Did stalin issue an order to shoot red army soldiers who retreated in the great patriotic war ?
Historical accounts seem to confirm that Stalin issued an order to shoot deserting, panicked soldiers. On August 16, 1941, in attempts to revive a disorganized Soviet defense system, Stalin issued Order No. 270, demanding any commanders or commissars “tearing away their insignia and deserting or surrendering” to be considered malicious deserters. The order required superiors to shoot these deserters on the spot. Their family members were subjected to arrest. The second provision of the order directed all units fighting in encirclements to use every possibility to fight. The order also required division commanders to demote and, if necessary, even to shoot on the spot those commanders who failed to command the battle directly in the battlefield. Thereafter, Stalin also conducted a purge of several military commanders that were shot for “cowardice” without a trial. In June 1941, weeks after the German invasion began, Stalin directed that the retreating Red Army also sought to deny resour
