Liberation Army. Russian Liberation Army - ROA

High command and officer corps of the ROA. Separation of ROA

On January 28, 1945, after the completion of the preparatory work that had been in full swing since September 1944, the existence of the Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia, united under the name of the Russian Liberation Army (ROA), became a reality. On this day, Hitler appointed Vlasov commander-in-chief of the Russian armed forces and gave him command of all Russian formations, both newly formed and resulting from regroupings. Since January 28, 1945, the Germans considered the ROA to be the armed forces of an allied power, temporarily subordinated in operational terms to the Wehrmacht. By order No. 1 of the same date, Major General F. I. Trukhin was appointed chief of staff and permanent deputy commander in chief. It is unlikely that General Vlasov could have found a more successful candidate for this post. A native of a noble-landlord family, a former student of St. theorist G. S. Isserson, the only "extraordinary personality in the Academy" . The war found Trukhin as chief of the operations department of the headquarters of the Baltic Special Military District (North-Western Front). A talented man with deep military knowledge, with a strong character and imposing appearance, Trukhin belonged to the brightest representatives and true leaders of the Liberation Movement. His deputy, Colonel, and then Major General V. I. Boyarsky, a descendant of the Ukrainian prince Gamalia, a former adjutant of Marshal of the Soviet Union M. N. Tukhachevsky, a graduate of the Frunze Military Academy, was also an outstanding personality. He was captured by the Germans, being the commander of the 41st Infantry Division. Colonel von Henning, who was involved in volunteer formations, described Boyarsky in 1943 as "an exceptionally intelligent, resourceful, well-read and well-worn soldier and politician." From the very beginning, Boyarsky's position was distinguished by independence and open opposition to the Germans, to whom he treated as an equal and demanding opponent. This position was so clear that in July 1943, Field Marshal Bush removed Boyarsky from the post of "headquarters officer for the training and leadership of the Eastern troops" at the 16th Army. The adjutant of the so-called leading group of the army headquarters was Lieutenant A.I. Romashkin, the head of the office was Major S.A. Sheiko, translator - Lieutenant A. A. Kubekov. In fact, the “high command of the Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia” (or, in other words, the “headquarters of the Armed Forces of the KONR”) performed the functions of the military ministry.

An idea of the tasks of the headquarters is given by its organization as of the end of February 1945.

1. Operational department.

Head of Department: Colonel A. G. Neryanin. Born in 1904 in a working-class family, he graduated with honors from the Frunze Military Academy and the General Staff Academy. Chief of the General Staff Marshal of the Soviet Union B. M. Shaposhnikov called Neryanin "one of our most brilliant army officers." During his service in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA) he was the head of the operational department of the headquarters of the troops of the Ural Military District. He was taken prisoner in November 1941 in the Rzhev-Vyazma region, being the head of the operational department of the headquarters of the 20th Army.

Deputy Head of Department: Lieutenant Colonel Korovin. Heads of subdivisions: lieutenant colonels V.F. Ril and V.E. Mikhelson.

2. Intelligence department.

Head of Department: Major I. M. Grachev. Head of counterintelligence: Major A.F. Chikalov.

3. Communication department.

Head of Department: Lieutenant Colonel V. D. Korbukov.

4. Department of military communications.

Head of Department: Major G. M. Kremenetsky.

5. Topographic department.

Head of Department: Lieutenant Colonel G. Vasiliev.

6. Encryption department.

Head of Department: Major A.E. Polyakov. Deputy: Lieutenant Colonel I.P. Pavlov.

7. Department of formations.

Head of Department: Colonel I. D. Denisov. Deputy: Major M. B. Nikiforov. Heads of subdivisions: captains G. A. Fedoseev, V. F. Demidov, S. T. Kozlov, major G. G. Sviridenko.

8. Department of combat training.

Head of Department: Major General V. Assberg (aka Artsezov or Asbyargas) - an Armenian, originally from Baku, graduated from a military school in Astrakhan, in 1942 he was a colonel, commanded the tank troops of one of the armies. Although he managed to withdraw his troops from the encirclement near Taganrog, he was sentenced to death, but then again thrown into battle and this time was captured.

Deputy Head of Department: Colonel A.N. Tavantsev. Head of the 1st subdivision (training): Colonel F.E. Cherny.

Head of the 2nd subdivision (military schools): Colonel A. A. Denisenko.

Head of the 3rd subdivision (statutes): Lieutenant Colonel A. G. Moskvichev.

9. Command department.

Head of Department: Colonel V.V. Pozdnyakov. Born in 1901 in St. Petersburg, in 1919 he joined the Red Army, after appropriate training he was the head of the chemical service (Nachkhim) of various military schools, regiments and divisions. In 1937 he was arrested and tortured. In 1941, he was taken prisoner near Vyazma, being the head of the chemical service of the 67th rifle corps. Deputy: Major V. I. Strelnikov. Head of the 1st subdivision (officers of the General Staff): Captain Ya. A. Kalinin.

Head of the 2nd subdivision (infantry): Major A.P. Demsky. Head of the 3rd subdivision (cavalry): senior lieutenant N. V. Vashchenko.

Head of the 4th subdivision (artillery): lieutenant colonel M.I. Pankevich.

Head of the 5th subdivision (tank and engineering troops): Captain A. G. Kornilov.

Head of the 6th subdivision (administrative and economic and military sanitary services): Major V.I. Panayot.

10. Department of propaganda.

Head of Department: Colonel (then Major General) M. A. Meandrov. Born in Moscow in 1894 in the family of a priest. Father, a priest of the Church of St. Khariton in Moscow, was exiled in 1932, died in exile. Meandrov graduated from the Alekseevsky Infantry School in Moscow in 1913, before the war he taught tactics at the Kremlin infantry school, until July 25, 1941, the chief of staff of the 37th Rifle Corps, then - the deputy chief of staff and head of the operations department of the 6th Army. He was taken prisoner in the Uman region. Deputy: Major M.V. Egorov.

Propaganda inspector in the troops: Captain M.P. Pokhvalensky.

Propaganda inspector among volunteers in Wehrmacht formations: Captain A.P. Sopchenko.

The propaganda department was subordinated to the song and dance ensemble, as well as the military orchestra.

11. Military legal department.

Head of Department: Major E.I. Arbenin.

12. Financial department.

Head of Department: Captain A.F. Petrov.

13. Department of armored troops.

Head of Department: Colonel G. I. Antonov. Born in 1898 in a peasant family in the Tula province. He was taken prisoner, being a colonel, commander of the tank troops of one of the armies. Deputy: Colonel L. N. Popov.

14. Artillery department.

Head of department: Major General M. V. Bogdanov (in the Red Army he was a major general, division commander). Deputy: Colonel N. A. Sergeev. Combat training inspector: Colonel V. A. Kardakov. Inspector for Artillery: Colonel A.S. Perchurov. Line armament inspector: Lieutenant Colonel N. S. Shatov.

15. Department of material and technical supply.

Head of Department: Major General A.N. Sevastyanov (in the Red Army he was a brigade commander).

Commander of the rear service: Colonel G.V. Saks.

Food Supply Inspector: Major P.F. Zelepugin.

Quartering Inspector: Captain A.I. Putilin.

16. Engineering department.

Head of Department: Colonel (surname unknown). Deputy: Colonel S. N. Golikov.

17. Sanitary department.

Head of Department: Colonel Professor V. N. Novikov. Deputy: Captain A. R. Trushnovich.

18. Veterinary department.

Head of Department: Lieutenant Colonel A. M. Saraev. Deputy: Captain V.N. Zhukov.

19. Protopresbyter.

Archpriest D. Konstantinov. Confessor of the Army Headquarters: Archpriest A. Kiselev.

Although at the beginning of March 1945 the army headquarters was not yet fully staffed, it had the same number of officers as in the entire Reichswehr ministry in 1920. The commandant of the headquarters, Major Khitrov, was subordinate to the administrative and economic department under the command of Captain P. Shishkevich, as well as the economic company under the command of senior lieutenant N. A. Sharko. The protection of the senior command staff, the KONR and the army headquarters was entrusted to the security battalion under the command of Major N. Begletsov. For the personal safety of Vlasov, the head of security, Captain M.V. Kashtanov, was responsible. In addition, the headquarters was given an officer reserve camp under the command of Lieutenant Colonel M. K. Meleshkevich with an officer battalion (commander M. M. Golenko). At the direct disposal of the headquarters were also a separate construction battalion (commander - engineer-captain A.P. Budny), a special-purpose battalion of the headquarters of the commander-in-chief, as well as the so-called auxiliary troops. These troops, formed from special personnel and workers transferred from technical units, under the command of Colonel Yaroput, received military status at the personal request of Vlasov, although at first they intended to attach them directly to the KONR for maintenance. The chief of staff of the auxiliary troops was at first Lieutenant Colonel K. I. Popov, and just before the end of the war, Colonel G. I. Antonov.

Almost all of the army staff officers listed here were formerly generals, colonels and staff officers of the Red Army. Already from this, the groundlessness of the later Soviet assertion is clear that the Soviet senior officers refused to join the ROA and therefore some nameless traitors were appointed officers. Meanwhile, back in 1944, circles of national minorities hostile to Vlasov complained to the Eastern Ministry that former Soviet generals and colonels, people who once belonged to the “Stalinist guard”, “retained all their privileges and distinctions and enjoyed all the blessings of life”, occupying leading positions in ROA. In addition to former officers of the Red Army, leading positions in the ROA were also occupied by some old emigrants. Vlasov, who understood the value of the political and military experience of emigrants, repeatedly spoke out in favor of cooperation with them and even introduced some of them into his inner circle. In this regard, it is worth mentioning one of his adjutants, Colonel I. K. Sakharov, the son of Lieutenant General of the Imperial Army K. V. Sakharov, the former chief of staff of Admiral A. V. Kolchak. Colonel Sakharov took part in the Spanish Civil War on the side of General Franco and, like another old officer, Lieutenant Colonel A. D. Arkhipov, until the end of the war he commanded a regiment in the 1st division of the ROA. Vlasov appointed the former regimental commander of the tsarist army, Colonel K. G. Kromiadi, as the head of his personal office. The officer for special assignments at the headquarters was Senior Lieutenant M. V. Tomashevsky, a lawyer, a graduate of Kharkov University, who, in order to avoid accusations of careerism, refused the rank of major of the ROA. The Liberation Movement was joined by Generals Arkhangelsky and A. von Lampe, as well as General A. M. Dragomirov and the well-known military writer, professor, General N. N. Golovin, who lived in Paris, who before his death managed to draw up a charter for the internal service of the ROA. The head of the personnel department of the headquarters of the auxiliary troops was Colonel of the tsarist and white armies Chokoli. At the head of the Directorate of Cossack Troops, created in 1945 under the KONR, was the chieftain of the Don army, Lieutenant General Tatarkin. Major General V. G. Naumenko, Cossack generals F. F. Abramov, E. I. Balabin, A. G. Shkuro, V. V. Kreiter and others also supported the Vlasov movement. General Kreyter, later the plenipotentiary representative of the KONR in Austria, handed over to Vlasov the jewels that had once been taken out of Russia by the army of General Wrangel. However, over time, there were fewer and fewer such officers in the ROA, and by 1945 we can already talk about the deliberate pushing back of old emigrants. The chief of staff, Major General Trukhin, was especially wary of them. For example, he initially rejected the request of Major General A.V. Turkul to enroll in the army, fearing to associate the ROA with the name of this general, who became famous during the civil war as the commander of the Drozdov division of the Wrangel army. In addition, some former senior emigrant officers who were ready to join the ROA put forward impossible demands, hoping to take leading positions. They had some grounds for this: after all, in the Cossack corps, which was formed back in 1945 by Major General Turkul, or in the 1st Russian National Army by Major General Holmston-Smyslovsky, command was the prerogative of old emigrants, and former Soviet officers occupied the lower posts. Meanwhile, the elderly officers for the most part lagged behind the latest achievements of military science, and it was not easy for them to retrain. In any case, the friction between old emigrants and former Soviet servicemen, noted even in volunteer formations, also manifested itself in the ROA. This is evidenced, for example, by the story of Major General B. S. Permikin, the former headquarters captain of the tsarist army, the founder and commander of the Talab regiment, which was part of Yudenich’s northwestern army and distinguished himself in battles near Gatchina and Tsarskoye Selo in 1919. In 1920, Permikin commanded General Wrangel's 3rd Army in Poland. In the ROA, Vlasov appointed him as a senior teacher of tactics at an officer's school. But in the camp of the 1st division of the ROA, the former White Guard officer was treated so rudely that in February 1945 Permikin chose to join the ROA Cossack corps that was being formed in Austria under the command of Major General Turkul.

The appointment of a commander and the formation of a high command meant, at least outwardly, the completion of the process of isolation of the ROA, its formation as an independent unit. Indeed, it soon became clear that the Liberation Army had gained independence in at least two such important areas as military justice and military intelligence. We have only fragmentary data about the military court, however, it is clear from them that the position of chief military prosecutor was established at the army headquarters, attempts were made to create a judicial instance order of the “top to bottom” movement and, in cooperation with the legal department of the KONR, develop instructions and instructions for the prosecutor's office. oversight and litigation. There is involuntary evidence from the Soviet side that Vlasov, being commander in chief, also served as the supreme judge of the ROA: in the Moscow trial of 1946, he was charged with the execution of several "prisoners of war". Actually the story is like this. Six ROA fighters, sentenced to death by a military court for spying for the USSR, were under arrest in April 1945 in the area of the ROA air force headquarters in Marienbad, since only there were premises from which it was impossible to escape. Vlasov, during his stay in Marienbad, was shown the verdict, which, according to eyewitnesses, he approved extremely reluctantly, and even then only after he was shown that it was illogical to convince the Germans of the autonomy of the ROA and at the same time refuse to perform basic legal functions. The independence of the ROA was also manifested in the fact that the military court of the 1st division in the last days of the war sentenced the German officer Ludwig Catterfeld-Kuronus to death on charges of spying for the Soviet Union.

As for the intelligence service, at first both military and civilian intelligence were under the jurisdiction of the security department, created under the KONR at the insistence of the Russians under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel N.V. Tenzorov. He was a man of character, although he had never dealt with such matters, a former physicist, an employee of one of the Kharkov research institutes. His deputies were Major M. A. Kalugin, former head of the special department of the headquarters of the North Caucasian Military District, and Major A. F. Chikalov. The counterintelligence department was headed by Major Krainev, the investigative department - Major Galanin, the secret correspondence department - Captain P. Bakshansky, the personnel department - Captain Zverev. Some of the intelligence officers - Chikalov, Kalugin, Krainev, Galanin, Majors Yegorov and Ivanov, Captain Bekker-Khrenov and others - used to work in the NKVD and, obviously, had some idea of the work of the secret police. It is possible that the rest, although they were workers, architects, directors, school directors, oil workers, engineers or lawyers before the war, also turned out to be good intelligence officers. There were also representatives of the old emigration in this department, such as, for example, an officer for special assignments, Captain Skarzhinsky, Senior Lieutenant Golub and Lieutenant V. Melnikov.

After the army headquarters moved from Berlin to the Heiberg training ground in Württemberg (to the place of training of troops) in February 1945, military intelligence was organizationally separated from the civil one, and under the supervision of Major General Trukhin, the creation of its own intelligence service ROA began. The intelligence department, organized at the army headquarters, was, as already mentioned, entrusted to the major, and then to lieutenant colonel Grachev, a graduate of the Frunze Academy. On February 22, 1945, the department was divided into several groups: enemy intelligence - led by Lieutenant A.F. Vronsky; reconnaissance - it was commanded first by Captain N.F. Lapin, and then by Senior Lieutenant B. Gai; counterintelligence - commander Major Chikalov. By order of Major General Trukhin on March 8, 1945, the department received replenishment, so that in addition to the chief, twenty-one officers now worked in it: Major Chikalov, four captains (L. Dumbadze, P. Bakshansky, S. S. Nikolsky, M. And . Turchaninov), seven senior lieutenants (Yu. P. Khmyrov, B. Gai, D. Gorshkov, V. Kabitleev, N. F. Lapin, A. Skachkov, Tvardevich), lieutenants A. Andreev, L. Andreev, A. F. Vronsky, A. Glavai, K. G. Karenin, V. Lovanov, Ya. I. Marchenko, S. Pronchenko, Yu. S. Sitnik). Later, Captain V. Denisov and other officers joined the department.

After the war, suspicion fell on some members of the intelligence service that they were agents of the Soviets. We are talking, first of all, about Captain Bekker-Khrenov, an experienced counterintelligence officer who held the post of head of a special department of a tank brigade in the Red Army, and about Senior Lieutenant Khmyrov (Dolgoruky). Both appeared at the Moscow trial in 1946 as witnesses for the prosecution, the latter posing as adjutant Vlasov. The role of the chief of counterintelligence of the ROA, Major Chikalov, who served in the border troops of the NKVD, and then a political worker of a large partisan association operating in the Dnieper-Plavnya region, is also mysterious. Chikalov was taken prisoner at the end of 1943, along with the commander of this group, Major I. V. Kirpa (Kravchenko), and in 1944 both joined the Liberation Movement. The leaders of the ROA had no doubts about the authenticity of Chikalov's spiritual coup, however, according to some reports, Vlasov was warned back in 1944 that Chikalov should not be trusted. After the war, Chikalov acted in West Germany as a Soviet agent, and in 1952, shortly before his exposure, he was recalled to the USSR. Notable in this regard is an article by former senior lieutenant Khmyrov in the Soviet weekly Voice of the Motherland, which claims that Chikalov was killed in Munich in 1946, and Khmyrov slanderously links Colonel Pozdnyakov with this murder. Being the head of the personnel department, Pozdnyakov knew the officers of the army headquarters like no one else, and even after the war he kept some profiles. In one of his articles, Pozdnyakov wrote that Chikalov was unsympathetic to him as a former Chekist, emphasizing, however, that he had no complaints about Chikalov's work and that post-war affairs may not have any connection with the affairs of the war years. However, Pozdnyakov generally categorically denied that Soviet agents managed to get into the intelligence department.

The department faced difficulties of a different kind. Such, for example, as the methods of work of the counterintelligence officer of the 1st division of the ROA captain Olkhovnik (Olchovik), who was used to acting independently and reported on the results only to the division commander, Major General S. K. Bunyachenko, without informing the intelligence department of the army headquarters. In addition, counterintelligence information often turned out to be insignificant, related to incompetent statements of this or that officer or soldier, violations of discipline, drunkenness in the service, the use of gasoline for private trips, etc. , and Trukhin, for whom the identification of Soviet connections was most important, seriously thought about replacing Major Chikalov with Captain Bekker-Khrenov, to whom he wanted to confer the rank of lieutenant colonel back in 1944. While the counterintelligence group struggled with varying success against Soviet espionage, the intelligence group finally got down to business that was not intended for German eyes: by order of Major General Trukhin, it tried to establish contacts with American troops at the end of the war. In general, the work of the intelligence service of the ROA headquarters was first negatively affected by the distrust of German counterintelligence, then by organizational problems and a jealous attitude on the part of volunteer associations not subordinate to Vlasov. Nevertheless, the intelligence service has achieved some success.

The growing importance of intelligence in the ROA is evidenced by the creation at the beginning of 1945 in the Hunting Lodge near Marienbad of the ROA intelligence school under the leadership of one of the most talented intelligence officers, Senior Lieutenant Yelenev. In the Soviet interpretation, this school, designed to train intelligence officers and agents, mainly in the field of tactics, looks like a dangerous center for espionage, sabotage, terror, and even preparing an uprising in the rear of the Soviet army - the last charge was brought against Vlasov personally. It was the existence of this school that the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR considered as a particularly serious point of accusation, although in the Soviet army military intelligence is considered a legitimate and honorable branch of the military, and practical training in the Hunting Lodge was hardly very different from training in the corresponding Soviet institutions. Moreover, the structure of the school resembled a Soviet educational institution. In addition to the spirit that reigned here, everything in it was Soviet: the cadets wore Soviet uniforms and Soviet orders and medals, called each other “comrade” instead of the “master” accepted in the ROA, read Soviet books and newspapers, listened to Soviet radio and even ate in order, instituted in the Red Army. The cadets studied map orientation and cartography, methods of collecting and transmitting intelligence data, Soviet regulations, learned to use Soviet-made vehicles, weapons and radio transmitters, learned how to handle explosives, etc. On March 11, 1945, Vlasov and Major General Maltsev arrived at the school on the occasion of the graduation of the first twenty people. Vlasov addressed the graduates with a speech in which he once again emphasized the importance of military intelligence. He said:

Only those few who are undividedly devoted to the ideas of the Liberation Movement and are ready to bear all the hardships of this extremely important work in war conditions are worthy of the honorary title of intelligence officer of the ROA. Freed from Bolshevism, Russia will never forget their exploits.

The group was airlifted behind the front line with the task of organizing, together with the anti-Soviet resistance movement, the fight against the Soviet army. With great difficulty, we managed to get 20,000 liters of gasoline needed for this action. There is also evidence that such groups were repeatedly led across the front line by a reconnaissance officer, senior lieutenant Tulinov, and they suffered heavy losses. In the formation of the officer corps, as well as in the creation of the military legal service and military intelligence, the Russians were guided by their own ideas. An officer of the Liberation Army was defined as a representative of the new Russia in "European society" and was different from his comrades in the volunteer formations under German command. He was not just a military specialist who mastered his craft, but also a Russian patriot, devoted to the ideals of the liberation struggle, to his people and fatherland. In the brochure published in 1945 “Warrior of the ROA. Ethics, Appearance, Behavior” The first of the qualities of an officer is the demand put forward by Suvorov for absolute honesty in the service and in his personal life. In relation to subordinates, the type of “father-commander”, common in the old Russian army, is taken as a model, who, by personal example, justice and paternal care, wins the respect and love of soldiers. The ROA officer does not have the right to humiliate the dignity of his subordinates or other people. It is worth mentioning one more point: the ROA officer is obliged to spare civilians, respect their national and religious feelings, and be generous to the defeated enemy. Under the editorship of Major General Trukhin, by December 1944, a provision was developed on the service of officers and military officials of the ROA, which we can judge from the reviews of Colonels Boyarsky and Meandrov. According to this provision, in wartime, when conferring ranks from warrant officer to the rank of army general proposed by Boyarsky, one should proceed only from the achievements of this officer, and not from the principle of seniority in service, while merit at the front should have been evaluated higher than in the rear. It was necessary to distinguish between rank and position and take into account the ranks received in the Red Army. Thus, the methods of appointing and promoting officers also testify to the originality and independence of the Liberation Army.

Until 1944, Kestring, a German general of volunteer formations, was in charge of appointing and promoting officers, and he, under his own responsibility, could appoint only “compatriots” (Volksdeutsche), that is, in the case of the USSR, immigrants from the Baltic republics. In relation to the pilots, the corresponding functions were performed by the inspector for foreign personnel of the Luftwaffe "Vostok". Based on "personal qualities, military merit and political reliability", the officer was assigned a certain rank within a given volunteer unit (in most cases corresponding to his rank in the Red Army), and the personnel department of the army or the Luftwaffe allowed him to wear a German uniform with the appropriate insignia. After the Reich recognized the Russian Liberation Movement in September 1944, a procedure was temporarily established according to which the Russians submitted submissions for officers of the emerging ROA to the general of volunteer formations. Finally, on January 28, 1945, Vlasov himself received the right, as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the KONR, to appoint officers to his subordinate formations at his own discretion, to determine their rank and raise them. However, there were some limitations, indicating that the Germans were still clinging to the last opportunity to control Vlasov. For example, in order to promote generals - or confer the rank of general - it was necessary to obtain, through the OKW, the consent of the head of the SS Main Directorate. As before, in addition to the right now given to Vlasov to assign the next rank, a sanction was also needed for the assignment of German insignia, which were distributed by the army personnel department on behalf of the general of volunteer units and the Luftwaffe personnel department on behalf of the then inspector for eastern Luftwaffe personnel. This condition, caused by the requirement to observe certain rules of equality, remained in force only as long as the soldiers of the ROA wore German insignia. The Russian side made efforts to return to the Liberation Army Russian shoulder straps, introduced back in 1943 in the then Eastern troops, but then replaced by German ones. Let us note, by the way, that this was the only point in which the wishes of the Russians were in tune with the aspirations of Hitler, who on January 27, 1945, spoke out against the issuance of German uniforms to the Vlasovites.

In practice, however, the promotion of officers was already then carried out exclusively as the Russians desired. A qualification commission organized at the army headquarters under the command of Major Demsky determined the rank of newly arrived officers. The appointments of junior officers were made by Major General Trukhin together with the head of the personnel department of the headquarters, Colonel Pozdnyakov, and the issue of appointing staff officers was decided by General Vlasov together with Trukhin and Pozdnyakov. We have no information about the objections of the German side. So, for example, the head of the Main Directorate of the SS, Obergruppenführer Berger, who, like his representative at Vlasov, tried to support the Liberation Movement, in February-March 1945, unconditionally agreed to provide Colonels V. I. Boyarsky, S. K. Bunyachenko, I. N. Kononov, V. I. Maltsev, M. A. Meandrov, M. M. Shapovalov and G. A. Zverev with the rank of major general. As for the rest of the officers, the friendly understanding established between Colonel Pozdnyakov and Captain Ungermann, who was responsible for personal affairs at the headquarters of the general of volunteer formations, served as a guarantee of a benevolent attitude towards Russian requests.

Concerned about his prestige in relations with the Germans, Vlasov considered it superfluous to personally prepare ideas for promotion. They were signed by the head of the personnel department of the army headquarters Pozdnyakov. After the war, this was interpreted in such a way that for the Germans the word of Commander-in-Chief Vlasov had no value, they listened to the opinion of another person "German agent" at the headquarters of the ROA. Soviet propaganda, seizing on this argument, tried to present Pozdnyakov, hated by her journalistic and political activities, as a tool of the SD, Gestapo and SS, attributing all kinds of atrocities to him. To be convinced of the absurdity of these statements, from which it follows that Vlasov and the leading officers of the Liberation Army were at the mercy of a Gestapo agent, one need only look at Pozdnyakov's official position. In his service, he was connected with the headquarters of the general of volunteer formations, but had nothing to do with the Gestapo and the SD, and cooperation with them was absolutely excluded for organizational reasons. This was written by the general of volunteer formations Kestring, this was emphasized by the former head of the propaganda department of the Wehrmacht, Colonel Hans Martin, who assured that he knew Pozdnyakov well from his previous work. Both of them, like Kestring's former adjutant, Captain Horvath von Bittenfeld (after the war, Secretary of State and Head of the Office of the Federal President) speak of Pozdnyakov's impeccable honesty, his patriotism and organizational skills. However, if he did not possess these qualities, he would hardly have been able to become Vlasov's operational adjutant, and then take the responsible post of head of the command department.

After Vlasov was appointed commander in chief, the soldiers of the ROA were sworn in:

“I, a faithful son of my fatherland, voluntarily join the ranks of the troops of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia. Before the face of my compatriots, I solemnly swear to fight honestly under the command of General Vlasov to the last drop of blood for the good of my people, against Bolshevism.

The German side could not come to terms with the fact that the soldiers would personally swear allegiance to Vlasov, and clauses hinting at an alliance with Germany were included in the oath. In particular, it was said: “This struggle is waged by all freedom-loving peoples headed by Adolf Hitler. I swear to be faithful to this union." This wording was personally approved by the Reichsführer SS, and the Russians thus managed to avoid taking the oath personally to Hitler.

At the very end of the war, ROA soldiers still wore German insignia on gray uniforms, which led to a fatal misunderstanding: the Americans saw this as proof of their belonging to the Wehrmacht. Meanwhile, not to mention the fact that the French soldiers of de Gaulle and the Polish General Anders in 1944-45. also not without difficulty distinguished from American or British soldiers, the Vlasovites even outwardly lacked the main sign of belonging to the Wehrmacht: the emblem of an eagle with a swastika. On March 2, 1945, the OKW urgently issued a belated order on this subject:

Members of Russian formations subordinate to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia are obliged to immediately remove the German emblem from their hats and uniforms. Instead of the German emblem, a sleeve badge is worn on the right sleeve, and a cockade of the Russian Liberation Army (ROA) is worn on the cap. German personnel communicating with the ROA are instructed to remove the ROA sleeve insignia.

From that moment on, the banner of the Liberation Army becomes - instead of the banner of the Reich - a white-blue-red naval flag with an St. Andrew's cross, established by Peter I, and the standard of the commander-in-chief was with tricolor tassels and the image of George the Victorious on a blue background. On the service seal of the ROA was written "Armed Forces of the Peoples of Russia". If further evidence is required to confirm the autonomous status of the Liberation Army, then it can be added that the Wehrmacht was represented in it - as in the allied armies of Romania, Hungary and other countries, only liaison officers who did not have command authority: General OKW under the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the KONR and groups communications with Russian divisions. With the exception of some connections of a purely formal nature, the Russian Liberation Army was legally and in fact completely separated from the Wehrmacht.

So, the Wehrmacht and the ROA were now officially considered allies. What has been achieved for several years by many senior officers of the German army. But this by no means meant a transition to new, cloudless relations between Russians and Germans. In the army, especially at the lowest level, there was distrust of the Russians, born of ignorance and misunderstanding. It was difficult for the Germans to see Russians as equal allies. There are many examples that clearly demonstrate how easily this distrust grew into serious conflicts. Such is the story of Captain Vladimir Gavrinsky, an officer from Vlasov's personal guard. Being on the assignment of the commander in chief, the captain at the station in Nuremberg argued with a German pilot over a place in a second class compartment. The railroad sergeant arrived in time to immediately resolve the conflict by cold-bloodedly shooting a Russian officer. But the case took place in February 1945 ... The news of the murder of this honored officer, who received several orders for brave actions in the rear of the Red Army, reached the members of the KONR during a meeting in Carlsbad, causing them deep indignation. The Germans present at the meeting were also very upset by this incident. Vlasov sent a telegram of protest to the Reichsführer SS, and the Germans tried to hush up the matter. Captain Gavrinsky was given a military funeral of the highest order, which was attended by the city commandant of Nuremberg and senior German officers. However, Vlasov's demand to bring the murderer to trial was not fulfilled, and the sergeant major was simply transferred to another unit without much fuss.

But the Russians did not forget about past enmity and past humiliations. So, in a secret report from the intelligence department at the army headquarters, dated 1945, there was an increase in hostility towards the Germans in the 1st division of the ROA. In this phenomenon, they saw the influence of Major M.A. Zykov, an outstanding man, but extremely contradictory and mysterious. In 1943, Vlasov appointed Zykov in charge of the press in the then-nascent Liberation Movement. In the summer of 1944, Zykov was apparently arrested in Berlin by the Gestapo. His ideas enjoyed great success among students of propaganda courses in Dabendorf, who now occupied officer posts in the formations of the ROA. Therefore, some authors believe that political officers, like Zykov, who was previously Bukharin's confidant and corps commissar in the Red Army, deliberately sowed discontent among the officers, driving a wedge between the ROA and the Wehrmacht. There are also clear hints of the influence of the "genius Jew Zykov" in the statement of the former employee Vlasov dated December 23, 1944. He told the Eastern Ministry, which already did not have particularly friendly feelings for Vlasov, that in the general’s entourage there are people “disposed against everything German”, “preliminarily withdrawing from the programs of propagandist courses everything that is directed against the Anglo-Americans” and - that it was especially noted - "keeping complete silence about the Jewish question." An example of this way of thinking could also be the statement of Captain Voskoboinikov, recorded at the same time, which sounded provocative to National Socialist ears: “Jews are nice, intelligent people.”

According to the same source, secret agitation was going on in the ROA not only against the Germans themselves, but also against the volunteer formations still under their command. Agents or proxies of the ROA allegedly tried to sow confusion in the Eastern troops, persuaded the soldiers to join Vlasov, "who will solve the Russian question without the Germans." In the spirit of Soviet propaganda, these agitators called the officers of the Eastern Forces, many of whom had been fighting for more than a year, “Gestapo, traitors and mercenaries”, contrasting them with genuine leaders who “did not sell out to the Germans”, that is, they came straight from captivity to Vlasov. These statements seem unlikely, since such a distinction would be contrary to the very principles of the KONR, which considered all Russian volunteers to be participants in the Liberation Movement, regardless of their location. Finally, we should not forget that most of the leading figures of the ROA moved out of the Eastern troops, such as, for example, Major General Bunyachenko, who commanded the Russian regiment during the German offensive. The leadership of the ROA resolutely opposed all such anti-German currents, which developed more latently than on the surface. Lieutenant-General Zhilenkov, head of the main propaganda department of the KONR, was inclined to regard such sentiments as a deliberate enemy provocation. In the military newspaper KONR "3a Motherland" dated January 7, 1945, he wrote:

A soldier of the liberation army must show maximum respect towards the allies and daily take care of strengthening the military friendship between Russians and Germans ... Therefore, the soldiers and officers of the liberation army must show maximum correctness and full respect for the national orders and customs of the country in whose territory they will be forced to fight against Bolshevism.

Vlasov himself, who witnessed how, after the battle for Kyiv, Stalin in the Kremlin demanded that Beria incite “hatred, hatred and once again hatred *” by all means against everything German, it was in overcoming this hatred between the two peoples that he saw the foundations of his policy, although he himself treated the Germans quite critically and soberly. His personal attitude towards the German allies is evidenced by his statement in a speech delivered on February 10, 1945 at the training ground in Münsingen on the occasion of taking command of the 1st and 2nd ROL divisions. In the presence of eminent German guests, he said to the assembled troops:

During the years of joint struggle, friendship between the Russian and German peoples was born. Both sides made mistakes, but tried to correct them - and this speaks of a common interest. The main thing in the work of both sides is trust, mutual trust. I thank the Russian and German officers who participated in the creation of this alliance. I am convinced that we will soon return to our homeland with the soldiers and officers that I see here. Long live the friendship of the Russian and German peoples! Long live the soldiers and officers of the Russian army! *

In his speech, Vlasov never mentioned Hitler and National Socialism. Therefore, the official German report on the ceremony in Münsingen emphasizes how difficult it is to adhere to the equality required by Vlasov. After all, it was precisely this condition that Vlasov put forward as the basic principle of the relationship between the Germans and the ROL.

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Vlasovites, or fighters of the Russian Liberation Army (ROA) - are ambiguous figures in military history. Until now, historians cannot come to a consensus. Supporters consider them fighters for justice, true patriots of the Russian people. The opponents are unconditionally sure that the Vlasovites are traitors to the Motherland, who went over to the side of the enemy and mercilessly destroyed their compatriots.

Why Vlasov created ROA

The Vlasovites positioned themselves as patriots of their country and their people, but not the government. Their goal was allegedly to overthrow the established political regime in order to provide people with a decent life. General Vlasov considered Bolshevism, in particular Stalin, the main enemy of the Russian people. He associated the prosperity of his country with cooperation and friendly relations with Germany.

treason

Vlasov went over to the side of the enemy at the most difficult moment for the USSR. The movement he propagated and in which he involved former soldiers of the Red Army was aimed at the destruction of the Russians. Having taken an oath of allegiance to Hitler, the Vlasovites decided to kill ordinary soldiers, burn villages and destroy their homeland. Moreover, Vlasov presented his Order of Lenin to Brigadeführer Fegelein in response to the loyalty shown to him.

Demonstrating his loyalty, General Vlasov gave valuable military advice. Knowing the problem areas and plans of the Red Army, he helped the Germans plan attacks. In the diary of the Minister of Propaganda of the Third Reich and the Gauleiter of Berlin, Joseph Goebbels, there is an entry about his meeting with Vlasov, who gave him advice, taking into account the experience of defending Kyiv and Moscow, how best to organize the defense of Berlin. Goebbels wrote: “The conversation with General Vlasov inspired me. I learned that the Soviet Union had to overcome exactly the same crisis that we are overcoming now, and that there is certainly a way out of this crisis, if you are extremely resolute and do not succumb to it.

At the mercy of the fascists

Vlasovites took part in the brutal massacres of civilians. From the memoirs of one of them: “The next day, the commandant of the city, Schuber, ordered all the state farmers to be driven out to Chernaya Balka, and the executed communists to be duly buried. Here stray dogs were caught, thrown into the water, the city was cleared ... First from Jews and cheerful ones, at the same time from Zherdetsky, then from dogs. And bury the corpses at the same time. trace. How else, gentlemen? After all, it’s not the forty-first year already - the forty-second in the yard! Already carnival tricks, joyful ones had to be hidden slowly. After all, it was possible before, and so, in a simple way. Shoot and throw on the coastal sand, and now - bury! But what a dream!”
The soldiers of the ROA, together with the Nazis, smashed the partisan detachments, enthusiastically talking about it: “They hung the captured partisan commanders at the poles of the railway station at dawn, then continued to drink. They sang German songs, embracing their commander, walked the streets and touched the frightened sisters of mercy! The real gang!

Baptism of fire

General Bunyachenko, who commanded the 1st division of the ROA, received an order to prepare the division for an offensive on the bridgehead captured by the Soviet troops with the task of pushing the Soviet troops back to the right bank of the Oder in this place. For Vlasov's army, it was a baptism of fire - it had to prove its right to exist.
On February 9, 1945, the ROA entered the position for the first time. The army captured Neulevien, the southern part of Karlsbyse and Kerstenbruch. Joseph Goebbels even noted in his diary "the outstanding achievements of the detachments of General Vlasov." The ROA soldiers played a key role in the battle - due to the fact that the Vlasovites noticed in time a disguised battery of Soviet anti-tank guns ready for battle, the German units did not become a victim of a bloody massacre. Saving the Fritz, the Vlasovites mercilessly killed their compatriots.
On March 20, the ROA was supposed to capture and equip a bridgehead, as well as ensure the passage of ships along the Oder. When during the day the left flank, despite strong artillery support, was stopped, the Russians, who were waiting with hope for the exhausted and discouraged Germans, were used as a "fist". The Germans sent Vlasov on the most dangerous and obviously failed missions.

Prague uprising

The Vlasovites showed themselves in occupied Prague - they decided to oppose the German troops. On May 5, 1945, they came to the aid of the rebels. The rebels demonstrated unprecedented cruelty - they shot down a German school from heavy anti-aircraft machine guns, turning its students into a bloody mess. Subsequently, the Vlasovites, retreating from Prague, met with the retreating Germans in hand-to-hand combat. The uprising resulted in robberies and murders of the civilian population and not only the German one.
There were several versions of why the ROA took part in the uprising. Perhaps she was trying to earn the forgiveness of the Soviet people, or she was seeking political asylum in liberated Czechoslovakia. One of the authoritative opinions remains that the German command delivered an ultimatum: either the division follows their orders, or it will be destroyed. The Germans made it clear that the ROA would not be able to exist independently and act according to its convictions, and then the Vlasovites went on sabotage.
The adventurous decision to take part in the uprising cost the ROA dearly: about 900 Vlasovites were killed during the fighting in Prague (officially - 300), 158 wounded disappeared without a trace from Prague hospitals after the arrival of the Red Army, 600 Vlasov deserters were identified in Prague and shot by the Red Army

Why Vlasov created ROA

treason

At the mercy of the fascists

Baptism of fire

Prague uprising

The history of the creation, existence and destruction of the so-called Russian Liberation Army under the command of General Vlasov is one of the darkest and most mysterious pages of the Great Patriotic War.

First of all, the figure of its leader is amazing. Nominee N.S. Khrushchev and one of the favorites of I.V. Stalin, lieutenant general of the Red Army, Andrey Vlasov was taken prisoner on the Volkhov front in 1942.

Leaving the encirclement with the only companion - the cook Voronova, in the village of Tukhovezhi, he was given to the Germans by the local headman for a reward: a cow and ten packs of makhorka.

Almost immediately after being imprisoned in a camp for senior military near Vinnitsa, Vlasov goes to cooperate with the Germans.

Soviet historians interpreted Vlasov's decision as personal cowardice. However, Vlasov's mechanized corps in the battles near Lvov proved to be very good.

The 37th Army under his leadership in the defense of Kyiv too. By the time of his capture, Vlasov had the reputation of one of the main saviors of Moscow. He did not show personal cowardice in battles.

Later, a version appeared that he was afraid of punishment from Stalin. However, leaving the Kyiv Cauldron, according to Khrushchev, who was the first to meet him, he was in civilian clothes and was leading a goat on a rope. No punishment followed, moreover, his career continued.

In favor of the latest version, for example, Vlasov's close acquaintance with the repressed in 1937-38 speaks. the military. Blucher, for example, he replaced as an adviser to Chiang Kai-shek.

In addition, his immediate superior before the capture was Meretskov, the future marshal, who was arrested at the beginning of the war in the case of "heroes", gave confessions, and was released "on the basis of instructions from the directive bodies for reasons of special order."

And yet, at the same time as Vlasov, the regimental commissar Kernes, who went over to the side of the Germans, was kept in the Vinnitsa camp.

The commissar went out to the Germans with a message about the presence in the USSR of a deeply conspiratorial group. Which covers the army, the NKVD, Soviet and party organs, and stands on anti-Stalinist positions.

A high-ranking official of the German Foreign Ministry Gustav Hilder came to meet with both of them. Documentary evidence of the last two versions does not exist.

But let's go back directly to the ROA, or, as they are often called "Vlasovites." You should start with the fact that the prototype and the first separate "Russian" unit on the side of the Germans was created in 1941-1942. Bronislav Kaminsky Russian Liberation People's Army - RONA. Kaminsky, born in 1903 to a German mother and a Pole father, was an engineer before the war and served time in the Gulag under Article 58.

Note that during the formation of RONA, Vlasov himself still fought in the ranks of the Red Army. By the middle of 1943, Kaminsky had 10,000 fighters, 24 T-34 tanks and 36 captured guns under his control.

In July 1944, his troops showed particular cruelty in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising. On August 19 of the same year, Kaminsky and his entire headquarters were shot by the Germans without trial or investigation.

Around the same time as RONA, the Gil-Rodionov squad was created in Belarus. Lieutenant Colonel of the Red Army V.V. Gil, speaking under the pseudonym Rodionov, in the service of the Germans created the Fighting Union of Russian Nationalists and showed considerable cruelty against Belarusian partisans and local residents.

However, in 1943, with most of the BSRN, he went over to the side of the Red partisans, received the rank of colonel and the Order of the Red Star. Killed in 1944.

In 1941, the Russian National People's Army, also known as the Boyarsky Brigade, was created near Smolensk. Vladimir Gelyarovich Boersky (real name) was born in 1901 in the Berdichevsky district, it is believed that in a Polish family. In 1943 the brigade was disbanded by the Germans.

From the beginning of 1941, the formation of detachments of people calling themselves Cossacks was actively going on. Quite a lot of different divisions were created from them. Finally, in 1943, the 1st Cossack division was created under the leadership of a German colonel von Pannwitz.

She was thrown into Yugoslavia to fight the partisans. In Yugoslavia, the division worked closely with the Russian Security Corps, created from white emigrants and their children. It should be noted that in the Russian Empire, the Kalmyks, in particular, belonged to the Cossack estate, and abroad all emigrants from the Empire were considered Russians.

Also in the first half of the war, formations subordinate to the Germans from representatives of national minorities were actively formed.

The idea of Vlasov about the formation of the ROA as the future army of Russia liberated from Stalin, Hitler, to put it mildly, did not cause much enthusiasm. The head of the Reich did not need an independent Russia at all, especially having its own army.

In 1942-1944. The ROA as a real military formation did not exist, but was used for propaganda purposes, to recruit collaborators.

Those, in turn, were used by separate battalions mainly to perform security functions and fight partisans.

Only at the end of 1944, when the Hitlerite command simply had nothing to plug the gaps in the defense with, was the go-ahead given to the formation of the ROA. The first division was formed only on November 23, 1944, five months before the end of the war.

For its formation, the remnants of the units disbanded by the Germans and battered in battles that fought on the side of the Germans were used. As well as Soviet prisoners of war. Few people looked at nationality here.

The deputy chief of staff Boersky, as we have already said, was a Pole, the head of the combat training department, General Asberg, was an Armenian. Great help in the formation was provided by Captain Shtrik-Shtrikfeld. As well as figures of the white movement, such as Kromiadi, Chocoli, Meyer, Skorzhinsky and others. The rank and file, in the circumstances, most likely, no one checked for nationality.

By the end of the war, the ROA formally numbered from 120 to 130 thousand people. All units were scattered over vast distances and did not represent a single military force.

Until the end of the war, the ROA managed to take part in hostilities three times. On February 9, 1945, in the battles on the Oder, three Vlasov battalions under the leadership of Colonel Sakharov achieved some success in their direction.

But these successes were short-lived. On April 13, 1945, the 1st division of the ROA took part in battles with the 33rd Army of the Red Army without much success.

But in the battles of May 5-8 for Prague, under the leadership of her commander Bunyachenko, she showed herself very well. The Nazis were driven out of the city, and could not return to it.

At the end of the war, most of the "Vlasovites" were extradited to the Soviet authorities. Leaders hanged in 1946. The rest were waiting for camps and settlements.

In 1949, less than half of the 112,882 “Vlasov” special settlers were Russians: - 54,256 people.

Among the rest: Ukrainians - 20,899; Belarusians - 5,432; Georgians - 3,705; Armenians - 3,678; Uzbeks - 3,457; 807, Kabardians - 640, Moldovans - 637, Mordovians - 635, Ossetians - 595, Tajiks - 545, Kirghiz -466, Bashkirs - 449, Turkmens - 389, Poles - 381, Kalmyks -335, Adyghes - 201, Circassians - 192, Lezgins - 177, Jews - 171, Karaites - 170, Udmurts - 157, Latvians - 150, Mari - 137, Karakalpaks - 123, Avars - 109, Kumyks - 103, Greeks - 102, Bulgarians -99, Estonians - 87, Romanians - 62, Nogais - 59, Abkhazians - 58, Komi - 49, Dargins - 48, Finns - 46, Lithuanians - 41 and others - 2095 people.

Portal for the student. Self-training

Why Vlasov created ROA

treason

At the mercy of the fascists

Baptism of fire

Prague uprising

Why Vlasov created ROA

treason

At the mercy of the fascists

Baptism of fire

Prague uprising

Why Vlasov created ROA

treason

At the mercy of the fascists

Baptism of fire

Prague uprising

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