Ranks for a soldier determine his official position and legal status, that is, his rights, powers and duties. Military ranks provide for the principle of seniority and subordination. Ranks are awarded to the military in accordance with their professional training, position in the service, official law, length of service, as well as merits.
Meaning of military ranks
Military ranks are one of the important motivators for military service, personnel placement and their most effective use. The presence of ranks in the army establishes relations of seniority and subordination between military personnel. A specific military rank gives a soldier the right to certain monetary allowances and material support, to receive certain benefits.
You can determine the rank of a military man by insignia. They are shoulder straps, buttonholes and chevrons.
Introduction of ranks into the Red Army
Since the creation of the Red Army (decoding of the abbreviation: Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army), it became necessary to introduce military ranks. Since 1918, as the Red Army developed and strengthenedin the troops, the names of military ranks and insignia changed several times. Only in 1939-1940. they were finally established, and these ranks of the Red Army did not change until 1943.
The first ranks and their insignia in the Red Army
In December 1917, the new government by its decree abolished military ranks in the army. And it was decided to form a new type of army. A decree to this effect was adopted at the beginning of 1918.
In the initial period in the Red Army, the commanders were elected. But in the context of the intensifying Civil War, the formation of the armed forces of the young republic began on the principle of conscription. In this situation, it became urgently necessary to move away from the principle of elected commanders.
It was decided to restore the principle of unity of command in the army and introduce military ranks in the troops. The first to strengthen discipline in their units, military ranks were established by the head of division No. 18 I. P. Uborevich.
He was warmly supported by the founder of the Red Army, chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, Lev Davidovich Trotsky. It took almost a year to develop and approve a unified military uniform and insignia for the command staff of the army. The first military ranks and insignia of the Red Army were based on the positions held. And so that the position of a serviceman was visible, they approved the signs sewn on the sleeves (rhombuses, squares and triangles).
Military positions and signs from 1918 to 1924
|
Military title |
Category in the Red Army | Sleeve badges |
Occupied position |
| Private | Red Army | No signs | Private |
| Comot |
Comot and equals to him |
Star and triangle |
Commander branches |
| Platoon commander |
Platoon commander and equals to them |
Star and two triangles | Assistant platoon commander |
| Sergeant Major | Sergeant Major and equivalents | Star and three triangles | Company foreman |
| Platoon commander |
platoon leader and equivalent to it |
Star and square |
Commander platoon |
| Comrotes, Comesca |
Comrotes and equivalent to him |
Star and two squares | Company commander, Squadron Leader |
| Combat |
Combat and equivalent to him |
Star and three squares | Battalion Commander |
| Commander regiment |
Regiment commander, pomkombriga and equivalent to them |
Star and four squares | Regimental Commander |
| Brigade Commander | Brigade Commander, Pomnachdiwa and equivalents to them | Star and diamond | Brigade commander |
| Div | Primary division and equivalents | Star and two diamonds |
Head of Division |
| Commander | Commander, pomkomfront, pomkomokrug and equivalents to them | Star and three diamonds | Army Commander |
| Comfronta | Star and four diamonds | Front Commander |
All distinctive signs in accordance with the order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic No. 116 were sewn on the left sleeves of clothes. A little later, the RVSR approves a new military uniform, uniform for the entire Red Army: an overcoat, a tunic and a headdress (“Budenovka”). In general, the clothes of an ordinary Red Army soldier and command personnel did not differ significantly. Only insignia indicated the position held.
Unification of military clothing and signs since 1924
During the Civil War, the established uniform in the Red Army was used along with uniforms of the tsarist army, civilian clothes and other items of clothing stylized as military cut.
After the end of the Civil War, a gradual transition of the entire army to uniform uniforms began. It was decided to reduce the cost of production of military uniforms, to eliminate unnecessary elements. In May 1924, military uniforms were supplied with summer cotton caps and summer tunic shirts without breast colored flaps, but with two patch pockets on the chest. Almost all items of military clothing have been changed.
It was established that rectangular cloth buttonholes corresponding to the color of the military branches with a border of a different shade are sewn onto the collars of tunics and tunics. The size of buttonholes was determined to be 12.5 cm by 5.5 cm.
On the buttonholes, along with insignia by category, emblems of the speci alty of a military man were attached. Emblems should not exceed 3 x 3cm in size.
Introduction of service categories to military personnel
Order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR No. 807 from the middle of 1924 abolished sleeve valves with signs indicating the position held by the military, and introduced buttonholes with signs corresponding to the assigned category and corresponding emblems indicating the speci alty of military personnel. Subsequently, additional orders (No. 850 and No. 862) supplemented these innovations. Categories have been developed and approved. All military personnel were divided into four compositions:
- junior commander;
- medium command-and-command;
- senior boss-command;
- high command command.
Categories by positions held in the Red Army
Each group, in turn, was divided into categories.
1. Junior commanding and command staff:
squad leader, boatswain - K-1;
2. Average commanding and command staff:
- warhead commander, platoon commander, assistant commander of the cor-la rank 4 - K-3;
- commander of the company, first lieutenant of the cor-la rank 4 - K-4;
- commander commander of a third-rank ship, commander of a cor-la of the 4th rank, commander of a squadron (company) - K-5;
- commander of a separate company, assistant commander of a battalion, commander of a cor-la of the third rank, senior commander of a cor-la of the 2nd rank - K-6.
3. Senior commanders and officers:
- comr cor-la of the 2nd rank, commander of the battalion - K-7;
- regiment commander, assistant brigade commander, commander cor-la 1st rank - K-9;
4. The highest commanding and command staff:
- brigade commander, sub-division commander, ship brigade commander - K-10;
- division commander, assistant corps commander, squadron commander - K-11;
- corps commander, assistant army commander, flotilla commander - K-12;
- commander of the army, assistant commander of the front, assistant commander of the military district, commander of the fleet, commander-in-chief of the naval forces of the republic - K-13;
- commander of the fronts, commander of the militarydistrict - K-14.
Introduction of individual ranks to military personnel
The Council of People's Commissars in 1935, by its decree, announces another reform in the armed forces of the USSR, clarifying the ranks and signs in the Red Army. Personal ranks are established for military personnel.
The highest rank is established - Marshal of the Soviet Union. A distinctive sign for the marshals was a large star on the buttonholes. Simultaneously with the establishment of new military ranks, the command and command staff of the Armed Forces is divided into the following areas of service:
1. Command.
2. Military-political.
3. The boss, who, in turn, was divided into:
- economic and administrative;
- technical;
- medical;
- veterinary;
- legal.
The ratio of ranks of command, administrative and political compositions
The decals on military uniforms have largely remained unchanged. Belonging to a particular service or branch of service was indicated by the color of the buttonholes and emblems. The command staff of all levels sewed a chevron in the form of a corner on the sleeves. The distinctive signs of various ranks on the buttonholes were rhombuses for the higher composition, rectangles for the senior composition, squares for the middle composition and triangles for the junior composition. An ordinary soldier on his buttonhole did not have insignia.
Signs of personal ranks of all squadsmilitary personnel came from previous ranks. So, for example, two "head over heels" of a lieutenant on their buttonholes had a junior political instructor, a military technician of the second rank, a junior military officer, etc. The indicated ranks of the Red Army existed until 1943. In 1943, they moved away from the "bulky" military ranks. So, for example, instead of the title of "military paramedic", the title of "lieutenant of the medical service" was introduced.
In 1940, continuing the process of assigning personal military ranks, the government of the USSR approved ranks for junior and senior command levels. The ranks of sergeants, foremen, lieutenant colonels and generals have been legalized.
Insignia for military ranks in 1941
The Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army met the aggression of Nazi Germany in 1941, having the following military insignia on their military uniform:
| Military ranks of the Red Army | Signs | |
| On the buttonhole | On the sleeve | |
| Red Army | Not available | Not available |
| Corporal | One yellow gap in the middle of the buttonhole | |
| Junior sergeant | 1 triangle | Not available |
| Sergeant | 2 triangles | |
| Senior Sergeant | 3 triangles | |
| Sergeant Major | 4 triangles | |
| Second Lieutenant | One square | Top square red 10mm, 1 square yellow galloon 4mm, 3mm red border on bottom |
| Lieutenant | 2 squares | 2 4mm yellow galloon squares, 7mm red space between them, 3mm red edging at the bottom |
| Senior Lieutenant | Three squares | 3 4 mm yellow galloon squares, 5 mm red gaps between them, 3 mm red edging at the bottom |
| Captain | Rectangle | 2 6mm yellow galloon squares, 10mm red space between them, 3mm red edging at the bottom |
| Major |
Two rectangle |
2 yellow galloon squares: top 6mm, bottom 10mm, red space between them 10mm, 3mm red edging at the bottom |
| Lieutenant Colonel |
Three rectangle |
2 yellow galloon squares: top 6mm, bottom 10mm, red space between them 10mm, 3mm red edging at the bottom |
| Colonel |
Four rectangle |
3 yellow galloon squares: top and middle 6mm, bottom 10mm, red gaps between them by 7mm, 3mm red edging at the bottom |
| Major General | 2 small yellow stars | Small yellow star, one 32mm yellow galloon square, 3mm bottom trim |
| Lieutenant General | 3 small yellow stars | Small yellow star, one 32mm yellow galloon square, 3mm bottom trim |
| Colonel General | 4 small yellow stars | Small yellow star, one 32mm yellow galloon square, 3mm bottom trim |
| Army General | 5 small yellow stars | Big yellow star, one 32 mm yellow galloon square, 10 mm red square above galloon |
| Marshal of the Soviet Union | Big yellow star above oak leaf square | Big yellow star, two squares of yellow galloon on a red field. Oak branches between galloons. Bottom red piping. |
The above distinguishing marks and ranks of the Red Army did not change until 1943.
The ratio of the ranks of the NKVD and the Red Army
The NK of Internal Affairs in the prewar years consisted of several main departments (GU): the State Security Department, the Main Directorate of Internal Security and Border Troops, the Main Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia and others.
In parts of the internal security and border troops, military positions and ranks were,as in the Red Army. And in the police, state security, due to the specifics of the tasks performed, there were special ranks. If we correlate, for example, special ranks in the state security agencies with army ranks, then we get the following: a state security sergeant was equated with a lieutenant of the Red Army, a state security captain was equated with a colonel, and so on.
Conclusion
Thus, from the very formation of the Republic of Soviets, the troops of the Red Army have always been in the field of special attention of the country's top leadership. Not only were weapons and equipment improved, but the clothing provision of military personnel was also improved. The photographs show that the Red Army soldier of 1941 is strikingly different in clothing and equipment from the Red Army soldier of 1918. But the military ranks of the Red Army themselves changed several times until 1943.
And in 1943, as a result of fundamental reforms, the abbreviation of the Red Army (decoding: Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army) is a thing of the past. The term "Soviet Army" (SA) came into use.
