS and Ostbatalons. In total, about 120,000 Russians fought in the Wehrmacht and SS with weapons in their hands at different times.

The Cossacks, according to Drobyazko's calculations, fielded 70,000 people, let's accept this figure.

HOW DO THEY GET INTO THE SERVICE?

Initially, the eastern units were recruited by volunteers from among the prisoners of war and the local population. Since the summer of 1942, the principle of recruiting the local population has changed from voluntary to voluntary-compulsory - an alternative to voluntary admission to the police is forced hijacking to Germany, "ostarbeiter". By the fall of 1942, a blatant coercion had already begun. Drobyazko in his dissertation talks about the raids on men in the Shepetovka area: those caught were offered a choice between entering the police or sending them to a camp. In 1943, compulsory military service was introduced in various "self-defense" forces of the Ostland Reichskommissariat. In the Baltic states, SS and border guards were recruited through mobilization from 1943.

HOW AND WITH WHOM DID THEY FIGHT?

Initially, the Slavic eastern parts were created to carry out security services. In this capacity, they were supposed to replace the Wehrmacht security battalions, which were sucked out of the rear zone like a vacuum cleaner by the needs of the front. First, the soldiers of the Ostbatalions guarded the warehouses and railways, but as the situation became more complicated, they began to be involved in anti-partisan operations. The involvement of the Ostbatalions in the fight against the partisans contributed to their decay. If in 1942 the number of "Ostbatalonniks" who went over to the side of the partisans was relatively small (although this year the Germans were forced to disband the RNNA due to massive relocations), then in 1943 14 thousand fled to the partisans (and this is very, very quite a lot, with an average number eastern parts in 1943 about 65,000 people). The Germans did not have any forces to observe the further decomposition of the ostbatalions, and in October 1943 the remaining eastern units were sent to France and Denmark (disarming 5-6 thousand volunteers as unreliable). There they were included as 3 or 4 battalions in the regiments of the German divisions.

Slavic eastern battalions, with rare exceptions, were not used in battles on the eastern front. In contrast, a significant number of Asian Ostbatalions were involved in the first line of the advancing German troops during the battle for the Caucasus. The results of the battles were contradictory - some showed themselves well, others - on the contrary, were infected with deserter sentiments and gave a large percentage of defectors. By the beginning of 1944, most of the Asian battalions were also on the Western Wall. Those who remained in the East were consolidated into the East Turkic and Caucasian SS formations and were involved in the suppression of the Warsaw and Slovak uprisings.

In total, by the time of the Allied invasion in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, 72 Slavic, Asian and Cossack battalions with a total strength of about 70 thousand were assembled. In general, and in general, the Ostbatalions in battles with the allies showed themselves poorly (with some exceptions). Of the almost 8.5 thousand irrecoverable losses, 8 thousand were missing, that is, most of them were deserters and defectors. After that, the remaining battalions were disarmed and involved in fortification work on the Siegfried Line. Subsequently, they were used to form parts of the Vlasov army.

In 1943, the Cossack units were also withdrawn from the east. The most combat-ready formation of the German Cossack troops - formed in the summer of 1943, the 1st Cossack Division of von Panwitz went to Yugoslavia to deal with Tito's partisans. There they gradually gathered all the Cossacks, deploying the division into a corps. The division took part in the battles on the Eastern Front in 1945, fighting mainly against the Bulgarians.

The Baltic states gave the largest number of troops to the front - in addition to three SS divisions, individual police regiments and battalions took part in the battles. The 20th Estonian SS division was defeated near Narva, but later restored and managed to take part in the last battles of the war. The Latvian 15th and 19th SS divisions in the summer of 1944 came under attack from the Red Army and could not withstand the blow. Large scale desertions and loss of combat capability have been reported. As a result, the 15th division, having transferred its most reliable composition to the 19th, was withdrawn to the rear for use in the construction of fortifications. The second time it was used in battles in January 1945, in East Prussia, after which it was again withdrawn to the rear. She managed to surrender to the Americans. The 19th remained until the end of the war in Courland.

Belarusian policemen and freshly mobilized in the BKA in 1944 were assembled in the 30th SS division. After being formed, the division was transferred to France in September 1944, where it took part in battles with the allies. It suffered heavy losses, mainly from desertion. The Belarusians ran across to the allies in batches and continued the war in the Polish units. In December, the division was disbanded, and the remaining personnel were transferred to the staffing of the 1st Vlasov division.

The Galician 14th SS Division barely sniffing the gunpowder, was encircled near Brody and almost completely destroyed. Although she was quickly restored, she no longer took part in the battles at the front. One of her regiments was involved in suppressing the Slovak uprising, after which she went to Yugoslavia to fight Tito's partisans. Since it is not far from Yugoslavia to Austria, the division managed to surrender to the British.

The Armed Forces of the KONR were formed in early 1945. Although the 1st division of the Vlasovites was staffed almost entirely by veteran punishers, many of whom had already visited the front, Vlasov soared Hitler's brains demanding more time for preparation. In the end, the division still managed to push out to the Oder front, where it took part in one attack against Soviet troops on April 13. The very next day, the division commander, Major General Bunyachenko, ignoring the protests of his German immediate superior, withdrew the division from the front and went to join the rest of Vlasov's army to the Czech Republic. The Vlasov army fought the second battle against its ally, attacking German troops in Prague on May 5.

WHAT DID THEY DRIVE?

The driving motives were completely different.

Firstly, among the eastern troops, one can distinguish national separatists who fought to create their own national state or at least a privileged province of the Reich. These include the Balts, Asian legionnaires and Galicians. The creation of parts of this kind has a long tradition - remember at least Czechoslovak Corps or the Polish Legion in the First World War. These would fight against central government no matter who is sitting in Moscow - the tsar, the general secretary or the popularly elected president.

Secondly, there were ideological and stubborn opponents of the regime. These include the Cossacks (although in part their motives were national-separatist), part of the personnel of the Ostbatalions, a significant part of the officer corps of the KONR troops.

Thirdly, one can name opportunists who relied on the winner, those who joined the Reich during the Wehrmacht victories, but fled to the partisans after the defeat at Kursk and continued to flee as soon as possible. These probably constituted a significant part of the remnant battalions and local police. There were some on the other side of the front, as can be seen from the change in the number of defectors to the Germans in 1942-44:

1942 79,769
1943 26,108
1944 9,207

Fourthly, these were people who hoped to break out of the camp and, at a convenient opportunity, go to their own. How many of them were - it's hard to say, but sometimes it was recruited for a whole battalion.

AND WHAT DOES IT DO?

And the result is a picture completely different from what is painted by ardent anti-communists. Instead of one (or even two) million Russians, rallied under the tricolor flag in the fight against the hateful Stalinist regime, there is a very motley (and obviously not finishing up to a million) company of the Balts, Asians, Galicians and Slavs who fought each for their own. And basically not with the Stalinist regime, but with partisans (and not only Russians, but also with Yugoslav, Slovak, French, Polish), Western allies, and even with the Germans in general. Doesn't sound like a civil war, does it? Well, except perhaps to call these words the struggle of the partisans with the policemen, but the policemen fought not under a tricolor flag, but with a swastika on their sleeve.

For the sake of justice, it should be noted that until the end of 1944, until the formation of the KONR and its armed forces, the Germans did not provide an opportunity for the Russian anti-communists to fight for national idea, for Russia without communists. It can be assumed that if they had allowed it earlier, "under the tricolor flag" more people would have rallied, especially since there were still plenty of opponents of the Bolsheviks in the country. But this "would" and besides, my grandmother said for two. And in real story no "million under the tricolor flag" was observed.