I think that many, who attend this forum, watched the movie on sniper Vasily Zaitsev – «Enemy at the Gates». Most of the Russian, who has watched this movie, believe that it was shot very poorly, not naturally, contains many inaccuracies and exaggerations. I agree with this opinion, but I think that the system is entering march companies into battle shows very correct. The average life expectancy of a soldier in the battle of Stalingrad was equal to 24 hours. It's awful. And one more thing I remember in the movie. When the new commander has decided that first of all we must to raise the morale of soldiers. The country are need heroes! I think, there is nothing wrong with that. Indeed, during the war, morale of solders is very important. In November 1941, the morale of Soviet troops was very low. Defeat, retreat, the enemy was in Moscow itself. Of course, there were the heroes who fought no matter what. I read the diary of General Halder, Guderian's memoirs. References to the persistence of Soviet soldiers there are many. But the general mood of the troops was low. In such circumstances, the feat with 28th "panfilovtsev" was very helpful. I do not know, what somebody in foreign countries heard about this, but in the USSR, every pupil knew this feat. From school years, I remember this story so: October 16, started the decisive German offensive on Moscow. In the area of railway siding Dubosekovo, near Volokolamsk, there was a fight the 4 th Company 2 nd Battalion Rifle Regiment in 1075, 316 th Division. Division commanded by General Panfilov. As a result of battle, 4 th company had destroyed 50 German tanks, did not let the Germans on Moscow, but is completely lost. All 28 people. Especially, since school, I remember the words of commissary Klochkov, he told his soldiers before the next attack by the Germans: «Great Russia, and nowhere to retreat. Behind - Moscow!». Newspaper «Krasnaya Zvezda» on 27 and 29 November 1941 announced the details of this battle. Further events developed as follows. This message is echoed other newspapers. The news of the feat has spread on all fronts. As a result, in April 1942 the command of the Western Front has decided to award all 28 solders to Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. This was done by the decree of 21 July 1942. And then with this awarding the problems began. First, in May 1942, the NKVD detained one soldier who was the number of deaths among the 28 Heroes. It turned out that the soldier was taken prisoner, escaped and was able to return to Soviet territory. Then, in November 1947, prosecutors city of Kharkiv, was arrested by another soldier, the death toll among the 28 Heroes. It turned out that he was not killed too, was captured and then served in the German police. After this, the Chief Military Prosecutor of the USSR conducted an investigation of all the circumstances of the fight itself 4-th company, after which came 28 Heroes. Result of the investigation was kept secret for a long time, but even after its opening, few historians prefer to mention it. Yes, it was the German offensive. Yes, 316 th Division, and especially the 2 nd Battalion almost completely lost. Such a situation occurred in many places. Special heroism and causing heavy losses the German troops were not. A list of the 28-names formed randomly and arbitrarily. The country were needed heroes! After that, two of the 28-Heroes have been deprived of the title, the rest - no. As it turned out, 5 more people were alive and received the award at different times after the war. You know, guys, I'm not judging this event. I think, at that time in my country really needed Heroes. And what do you think?
It's definitely not the only time that type of story has been 'adjusted'. The question is how many times can a country use this type of story before everyone stops believing them. Also if people stop believing this type of story, everything else the government says becomes harder to believe, even if it is true. I think it is a very dangerous tactic for any country, but it happens a lot.
Hi IRu, I agree with all you asaaid. In fact, while pouring through my books on RKTs, DKiG/DKiS's and CCCiG Recipients, the though came to mind many times on how many men -speaking for the RKTs and DKiG/DKiS guys, got their awards because of "knowing somebody high-up or someone who owed them a favor or two) because, I see that a lot of very high-ranking Generals got these awards and most early on-which leads me to believe that (speaking of the Germans in this case) that many were awarded these awards because of favoritism instead of the awards being awarded to those who earned and deserved them the most. I suppose the same thing happened in the Soviet Military too.
Soviets love to make heroes. Alexei Stakhonov (record braking Coal Miner) his record was staged. Pavlik Morozov, who gave up the last stash of grain in his village to Soviets and was killed by his family for it. Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who burned village homes with Germans and their horse Stable. It is possible she was a pyromaniac and no German troops were even present in the village. We had Pavlik Morozov room in our school and all Young Pioneers were made to look up to Heroes of Motherland. Heroes are important during time of war. They motivate people for higher calling and ensure country’s victory during conflicts. US had bond drives, which were led by War Heroes and Celebrities.
To acknowledge herorism is a necessity, but sadly when governments get involved, they all to readily treat it as a commodity, rather than the honor it should be.
To me all soldiers are heroes, they all go through the horrors of war. The more medals they earn only shows how much more pain they went through to earn them. However when soldiers are used as propaganda it becomes a touchy subject; most soldiers don't even fight for their government. For example, the book I read, Blood Red Snow, mentioned one of the authors friends receiving the Knights Cross. He was later transferred and he didn't know what happened to him until he met someone who fought alongside him, only to find out he had been killed in a suicide charge on a machinegun nest.
I am totally agreed. Let me give you another example, which contradicts of logic customary ceremony. December 17, 1941 the Supreme Command of the Red Army adopted the Directive 005822 on the continuation of offensive fighting the Volkhov Front. The ultimate goal was - to unlock Leningrad. It was pure adventure (gamble). In this period the Red Army suffered the biggest shortfall of weapons. All, which was produced before the war, was lost during the retreat. New products are produced in a limited, due to the fact that factories were evacuated and moved to new places in the Urals. In these circumstances, the offensive was unthinkable. Nevertheless, 7 January 1942, the Volkhov front began, perhaps, the most unsuccessful operation of the Red Army - Luban operation. The basis of the offensive (center front) was 2 - nd Striking Army. I read about her arms on the eve of the offensive. It's horrible. There was one tank brigade, which had not any tanks. One infantry unit had not rifles and were armed only with grenades. So, the offensive began badly. Location break of the German front was very narrow. Extend it was failed. All the powers and weapons of the Volkhov Front were brought to the site of a breakthrough. On the left flank of the Volkhov front was situated 229-th Infantry Regiment 225 th Infantry Division. It was located on the right bank of the Volkhov River, opposite the city of Novgorod - Velikiy. It was about 100 km south location of 2-nd Striking Army. I did not understand for what, but 29 January 1942, Commander 225 Infantry Division decided to conduct exploration with battle (or reconnaissance in force) near the city of Novgorod - Velikiy. Reconnaissance in force is probably the worst thing that could be at war. Her goal - to find the enemy fighting positions, pillboxes, at the cost of lives of soldiers, marching in the attack. So, January 29, 1942, at 5 am, a team of 20 people crossed the river on the frozen ice in the direction of the German fortifications. They were able to approach undetected and threw grenades into a bunker. Further description of the battle I found only from military journalists and in the memories of the division commander. I do not think they accurately reproduce the picture of the battlefield as well as out of 20 people no one returned alive. Others could only watch through binoculars from the other riverbank. Nevertheless, as a result of this battle once 3 people out of 20 were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously. In the premium list was written that these three soldiers almost simultaneously shut down shooting machine guns of the enemy with their bodies. During the war about 400 people closed machine guns the enemy with his body. But such a mass phenomenon - just three people in the same time - was only once. I can not say how it really was. But fully admit that this could happen. Let me remind you that next great offensive began. All the weapons were given there. I think that these soldiers have had with a little ammunition. And when they had spent it, they simply nothing else left to do. Are they all the heroes? Yes. Including other 17 people that also died in this battle, which was so meaningless. But only three soldiers were awarded the title of Hero. And front line in this place, existed without change for another two years (till the beginning 1944). Here the official description of their feat (there is a button "Translate into English"): http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=2569
Certainly they all have the potential to be heroic. For they are for one reason or another serving a cause. However there are many who do not "go through the horrors of war". Furthermore there are those whose activities preclude me from considering them heroic in any way. Examples of such activities would be killing innocent civilians or POWs, avoiding combat while using ones position for personal aggrandizement, etc. As a group I do admire people who are in or have been in the military but as individuals they must still be judge on their own merits.
Hero is from the Greek word ' ΗΡΩΑΣ'. It means the person who is between man and god. The person also who his acts made him the common ancestor, the common relative to all members of a society, of a city of a country. This common relative is acting as a unifying element. And that was what Stavka needed. He needed someone (s) to unify the soldiers and the people in the common fight against the Axis. Before the war the people were trying to survive against the bureaucracy, against the mistaken choices of an amateur government and against the cruel power of the party. Now the man who everyone was afraid of, call everybody to follow him because something worst was happened. So living or even dead examples needed to unify all. The same way the film "Alexander Nefsky' of S. Aizenstain showed the Russian some hundred years ago to stand against the Tevton Knights and to be the winners of a war with same participants. The ideal image of a fighter who is not calculating the reality but he is focus to the target only. Stop the enemy's plan or die trying to stop them.
