Ordinary, junior command and command staff.

In 1940, in connection with the change in the scale of ranks of the Red Army, the insignia of the ranks of junior command and commanding staff. By order of the NPO of the USSR No. 391 dated November 2, 1940, personal ranks were established for ordinary and junior command and command staff:

* Red Army soldier,
* corporal,
*Lance Sergeant,
*sergeant,
*staff Sergeant,
* foreman.

By the same order, new insignia were introduced for them, to which it was ordered to switch from January 1, 1941. Until that time, the junior command and command staff did not have personal ranks, but were named and wore insignia according to their positions.

Insignia in the form of triangles were placed on buttonholes on the collar of the tunic and overcoat. The buttonholes on the tunic had the shape of a parallelogram 10 cm long. and 3.25 cm high; on a rhombus-shaped overcoat with rounded concave upper sides with a buttonhole height of 11 cm., a width of 8.5 cm..

* infantry - crimson, black;
* cavalry - blue, black;
*artillery - black, red;



* aviation - blue, black;

Ranks differed in the number of triangles.
1 triangle - junior sergeant;
2 triangles - sergeant;
3 triangles - senior sergeant;
4 triangles - foreman.

An equilateral triangle has a side of 1 cm. It was made of copper and covered with dark red enamel.
The rank of corporal was indicated by a scarlet strip (the color is the same for all branches of the military). The same strip remained on the sergeant buttonholes. She, in combination with a red cloth triangle in the corner of the buttonhole, denoted not a corporal, but a cadet of a sergeant's school or a school of specialists.
The foreman's buttonhole was edged with a narrow gold lace similar to an officer's, but unlike the officer's buttonhole, the lace did not go instead of a colored edging, but behind it.
Also, faceted golden triangles were introduced into the corners of the buttonholes for all ranks of private and junior command and command staff, but they were issued before the war only in the Moscow, Leningrad districts and partly in the Kiev special district.
The buttonholes of cadets of officer schools were distinguished by the fact that the outer field of the buttonholes was red for all schools, the inner field was types of troops separated from the outer by a narrow golden galloon. The emblem of the military branch of the school was placed on the inner field. The code for the abbreviated name of the school was also placed there. Cadets sergeant ranks triangles were worn on tunic buttonholes in the outer field just above the galloon, and on overcoat buttonholes at the place of encryption.

From left to right: 1 - buttonholes of a Red Army artilleryman (NCO No. 391 dated 2.11.40). 2 - buttonholes of a cadet of the regimental sergeant school (NCO No. 87 dated 04/05/40) Here are the buttonholes of a cadet of the school of junior aviation specialists (ShMAS). 3- buttonholes of a corporal of artillery (NCO No. 391 of 2.11.40. 4- buttonholes of a junior artillery sergeant (NCO No. 391 of 2.11.40). 5- buttonholes of a foreman of artillery (NCO No. 391 of 2.11.40). military school (NGO No. 87 dated 04/05/40) Here is the buttonhole of a cadet of the Kazan Tank School.

In addition to the insignia by rank in the buttonholes, it was determined to wear the emblems of the military branches established by order of the NPO of the USSR No. 33 of March 10, 1936. Emblems could be golden metal or stenciled with yellow paint.

By order of the NCO of the USSR No. 253 of August 1, 1941, the wearing of colored buttonholes and insignia for all categories of military personnel was abolished. It was ordered to switch to buttonholes, emblems and insignia of green protective color. With the transition to protective buttonholes, in fact, the insignia of the corporals were lost. However, in the conditions of war and the rapid increase in the size of the army, protective buttonholes and insignia were received mainly by military personnel mobilized from the reserve. For them in Peaceful time a uniform with wartime insignia was prepared. The rest switched to new signs whenever possible. A number of military leaders opposed the transition to wartime insignia. For example, the commander of the 9th Mechanized Corps of the Kyiv Special Military District, Lieutenant General Rokossovsky K.K. by his order, he categorically forbade all commanders to change their insignia to field ones, believing that the Red Army should see their commanders in battle.

Difficulties in supply led to the fact that the troops simultaneously encountered both those and other insignia in various combinations (red triangles on field buttonholes, field triangles on colored buttonholes, etc.). This position lasted until the transition of the army to shoulder straps in the winter-spring of 1943, and in the rear districts until the middle of summer and even autumn of 1943.

Middle and senior command and command staff.

The main insignia were squares ("cubes", "kubari") and rectangles ("sleepers") in the buttonholes on the collar of the tunic and overcoat. The buttonholes on the tunic had the shape of a parallelogram 10 cm long. and 3.25 cm high; on a rhombus-shaped overcoat with rounded concave upper sides with a buttonhole height of 11 cm, a width of 8.5 cm.

Buttonholes for middle and senior military personnel commanders they did not have a colored edging, but were sheathed along the edge with a narrow golden galloon.

The buttonholes of the middle and senior political, technical, administrative, veterinary staff, and justice bodies had, like those of privates, colored edging.

The color of the buttonhole field and the color of the buttonhole edging was determined by the type of troops:
* infantry - crimson, black;
* cavalry - blue, black;
*artillery - black, red;
*armored troops - black velvet, red;
*technical troops - black, blue;
* chemical troops - black, black;
* aviation - blue, black;
* military-economic, administrative, justice, military-medical, military-veterinary services - dark green, red.

In addition to the insignia by rank in the buttonholes, it was determined to wear the emblems of the military branches established by order of the NPO of the USSR No. 33 of March 10, 1936. The emblems were metallic gold.

Insignia in buttonholes:
A. Average command and command staff.

1 cube. Junior lieutenant, junior military engineer.
2 dice. Lieutenant, junior political officer, military engineer of the 2nd rank, quartermaster technician of the 2nd rank, military paramedic, junior military officer.
3 dice. Senior lieutenant, political instructor, military engineer of the 1st rank, quartermaster technician of the 1st rank, senior military assistant, military lawyer.

B. Senior command and command staff.

1 sleeper. Captain, senior political instructor, military engineer, quartermaster, military doctor, senior military lawyer.
2 sleepers. Major, battalion commissar, military engineer of the 2nd rank, quartermaster of the 2nd rank, military doctor of the 2nd rank, military officer of the 2nd rank.
3 sleepers. Lieutenant colonel, senior battalion commissar, 1st rank military engineer, 1st rank quartermaster, 1st rank military doctor, 1st rank military lawyer.
4 sleepers. Colonel, regimental commissar.

Middle and senior command staff, middle and senior political composition they had additional insignia on their sleeves, but they were the same for all political workers, and for commanders they differed in rank.
From left to right: 1st lieutenant, 2nd lieutenant, 3rd lieutenant, 4th captain, 5th major and lieutenant colonel, 6th colonel.

The highest command and commanding staff.

In 1940, the scale of ranks for senior officers changed significantly. Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR dated May 7, 1940, the following ranks are introduced for senior officers:
* major general,
* lieutenant general,
*Colonel General,
*army General,
* marshal Soviet Union.

For political workers, military-technical staff, administrative staff, legal staff, veterinary and medical services titles remain the same. However, the rank of "brigade commander" and its equals (brigade commissar, briging engineer, brigintendant, brigvrach, brigvetvrach, brigvoyenurist) were completely abolished. New ranks to persons who previously held the rank of "brigade commander" and his equals were assigned not automatically, but by decisions attestation commissions. Most of brigade commanders received the rank of colonel and only a small part of them became generals. Offended by the undeserved, in their opinion, reduction in rank, the brigade commanders continued to wear brigade commander rhombuses in their buttonholes, and not colonel's sleepers; especially since the recertification process dragged on to start of the war, and with its onset, it completely stopped. Therefore, already after the start of the war and until the autumn of 1942, it was often possible to meet people calling themselves "brigade commander", "brigade commissar", etc., and wearing diamonds in their buttonholes.

2 stars. Major General.
2-rhombuses. Divisional commissar, divisional engineer, divintendant, military doctor, military doctor, military lawyer.
3 stars. Lieutenant general.
3-rhombus. Corps commissar, root engineer, corintendent, corporal doctor, corvette doctor, corvo jurist.
4 stars. Colonel General.
4-rhombus. Army commissar of the 2nd rank, arm engineer, armintendant, arm doctor, arm veterinarian, arm military lawyer.
5 stars. Army General.
4 diamonds and 1 golden star. Army commissar 1st rank.
1-large star with laurel branches. Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Insignia on the sleeves of senior officers.

From left to right: 1 major general, lieutenant general, colonel general; 2- army general; 3rd Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Military ranks first appeared in mid-sixteenth century in the archery army (1):
- archer;
- foreman;
- Pentecostal;
- centurion;
- half-head (five hundred head, later lieutenant colonel and lieutenant colonel);
- head of the order (later regiment commander, colonel);
- governor (head of the archery detachment);
- streltsy head (head of all streltsy parts of the city or county).

Ranks were retained only while serving in archery army. In other troops, before the formation of the regiments of the new system, military ranks coincided with the ranks of the civil service (duma clerk, clerk, stolnik, etc.).

II. Period of the XVII-XVIII centuries.

In the regiments of the new system, the command staff had military ranks of the Western European type (1):
- ensign;
- lieutenant;
- captain (or captain in the cavalry);
- major;
- lieutenant colonel;
- colonel;
- brigadier general;
- major general;
- lieutenant general;
- general.

AT late XVII - early XVIII centuries Peter I introduced single system military ranks (ranks) of the Western European type, which were finalized by the Table of Ranks of January 24, 1722.

III. Period 1722-1917

Military ranks according to the "Table of Ranks" introduced by Peter I on January 24, 1722, are given in table 1:

IV. Period 1917-1924

After the Great October socialist revolution By a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of December 16, 1917, the old ranks, titles and titles were abolished (1).

In the early years Soviet power commanders in the army and navy differed only in their positions: in the army - commander of a platoon, company, battalion, regiment, head of division, etc., in the navy - commander of a ship, detachment, brigade of ships, etc. (2).

V. Period 1924-1935

By order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR No. 989 of July 30, 1924, a single rank was introduced - the commander of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (hereinafter referred to as the Red Army). By order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR No. 1068 of August 10, 1924, a common rank for all military personnel was established - the red soldier of the Red Army, abbreviated as the Red Army (Red Navy).

Persons who held combat positions up to the flight commander and those corresponding to them were called "ordinary Red Army".

Starting from the position of a flight commander and above, the military personnel belonged to the command staff, which was divided into 4 categories: junior, middle, senior and higher. The political, administrative medical and veterinary staff were equated with the main command positions, according to which they performed their official duties. By Order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR No. 1244 dated October 2, 1924, military personnel began to be divided into ordinary and commanding staff, consisting of four groups and 14 categories: junior - 1-2 categories, middle - 3-6 categories, senior - 7-9 categories, the highest - 10-14 categories.

Until 1935, military ranks had the same feature. as in 1917-1924, and differed only in positions held. The list of these ranks according to the Order of the Revolutionary Military Council No. 1244 of October 2, 1924 is given in table 2.

VI. Period 1935-1940

By the Decree of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of September 22, 1935, announced by the Order of the NPO SSR No. 144 of September 26, 1935, personal military ranks were introduced for personnel army and navy. The military personnel who were in leadership work in the Red Army began to be divided into command and command staff:

1. The commanding staff included commanders of subunits, units, formations, as well as persons who occupied positions in units and institutions of the Red Army, for the performance of which duties required mandatory command experience and appropriate military training.

2. The military-political, military-technical, military-economic, military-administrative, military-medical, military-veterinary, military-legal staff were ranked as the commanding staff.

The same Decree introduced the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.

The list of personal military ranks is given in table 3. The list of insignia introduced by the Order of the NPO of the USSR No. 176 of December 3, 1935 is given in table 4. The list of emblems on the buttonholes for uniforms, introduced by Order of the NPO of the USSR No. 33 of March 10, 1936, is given in table 5.

VII. Period 1940-43

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 7, 1940, general and admiral ranks were introduced for senior command personnel (see Table 6), which replaced the ranks of brigade commanders, divisional commanders, commanders, commanders and their respective ranks with generals. In connection with the abolition of the rank of brigade commander in ground forces the ranks of major, lieutenant colonel, colonel began to correspond in the fleet to the ranks of captains of 3rd, 2nd, 1st ranks (1, 2, 4).

The insignia of senior officers established by NPO Order No. 176 of December 3, 1935 were abolished. However, as of June 22, 1941, 1 commander, 11 division commanders and 78 brigade commanders (3) remained in command positions in the old ranks in the Red Army.

New military ranks were introduced for ordinary and junior officers by the Order of the NPO of the USSR No. 391 of November 2, 1940 and the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of November 30, 1940 (see table 7). The rest of the military ranks remained unchanged.

Correspondence of command military ranks depending on the type of troops, service, composition, people's commissariat is given in table 8.

The list of insignia of middle and senior command and political structures, introduced by the Order of the NCO of the USSR No. 226 of July 26, 1940, as well as the junior commanding staff, introduced by Order of the NCO of the USSR No. 391 of November 2, 1940 and the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of November 30, 1940 g., is shown in table 9.

With these insignia of the command staff, our country began the Great Patriotic War.

On May 21, 1942, guards ranks were introduced by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The military personnel who received such ranks began to be called: Red Army Guards, Guards Sergeant, Guards Major, etc. military personnel guards units and connections installed Chest sign"Guard" for wearing on the right side of the chest (2).

On July 14, 1942, distinctive signs were introduced for servicemen wounded on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Distinguishing mark for wounds was a stripe rectangular shape 43 mm long, 5-6 mm wide, made of silk galloon: with a light wound - dark red, with a severe wound - golden. Worn on the right side of the chest (2).

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 9, 1942, military ranks and insignia common to all commanders of the Red Army were established for all deputy commanders for political affairs and all other political workers. in connection with which the military ranks of the military-political composition, established by the Decree of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of September 22, 1935, became invalid (5).

The titles "Red Army" and "Red Navy" were abolished in July 1946 with their replacement by the titles "Private" and "Sailor", respectively.

VIII. Period 1943-1945

In 1942-43. the unification of personal military ranks of military-political, military-technical, military-economic, military-administrative, military-medical, military-veterinary, military-legal structures was carried out. The list of unified military ranks of military specialists is given in table 10. The ranks of the military-political composition were equated to the combined arms ranks.

On January 6, 1943, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, new insignia were introduced - shoulder straps announced in the troops by Order of the NPO No. 25 of January 15, 1943. The list of insignia on shoulder straps is given in table 11. The coloring of shoulder straps, depending on the type of troops and the type of wearing shoulder straps, is given in tables 12 and 13. The rights of command instances for conferring military ranks are given in table 14.

On June 26, 1945, the rank of Generalissimo was introduced by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which was awarded on June 27, 1945 Supreme Commander Armed Forces of the USSR I.V. Stalin.

The rights of command instances for the assignment of military ranks in the period 1941-45. (5)

Military ranks from junior lieutenant to colonel, inclusive, and to them corresponding to the commanding staff before the Great Patriotic War were assigned by Orders People's Commissar Defense of the USSR and the People's Commissar of the Navy.

The war demanded greater efficiency in resolving issues of conferring military ranks in the Army and Navy. In order to quickly assign military ranks to commanding officers and Red Army soldiers who distinguished themselves in battles for their homeland, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 18, 1941 granted the right to confer military ranks:

Military Councils of fronts - up to major, battalion commissar and their peers, inclusive;

Military Councils of the armies - up to senior lieutenant, political instructor and their peers, inclusive.

It was also granted the right to the Military Councils of fleets and flotillas to assign military ranks up to and including senior lieutenant by their orders.

Additionally, by Order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR No. 0356 of September 20, 1941, the right was granted to the heads of the main departments and departments People's Commissariat defense to assign by their orders military ranks up to major and the corresponding ones, inclusive. The same right was granted to the Military Councils of the districts. The rank of lieutenant colonel had the right to assign deputies of the people's commissar of defense. The rank of colonel was still assigned by the Order of the People's Commissar of Defense, the rank of general - by the Decree of the Government.

In connection with the introduction in 1942-43. uniform unified military ranks for political, engineering, technical, quartermaster, medical, veterinary and administrative staff were established for the period of re-certification of the commanding staff of the right of command instances to assign new military ranks, indicated in table 14.

The re-certification of the commanding staff for new military ranks was carried out without attestation commissions, but with the obligatory conclusion of the Military Councils. When recertifying, service experience, military and special education, participation in hostilities and length of service in the old rank. During the recertification period, a reduction in rank was allowed, but not more than one step compared to the existing rank of the person being certified, if he did not meet the requirements specified above.

The Military Councils of fronts, fleets, districts, armies, flotillas were given the right to individual cases, in the presence of outstanding successes or special merits, to assign extraordinary military ranks within the limits of the rights granted to them.

On July 24, 1943, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued, which for the first time in the army and navy established a clear division of military personnel into private, sergeant, officers and generals. This Decree in the Red Army and the RKVMF for the first time fixed the name "officer", and all military ranks began to be called officer ranks.

The decree determined new order assignment of military ranks. If earlier the primary officer rank could be awarded to all those enlisted in the army from among the rank and file and junior commanding staff, now only military personnel who received the appropriate military education, and only in exceptional cases it was allowed to assign the primary officer rank to servicemen without a military education for their special ability to command in battle.

The right to confer regular military ranks was withdrawn from the commanders of the troops of military districts, they were allowed to assign by their orders only primary officer ranks to persons who had completed district junior lieutenant courses.

The decree established that the primary military rank in the Red Army is the rank of junior lieutenant, which is assigned:

Persons of sergeants and privates for the demonstrated ability to command in battle - orders of front commanders and, in exceptional cases, orders of army commanders;

Persons who have completed short-term courses for junior lieutenants - by orders of the commanders of fronts, armies and military districts;

Cadets who graduated from military schools: infantry, machine gun and rifle and mortar. - by orders of the head of the Main Directorate of Personnel of the Red Army, and special and military-political, - by orders of the corresponding commanders (chiefs) of the military branches, the head of the Main Political Directorate and the head of the logistics of the Red Army.

The right to assign all subsequent officer ranks The decree provided:

Army commanders - up to and including senior lieutenant;

Front commanders - up to and including major;

The commander of the military branches, the heads of the Main Directorate of Personnel, the Main Political Directorate and the head of the rear of the Red Army - up to and including lieutenant colonel. The rank of colonel was still assigned by Order of the People's Commissar of Defense, general and admiral ranks - by Government Decree, the ranks of Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshals of military branches - by Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Thus, in connection with the establishment of a new procedure for conferring military ranks, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 18, 1941 became invalid.

The terms of service in the military ranks of the commanding officers of the army and navy in the Great Patriotic War are given in table 15.

Statistics on the assignment of military ranks during the Great Patriotic War are given in tables 16 and.

Sources of information:

1. "Soviet military encyclopedia", v.3, M.: Military Publishing House, 1978.

2. "Illustrated description of uniforms and insignia of the Red and Soviet army(1918-1945)", compiled by O.V. Kharitonov, L.: publication of the Artillery Historical Museum of the GAU MO USSR, 1960.

3. Kalashnikov K.A., Feskov V.I., Chmykhalo A.Yu., Golikov V.I. "Red Army in June 1941 (statistical collection)", Tomsk: TSU publishing house, 2001.

4. "Toolkit for reference work in TsAMO RF", Podolsk: TsAMO publishing house, 1995.

5. "Military personnel Soviet state in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Reference and statistical materials", according to general edition A.P. Beloborodova, M.: Military Publishing House, 1963.

NOTES

Beginning composition in the ranks of a military engineer of the 1st rank, a quartermaster of the 1st rank, a military doctor of the 1st rank, a military officer of the 1st rank, as they wore three sleepers in their buttonholes until 1940, they remained with three sleepers. In fact, absolutely nothing has changed, because. they had previously been considered a step below the colonel. But if earlier they had as many sleepers on their buttonholes as the colonel, now it turned out that they were all, as it were, lowered in rank. There were a lot of grievances, to the point that many of them arbitrarily attached the fourth sleeper.

The regimental commissars were pleased, because they now wore four sleepers and in this they differed from the quartermasters, engineers, military doctors of the regimental level, that is, their higher status, equal to the commander of the regiment, was clearly emphasized. But the battalion commissars were dissatisfied (especially those who were about to be assigned another title) due to the fact that between their rank and the coveted rank of regimental commissar, another one was wedged.

The middle and senior command staff, the middle and senior political staff had additional insignia on the sleeves. The command staff in the form of various triangular galloons differing in rank. All political workers had the same ones in the form of a sewn-on star. The middle and senior commanding staff (lawyers, doctors, veterinarians, quartermasters, administrative staff, technical staff) did not have any signs on their sleeves.

Although the wearing of emblems of military branches in buttonholes was mandatory (except for political workers), there were significant difficulties in their manufacture and supply of troops. Expensive red copper was used for the emblems; emblems were stamped on machines, and there were not enough such machines in the country. Sewing from the golden thread of emblems was prohibited. Therefore, the vast majority of Red Army soldiers and sergeants, and a significant part of the officers, had no emblems in their buttonholes at all. In order to combat the shortage of insignia, they began to use cheaper materials for their manufacture. But even these measures could not significantly improve the lack of insignia.

By the decision of the State Defense Committee of October 9, 1942, the system of military commissars was liquidated in the army and navy, and all of them were given command ranks.
Moreover, the titles are assigned one step lower. For example, if earlier a junior political instructor was equal to a lieutenant, then a new rank was assigned to him - junior lieutenant. The number of political posts was sharply reduced. Some of yesterday's political instructors and commissars were appointed deputy commanders for political affairs (from the company and above), some were transferred to command positions. If earlier a political instructor or commissar enjoyed equal power with the commander in a unit, unit, now they have become deputy commanders.

It is difficult to imagine an ocean of resentment among political workers by this decision of the State Defense Committee.
The wartime situation and the increased role of the Special Departments (NKVD) kept them from open discontent. Many of them had to change the comfortable position of a non-responsible, but all-powerful chief to the bitter lot of a commander responsible for everything and everything, others to come to terms with the fate of a second person in a regiment, battalion, company; places of an equal, or even superior commander to the place of a subordinate. It is much easier to imagine the relief of commanders who have lost the obligation to constantly look back at the opinion of the commissar, who are obliged to coordinate every step with him. Previously, you had to decide together, and answer alone, but now you have decided, and you yourself answer.

Probably, like most of the people around me, I was not very interested in the details of what kubari and sleepers on the buttonholes of red commanders in the pre-war and war period mean. It’s not that it wasn’t interesting at all, but somehow the usual “lieutenant”, “captain” or “colonel” sounded in films and books. Of course, there were situations when, when reading a book or a story on a military theme, I came across phrases like "judging by the two sleepers on the buttonholes, it was a major ...", the familiar shoulder strap of a Soviet major with one asterisk instantly jumped out of my memory, but the development of the plot was distracting from a question that remained in the subconscious until better times. We will assume that these better times come.

In fact, until 1943, during appearance severe asceticism prevailed in the Soviet military. In any case, from films about the civil war, it was difficult to understand whether there was any system of external difference in the Red Army, say, a company commander from a platoon commander. On his dismissal, he could understand that he was in front of a commander, and not a courier in a leather jacket on a motorcycle. Somehow, such questions did not arise before, but when preparing the article, I kept coming across articles and colorful tablets describing the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army, which I decided to arrange it all in separate article. What was unexpected for me personally was, of course, such insignia as triangles, squares and rhombuses. I always personified them with dashing thirties and forties. About that, by order of the Revolutionary Military Council No. 628 of April 8, 1919, the first samples of uniforms were approved: a headdress in the form of a helmet, infantry and cavalry overcoats with three stripes-tapes on the chest ("talks") made of colored cloth according to the type of troops, a summer shirt with three stripes of cloth on the chest in color according to the type of troops and leather boots were unexpected. Also, by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic No. 572 of April 3, 1920, sleeve badges types of troops. So, the sign of the infantry was a rhombus made of crimson cloth, a circle was embroidered on it - in the upper part of the yellow color, with divergent rays, a star was depicted in the center of the circle, the bottom of the sign was a green field, a metal emblem was attached to the field under the star - crossed rifles. The pattern on the sign for all branches of the military was the same, only the emblem of the corresponding branch of service was attached under the star, the signs differed in the shape and color of the field. So, for military engineering troops, the sign had the shape of a square of black cloth, cavalry - horseshoes made of blue cloth, etc. Two years later, on January 31, 1922, by order of the RVSR No. 322, a new uniform was introduced with a single cut of an overcoat, tunic, helmet , new insignia: a cloth valve was sewn to the sleeve according to the color of the type of troops, in the upper part of which there was a check scarlet color, under it - insignia, above the valve - a sign of the type of troops. The command staff had red insignia, the administrative staff - blue. On headdresses, a small metal star was attached over a cloth colored star (color according to the type of troops). The uniform of the command staff was no different from the uniform of the Red Army. In general, in the figure below, I tried to schematically, somehow reduce all my knowledge in this area to a single whole. experts will probably say how it turned out, but in any case, it’s already clear to me personally.

This could have ended. Time period - Civil War ends at the turn of 1921-1922. True, the reader has not received an answer to the question of how all these triangles, squares and rhombuses subsequently turned into lieutenants and captains, majors and colonels, where are the "sleepers" and stars of the command staff. All this will be, but a little later. A series of military reforms will take place and gradually the Red Army will take on its usual form with head over heels and sleepers. So far, I can only add that two years later, after the official end of hostilities in 1924, the army switched to a new, more simplified uniform. Breast flaps and sleeve insignia were abolished, buttonholes were sewn on the overcoat and tunic; in the infantry - from crimson cloth with black edging, in the cavalry - from blue cloth with black edging, in artillery - from black cloth with red edging, in technical troops - from black cloth with blue edging, in Air Force ah - from blue cloth with a red edging, for the administrative staff - dark green with a red edging. Metal insignia covered with red enamel were attached to the buttonholes: for the highest command staff - rhombuses, for the senior - rectangles, for the middle - squares and for the junior - triangles. The numbers of the regiments were indicated on the buttonholes of the Red Army men. One of the options for this form of clothing, we can observe in the famous film "Officers". It is very clearly seen here that the hero of the film belongs to such a branch of the army as the cavalry, he has the characteristic color of his buttonholes and "talks", the emblem of the cavalry is visible in the buttonhole. In another frame, it is very clearly seen that the former cadet already belongs to the command staff with the rank of platoon commander,
judging by the two triangles on the sleeve.

Well, in order to completely draw a line, I would like to remind you once again that the most favorite fragment of the film "Officers" is the awarding of red revolutionary harem pants.

After the two previous articles, I consider it necessary to close the circle of reflections on the history of Russian and Soviet military ranks, the period 1912 - 1943, from the moment of the last military reform in the Russian Imperial Army and until the return, at least external, to the symbols and traditions of the Russian army during the Great Patriotic War.

In 1924, when the military reform the entire command staff was divided into: junior, middle, senior and higher, and 14 job categories were also identified.

Over time a hundred It was clear that the eradication of insignia was too hasty a decision, so gradually they began to be introduced again. The new insignia had nothing in common with the insignia used in tsarist army. In July 1940, the insignia introduced in 1936 were reformed. The Red Army entered the war using insignia of the 1940 model. Insignia were worn in buttonholes. There were two types of buttonholes: rectangular - for most types of uniforms and rhombic - for overcoats. Three categories of officers were distinguished: marshals and generals, who wore stars embroidered with gold in their buttonholes, senior officers (division commanders and brigade commanders), who wore enameled rhombuses with gold edging in their buttonholes, middle officers (colonels and captains), who wore enameled rectangles in their buttonholes and junior officers (lieutenants), who wore in buttonholes, enameled squares - "kubari". Sergeants and foremen wore enameled triangles in their buttonholes.

The types of troops and services were indicated by the color of the edging and insignia. The color of the field of the buttonholes showed belonging to the branch of the army, in addition, a small badge in the buttonhole spoke of belonging to a certain branch of the army.

Commissars held a special position in the army. There were commissars in every unit from the battalion and up. In 1937, in each unit (company, platoon), the position of political instructor was introduced - a junior political officer. The insignia of the commissars as a whole were similar to the insignia of officers, but had their own characteristics. Instead of chevrons on the sleeve, the commissars wore a red star.

In January 1941, another reform of the Red Army uniform was carried out. The changes were to make the uniform more comfortable to wear in combat. First of all, they abandoned the use of bright chevrons and buttonholes and replaced them with samples of more faded colors. The field of buttonholes began to be made of khaki fabric, and the enameled badges were replaced with metal ones. Plans to modernize the uniform stretched until October 1941, but were interrupted by the outbreak of war.

Insignia of the ranks of the Russian Army. 20th century

Insignia of the Red Army servicemen by rank
1941-42

The period under review covers the time from December 1940 to the beginning of January 1943.

Significant changes in the insignia of ranks after November 1940 and until August 1941 did not occur. Already after the start of the war, by order of NPO No. 253 dated August 1, for the entire personnel of the Active Army and marching units (that is, units formed and sent to the Active Army), a number of changes are made in the uniform and insignia:

1. The wearing of sleeve chevrons for command personnel and sleeve stars for political workers is cancelled.
2. Colored stripes on the marching uniform of generals are cancelled.
3. Canceled colored piping on the trousers and tunics of the middle and senior command staff.
4. Colored buttonholes are replaced with camouflage buttonholes without piping.
5. Red enamel rank insignia are replaced with green ones.
6. Golden emblems of military branches are painted green.
7. Golden stars on the buttonholes of generals are replaced with green ones.

For troops and military institutions not assigned to the Active Army, rank insignia do not change.

From secondary sources (M.M. Khrenov and others. military clothing Armed Forces of the USSR and Russia (1917-1990s.)) It follows that the marching uniform with protective insignia for the infantry was adopted back in January (according to other sources, in February) 1941. However, the author could not find the corresponding NPO order .

From the author. Interesting feature- in army documents since the summer of 1941, the abbreviation of the Red Army or the name "Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army" is almost never found. The name "Red Army" is used everywhere. The abbreviation of the Red Army or the name "Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army" is used mainly on solemn occasions.

This order in the army was perceived ambiguously. Political workers unanimously ignored the abolition of their sleeve stars, believing that the stars on the sleeves give them more significance and influence among the personnel. This opinion was fully supported by the head of GlavPUR Mekhlis.
They did not yet know about Hitler's Directive OKW No. 44822/41 of June 6, 1941 "Instructions on the treatment of political commissars", which ordered the destruction of captured commissars and political officers. To recognize them among the rest of the prisoners, this Directive prescribed precisely by the presence of sleeve stars.
Commander of the 9th Mechanized Corps, Major General K.K. Rokossovsky, having raised the corps on alarm on the morning of June 22, simply forbade the issuance of khaki buttonholes to sergeants and officers, believing that the visibility of commanders for his fighters is much more important than their visibility to the enemy.

From the author. Judging by the memoirs of Rokossovsky, such buttonholes in the corps were prepared before the war. I can't explain these lines of memories. But it is documented that they were introduced only on August 1. Perhaps in the memory of the marshal there was a shift of events in time. Or was it really a new marching uniform and insignia for it that had been prepared since February 1941, and they were available in the warehouses of the 9th Corps.
If he really did not consider this measure of disguise necessary, then one can only guess how many officers this opinion of Rokossovsky cost their lives. After all, the main task of snipers during the battle is the destruction of enemy officers and signalmen. This achieves a violation of the control of the battle with the enemy.
And there are no more noticeable signs of an officer for the shooters, like a cap with a colored band, colored buttonholes and chevrons shining with gold on the sleeves. All this is noticeable from a fairly large distance and without binoculars. And the sniper has an optical sight. And in the years 41-42, the Wehrmacht snipers knew how to shoot very well. The Germans are generally very fond of shooting sports and know a lot about shooting.

And further. We somehow generally like to give assessments to our commanders, either purely positive or unambiguously negative. But Zhukov, and Rokossovsky and Vasilevsky and others like them, are ordinary people with all their advantages and disadvantages. Each of them had both major achievements and solid failures. All of them sometimes found excellent solutions and made serious miscalculations. And to consider all of them or some of them mediocrity because in this or that operation they did not find a victorious solution, in my opinion it is dishonest. And not everything in this war depended only on the Soviet side.
To some extent, war resembles a chess match, in which far from stupid players meet. And you don't consider a grandmaster to be mediocre if he defeated his opponent not with a score of 21:0, but with a score of 11:10.
And why do some allow themselves to be considered boobies Soviet marshals for the fact that they defeated the Wehrmacht not in a border battle in the summer of 41, but only four years later? After all, on the other side of the front, it was by no means kids in short pants who led the troops. And talent German generals was not to take.
Nevertheless, Stalin's generals outplayed the Nazis. So who should be considered great commanders - those who lost the war, Or those who won?

The NPO's order to switch to protective insignia was far from being fully implemented. Such buttonholes, insignia and emblems in the pre-war period the right amount was not prepared. Although the clothing industry switched to sewing uniforms in August in accordance with this order, however, until the mobilization stocks of military clothing were used up, people drafted into the army after the start of the war continued to be dressed in uniforms with colored buttonholes and given red enamel insignia. Moreover, in the confusion of the first weeks of the war, no one could say where this or that team of mobilized people would be sent.

The production of protective insignia lagged far behind and they appeared on the uniform only in the late autumn of 1941.

In the picture on the right: a typical example of wearing a military uniform in the first military autumn-winter. An overcoat with hastily sewn khaki buttonholes, on which there are no insignia at all. Under the overcoat, a tunic with pre-war colored buttonholes, an infantry emblem and a junior lieutenant's cube is visible. But on the tunic buttonhole we see not a commander's lace, but a black edging, which the command staff should not wear. On the cap with earflaps, there is a red enamel star, i.е. pre-war model.

From the author. Another of the generals of the tsarist army wrote that the attitude of soldiers and officers to military uniform is a true indicator of the morale of the army and the general state of affairs in it. Great Patriotic War showed how true this observation is. Tracking photographs of the war from 41 to 45, we see how the appearance Wehrmacht soldiers for the worse and vice versa, the appearance of the Red Army changed from dull-indifferent at 41 to dandy at 45.
Of course, in the most difficult days of the battle near Moscow, it seemed that the fighters were not up to the task. However, in the fall of 42 in Stalingrad, in the same combat conditions, the Red Army soldiers and commanders look much more decent. A introduction new form and shoulder straps at 43 were clearly perceived as the fact that the Red Army was confidently marching towards Victory and should be dressed beautifully. And everyone followed their form much more carefully.

The author considered it necessary to show various real-life options for wearing rank insignia in 41-42 years.

1. Foreman. Red enamel triangles are attached to the overcoat protective buttonhole. The emblem of the military branch is missing. On the protective tunic buttonhole, triangles laid in a protective color are attached. The emblem is missing.

2- Senior sergeant. Here, on the contrary, overcoat insignia are shown correctly, and red enamel triangles on the tunic.

3- Sgt. Here, camouflage triangles are attached to the buttonholes of the 1940 model, and the emblem of artillery is golden.

There are triangles cut out of green fabric and sewn to buttonholes, cut out of canned tin. Very often you can see in the pictures of overcoats without buttonholes and any insignia at all.

It should be noted that in general, the emblems of the military branches on the buttonholes of the private and junior command staff were absent in the infantry and cavalry, since the emblems of the infantry in the summer of 1940 were introduced only for the middle and senior command staff, and in the cavalry they, obviously, were not introduced at all.
In other branches of the military, emblems are quite rare. More often than others in aviation and artillery.

4. Junior lieutenant of artillery, 5th major of the armored forces, 6th military officer with the rank of brigade commander (brigengineer, brigvrach, brigvetvrach, brigvoyenurist), 7th major general.

It should be noted that although with the introduction of general ranks the rank of brigade commander went down in history, however, the process of re-certification of yesterday's brigade commanders was not completed by the beginning of the war. Moreover, in the confusion of the first period of the war, brigade commanders called up from the reserve were not re-certified. So brigade commanders and brigade commissars met in the army until 1943.

By the middle of 1942, the inconsistency in insignia had significantly decreased. Obviously for the reasons that the newly issued form already usually had field buttonholes and khaki insignia. The red enamel signs were gradually lost. The war led to a significant decrease in the number of career officers, who could still retain pre-war insignia.

On January 28, 1942, by order of NPO No. 23 for the engineering and technical staff (as the military-technical staff of the Air Force is now called) of the Air Force, the rank scale and, accordingly, the insignia of ranks are changed.

Instead of the existing junior military technician,.......arming engineer introduced:

* lieutenant technician (2 squares),


* Major General of the Aviation Engineering Service (2 stars on the general's blue buttonhole), * Lieutenant General of the Aviation Engineering Service (3 stars on the general's blue buttonhole), * Colonel General of the Aviation Engineering Service (4 stars on the blue buttonhole general pattern).

The emblem of the military-technical staff on the buttonholes of the Air Force (crossed French key and hammer) is replaced by the newly introduced emblem of the engineering and technical staff of the Air Force (1).

Accordingly, the insignia also change.

Naturally, these insignia were not intended for the Army in the field, but in aviation in the vast majority of cases and in the Army in the field continued to wear peacetime insignia.

Since January 42, the generals of the aviation engineering service have blue buttonholes with general stars they had a black edging, and not a commander's gold lace (2).

The picture on the right shows:
1- emblem of the engineering staff of the Air Force,
2 - buttonhole of the lieutenant general of the aviation engineering service,
3- buttonholes engineer-captain of the Air Force.

March 3, 1942 By the Decree of the State Defense Committee (announced by order of the NPO No. 68 of March 4), the rank scale and, accordingly, the insignia of ranks are changed for the engineering and technical staff of artillery. Instead of the existing junior military technician,.......arming engineer introduced:
* lieutenant technician (2 squares),
* senior technician-lieutenant (3 squares),
*engineer-captain (1 rectangle),
*major engineer (2 rectangles),
* lieutenant colonel engineer (3 rectangles),
*colonel engineer (4 rectangles),
* Major General of the Engineering and Artillery Service (2 stars on the buttonhole of the general's sample in black with a red edging),
* lieutenant general of the engineering and artillery service (3 stars on the buttonhole of the general's sample in black with a red edging),
* Colonel General of the Engineering and Artillery Service (4 stars on the buttonhole of the general's sample in black with a red edging).

On March 8, 1942, by order of NPO No. 71, a similar rank scale and similar insignia are introduced for the engineering and technical staff of the armored forces. Only the generals have the prefix "... engineering and tank service."

At the same time, the emblem of the military-technical staff (crossed hammer and French key) still remains in the buttonholes.
Naturally, in the Active Army, the buttonholes are green with green insignia and emblems.

From the author. That's only when the title of "briging engineer" (1 rhombus in the buttonhole) began to go down in history. In March, for the engineering and technical staff of aviation, artillery and armored forces. The briging engineers, in accordance with the new scale, were awarded the rank of engineer-colonel. However, this was seen by many as a reduction in rank. After all, the briging engineer belonged to the highest commanding staff, and the new rank of engineer-colonel only to the senior. Everywhere they continued to wear their rhombuses, and not the 4 sleepers now assigned to them. Moreover, in the rest of the military branches, the rank of brigengineer in March 1942 was still preserved.

On March 30, by order of NPO No. 93, new ranks were introduced to replace the previous ones for the middle and senior commanding staff of the quartermaster service:
* lieutenant of the quartermaster service (2 squares),
* senior lieutenant of the quartermaster service (3 squares),
* captain of the quartermaster service (1 rectangle),
* major of the quartermaster service (2 rectangles),
* lieutenant colonel of the quartermaster service (3 rectangles),
* colonel of the quartermaster service (4 rectangles).

Recall that for the highest commissary staff, general ranks were introduced back in 1940, simultaneously with the introduction of general ranks for command personnel.

Last change in the insignia of 1942, one can assume a change in the names of the ranks of the senior commanding staff of the artillery:
* engineer-captain - captain of the artillery and technical service,
* Major Engineer - Major of the Artillery and Technical Service
* engineer-lieutenant colonel - lieutenant colonel of the artillery and technical service
* engineer-colonel-colonel of the artillery and technical service.

By the same order, they changed the emblems in their buttonholes - instead of the emblem of the military-technical staff (crossed hammer and French key), they now must wear artillery emblems (crossed guns). At the same time, on everyday uniforms, they are not golden, like those of the command staff, but silver.

The year 1943 was approaching, in which these insignia would forever go down in history.

Sources and literature

1. Order of the NCO of the USSR No. 253 of August 1, 1941.
2. Order of the NCO of the USSR No. 23 of 01/28/1942.
3. Order of the NCO of the USSR No. 68 of 03/04/1942.
4. Order of the NPO of the USSR No. 71 dated March 8, 1942.
5. Order of the NCO of the USSR No. 93 dated 30.03.1942.
6. Order of the NPO of the USSR No. 168 of 05/28/1942.
7. Order of the NPO of the USSR No. 278 of 14.09.1942.
8. Website "deutschewaffe.narod.ru".
9. K.K. Rokossovsky. Soldier duty. Moscow. Military publishing house 1988
10.G.K. Zhukov. Memories and reflections. APN. 1987
11.O.V. Kharitonov. An illustrated description of the uniforms and insignia of the Red and Soviet Army (1918-1945). Artillery historical Museum Main Artillery Directorate of the USSR Ministry of Defense. 1960
12. M. M. Khrenov et al. Military clothing of the Armed Forces of the USSR and Russia (1917-1990s.) Military publishing house. Moscow. 1999