1939: Robbery, Murder, and Rape – More Bad News for Voroshilov, Downplayed as “Negative Incidents”

Whew. At some point, one would think Voroshilov would stop reading the incoming reports from the Ukrainian and Belorussian Fronts regarding out-of-control Red Army troops committing grievous crimes “against the backdrop of the excellent political and moral state of the units.” This time, a Top Secret report from the Office of the Chief Military ProsecutorContinueContinue reading “1939: Robbery, Murder, and Rape – More Bad News for Voroshilov, Downplayed as “Negative Incidents””

1939: Voroshilov Excuses Soviet War Crimes Against Polish Civilians as a Misunderstanding

One runs out of words when trying to explain the thought process of a decorated Marshal of the Soviet Union dismissing the unlawful summary execution of at least nine Polish civilians as a “mistake and a misunderstanding” that took place against the backdrop of “combat operations and acute class struggle.” Another slap on the wrist,ContinueContinue reading “1939: Voroshilov Excuses Soviet War Crimes Against Polish Civilians as a Misunderstanding”

1939: Voroshilov Issues Slaps on the Wrist for Negligence that Led to the Death of Four Soviet Airmen

Disclaimer: The central photo of this image was created with AI. On September 22, 1939, four Soviet Polikarpov I-15 biplane fighters from the 35th Fighter Aviation Regiment crashed near Sinyavka, Belarus, shortly after taking off from Nabushevo airfield. The flight of six I-15s and one I-16 was ordered to redeploy to Baranavichy during the SovietContinueContinue reading “1939: Voroshilov Issues Slaps on the Wrist for Negligence that Led to the Death of Four Soviet Airmen”

1939: Stalin’s Biggest Enemy During the Soviet Invasion of Poland Was the Red Army Itself

We can thank Carl von Clausewitz for the concept of the fog of war. But leave it to the Red Army to provide us with shining examples of the fog of logistics, which may have come close to derailing what otherwise should have been a walk-in-the-park invasion of Poland in 1939. Toss in a subsequentContinueContinue reading “1939: Stalin’s Biggest Enemy During the Soviet Invasion of Poland Was the Red Army Itself”

1939: Logistics and Carelessness Abound While Nazis and Red Army Collaborate to Slice Poland in Half

We’ve stumbled onto an unknown (to us) cache of thousands of classified documents held in the archives of the Lieutenant General Kazimierz Sosnkowski Military Historical Office dealing primarily with the challenges faced by Poland brought on by the USSR (invasion, annexation, authoritarian rule, oppression, etc.) from at least 1939 to 1955. It’s a fascinating collection,ContinueContinue reading “1939: Logistics and Carelessness Abound While Nazis and Red Army Collaborate to Slice Poland in Half”