H.G.W. Davie

30 October 2018

The memory of the fallen defenders of the Motherland must not be consigned to oblivion

H.G.W. Davie

30 October 2018

The memory of the fallen defenders of the Motherland must not be consigned to oblivion

Sergey Aleksandrovich Il’enkov’s now classic challenge to official Russian figures for casualties of the Soviet Union during the Second World War translated into English.

H.G.W. Davie

19 October 2018

Combat Losses

Soviet Casualties - Factors, Effects and Outcomes

H.G.W. Davie

19 October 2018

Combat Losses

Soviet Casualties - Factors, Effects and Outcomes

The Red Army suffered an extraordinary level of losses in the Second World War and yet there is no definitive explanation of how or why this occurred. This article explores some of the current thinking.

H.G.W. Davie

8 October 2018

Organisation

Soviet Mechanised Corps (IV)

H.G.W. Davie

8 October 2018

Organisation

By 1944 the Soviet Mechanised Corps had matured and developed into powerful, flexible formations that could sit at the heart of Tank Armies or be used as independent assault groups.

H.G.W. Davie

8 October 2018

Organisation

Soviet Mechanised Corps (III)

H.G.W. Davie

8 October 2018

Organisation

From February 1943, the Mechanised Corps adopted their final organisation 010/418 which would see them through to the end of war albeit with numerous small changes. The key to this organisation was the pooling of transport at Brigade level which allowed the Corps to move quickly but efficiently.

H.G.W. Davie

24 September 2018

Economics, Marches & mobility

The reality of modernity - Motor vehicles in the Red Army

H.G.W. Davie

24 September 2018

Economics, Marches & mobility

The reality of modernity - Motor vehicles in the Red Army

For a poor country such as the USSR the struggle in the 1930s to motorise its military represented a major national effort - this is the story of how they fared.

H.G.W. Davie

25 August 2018

Organisation

Soviet Mechanised Corps (II)

H.G.W. Davie

25 August 2018

Organisation

The first six Mechanised Corps were raised in September 1942 with establishment 010/290 which can be largely recreated from Albums held in TsAMO, only care must be taken in interpreting this dataset.

H.G.W. Davie

31 July 2018

Organisation

Soviet Mechanised Corps

H.G.W. Davie

31 July 2018

Organisation

Mechanised Corps represented the most expensive divisional sized combat units in the Red Army yet we know relatively little about how they were organised and equipped. Although only a small number of these corps were raised, they were important indicators as to STAVKAs strategic intentions as Mechanised Corps were deployed in many of the key offensives. New information for Russia now allows a more comprehensive look at these interesting units.

H.G.W. Davie

13 July 2018

Organisation

German Infantry Divisions of the Great War

H.G.W. Davie

13 July 2018

Organisation

German Infantry Divisions of the Great War

Mobility was key to German plans at the opening of the Great War and yet I could find little about the establishment of Infanterie Divisionen in 1914, so this article aims to address the question of what transport was available to the hard marching men of the first summer of the war and comparing this to the forces of 1918.

H.G.W. Davie

1 July 2018

Published works

The Influence of Railways on Military Operations in the Russo-German War 1941–1945

H.G.W. Davie

1 July 2018

Published works

The Influence of Railways on Military Operations in the Russo-German War 1941–1945

Railways were at the heart of logistics during the Second World War for the continental European powers and a comparative study of Soviet and German railway systems is vital to understanding the course of events of the war and how these limited strategic options for the leaders.

H.G.W. Davie

21 March 2018

Historiography

Digital History - Hacking the ПАМЯТЬ НАРОДА website

H.G.W. Davie

21 March 2018

Historiography

Digital History - Hacking the ПАМЯТЬ НАРОДА website

While Pamyat Naroda offers some unique opportunities, working with the actual website can be frustrating however there are ways round this using third party software. The second consideration is what is being revealed to us? TsAMO are following a definite policy of releases that have specific objectives, can we see what these are?