1st Separate Women's Volunteer Rifle Brigade

Due to the large number of appeals from women to the central authorities, as well as locally, to party and Komsomol organizations, to military commissariats and going to meet the desire of Soviet women to defend the Motherland with arms in their hands, a decision was made to voluntarily call in USSR Supreme Council of Women. So the USSR State Defense Committee issued Decree No. GOKO-2470ss, dated November 3, 1942, and in accordance with it, an order was issued by the NPO of the USSR , dated November 9, 1942, on the formation, in the Red Army of the USSR Armed Forces , of female volunteers for women volunteer rifle brigade .

Owls secretly STATE DEFENSE COMMITTEE DECISION No. GOKO-2470ss of November 3, 1942. The Kremlin , Moscow
“On the formation of the female volunteer rifle brigade ”
Meeting the wishes of women with arms in their hands to defend their socialist homeland, the State Defense Committee decides:

• 1. To form in the Moscow Military District by February 1, 1943 a female volunteer rifle brigade by states No. 04/330, 04/331, 04 / 333-04 / 343 with the following additions to the states:
  • a) increase the calculation: for an anti-tank gun up to 3 people, for a 45 mm gun for up to 8 people, for a 76 mm gun for up to 10 people, for 82 mm a mortar for up to 6 people;
  • b) to have two drivers for each truck and special vehicle;
  • c) as part of an autorot of transport, have a male team for loading goods, numbering 60 people;
  • d) to introduce a training battalion to the composition of the brigade for the preparation of the junior command staff of 400 people. The total number of brigades set 6 983 people.
• 2. The formation of the team entrusted to the head of Glavupraform comrade Schadenko .
• 3. To equip a separate female volunteer rifle brigade with Komsomol and non- Komsomol members, by careful selection from among those who voluntarily expressed a desire to serve in the Army . To replenish the brigade with women who have combat experience, personally recall 1,000 women from the fronts, according to the attached calculation on the fronts (Appendix No. 1).
• 4. The positions of command and command staff, in the first place, are replaced by female commanders with combat experience. Until the preparation and provision of the brigade with fully female cadres of command, political and commanding staff, the posts of senior, middle and junior commanding staff should be staffed with men, while at the same time deploying accelerated training for the necessary number of women staff.
• 5. To oblige the chief of the Main Directorate of Personnel and the chiefs of the Main Directorates of NPOs to specialize, by October 15, to equip the female brigade with specially selected, well-trained, experienced, average, senior and senior command, political and command personnel.
• 6. To oblige the head of the Glavupraform comrade Shchadenko to equip the female brigade by November 20 with specially selected, well-trained and experienced combat junior commanding personnel. To the heads of the Main Departments of NPOs, to allocate the required number of junior command staff of specialists at the request of the head of the Main Directorate Comrade Schadenko.
• 7. To oblige the chiefs of the Main Departments of NPOs to organize, no later than November 15, the training of 2,000 average female commanders in the specialty, according to the attached calculation (Appendix No. 2).
• 8. To prepare a trained replenishment brigade, form a separate reserve female rifle regiment in the MBO , numbering 3,200 people.
• 9. To oblige the Central Committee of the Komsomol (Comrade Mikhailov) to select 12,000 Komsomol and non-Komsomol, including 1,000 people at the fronts, to equip the brigade , reserve regiment and courses of middle commanders.
• 10. By November 20, the chief commander of the Red Army to manufacture and provide the brigade with uniforms and equipment of improved quality.
• 11. By December 1, 1942, the chiefs of the Main Directorates of NCOs should provide a brigade , a reserve female regiment and training courses for women commanders with weapons , equipment, equipment, wagons and harnesses .
• 12. To oblige the head of GABTU comrade Fedorenko to provide the team no later than December 15 with the required vehicles.
• 13. Commander of the Moscow Military District Comrade. Artemyev to provide a convenient housing of the brigade and reserve regiment and enroll the brigade and regiment for all types of allowances, for which they release the required number of food rations to the MBO.
• 14. To oblige the NKPS (Comrade Khrulyov) to transport people, horses, property and vehicles to the dates and points at the request of the head of the Glavupraform comrade. Schadenko.

CHAIRMAN OF THE STATE DEFENSE COMMITTEE I. STALIN

- TsAMO ^[3]

In accordance with the order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR , the 1st separate female voluntary rifle brigade of the Red Army by November 20, 1943 was to be transferred to the NKVD troops of the USSR ( internal troops ) ^[4] . The brigade was handed over by commission on November 25, 1943, which was reported by acts ^[5] .

One of the reasons for the abolition of the brigade as part of the Red Army was the arrest of the deputy commander of the brigade for the combatant unit and the initiator of its creation of the guard, Major Vera Krylova, on charges of cooperation with German intelligence ^[6] . The documents associated with this stage of the brigade’s existence are still classified, and therefore it is still not known for certain whether the charges brought by Krylova had any basis, there is also no reliable information about Krylova’s fate (according to one report, she was shot, according to to others - she died in 1951 in Krasnoyarsk) ^{[7] [8]} .

The brigade, as part of the NKVD troops of the USSR, performed combat missions to protect important defense facilities, detain deserters and combat banditry in the territory of the Smolensk Region of the RSFSR , provided protection and defense of the rear services, in the offensive zone of the Red Army fronts operating on the Belarusian operational direction.

The 1st separate female voluntary rifle brigade of the NKVD troops was disbanded on July 31, 1944 .

The composition of the 1st separate female voluntary rifle brigade included:

• Management ( headquarters ), Ochakovo ( Kuntsevo district of Moscow);
• separate rifle battalion;
• separate rifle battalion;
• separate rifle battalion;
• separate rifle battalion;
• separate machine-gun battalion;
• separate artillery division;
• separate mortar division;
• separate anti-tank fighter division;
• separate training battalion;

The total number of personnel of the brigade is about 7,000 people (people).

At the time of the transfer, as part of the brigade :

• The staff of officers - 506, according to the list - 471 ... participated in the hostilities - 81, have injuries - 61, were awarded orders and medals - 3 ...;
• sergeant staff in the state - 1470, according to the list - 1465, ... participated in hostilities - 133, have wounds - 75, were awarded orders and medals - 10 .... From the frame - 5, from the stock - 1460 ...;
• rank-and-file staff in the state - 4931 people, according to the list - 4885 people, participated in hostilities - 134, have wounds - 51, were awarded orders and medals - 7 ... out of the frame - none, out of stock - 4885 people ...;
• By education of the brigade’s senior staff: they graduated from the academy - 9 people, advanced courses - 49 people, graduated from military schools in peacetime - 28 people, in wartime - 341 people, do not have a military education - 43 ...
• According to the national composition: Russians - 3987 people, Ukrainians - 375, Belarusians - 60, Jews - 58, Tatars - 79, Armenians - 1, Bashkirs - 16, Kazakhs - 1, Komi - 111, Chuvashs - 33, etc.

The structure of the 1st separate female voluntary rifle brigade of the NKVD troops included:

• Office ( headquarters ), Dorogobuzh ;
  • support units, Dorogobuzh;
• 1st Separate Rifle Battalion, Vyazma ;
• 2nd Separate Rifle Battalion, Spas-Demyansk ;
• 3rd separate rifle battalion;
• 4th Separate Rifle Battalion, Repair ;

other parts in Roslavl and Yelnya ;

• Central School of Sniper Training ;
• 125th Guards Women's Bomber Aviation Regiment ;
• 46th Guards Women's Night Light Bomber Aviation Regiment ;
• 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment ( 586th Women's Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Air Defense Forces );
• 587th Aviation Regiment of Near Bomber ;
• 588th night aviation regiment ;

• Aron Schneier. Captivity . - Bridges of Culture / Gesharim, 2005. - Vol. I, II. - 624 p. - ISBN 5-93273-195-8 .

• Resolution State Defense Committee of the USSR No. GOKO-2470ss of November 3, 1942
• RGVA: fund 38650, inventory 1, case 617 - "Organizational and staffing events 1943."
• RGVA: f. 38650, op. 1, d. 617, l. 437.
• RGVA: f. 38650, op. 1, d. 617, l. 546.
• Aron Schneier, Captive.
• HBO, Epaulettes for Russian Madonnas.
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