We Have Reserves: Difference between revisions
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* Popular belief is that this has been done frequently by the Soviet Army, although both professional and armchair historians question how much of this is truth and how much is image and propaganda.
** The Soviet Union did have "punishment units" (also known as "prison battalions"), in which convicted (or otherwise considered even more disposable) people were assigned to lead attacks, and clear minefields by marching through them.
**Another thing the Soviets did was to replace losses by mass impressment along the way. In fact the notorious atrocities in Berlin were largely the responsibility of these many of whom were traumatized and some criminals to begin with. The Russian vanguard behaved more or less professionally and while they treated the population roughly and [[Plunder|helped themselves to goodies]] the epidemic of gang rape was more the responsibility of troops to the rearward. It wasn't so much that atrocity was the policy of the Soviet Government in occupied countries (except of course when the [[Secret Police|NKVD]] was rounding up usual suspects that the government specifically wanted). It was more that they did not give a hoot. Partly because Stalin, was, well, Stalin. And partly because it had been an extremely bloody war for them in any event.
** Their army recruitment slogan at the time was "Die For Russia".
*** This is especially true in Winter War 1939-1940. The Soviets attacked against the Finnish positions as [[Cannon Fodder|human waves]], with the advice ''if you don't have a rifle, pick one from your fallen comrade''. The Finnish machine-gunners mowed them down like grass; it often happened that the Finns had to pull off their [[Shell-Shocked Veteran|machine-gunners because of nervous breakdown from such butchery]].
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