The Great Patriotic War 1941-45
During the early hours of Sunday 22nd June 1941 Germany launched the largest land campaign in world history,"Operation Barbarossa",the invasion of the Soviet Union. To the people of Russia it became to be known as " The Great Patriotic War ", a war conducted without equal,in its dimension,cruelty,degradation and massive cost to human life and suffering!
During the course of the war the Soviet Union mobilized 29,574,900 men and women. Actual wartime turnover amounted to 21,700,000.During the 1,418 days of barbarized warfare the Red Army's battlefield losses amounted to 11,400,000,killed or missing! The Soviets themselves variously convicted and executed 376,000 for acts of desertion and 422,700 were sentenced to service in penal battalions,assigned to the most dangerous sectors to "atone for their crimes".
The civilian population also suffered greatly under German occupation.Some 16,350,000 citizens were either shot,starved,neglected or murdered in concentration camps! More than two million were deported for slave labour in the Reich.Partisan warfare only compounded the horrors as German retribution was swift and ferocious! The Soviet military and civilian combined death toll was between 27-28 million souls!
Each minute of the war cost the Russians 9-10 lives, each hour 587,each day 14,000.
Campaigns were conducted over vast distances,where huge areas of the front disintergrated,entire armies simply vanished from orders of battle,divisions of 10,000 men were reduced to fighting units of only 250 or less!
The Soviet loss of materials was also high,96,000 tanks,106,400 aircraft and 317,000 guns!
Between 1941-43 the Wehrmacht destroyed almost a third of 570 Soviet rifle divisions.The Red Army finally destroyed,disabled or captured 607 Axis divisions.In comparison the combined Anglo-American armies fighting in North Africa,Italy and Western Europe destroyed 176 enemy divisions!
Almost on a daily basis on the former Eastern Front the remains of a lost soldier are discovered,however
to this day there are millions of Red Army soldiers,sailors and airmen that are still missing and have no known grave or resting place!
13th Guards Rifle Division"Poltavaskaya".
Welcome to the home page of the 13th Guards Rifle Division "Poltavaskaya"
The 13th Guards Rifle Division is a living history group whose aim is to accurately portray the men and women of the Red Army who served during WW2, or the Great Patriotic War as it is known in Russia.
The unit was founded in 2005 by a few enthusiasts in the North-East of England and is part of the Northern World War Two Association. The Association takes part in period living history and battle re-enactment displays mainly in the north of England region of the UK.
No political or racial activity is permitted within the unit, however some period political reference maybe made in the interest of historical accuracy.
Membership is not gender specific and is open to men and women, young and old who have an interest in the Red Army and the Eastern Front.
NOTE:The pages on this site are presently subject to ongoing reconstruction
