Gko was educated. GKO and the Supreme Command. Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces of the USSR

STATE DEFENSE COMMITTEE (GKO), the highest state emergency body in the USSR during the Great Patriotic War 1941-45 years. Formed on 30.6.1941 by a joint resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, consisting of I. V. Stalin (Chairman), V. M. Molotov (Deputy Chairman), K. E. Voroshilov, G. M. Malenkov , L.P. Beria. In February 1942, A. I. Mikoyan, N. A. Voznesensky, L. M. Kaganovich were added to the State Defense Committee, in November 1944 N. A. Bulganin was included instead of Voroshilov. The State Defense Committee was endowed with full power on the territory of the USSR, that is, all party, Soviet, military, public bodies and organizations, as well as citizens of the USSR, were obliged to unquestioningly comply with its decisions and orders.

The Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense during the Civil War of 1917-22 served as the prototype of the State Defense Committee. The GKO supervised the activities of all government departments and institutions; carried out the reorganization of the state apparatus and the central bodies of military administration in connection with the peculiarities of wartime; determined the tasks of the war economy and concentrated the efforts of state, party and economic bodies on their fulfillment; introduced and canceled a state of siege; took steps to rebuild the war-torn National economy; supervised the provision of the armed forces with personnel, weapons, military equipment, military property and food; took measures to strengthen law and order in the country and discipline in the army; made decisions on the creation of foreign military formations on the territory of the USSR, on the purchase of equipment, weapons and other property abroad, etc. The GKO carried out the military-strategic leadership of the armed struggle through the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. To guide the struggle of the population behind enemy lines, in May 1942, by decision of the State Defense Committee, the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement and local headquarters of the partisan movement were created at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. Each member of the GKO was in charge of a certain range of issues (L. P. Beria - the production of weapons and ammunition; K. E. Voroshilov - the preparation of new military formations for the army; G. M. Malenkov - the production of aircraft and aircraft engines; A. I. Mikoyan - production of food, fuel and clothing, etc.). Members of the GKO were not relieved of their party and government posts, and working groups were created under them, which included prominent designers, engineers, planners, production workers and other specialists.

The adopted decisions came into force immediately and were executed through the apparatus of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the people's commissariats, as well as through authorized GKOs. Under the GKO, there were committees: transport, trophy, radar, a special committee (dealt with reparations, trophy equipment, and so on). To control the current work of all the people's commissariats of the defense industry, the people's commissariats of communications, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, power plants, coal, oil and chemical industries, in December 1942, the GKO Operations Bureau was formed consisting of Beria (chairman), Malenkov, Mikoyan, N. A. Voznesensky and Bulganin. In the spring of 1944, the People's Commissariats of the rubber, paper-pulp and electrical industries were additionally transferred to the Operations Bureau, and in August 1944 - issues related to the supply of the Red Army and defense industry enterprises with food and industrial goods.

After the end of the 2nd World War, by the Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces of September 4, 1945, the State Defense Committee was abolished. In total, during the war years, the State Defense Committee adopted about 10 thousand regulatory legal acts that had the force of wartime laws. Despite the subjectivity that took place in a number of cases in the analysis and assessment of the military-political situation, excessive centralization in solving many issues, the creation and activities of the State Defense Committee contributed to the mobilization of the efforts of the peoples of the USSR to achieve victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Lit .: Belikov A. M. State Defense Committee and the problems of creating a well-coordinated military economy // Soviet rear in the Great Patriotic War. M., 1974. Book. 1; Komarov Ya. Ya. The State Defense Committee decides ...: Documents. Memories. Comments. M., 1990; Gorkov Yu. A. State Defense Committee (1941-1945): Figures. Documentation. M., 2002.

"The days of war are harsh.
We will fight until victory.
We are all ready, Comrade Stalin,
To defend the edge born by the breast.

S. Alymov

According to the Constitution of the USSR of 1936, the supreme body state power in the USSR was the Supreme Soviet (SC) of the USSR, which was elected for 4 years. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR elected the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR - the highest authority Soviet Union between sessions of the SC. Also, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR elected the government of the USSR - the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (SNK). The Supreme Court was elected by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for a term of five years. The USSR Armed Forces also appointed the Prosecutor (Procurator General) of the USSR. The Constitution of 1936, or the Stalinist Constitution, did not in any way provide for the procedure for the implementation of state and military administration of the country in wartime conditions. In the presented diagram, the leaders of the USSR power structures are indicated for 1941. The Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces was endowed with the right to declare a state of war, general or partial mobilization, martial law in the interests of the country's defense and state security. The Council of People's Commissars of the USSR - the highest executive body of state power - took measures to ensure public order, protect the interests of the state and protect the rights of the population, supervised the general construction of the Armed Forces of the USSR, and determined the annual contingent of citizens to be called up for active military service.

The Defense Committee (KO) under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR supervised and coordinated issues of military development and direct preparation of the country for defense. Although before the war it was envisaged that with the outbreak of hostilities, the military command should be carried out by the Main Military Council headed by the People's Commissar of Defense, this did not happen. The general leadership of the armed struggle of the Soviet people against the Nazi troops was assumed by the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, or rather its Central Committee (CC), headed by The situation at the fronts was very difficult, Soviet troops retreated everywhere. It was necessary to reorganize the highest bodies of state and military administration.

On the second day of the war, June 23, 1941, by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the Headquarters of the High Command of the Armed Forces of the USSR was created. It was headed by the People's Commissar of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union, i.e. military administration bodies were reorganized. The reorganization of the state power system took place on June 30, 1941, when the decision of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR created the State Defense Committee (GKO) - the emergency supreme state body of the USSR, which concentrated all power in the country. The State Defense Committee supervised all military and economic issues during the war, and the leadership of military operations was carried out through the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

“There was no bureaucracy in both the Headquarters and the State Defense Committee. They were exclusively operational bodies. , which should be exactly like this, but it happened so, "recalled the head of the Logistics, General of the Army Khrulev A.V. In the first months of the Great Patriotic War, there was a complete centralization of power in the country. Stalin I.V. concentrated immense power in his hands - while remaining General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, he headed the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the State Defense Committee, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and the People's Commissariat of Defense.

State Defense Committee

The State Defense Committee, created during the Great Patriotic War, was an emergency governing body that had full power in the USSR. The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks became the chairman of the GKO, and the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs became the chairman of the GKO. (Secretary, Head of the Personnel Department of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks). In February 1942, N.A. Voznesensky was introduced into the GKO. (1st Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars) and Mikoyan A.I. (Chairman of the Committee for Food and Clothing Supply of the Red Army), Kaganovich L.M. (Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars). In November 1944, Bulganin N.A. became a new member of the State Defense Committee. (Deputy Commissar of Defense of the USSR), and Voroshilov K.E. was withdrawn from the GKO.

The GKO was endowed with broad legislative, executive and administrative functions, it united the military, political and economic leadership of the country. The decrees and orders of the State Defense Committee had the force of wartime laws and were subject to unquestioning execution by all party, state, military, economic and trade union bodies. However, the USSR Armed Forces, the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the people's commissariats also continued to operate, fulfilling the decrees and decisions of the State Defense Committee. During the Great Patriotic War, the State Defense Committee adopted 9971 resolutions, of which about two-thirds dealt with the problems of the military economy and the organization of military production: the evacuation of the population and industry; mobilization of industry, production of weapons and ammunition; handling captured weapons and ammunition; organization of hostilities, distribution of weapons; appointment of authorized GKOs; structural changes in the State Defense Committee itself, etc. The remaining decisions of the State Defense Committee concerned political, personnel, and other issues.

GKO functions:
1) directing the activities of state departments and institutions, directing their efforts to the full use of the material, spiritual and military capabilities of the country to achieve victory over the enemy;
2) mobilization of the country's human resources for the needs of the front and the national economy;
3) organization of uninterrupted work of the defense industry of the USSR;
4) resolving issues of restructuring the economy on a war footing;
5) evacuation of industrial facilities from threatened areas and transfer of enterprises to liberated areas;
6) training of reserves and personnel for the Armed Forces and industry;
7) restoration of the economy destroyed by the war;
8) determination of the volume and terms of deliveries of military products by the industry.

The GKO set military-political tasks for the military leadership, improved the structure of the Armed Forces, determined general character their use in the war, placed leading cadres. The working bodies of the GKO on military issues, as well as the direct organizers and executors of its decisions in this area, were the People's Commissariats of Defense (NPO of the USSR) and Navy(NK Navy of the USSR).

From the jurisdiction of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR to the jurisdiction of the State Defense Committee, the people's commissariats of the defense industry were transferred: People's Commissariat of Aviation Industry, People's Commissariat of Tank Industry, People's Commissariat of Ammunition, People's Commissariat for Armaments, People's Commissariat for Armaments, People's Commissariat for Armaments, People's Commissariat of Shipbuilding and others. GKO resolutions on the production of military products. The commissioners had mandates, signed by the chairman of the GKO - Stalin, which clearly defined the practical tasks that the GKO set for their commissioners. As a result of the efforts made, the output of military products in March 1942 only in the eastern regions of the country reached the pre-war level of its output throughout the entire territory of the Soviet Union.

During the war, in order to achieve maximum efficiency of management and adaptation to current conditions, the structure of the GKO was repeatedly changed. One of the important divisions of the State Defense Committee was the Operations Bureau, established on December 8, 1942. The Operations Bureau included L.P. Beria, G.M. Malenkov, A.I. Mikoyan. and Molotov V.M. The tasks of this unit initially included the coordination and unification of the actions of all other units of the State Defense Committee. But in 1944 the bureau's functions were significantly expanded. It began to control the current work of all the people's commissariats of the defense industry, as well as the preparation and implementation of plans for the production and supply of industries and transport. The operational bureau became responsible for supplying the army, in addition, the duties of the previously abolished Transport Committee were assigned to it. "All members of the GKO were in charge of certain areas of work. So, Molotov was in charge of tanks, Mikoyan was in charge of quartermaster supply, fuel supply, lend-lease issues, sometimes he carried out individual orders from Stalin to deliver shells to the front. Malenkov was engaged in aviation, Beria - ammunition and weapons. Everyone came to Stalin with their own questions and said: I ask you to make such and such a decision on such and such an issue ... "- recalled the head of the Logistics, General of the Army Khrulev A.V.

To carry out the evacuation of industrial enterprises and the population from the front-line regions to the east, the Council for Evacuation Affairs was created under the State Defense Committee. In addition, in October 1941, the Committee for the Evacuation of Food Stocks was formed, industrial goods and industrial enterprises. However, in October 1941, these bodies were reorganized into the Directorate for Evacuation Affairs under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Other important divisions of the GKO were: the Trophy Commission, created in December 1941, and in April 1943 transformed into the Trophy Committee; A special committee that dealt with the development nuclear weapons; Special Committee - dealt with issues of reparations, etc.

The State Defense Committee became the main link in the mechanism of centralized management of the mobilization of the country's human and material resources for defense and armed struggle against the enemy. Having fulfilled its functions, the State Defense Committee was disbanded by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of September 4, 1945.

Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces of the USSR

Initially, the highest body of strategic leadership of the military operations of the Soviet Armed Forces was called the Headquarters of the High Command. It included members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks Stalin I.V., Molotov V.M., Marshal of the Soviet Union Voroshilov K.E., Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union Budyonny S.M., People's Commissar of the Navy Admiral of the Fleet and Chief of the General Staff General of the Army, led by People's Commissar of Defense Marshal Timoshenko S.K. At the Headquarters, an institute of permanent advisers was formed, consisting of: Marshals of the Soviet Union and Kulik G.I.; generals, Zhigarev P.F., Vatutin N.F., Voronov N.N.; and also Mikoyan A.I., Kaganovich L.M., Beria L.P., Voznesensky N.A., Zhdanov A.A., Malenkov G.M., Mekhlis L.Z.

However, the dynamism of military operations, rapid and abrupt changes in the situation on a huge front required high efficiency in command and control of troops. Meanwhile, Marshal Timoshenko S.K. he could not independently, without agreement with, make any serious decisions on the leadership of the country's Armed Forces. He did not even have the right to make decisions on the preparation and use of strategic reserves. In order to ensure centralized and more efficient control of the actions of the troops, by the decree of the State Defense Committee of the USSR of July 10, 1941, the Headquarters of the High Command was transformed into the Headquarters of the Supreme Command. It was headed by the chairman of the GKO, Stalin. By the same decree, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Marshal B.M. Shaposhnikov was introduced to the Headquarters. August 8, 1941 Stalin I.V. was appointed Supreme Commander. Since that time, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command was renamed the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (SHC). It included: Stalin I., Molotov V., Timoshenko S., Budyonny S., Voroshilov K., Kuznetsov N., Shaposhnikov B. and Zhukov G.

At the final stage of the Great Patriotic War, the composition of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was changed for the last time. By the Decree of the State Defense Committee of the USSR of February 17, 1945, the following composition of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was determined: Marshals of the Soviet Union Stalin I.V. (Chairman - Supreme Commander), (Deputy People's Commissar of Defense) and (Deputy People's Commissar of Defense), army generals Bulganin N.A. (member of the State Defense Committee and Deputy People's Commissar of Defense) and Antonov A.I. (Chief of the General Staff), Admiral Kuznetsov N.G. (People's Commissar of the Navy of the USSR).

The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command carried out the strategic leadership of the Red Army, the USSR Navy, border and internal troops, . The activity of the Stavka consisted in assessing the military-political and military-strategic situation, making strategic and operational-strategic decisions, organizing strategic regroupings and creating groupings of troops, organizing interaction and coordinating actions during operations between groups of fronts, fronts, individual armies, as well as between active army and partisan units. In addition, the Stavka supervised the formation and training of strategic reserves, the material and technical support of the Armed Forces, supervised the study and generalization of war experience, exercised control over the fulfillment of assigned tasks, and resolved issues related to military operations.

The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command directed the fronts, fleets and long-range aviation, assigned them tasks, approved plans of operations, provided them with the necessary forces and means, and directed the partisans through the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement. Important role in directing the combat activities of the fronts and fleets, the Stavka directives played, which usually indicated the goals and tasks of the troops in operations, the main directions where it was necessary to concentrate the main efforts, the necessary density of artillery and tanks in breakthrough areas, etc.

In the first days of the war, in a rapidly changing situation, in the absence of a stable connection with the fronts and reliable information about the situation of the troops, the military leadership was systematically late in making decisions, so it became necessary to create an intermediate command authority between the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and the fronts. For these purposes, it was decided to send leading employees of the People's Commissariat of Defense to the front, however, these measures initial stage wars did not produce results.

Therefore, on July 10, 1941, by a decree of the State Defense Committee, three Main Commands of the Troops were created in strategic directions: the North-West direction, headed by Marshal Voroshilov K.E. - coordination of actions of the Northern and Northwestern fronts, as well as fleets; Western direction, headed by Marshal Timoshenko S.K. - coordination of the actions of the Western Front and the Pinsk military flotilla, and later - the Western Front, the Front of Reserve Armies and the Central Front; South-Western direction, headed by Marshal Budyonny S.M. - coordination of the actions of the South-Western, Southern, and later the Bryansk fronts, with operational subordination.

The task of the High Commands included studying and analyzing the operational-strategic situation in the direction zone, coordinating the actions of troops in the strategic direction, informing the Headquarters about the situation on the fronts, directing the preparation of operations in accordance with the plans of the Headquarters, and directing the partisan struggle behind enemy lines. In the initial period of the war, the High Commands were able to quickly respond to enemy actions, ensuring more reliable and accurate command and control of troops, as well as organizing interaction between the fronts. Unfortunately, the commanders-in-chief of the strategic directions not only did not have sufficiently broad powers, but also did not have the necessary military reserves and material resources to actively influence the course of hostilities. The headquarters did not clearly define the range of their functions and tasks. Often their activities were reduced to the transfer of information from the fronts to the Headquarters and, conversely, the orders of the Headquarters to the fronts.

The commanders-in-chief of the troops of the strategic directions were not able to improve the leadership of the fronts. The main commands of the troops of strategic directions began to be abolished one by one. But finally the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command did not refuse them. In February 1942, the Headquarters assigned the commander Western Front General of the Army Zhukov G.K. duties of the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Direction, to coordinate the military operations of the Western and Kalinin fronts in the course. Soon the High Command of the troops of the South-Western direction was restored. The commander-in-chief was appointed southwestern front Marshal Timoshenko S.K., to coordinate the actions of the Southwestern and neighboring Bryansk fronts. And in April 1942, on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front, the High Command of the troops of the North Caucasian direction was formed, headed by Marshal S.M. Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla. Soon, such a control system, as ineffective as it was, had to be abandoned. In May 1942, the High Commands of the troops of the Western and North Caucasian directions were abolished, and in June - of the South-Western directions.

The institute of representatives of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, which became more widespread during the Great Patriotic War, appeared to replace it. The most trained military leaders were appointed as representatives of the Headquarters, who were endowed with broad powers and usually sent to where, according to the plan of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the main issues were resolved. this moment tasks. Representatives of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on the fronts at different times were: Budyonny S.M., Zhukov G.K., Vasilevsky A.M., Voroshilov K.E., Antonov A.I., Timoshenko S.K., Kuznetsov N.G. ., Shtemenko S.M., and others. Supreme Commander - Stalin I.V. demanded from representatives of the Headquarters constant reports on the progress of the tasks, often calling them to the Headquarters during operations, especially when something went wrong.

Stalin personally set specific tasks for his representatives, sternly asking for omissions and miscalculations. The institute of representatives of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command significantly increased the effectiveness of strategic management, contributed to more rational use forces in operations carried out at the fronts, it was easier to coordinate efforts and support close interaction between fronts, branches of the Armed Forces, branches of service and partisan formations. Representatives of the Headquarters, having great powers, could influence the course of battles, correct the mistakes of the front and army command in time. The institution of Headquarters representatives lasted almost until the end of the war.

Campaign plans were adopted at joint meetings of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the State Defense Committee and the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, although in the first months of the war the principle of collegiality was practically not respected. IN further work in preparing operations, the commanders of fronts, services of the Armed Forces and branches of service took an active part. With the stabilization of the front, the reorganization of the system of strategic leadership, the command and control of troops was also improved. The planning of operations began to be characterized by more coordinated efforts of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the General Staff and the headquarters of the fronts. The Supreme Command Headquarters developed the most expedient methods of strategic leadership gradually, with the accumulation of combat experience and the growth of military art among the highest echelons of command and staffs. In the course of the war, the methods of strategic leadership of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command were continuously developed and improved. The most important issues of strategic plans and plans of operations were discussed at its meetings, which in a number of cases were attended by commanders and members of the military councils of the fronts, commanders of the branches of the armed forces and combat arms. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief personally formulated the final decision on the issues under discussion.

Throughout the war, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was located in Moscow, which was of great moral importance. The members of the Headquarters of the Supreme Command gathered in the Kremlin office of IV Stalin, but with the beginning of the bombing, it was transferred from the Kremlin to a small mansion on Kirov Street with a reliable working room and communications. Headquarters from Moscow was not evacuated, and during the bombing, work was moved to the Kirovskaya metro station, where an underground strategic control center for the Armed Forces was prepared. The offices of Stalin I.V. were equipped there. and Shaposhnikov B.M., the operational group of the General Staff and the departments of the People's Commissariat of Defense was located.

In the office of Stalin I.V. At the same time, members of the Politburo, the GKO and the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command gathered, but the unifying body in the conditions of war was still the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, whose meetings could be held at any time of the day. Reports to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief were made, as a rule, three times a day. At 10-11 o'clock in the morning the chief usually reported operational management, at 16-17 hours - the chief of the General Staff, and at night the military leaders went to Stalin with a final report for the day.

The priority in resolving military issues belonged, of course, to General Staff. Therefore, during the war, his superiors visited Stalin IV almost daily, becoming his main experts, consultants and advisers. Kuznetsov N.G., People's Commissar of the Navy, was a frequent visitor to the Supreme Command Headquarters. and the head of the Logistics of the Red Army Khrulev A.V. Repeatedly, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief met with the heads of the Main Directorates of NCOs, commanders and heads of military branches. On issues related to the adoption of military equipment or its supply to the troops, people's commissars of the aviation, tank industry, weapons, ammunition and others came with them. Often, leading designers of weapons and military equipment were invited to discuss these issues. Having fulfilled its functions, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command in October 1945 was abolished.

General Staff of the Red Army

The General Staff is the main body of planning and control of the Armed Forces in the system of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. “Such a team,” according to Shaposhnikov B.M., “is required to streamline the gigantic work in preparation for war. Coordination, harmonization of training ... can only be done by the General Staff - a collection of people who forged and tested their military views in the same conditions under the same leadership, selected in the most careful way, bound themselves by mutual responsibility, friendly actions, who reached turning points in the military construction."

In the prewar period, the General Staff carried out large-scale work to prepare the country for defense. The General Staff developed the Plan for the Strategic Deployment of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union in the West and East for 1940 and 1941, approved on October 5, 1940. On May 15, 1941, an updated draft of the Considerations on the Plan strategic deployment in case of war with Germany and its allies", but it was not approved. Zhukov G.K. wrote: "The decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Soviet government of March 8, 1941 clarified the distribution of duties in the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR. The leadership of the Red Army was carried out by the People's Commissar of Defense through the General Staff, his deputies and the system of main and central directorates ... The General Staff performed tremendous operational, organizational and mobilization work, being the main apparatus of the people's commissar of defense.

However, according to the testimony of Marshal G.K. Zhukov, who was Chief of the General Staff before the war, "... I.V. Stalin on the eve and at the beginning of the war underestimated the role and importance of the General Staff ... he was very little interested in the activities of the General Staff. Neither my predecessors nor I did not have the opportunity to fully report to I.V. Stalin on the state of the country's defense, on our military capabilities and the capabilities of our potential enemy.

In other words, the political leadership of the country did not allow the General Staff to fully and timely implement the necessary measures on the eve of the war. For the USSR Armed Forces on the eve of the war, the only document prescribing that the troops of the border districts be put on alert was the directive sent to the troops a few hours before the start of the war (June 21, 1941 at 21.45 Moscow time). In the initial period of the war, under conditions of an unfavorable situation on the fronts, the volume and content of the work of the General Staff increased enormously. But only towards the end of the first period of the war did Stalin's relations with the General Staff normalize to a large extent. From the second half of 1942, IV Stalin, as a rule, did not make a single decision without first hearing the opinion of the General Staff.

The main governing bodies of the Armed Forces of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War were the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and the General Staff. This command and control system operated throughout the war. In accordance with the requirements of wartime, the General Staff worked around the clock. The mode of operation of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was practically also round-the-clock. The tone was set by the Supreme Commander himself, who worked 12-16 hours a day, and, as a rule, in the evening and at night. He paid the main attention to operational-strategic issues, problems of weapons, training of human and material resources.

The work of the General Staff during the war was complex and multifaceted. Functions of the General Staff:
1) collection and processing of operational-strategic information about the situation that developed on the fronts;
2) preparation of operational calculations, conclusions and proposals for the use of the Armed Forces, direct development of plans for military campaigns and strategic operations in theaters of military operations;
3) development of directives and orders of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command on the operational use of the Armed Forces and war plans in new possible theaters of military operations;
4) organization and management of all types of intelligence activities;
5) processing of data and information of lower headquarters and troops;
6) resolution of air defense issues;
7) management of the construction of fortified areas;
8) leadership of the military topographic service and supply of the army with topographic maps;
9) organization and organization of the operational rear of the army in the field;
development of regulations on army formations;
10) development of manuals and guidelines for staff service;
11) summarizing advanced combat experience of formations, formations and units;
12) coordination of combat operations of partisan formations with formations of the Red Army and much more.

The Chief of the General Staff was not just a member of the Stavka, he was its deputy chairman. In accordance with the instructions and decisions of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the Chief of the General Staff united the activities of all departments of the People's Commissariat of Defense, as well as the People's Commissariat of the Navy. Moreover, the Chief of the General Staff was empowered to sign orders and directives of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, as well as to issue orders on behalf of the Headquarters. Throughout the war, the Chief of the General Staff reported the military-strategic situation in the theaters of operations and the proposals of the General Staff personally to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The Chief of the Operational Directorate of the General Staff (Vasilevsky A.M., Shtemenko S.M.) also reported to the Supreme Commander on the situation on the fronts. During the Great Patriotic War, the General Staff was successively headed by four military leaders - Marshals of the Soviet Union Zhukov G.K., Shaposhnikov B.M., Vasilevsky A.M. and General of the Army Antonov A.I.

Perfection organizational structure The General Staff was carried out throughout the war, as a result of which the General Staff became a command and control body capable of promptly and adequately responding to changes in the situation on the fronts. During the Second World War, the necessary changes in the administrations took place. In particular, directions were created for each active front, consisting of the head of the direction, his deputy and 5-10 officer-operators. In addition, a corps of representative officers of the General Staff was created. It was intended to maintain continuous communication with the troops, verify the implementation of directives, orders and instructions from higher command and control bodies, provide the General Staff with prompt and accurate information about the situation, and also provide timely assistance to headquarters and troops.

State Defense Committee(abbreviated GKO) - an emergency governing body created during the Great Patriotic War, which had full power in the USSR. The need for creation was obvious, because. in wartime, it was required to concentrate all power in the country, both executive and legislative, in one governing body. Stalin and the Politburo actually headed the state and made all decisions. However, the adopted decisions formally came from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, etc. In order to eliminate this method of leadership, which is permissible in Peaceful time, but not meeting the requirements of the martial law of the country, and it was decided to create a State Defense Committee, which included some members of the Politburo, secretaries of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and Stalin himself, as chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.

GKO formation

Composition of GKO

Initially (based on the joint Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of June 30, see below), the composition of the GKO was as follows:

Chairman of the GKO - JV Stalin.

Deputy Chairman of the GKO - V. M. Molotov.

Most of the decisions of the GKO were signed by its chairman, Stalin, some also by deputy Molotov and GKO members Mikoyan and Beria.

The State Defense Committee did not have its own apparatus, its decisions were prepared in the relevant people's commissariats and departments, and office work was carried out by the Special Sector of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks.

The vast majority of GKO resolutions were classified as “Secret”, “Top Secret” or “Top Secret / Special Importance” (the designation “s”, “ss” and “ss / s” after the number), but some resolutions were open and published in the press (an example of such a decision is).

The vast majority of GKO resolutions dealt with topics related to the war:

evacuation of the population and industry (during the first period of the Great Patriotic War);
mobilization of industry, production of weapons and ammunition;
handling captured weapons and ammunition;
study and export to the USSR of captured samples of equipment, industrial equipment, reparations (at the final stage of the war);
organization of hostilities, distribution of weapons, etc.;
appointment of authorized GKOs;
about the beginning of "works on uranium" (the creation of nuclear weapons);
structural changes in the GKO itself.

GKO structure

The GKO included several structural divisions. Over the period of its existence, the structure of the Committee has changed several times, with the aim of maximizing management efficiency and adapting to current conditions.

The most important unit was the 8 December Operations Bureau. The bureau included L.P. Beria, G. M. Malenkov, A. I. Mikoyan and V. M. Molotov. The actual head of the Operations Bureau was Beria. The tasks of this unit initially included monitoring and monitoring the current work of all the people's commissariats of the defense industry, the people's commissariats of communications, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, power plants, the oil, coal and chemical industries, as well as the preparation and execution of plans for the production and supply of these industries and transport with everything you need. On May 19, it was adopted that the functions of the bureau were significantly expanded - now its tasks included monitoring and controlling the work of the people's commissariats of the defense industry, transport, metallurgy, people's commissariats of the most important areas of industry and power plants; from that moment on, the Operations Bureau was also responsible for supplying the army, and finally, it was entrusted with the duties of the abolished by the decision of the Transport Committee.

Other important divisions of the GKO were:

Trophy Commission (established in December 1941, and on April 5, by Decree No. 3123ss, transformed into the Trophy Committee);
Special Committee - created on August 20, 1945 (GKO Decree No. 9887ss / op). Engaged in the development of nuclear weapons.
Special Committee (dealt with issues of reparations).
Evacuation Committee (created on June 25, 1941 by GKO Decree No. 834, disbanded on December 25, 1941 by GKO Decree No. 1066ss). On September 26, 1941, by GKO Decree No. 715s, the Administration for the Evacuation of the Population was organized under this committee.
Unloading Committee railways- was formed on December 25, 1941 by GKO Decree No. 1066ss, on September 14, 1942, by GKO Decree No. 1279, it was transformed into the Transport Committee under the State Defense Committee, which existed until May 19, 1944, after which, by GKO Decree No. 5931, the Transport Committee was abolished, and its functions were transferred to the Operations Bureau GKO;
Evacuation Commission - (established on June 22, 1942 by GKO Decree No. 1922);
Radar Council - established on July 4, 1943 by GKO Decree No. 3686ss, consisting of: Malenkov (chairman), Arkhipov, Berg, Golovanov, Gorokhov, Danilov, Kabanov, Kobzarev, Stogov, Terentyev, Ucher, Shakhurin, Shchukin.
A group of permanent commissioners of the GKO and permanent commissions of the GKO at the fronts.

GKO functions

The State Defense Committee supervised all military and economic issues during the war. The leadership of the fighting was carried out through the Headquarters.

Dissolution of the GKO

Additional information in Wikisource

Notes

Literature

Gorkov Yu.A. "The State Defense Committee decides (1941-1945)", M.: Olma-Press, 2002. - 575 p.

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See what the "State Defense Committee (USSR)" is in other dictionaries:

The GKO is an emergency supreme state body that concentrated all power during the Great Patriotic War. Formed on June 30, 1941. Composition: L. P. Beria, K. E. Voroshilov (until 1944), G. M. Malenkov, V. M. Molotov (deputy chairman), I. ... ... Political science. Dictionary.

The STATE DEFENSE COMMITTEE in the USSR (GKO) is an emergency supreme state body that concentrated all power during the Great Patriotic War. Formed 30/6/1941. Composition: L. P. Beria, K. E. Voroshilov (until 1944), G. M. Malenkov, ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

GKO, USSR State Defense Committee,- from 06/30/1941 to 09/04/1945, an extraordinary supreme state body, concentrating in its hands all the fullness of legislative and executive power, in fact replacing the constitutional authorities and administration. Removed due to... ... Concise Dictionary historical and legal terms

This term has other meanings, see State Defense Committee (meanings). Not to be confused with state committees central bodies government controlled THE USSR. Not to be confused with committees under ... ... Wikipedia

State Defense Committee: The State Defense Committee was an emergency governing body created during the Great Patriotic War, which had full power in the USSR. The State Defense Committee of the People's Republic of China is the highest ... ... Wikipedia

It should not be confused with the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the State Defense Committee (abbreviated as GKO), an emergency governing body created during the Great Patriotic War, which had full power in the USSR. Necessity ... ... Wikipedia

GKO formation

Composition of GKO

Chairman of the GKO - JV Stalin.

Deputy Chairman of the GKO - V. M. Molotov.

GKO resolutions

The first GKO resolution (“On organizing the production of T-34 medium tanks at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant”) was issued on July 1, the last one (No. 9971 “On payment for the remains of incomplete ammunition elements accepted from industry and located at the bases of the NPO of the USSR and the NKVMF” ) - 4 September . The numbering of decisions was kept through.

Of these nearly 10,000 resolutions, 98 documents and three more are partially classified at the present time.

Most of the GKO resolutions were signed by its chairman, Stalin, some also by deputy Molotov and members of the GKO, Mikoyan and Beria.

The vast majority of GKO resolutions dealt with topics related to the war:

evacuation of the population and industry (during the first period of the Great Patriotic War);
mobilization of industry, production of weapons and ammunition;
handling captured weapons and ammunition;
study and export to the USSR of captured samples of equipment, industrial equipment, reparations (at the final stage of the war);
organization of hostilities, distribution of weapons, etc.;
appointment of authorized GKOs;
about the beginning of "works on uranium" (the creation of nuclear weapons);
structural changes in the GKO itself.

GKO structure

The most important subdivision was the Operations Bureau, established on December 8 by GKO resolution No. 2615s. The bureau included L.P. Beria, G. M. Malenkov, A. I. Mikoyan and V. M. Molotov. The actual head of the Operations Bureau was Beria. The tasks of this unit initially included the coordination and unification of the actions of all other units. On May 19, Decree No. 5931 was adopted, by which the functions of the bureau were significantly expanded - now its tasks also included monitoring and controlling the work of the people's commissariats of the defense industry, transport, metallurgy, people's commissariats of the most important areas of industry and power plants; from that moment on, the Operations Bureau was also responsible for supplying the army, and finally, it was entrusted with the duties of the abolished by the decision of the Transport Committee.

Other important divisions of the GKO were:

Trophy Commission (established in December 1941, and on April 5, by Decree No. 3123ss, transformed into the Trophy Committee);
Special Committee (dealt with the development of nuclear weapons).
Special Committee (dealt with issues of reparations).
Evacuation Committee (created on June 25, 1941 by GKO Decree No. 834, disbanded on December 25, 1941 by GKO Decree No. 1066ss). On September 26, 1941, by GKO Decree No. 715s, the Administration for the Evacuation of the Population was organized under this committee.
The Committee for Unloading Railways - was formed on December 25, 1941 by GKO Decree No. 1066ss; its functions were transferred to the GKO Operational Bureau;
Evacuation Commission - (established on June 22, 1942 by GKO Decree No. 1922);
Radar Council - established on July 4, 1943 by GKO Decree No. 3686ss, consisting of: Malenkov (predecessor), Arkhipov, Berg, Golovanov, Gorokhov, Danilov, Kabanov, Kobzarev, Stogov, Terentyev, Ucher, Shakhurin, Shchukin.
A group of permanent commissioners of the GKO and permanent commissions of the GKO at the fronts.

GKO functions

The State Defense Committee supervised all military and economic issues during the war. The leadership of the fighting was carried out through the Headquarters.

Dissolution of the GKO

The State Defense Committee was disbanded by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 4 September.

Additional information in Wikisource

Decree of the State Defense Committee of May 30, 1942 No. 1837ss "Issues of the partisan movement"

Notes

External links

Bulletin of Declassified Documents of the Federal State Archives Issue 6
List of documents of the USSR State Defense Committee (1941-1945)

Literature

Gorkov Yu.A. "The State Defense Committee decides (1941-1945)", M.: Olma-Press, 2002. - 575 p. ISBN 5-224-03313-6

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what the "State Defense Committee of the USSR" is in other dictionaries:

This term has other meanings, see State Defense Committee (meanings). Not to be confused with the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command State Defense Committee of the USSR GKO, GKO USSR Emblem of the Armed Forces Years of existence ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see State Defense Committee (meanings). It should not be confused with the state committees of the central government bodies of the USSR. Not to be confused with committees under ... ... Wikipedia

- (GKO), the highest state emergency body during the Great Patriotic War. He had full power in the country. Formed on June 30, 1941. Composition: I. V. Stalin (chairman), V. M. Molotov (deputy chairman), ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

STATE DEFENSE COMMITTEE (GOKO)- - a committee created by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Central Committee of the Party and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on June 30, 1941 in view of the current state of emergency in the country in order to quickly mobilize all the forces of the peoples of the USSR for ... ... Soviet legal dictionary

The extreme situation dictated unusual approaches to the organization of management. The search for saving effective measures to rid the country of a really threatening catastrophe led to the creation on June 30, 1941 of the State Defense Committee (GKO) of the USSR.

By a joint resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks created the State Defense Committee of the USSR, determined its state status, nature, functions, and composition. Its features are that it is endowed with unlimited powers, united the state, party, public principles of administration, became an extraordinary and authoritative body of power and administration, headed the verticals of the Soviet, party, and entire civilian administration of the fighting state. The GKO was headed by the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks I.V. Stalin, which meant the highest degree centralization of management, concentration, combining it various forms in the hands of one official. Members of the GKO represented the top party and state leadership, made up a narrow composition of the PB of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, which considered preliminary, proposed draft decisions on all the most important issues of state life, power and administration. The formation of the GKO actually gave legitimacy to the decisions of the Politburo, which included those close to I.V. Stalin faces.

The members of the State Defense Committee, in addition to their former great powers, received unlimited powers in order to increase the efficiency of specific branches of government.

The Joint Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks obliged all citizens, all state, military, economic, party, trade union, Komsomol bodies to unquestioningly comply with the decisions and orders of the State Defense Committee of the USSR, which were given the force of wartime laws.

The emergency body worked in an extraordinary way. The T-bills had no work regulations, they met irregularly and not always in full force. Decisions were made by the chairman or his deputies - V.M. Molotov (since June 30, 1941) and L.P. Beria (since May 16, 1944) after consultations with those members of the GKO who supervised the relevant departments. The people's commissars and military leaders in their memoirs note that the decision-making procedure was simplified to the limit, the initiative of responsible persons was encouraged, and the businesslike nature of the work of the GKO was ensured. Since the top leaders of the country were simultaneously members of the State Defense Committee, the Politburo, the Stavka, the Council of People's Commissars, their decisions were often formalized as directives and resolutions of one or another governing body, depending on the nature of the issue under consideration. Marshal G.K. Zhukov recalled that it was not always possible to determine at a meeting of which body he was present. He characterized the work of the State Defense Committee as follows: “At the meetings of the State Defense Committee, which took place at any time of the day, as a rule, in the Kremlin or at the dacha of I.V. Stalin, the most important issues were discussed and adopted” Zhukov G.K. Memories and reflections. Ed. 10th. M., 2000. S. 130-140 ..

A feature of the activities of the State Defense Committee was the absence of its own branched apparatus. Management was carried out through the apparatus of state administration bodies, party committees. In the most important sectors of the national economy, there was an institution of authorized GKOs, who very often were simultaneously representatives of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, which provided them with unlimited rights. There were also representatives in all the union and autonomous republics.

On the ground in the most strategically important regions, regional and city defense committees were formed and operated.

These local emergency bodies ensured the unity of administration in a state of emergency, were created by the decision of the State Defense Committee, were guided by its decisions, decisions of local, party and Soviet bodies, military councils of fronts and armies. The GKO established such bodies in almost 60 cities of the Moscow region, the Center, the Volga region, North Caucasus and since 1942 in major cities Transcaucasia. They combined civil and military power in cities that were in the combat zone and near the front line or were within the range of enemy aircraft, as well as where ships of the navy and merchant fleet were based. They included the first officials party, government agencies administrations, military commissars, commandants of garrisons, heads of departments of the NKVD. They were closely connected with the military command, and their representatives were at the same time members of the respective military councils. Lacking their own staff, as well as the GKO in the center, the city defense committees relied on local party, Soviet, economic, and public bodies. Under them, there was an institution of commissioners, task forces were created to urgently resolve issues, social activists Danilov V.N. were widely involved. War and power: Emergency authorities of the regions of Russia during the Great Patriotic War. / Danilov V.N. - Saratov, 1996. S. 47-52 ..

Auxiliary emergency bodies were also created. On June 24, 1941, the Evacuation Council appeared as part of N.M. Shvernik and his deputy A.N. Kosygin. “Create a Council. To oblige him to start work,” the corresponding resolution read. Such conciseness, combined with the absence of work regulations, opened up wide scope for initiative. On July 16, 1941, M.G. was introduced to the council. Pervukhin (Deputy Chairman), A.I. Mikoyan, L.M. Kaganovich, M.Z. Saburov, B.C. Abakumov. The Council acted as a body attached to the State Defense Committee, and had authorized members of the State Defense Committee. Additionally, in October 1941, the Committee for the Evacuation of Food Stocks, Industrial Goods and Industrial Enterprises was formed. At the end of December 1941, instead of both of these bodies, the Directorate for Evacuation Affairs under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the corresponding departments in the republics, territories and regions, and evacuation centers on the railways were created.

The Committee for Food and Clothing Supply of the Red Army, the Committee for Unloading Transit Cargoes, and the Transport Committee also became similar emergency bodies. The latter was formed under the GKO on February 14, 1942. His duties included planning and regulating transportation by all modes of transport, coordinating their work, and developing measures to improve the material base. The effectiveness of the management of the transport system was evidenced by the head of the military communications department, and since December 1944, the People's Commissar of Railways I.V. Kovalev: during the war years, there was not a single train crash due to the fault of the railway workers, and not a single military echelon was destroyed by enemy aircraft along the way.

The operational bureau created on December 8, 1942 under the State Defense Committee of the USSR, which controlled all the people's commissariats of the defense complex, drew up quarterly and monthly production plans, and prepared drafts of relevant decisions for the chairman of the State Defense Committee, had peculiar functions.

The State Defense Committee and other bodies of higher administration paid maximum attention to the military organizational system, changed the structure and composition of the military leadership during the war, made up for the loss commanders, helped the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the General Staff of the Red Army, the departments of NGOs, the Navy, the command of strategic directions and fronts. Management of all structures of the armed forces has been established, the command of fronts, armies, formations and operational formations as part of fronts, corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, etc. has been streamlined.

From July 15, 1941 to October 9, 1942, the institute of military commissars and political officers in companies functioned in all parts of the Red Army and on ships of the Navy. Unlike the commissars of the period of foreign military intervention and civil war military commissars 1941-1942 they did not have the right to control the command staff, but often many of them interfered in the actions of military leaders, which undermined unity of command and created a state of dual power in the military body. In the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 9, 1942, the abolition of the institution of military commissars is motivated by the fact that he fulfilled the tasks assigned to him. At the same time, the institute of deputy commanders for political work (zampolitov) was introduced, who throughout the war and after it performed the functions of ideological and political education of constantly updated personnel under military leaders.

In connection with the growth of the partisan movement, on May 30, 1942, the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement (TSSHPD) was formed at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. It was headed by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus P.K. Ponomarenko. TSSHPD coordinated the actions of numerous partisan detachments among themselves and with regular army units, organized the supply of people's avengers with weapons, ammunition, communications equipment, provided medical assistance, established mutual information, held meetings of partisan commanders in Moscow, helped prepare and conduct deep raids of partisan formations on the rear of the Nazi army; and others. TsSHPD worked together with the leaders of the underground Soviet, party, Komsomol bodies in the temporarily occupied territory. Bulk management partisan movement from a single center turned out to be especially effective in the liberation of Soviet territory in 1943--1944 N. Vert. History Soviet state. /vert. N. 1900--1991 / Per. from fr. -M., 1992. S. 38-49 ..

The state administration of the military sphere acquired not only a priority, but also a comprehensive character, new functions, was carried out on the basis of the laws of war, by emergency methods, ensured intensive military construction, qualitatively new level military organizational work, ultimately victorious, albeit with individual mistakes and failures, in the fulfillment by the Armed Forces of the main tasks of defending the country and defeating the enemy.

Gko was educated. GKO and the Supreme Command. Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces of the USSR

State Defense Committee

Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces of the USSR

General Staff of the Red Army

GKO formation

Composition of GKO

GKO structure

GKO functions

Dissolution of the GKO

Additional information in Wikisource

see also

Notes

Links

Literature

See what the "State Defense Committee (USSR)" is in other dictionaries:

GKO formation

Composition of GKO

GKO resolutions

GKO structure

GKO functions

Dissolution of the GKO

Additional information in Wikisource

see also

Notes

External links

Literature

See what the "State Defense Committee of the USSR" is in other dictionaries: