Order No. 227
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Order № 227 of July 28, 1942 was issued by Joseph Stalin acting as People's Commissar of Defence. It is also known as the "Not one step back!" order (Ни шагу назад!).
No commander had the right to retreat without an order. Anyone who did so was subjected to a military tribunal.
Order № 227 established that each Front must create 1 to 3 penal battalions (штрафбат, штрафной батальон, 'shtrafbat', shtrafnoy battalion) mostly made up of criminals. Each Front had to create penal companies for privates and NCOs. These penal units were assigned the most dangerous tasks.
It also established that each Army must create 3 to 5 well-armed barrier troops (заградотряд, заградительный отряд) to shoot the retreating troops.
Both measures were cited in the preamble of the order as having been successfully used by the Germans during their winter retreat.
All commanders that committed unauthorized retreat were subject to a military court/tribunal of the corresponding level.
[edit] See also
[edit] Wikisource
- Wikisource:Order No. 227 by the People's Commissar of Defence of the USSR (in English)
- Wikisource: Original text (in Russian)
