Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War
- Cambridge Companions to History
- The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Conceptions of War
- Part II Opposing Forces
- 4 The Ostheer: Leadership, Command, Motivation, and Experience
- 5 The Red Army: Leadership and Command
- 6 The Red Army: Motivation and Experience
- Part III Campaigns
- Part IV Criminality and Occupation
- Part V Home Fronts
- Part VI Comrades in Arms
- Part VII Post-war Legacies and Myth-Making
- A Guide to Further Reading
- Index
5 - The Red Army: Leadership and Command
from Part II - Opposing Forces
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 November 2025
Edited by
Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War
- Cambridge Companions to History
- The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Part I Conceptions of War
- Part II Opposing Forces
- 4 The Ostheer: Leadership, Command, Motivation, and Experience
- 5 The Red Army: Leadership and Command
- 6 The Red Army: Motivation and Experience
- Part III Campaigns
- Part IV Criminality and Occupation
- Part V Home Fronts
- Part VI Comrades in Arms
- Part VII Post-war Legacies and Myth-Making
- A Guide to Further Reading
- Index
Summary
This short essay provides a concise top-down picture of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945. It looks at not only its leadership and command (including the State Defence Committee, Stavka, and General Staff) but also size and structure, political supervision, mobilisation and training, and military equipment. When looking at mobilisation and training, it briefly considers not only wider issues but also the mobilisation of specific national groups and women. When considering equipment it identifies some key pieces of equipment that the Soviet Union was able to produce in large numbers, and that proved to be not only relatively easy to manufacture but also rugged and effective.
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- The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War , pp. 90 - 103Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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