John Kettler Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) Own very few translated Russian military books, but HSU Loza's excellent Fighting For The Soviet Motherland does contain one such incident. It was early in the war, and the frontoviki had been shattered by a Panzer attack and were fleeing in disarray. The NKVD ordered his Lend-Lease armored unit near, but behind the front lines, to form a blocking detachment, and when the men appeared, the initial fire was directed over their heads, but when they didn't stop, it became aimed fire at them. After taking a bunch of casualties, the men turned around and went back to the front, at which point fire was ceased. Loza was sickened by the whole thing and thought the poor soldiers, who were completely overwhelmed by an attack they had no means to stop, got a really raw deal. Can anyone provide other such examples? Am drawing a clear distinction here between battlefield action and finding a frontovik behind Russian lines without suitable orders, a pass, etc., and summarily executed. Those stats are readily available, but I know of no such breakdown for men shot down in their tracks on the battlefield by blocking detachments. Am especially interested in hearing from our Russian and Ukrainian colleagues, as well as others who can read Russian or other relevant languages. Regards, John Kettler Edited August 3, 2019 by John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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