Article The cold war - Soviet Army

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

You may have seen that Soviet soldiers wore their caps ("pilotka") in a special way. This headdress had a special cut. If the pilotka was pulled over the ears, then its outer side acquired a special look. The harsh soldier's humor thought it was very similar to female genitalia. During the exercises, any wearing of a cap was allowed (field, everything), but in the garrison, the fighters had to wear a headdress neatly. Ideally, they wanted the inner folds to be a single whole. To a young soldier, the sergeant could say "Take off your pussy, put on a cap" (Snimi pizdu, naden pilotku). This was not an insult, but rather a kind of military advice. The sergeant had to make sure that his fighters looked beautiful.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Soldiers receive letters from family and friends

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

In 1946, the Soviet T-54 tank appeared. This was the logical development of the T-44 tank. In 1958, his version of the T-55 appeared, which had anti-nuclear protection. In the 1960s, the T-54 and T-55 tanks were gradually replaced in the army by the T-62 tanks. I won't say much about them, and I think the experts in armored vehicles know all this much better than me. I will attach a link to an American film about the T-62.

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[Иван Феоктистов]

In 1967, Grechko, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, became the Minister of Defense of the USSR. The new head of the country's armed forces decided to hold large-scale exercises, which became one of the largest in the USSR. The exercises were codenamed "Dnepr-67". During the exercise, a full tank division (330 tanks) crossed the Dnieper on the move in its middle reaches, where the width of the river reached 450-500 meters, and the depth - three to four meters.

During the strategic exercises "Dnepr-67", a practical study of the idea of using helicopter aircraft for the delivery of airborne formations directly to the battlefield took place. For this, on the basis of the 51st Parachute Regiment, an experimental 1st Airborne Brigade was formed under the command of Major General Kobzar in order to practice a helicopter landing on the Dnieper bridgehead. Based on the results, the appropriate conclusions were drawn, and already in 1968-69 the first air assault brigades appeared in the USSR Armed Forces (after a while they were renamed into air assault brigades).

Summing up the results, the Minister of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union A.A. Grechko noted that in the course of these exercises, examples of creative initiative and resourcefulness in the use of weapons and military equipment, in the development of new methods of armed struggle were demonstrated, and urged to introduce everything of value into the practice of training and education troops. All participants in the exercise "Dnepr" were awarded the gratitude of the command. Many participants were also awarded orders, medals, gold watches, etc.

British military observer and historian John Erickson, in his study "Soviet military power", written for the American Institute for Strategic Studies in 1973, wrote that the exercise "Dnepr" showed how quickly the Soviet Union is able to transfer colossal numbers of personnel and equipment by air. way - after all, within 22 minutes, 8 thousand people and 160 units of military equipment were parachuted.

Photos from the exercise became the basis of the filmstrip "Divisions Are Raised on Alarm". I will send some photos from there.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Indeed, at the end of the 1960s, the Soviet army reached the peak of its own power. Perfectly trained troops, the latest and most powerful technology, victorious tactics. A few more photos from the exercise Dnepr-67 and I will continue my story.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

So, the Soviet army has reached a new level. To a level, perhaps, which our country will never reach. The army again saw a strong leap forward in equipment and technology, and the number of methods for performing combat missions expanded significantly. But the soldiers remained in uniform, which has not fundamentally changed since 1943.

I wore (in the field as well) all types of Soviet uniforms. From 1955 gimnasterka to butane camouflage from the 1990s. Overall, I can say that the gimnasterka was a very good dress for a soldier. Spacious, you don't sweat in it, and the wide tunic does not hinder your movements. Also gimasterka is very elegant. But not in the field... Yes, this uniform is very convenient, but in the field the soldier makes a variety of movements, which is why the gimnasterka quickly crumples, bulges and takes on an overall untidy appearance. Other researchers believe that nuclear war was the reason for the change in uniform. With radioactive contamination and decontamination, difficulties arose in removing the tunic - it was removed only over the head. It was possible to tear a tunic from the collar to the bottom, but it was not economically feasible. The question of the appearance of a new uniform hung.

I invite you to watch the 1969 recording, in which the legendary Soviet singer Leonid Kharitonov sings the song "Black-eyed Cossack girl". The elegance of gimnasterka, I think you will see for yourself.

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[Иван Феоктистов]

So, we are turning over another page in the history of the Soviet army. And I propose to start a new, new and bright page with the song of the Alexandrov Ensemble. The soldiers' new dress and casual uniforms are shown clearly in this small but powerful video.

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Friends, you definitely have no questions?

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

So in 1969 there was a major reform of the soldier's uniform (pun intended). We will try to present everything in order.

Most importantly, the soldiers and sergeants received a new dress uniform. She began to sew on the officer's model, the soldiers tried on a shirt and tie for the first time. The uniform was distinguished by colored shoulder straps according to the type of troops. I'll talk about them later. The uniform was accompanied by a new cap with a new cockade, nicknamed "crab" and "cabbage" from the soldiers.

Velvet buttonholes with the emblem of the type of troops also appeared on the uniform. In the Soviet rules for wearing a uniform, two types of wearing this set were divided: ceremonial and ceremonial-day off. The dress uniform was worn with a belt, and the trousers were tucked into the boots. The parade day was worn without a belt and with trousers outside.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

In the same 1969, the soldiers received a new daily and field uniform. Instead of a tunic, a closed tunic appeared with two pockets below the belt. It was assumed that each soldier would have two sets of this form - for the camp (with colored shoulder straps) and for the field (with shoulder straps and buttonholes of khaki). But often uniforms with colored shoulder straps also became field uniforms.

The era of the very red epaulettes that kept the entire West in fear for the next twenty years has come.

 

[Иван Феоктистов]

Photoset of our comrades from the Moscow Reconstruction Club "Enduring and Legendary", dedicated to the anniversary of the adoption of the 1969 uniform

 

[Иван Феоктистов]