Mobilization

Another weakness of the tsarist army was its relatively long mobilization. German troops had the opportunity to complete the mobilization on the tenth day, and the full concentration of all Russian armies could be achieved only on the fortieth day. This slowness was caused by the extreme poverty of the railways in tsarist Russia with its vast expanses, as well as by the general slowness of the entire military apparatus.

- V. G. Fedorov , In search of weapons. - M .: Military Publishing House , 1964

The problem of solving mobilization problems arose with the introduction of universal military service in most developed countries at that time. Mobilization regulates the universal appeal , which was first held during the French Revolution . Since then, technological progress and the development of social institutions have had a serious impact on the deployment of troops (forces). Such changes were railways, allowing the transfer of a large number of troops over long distances in a short time; telegraph , providing communications between territorial military structures and ensuring coordination of the implementation of the mobilization plan; general military service, allowing you to have a large trained reserve in case of war.

Decisive mobilization actions in Germany , Austria-Hungary and France were concentrated in the corps districts, with each corps commander independently supervising the mobilization of his constituency; executive actions in Germany and Austria were assigned to the administration of the landver districts, in France - to the administration of the regimental districts.

In Russia, in view of the peculiarities of manning the army and navy , the extremely uneven deployment of troops (forces) and the complete discrepancy between mobilization requirements and sources of replenishment (replenishment sources are in the center and in the east, and the bulk of the troops (forces) in the west), the administrative actions were concentrated in one central institution - the main headquarters , in which there was a special committee to prepare data for mobilization. Executive actions were distributed as follows: registration , conscription , distribution and dispatch to the troops (forces) of reserve ranks and first-class militia warriors were carried out by district military commanders with the assistance of the local police; horses that must be surrendered to the army on the basis of military horse duty were collected by the special heads of the military horse sections selected from local residents, accepted by mixed commissions and then surrendered to military receivers; the maintenance of material reserves was assigned to units of troops, to the control of district military commanders, and to commissariat . Detailed rules for staffing the army before the wartime states were taught in the book. VI St. military fast. ^{[ specify ]} in the Charter on military service (see Appeal ).

By 1914, they began to consider the general mobilization of the troops of the likely enemy the beginning of the war, this provision was included in the "Laws and Customs of War" .

On the border with Russia, Austria-Hungary had deployed by this time 8 fully mobilized army corps . In this situation, on July 16, the Russian government began a partial mobilization, referring only to the military districts bordering Austria-Hungary ( Kiev , Odessa ) and two internal ( Moscow , Kazan ), which were associated with the first unified mobilization plan. As for the three northern military districts ( Warsaw , Vilensky , Petrograd ) intended to act against Germany (in case of war ), not a single reservist was called up to them. However, the next day, July 17, the German government demanded that Russia stop mobilizing troops on the Russian-Austrian border. At the same time, according to the Russian ambassador in Berlin , Kaiser Wilhelm II signed a decree on mobilization in the German army .

It became clear to everyone that it would not be possible to avoid a war with Germany. Therefore, on the same day, July 17, Tsar Nicholas II signed a decree on universal mobilization.

- Losses of the Armed Forces of Russia.

By the beginning of World War II, mobilization began to be conducted secretly in order to gain an advantage over the enemy before he could mobilize his armed forces .

Mobilization is an integral part of strategic deployment , which includes:

1. the transfer of the armed forces from a peaceful position to a military one (actually mobilization);
2. operational deployment of troops (forces) in theaters of operations ;
3. strategic regrouping of troops (forces) from the internal regions of the country to theaters of operations and between them;
4. deployment of priority strategic reserves.

The main purpose of strategic deployment is to transfer the armed forces from a peaceful position to a military one (with mobilization), create armed forces groups in theaters of operations and inland for organizing entry into the war, repelling enemy aggression and successfully conducting the first strategic operations of the initial period of the war.

Strategic deployment is often confused with operational deployment , which is also an integral part of strategic deployment and is carried out to create and build groupings of troops (forces) in military theaters to repel aggression and conduct the first operations. The main activities carried out as part of the operational deployment:

1. strengthening intelligence, forces and means of combat duty and military service ;
2. occupation of lines, positions and designated areas by troops and covering forces, air defense forces and means, artillery, navy participating in fire strikes;
3. relocation of aircraft to operational aerodromes ;
4. deployment of the rear of fronts , fleets , armies, corps, as well as forces and means of technical support;
5. occupation of defense lines (access to operational areas) by front troops, individual armies , corps of the first operational echelon;
6. advancement and occupation of concentration areas (defense bands) by troops of the fronts of the second operational echelon , reserve;
7. creation of territorial defense within the respective borders.

Mobilization consists of:

1. in staffing the army, aviation and navy to full wartime states;
2. in the re-equipment of troops with military equipment;
3. in replenishment of the material part, that is, uniforms , weapons and equipment ;
4. in the formation of new units of troops, departments and institutions necessary during the war
5. in understaffing troops with equipment and other means of transportation.

To mobilize, it is always necessary to have in the reserve of the armed forces such a number of military personnel that would equal the difference between the states of peacetime and wartime . In places of mobilization it is necessary to have in constant readiness stocks of material parts and military equipment for manning parts. The first is achieved by the organization of a mobilization reserve of the armed forces, the second - by the device of untouchable reserves and the creation of technical reserves. The ultimate goal of mobilization is to gain an edge over the enemy in the combat readiness of troops (forces) from the very beginning of the war. Hence, its main condition is speed: all plans for mobilization deployment must be drawn up so that the armed forces have the opportunity to deploy in the shortest possible time. Mobilization measures are carried out in an atmosphere of high secrecy , since they largely determine the operational plans for the initial period of the war. The basis of all mobilization activities are calculations that are periodically checked and renewed and reduced to systematic mobilization plans, also periodically updated. The distribution and sequence of actions for mobilization are set out in special instructions, where the entire course of the mobilization of each unit is precisely indicated every day. Any person in charge should be fully aware of their responsibilities in case of mobilization and, upon receipt of relevant instructions, immediately proceed with their implementation without asking for instructions or explanations.

A model of thoroughly and comprehensively prepared and successfully completed mobilization was given by Prussia in 1866 and 1870 . Mobilization is general and private, that is, it does not concern the entire territory of the state and not all armed forces. In order to actually verify mobilization readiness, trial and calibration mobilization is sometimes performed.

In contrast to the mobilization carried out before the outbreak of the war and, in some cases, which is the reason for it, permanent mobilization is carried out throughout the war, or part of it. An important resource of this mobilization is the contingent of civilians, which, due to the natural course of time, reaches military age.

• Medal "For the works on the excellent performance of the general mobilization of 1914"
• GKO Decree No. 452ss of August 10, 1941.
• Draftee
• Demobilization
• State mobilization opportunities

• A. Rediger , “Manning and Arming”;
• Lobko P.L .; "Notes of the military administration";
• Froment, "La mobilisation et la préparation à la guerre".
• V. G. Fedorov , “In search of weapons.” - M .: Military Publishing House , 1964 .
• Avilov R.S. "Verification mobilization" of the troops of the Amur Military District in 1896 as a way of assessing the mobilization readiness of military units. // Oikumena. Regional studies. - 2016. - No. 1 - S. 159-168. [one]
• By Melissa Kirschke Stockdale, Mobilizing the Russian Nation, Cambridge University Press, 2016.

• Kuzmin-Karavaev V.D. Mobilization // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Mobilization // Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / Ed. V.F. Novitsky [et al.]. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911-1915.
• On mobilization in NVO
• Order of the NPO of the USSR of June 20, 1940 No. 0130 (Manual on mobilization ....)