1937 - The Purge of the Red Army

• Marshal Tukhachevsky who was the hero of the Civil War and Deputy Commissar for Defence, was tried alongside many other top military leaders.
• In the resulting purges, all 11 Deputy Commissars for Defence and 75 out of the 80 members of the Supreme Military Council were shot.
• As the purge widened, all 8 admirals were shot, 3 of the 5 Marshals executed, 14 out of 16 army commanders and half of the 70,000 army officer corps were either imprisoned or executed.
• This purge dramatically reduced the effectiveness of the armed forces.
• Tukhachevsky had been a champion of using the most up to date equipment and tactics.
• The demise of Tukhachevsky left in place a number of incompetent leaders whose knowledge of military tactics was limited and very outdated.

  • Heavy emphasis was still placed on the effectiveness of cavalry on the battlefield.
• Soviet cavalry would be ineffective for the Nazi tanks that invaded in 1941.