Sitnikov

https://books.google.ru/books?...mp;f=false

Shanghai https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=21&v=lvnpq3QoVvY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBzm9DxM9WI

JAPANESE ATROCITIES OUTSIDE HARBIN :( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMz_Y-k6gJk

Contents"Military Literature"Military Thought
S. Volkov
Russian officers as a service class

The figure of a Russian officer was called to life the reforms of Peter the Great that laid the foundations on which later built the army and the Russian state as a whole. The officers who possessed pre-revolutionary Russia, its structure and main characteristics of an obligation to that approach, which determines the formation of the service class of the country. The approach of this (assuming that it must incorporate all the best forces of society) has joined the most successful elements of European and Oriental traditions, combining the principles of hereditary privileged status of the service class and the opportunity to take in the people on the grounds of personal ability and merit.
In the course of Peter's reforms themselves change personal service class as a whole has not happened. The composition of the governors of military ranks consisted almost entirely of former Russian nobility (excluding foreigners staying in the Russian service of which then in most cases was temporary), so that it (there were at the turn of XVII-XVIII centuries. About 30 thousand people.). Was base and post-reform officers. However, the transformation radically changed the principle of recruitment officers (as well as the service class as a whole), wide open in his way on the basis of merit and seniority. "Neophytes" are fully absorbed in the environment in which flowed, and did not change its characteristics in each new generation, but in general it was a new elite, excellent psychology and culture of their predecessors XVII.
General characteristics

Despite the fact that the basic idea underlying the existence of the officer corps in Russia remained unchanged, concrete forms and rules for its acquisition endured during more than two centuries, a variety of changes that affect the appearance of the officers. Their character allows you to allocate [515] the history of the officer corps of the Russian regular army is quite clearly three major periods: the first half of the XVIII century., second half XVIII - first half of XIX century., the second half of XIX - early XX century.
In the first half of the XVIII century. the officer corps consisted of less than 10 thousand. man, and membership of it changed in the overall slight decline because of disability and death in peace time was relatively small. Typical of the officer corps became a figure of a gentleman, bound to serve for life, entered the service of the ordinary, then obtained the rank of non-commissioned officers, and finally produced an officer. Up to a third of the officers carried the lower ranks of the Guard, the entire staff of the regiments which has long consisted of nobles. A significant number of officers was made of the soldiers nedvoryanskyh origin (in the early 1720s nedvoryanskyh origin had a third of the officers). There was no difference in the ways of obtaining the first officer's rank on the basis of origin did not exist. Production at the job carried out by ballot - election of all officers of the regiment, but the order chinoproizvodstva not yet fully established and changed often enough, fluctuating between the principles of ballots and production of seniority (depending on the length of service in the previous rank of officer). Since the decline of officers at the time was relatively small, the vacancy is not so much, and promotion for the majority of officers in peacetime was slow. Having served all his life, the officer usually does not even reach headquarters officer ranks (especially if it starts military service is not in the Guard). Major Chin (considering the small number of headquarters officer posts) have considered significant.
The period from the 60s to the middle of XVIII XIX c., Marked by almost continuous brilliant victories of Russian arms, Russia will deliver the pre-eminent position among the European powers, associated with significant changes in the appearance of an officer. The officer corps has increased markedly in number (at this time, he tripled - from 10 thousand. In the middle of the XVIII century. 25-30 thousand. By the middle of the XIX century.), And, most importantly, updated is extremely intense. After the decree of 1762, are exempt from compulsory service nobility, the officers were entitled to resign at any time, and the main reason was the loss of officers is voluntary resignation. Naturally, compared with the previous period of compulsory service, and then (from mid-XIX c.) The period when the service has evolved into a single source of livelihood for the vast majority of officers, this time was different unusually high degree of rotation of the officer corps. Through its rows passed then many dozens, if not hundreds of thousands of people.
Since the 60s of the XVIII century. established, fundamentally changing during this period, the system of promotion of officers after a certain time in the life of the lower ranks - depending on the [516] origin from 3 to 12 years (since it is almost entirely determined by the origin while educational and cultural level of potential officer), and at the beginning of the XIX century. This order was supplemented by direct vnesoslovnymi benefits of education. The bulk of the officers (and their percentage has steadily increased) at this time came from the military schools. These circumstances have led to a noticeable change in the officer corps. If the previously dominant (in fact, almost the only) type of officer was a man who had served all his life, but now, along with the typical figure of him was a young man, the employee is not out of duty and not out of necessity, but voluntarily - out of a sense of duty and honor - and in the outgoing resigned the chief officer ranks after several years of service. Exceptionally strong tradition of communication of the Russian upper-class public service was a consequence of the fact that for a gentleman even in the first half of the XIX century., After 80-90 years after the decree about the "freedom of the nobility," not to serve at least some time was considered indecent. As one of the famous writers of the second half of XIX century. "Never forget that not only grandparents and our fathers and uncles - were almost all entirely Army and Guard retired lieutenant and staff-captains" {340} . This era, of course, different and somewhat smaller share of officers nedvoryanskyh origin - in the second half of the XVIII century. those were about 30% in the first half of the XIX century. - About 25%. Due to constant rotation, as well as frequent wars promotions going on the whole fairly quickly, notably younger officers, and quite often the first head-officer ranks people receiving aged 25-26 years. It was common in the production of the colonels and even a major general officers, who are under 30 years. Due to the constant updating of the officers at the time and played the most prominent role in Russian society, as in almost any cultural family any of its members served as an officer, and in general the percentage of people have ever had the officer ranks among the educated part of the population was then the highest. No coincidence that this period we have to that form of the officer who emerged in the Russian classical literature.
In the second half of the XIX century. the number of the officer corps rose very slightly - to 30-40 ths., but the appearance of a typical officer changed quite strongly. The fact that as a result of proceeds in the country of social processes (numerical predominance of pure servitor - landless - and the impoverishment of the landed gentry) for the vast majority of officers Service became the only source of livelihood, and the development of the pension system was an additional incentive to continue it to full term seniority. The main reason for the decrease was still way down, but the output of the officers retire at a relatively young age decreased. As a result, the officer corps as a whole significantly [517] old. Typical was the retirement after 30-35 years of service in rank from captain to lieutenant colonel, and in this sense, the situation began to resemble the one that existed in the first half of the XVIII century. During this period, radically changed the order of receipt of the officers in the service. In the second half of the XIX century. incentives for education have increased considerably, and in the early 70s purely educational criterion is completely replaced with the principle of the division of estates the volunteers into categories (of which depended on the period of service to the officer rank). Expanding the network of military educational institutions has led to the fact that the production of lower ranks have been completely replaced by the issue of military schools, so that the practice of promotion of officers took in the overall modern look.
Several changed the social composition. Share officers nedvoryanskyh origin rose sharply at the end of the XIX century. It is 50-60%, and among the officers - the hereditary nobility dominated by representatives of the serving officers purely childbirth, while a significant part of noble families lose interest in military service. A typical example of the book results. SE Troubetzkoy (b. 1890), whose great-grandparents were full of generals, grandparents retired senior officers, and his father (and the only one of his brothers) was the only reserve officer {341} . By the beginning of XX century. (Despite the fact that many of the old noble families were given for two hundred years, several hundred officers and officials, and the service at the same time could be up to 20-30 members of one of this kind), most of the service class were representatives of labor, began to serve until mid XIX century. ie belonging to him in the first and second generation. It may be noted that even the noble houses of recent origin, but purely servitors (whose representatives for generations lived on my salary, not having real estate) at this time is usually superior to the percentage of the older generations, who owned the property. The role of officers in the community at the time was no longer as significant as before - if only because that sharply reduced its share in the resulting layer of the country; while the number of the officer corps has grown very slightly, the number of other social and professional groups of a similar cultural level has increased several times. If earlier almost every family had a cultural war, now, on the one hand, a typical steel purely military family, where all or nearly all the male children inherit the parents' profession, and on the other hand, in a variety of families formed a circle for two three generations, no one elected officer's career. The officers became relatively more closed as a professional artist.
Throughout its existence, the officer corps of the Imperial Russia was intended to be, in social terms, the most prestigious professional group. From the outset, he was put in a privileged position, and social [518] statue officer was always noble status. Initially, the hereditary nobility gave already the first officer rank (then as a civilian - but not below the 8th grade), and even when in the middle of the XIX century. with a sharp increase in the number of officers and officials for the class ranks of the hereditary nobility was raised to the head officer ranks, all junior officers (as opposed to civil servants) was left to personal nobility status, that is, an officer in any case remain representative of the upper class of the country.
Russian elite from the elite of other European countries generally have extremely high degree of communication with the government and its public service. The peculiarity of the Russian nobility (and noble status and nobility as a combination of entities) was his only "servitor" character, and eventually link it to the public service continued unabated, as in most other countries, and intensified. Imperial period as a whole is different and much more important place, which takes office in an individual's life. If in Muscovy serviceman in most cases he spent almost all his life on his estate, calling only for campaigns, and served an average of no more than two months of the year, with the formation of the regular army and the full service of the state apparatus inevitably acquired a permanent character and daily (to Peter the Great made noble service for life, so that the nobleman could get to his estate only maimed, or in old age, only in 1736 was limited to the life of 25 years). Even more significant was the principle of legislative regulation of the composition of the nobility. Russia was the only country where the nobility not only replenished exclusively through the service, but the service anoblirovanie reach a certain rank or orders automatically. And if the noble status "on merit ancestors" required the approval of the Senate (and the proof of noble origin were tested very picky), the person personally vysluzhivshy nobility on a rank or order, confessed gentleman "by the very fact rank" without special approval. Russia was the only European country where in XVIII-XIX centuries. not only did not happen ossification class barriers (in France, for example, happened in the middle of the XVIII century.). but the influx of the nobility continuously increased.
The officer corps and in essence combines the best that was in Russia in terms of human material. General service class was generally the most educated part of society (not just the 90% figures of Russian science and culture happening in this environment, but the vast majority of them were themselves officers and officials) As the most qualitative morally officers of the society are extremely widely used and the civil service, it is largely kept and national governance. In XVIII - [519] the first half of the XIX century. a significant portion of retired officers served in civil department, where they are usually transferred from the increase in rank. For a long time the former officers constituted the vast majority of civil servants middle and senior ranks, not to mention the fact that civilian agencies proved and many officers on active duty: to 1796 in the civil service, there were about one thousand. Officers (in the army itself - 2 8 ths.), and they accounted for half of all civil servants 'generals' ranks {342} . Even at the beginning of the XX century. civilian positions consisted of about 3 thousand. officers with the rank of captain and above (15.4% of the total number of officers of the rank) {343} . Not to mention the fact that the posts of governors, vice governors, mayors, heads of provinces and districts on the outskirts of the country is also in the set were replaced by generals and staff officers a real sluzhby-
The size of the officer corps was generally quite sufficient to ensure the combat capability of the army. At the same time it did not come from the number of those limits when she made difficult recruitment officers of persons who can by their cultural level officers to perform the functions and maintain the prestige of the officer's profession in society. It should be recognized that the system of recruitment and training of officers in Russia fully meets these requirements, with the result that until the Revolution officer position in Russian society (though shaken at the end of the XIX century.) Remained fairly honorable and qualitative composition of the officer corps was maintained at a level not inferior to the level of other professional groups, which collectively form a layer kulturonosny country. (If any artificial increase in the number of officers it qualitatively and cultural composition of the rapidly deteriorating due to persons who are not relevant social functions of officer rank, the same people that meet these requirements in a society there is always a limited number. And in the public consciousness the officers, and with them the profession as such, are rapidly losing prestige. This, in turn, makes it even more difficult to replenish the officer corps of worthy people, leads to a degradation of the officers and, ultimately - the entire army.)
It should be noted that the Russian officers was a unique alloy of carriers of the historical experience of different cultural and ethnic traditions - both western and eastern. A particularly important role naturally played a unique quality of a serving member of Baltic as a knighthood. In the second half of the XVIII - first half of XIX century., Ie at the height of the triumph of Russian arms, its share among the top commanders never fell below one-third, and at times reaches the half. Characteristically, these cells and all foreign immigrants who have taken Russian citizenship, distinguished devotion to the Russian crown and gave a significantly lower relative to their [520] percent of the number of anti-government organizations. Quite indicative in this respect the fact that even during the Polish revolt in 1863 only a few tens of thousands of officers of Polish origin (and they were then to a quarter of the officer corps), ie, of a percent, change the oath. Almost does not occur, and cases of cheating in favor of fellow officers from the Muslims during the Turkish and Persian wars. The ability of the Russian government to attract the hearts of his subjects was stimulated by the strange power of the empire.
But perhaps the most important feature of the Russian officer corps was his mostly hereditary. Children of persons, the first in his family to become officers, almost always inherited the status of their parents, while remaining a part of this layer. In general, the vast majority of children are also officers became officers, and officers always prevailed among the children of officers (in military schools and military academies, their share is not less than 70-80%). So the officer corps are largely replicate, preserving cultural traditions of their environment. The influence of the environment on got into it "converts" was so strong that in the first generation are usually graded the cultural differences between them and the "inherited" the members of this layer.
Normally, even if the founder received the nobility in the civil service, his descendants served as officers, and the family was turned into a military and civil bureaucracy is largely composed of representatives of the service class in the first generation. In the XIX century. noble families, whose representatives were predominantly in the military, there were more than those which are dominated by civil servants (birth, where there were roughly equal numbers of officers and civilian officials, much less than the mainly military or civilian). However, by the end of the century, this trend weakened {344} . There were noble families, whose representatives from generation to generation served only officers. This is well illustrated by the "general list officer ranks": If the name index, there are up to a dozen officers from the same family (especially not very common), in most cases, 7-8 of them are relatives. In many families, almost all men - father, brothers, uncles, cousins, etc. - Were officers. Such, for example, Agapeevy background Agte, Bobrowski, Bolotov, Vorontsov, Sonya, Grebenshchikov, Dragomirov, Corfu, Obruchev and many others. Given that marital ties consisted mainly in the same circle, gradually built a purely military environment. For example, among both male relatives who lived one of those typical families of officers it was 16 out of 18, and all married women were married to officers.
The qualities required of future officers, most successfully formed in a family where people adopt from childhood [521] corresponding values. The logical extension of this was brought up in the Cadet Corps, where the pupil was in a situation as close to the army, and could objectively related opportunities and expectations with reality, making the final choice (which saves the environment officer at least part of those mentally unfit for service officer ). Therefore, among the officers have a high level of cohesion. This was facilitated by a family tradition of service in the same units. It should be noted that the service in the same regiment relatives, especially brothers in the Russian army is very encouraged; transfers of officers from part to part on their own were not welcome (and were accompanied by the loss of some of the benefits of the service), but the translation for concelebration with relatives is definitely considered a valid reason. So often in the lists of the officers of a regiment could meet the same surname. In World War II, they sometimes died in the ranks of the regiment. One of the most famous examples of this kind - who died in the ranks of the 12th Hussars Regiment Akhtyrsky in the first six months of the war, Boris, Guri and Leo Panaeva (whose mother was the first awarded the Order of St. Olga). Even more common was the service in the same regiment of several generations of family, as well as custom, when the young officers are usually issued to the regiment, which once commanded their fathers. This was especially true of the Guard units, virtually each of which can be called a typical defined set of the most common surnames.
World War significantly changed the structure and composition of the service class. Almost all persons who had appropriate education and fit for military service were drafted into the army, became officers and military officials, so that most of the service class wearing epaulettes. In addition, its members included a significant number of people who in normal times could not apply for it (commonly practiced in the manufacture of the lower ranks of officers and officials of wartime lower servants simplified exam cool position). Changes in the size and composition of the officer corps, caused by years of war were enormous. At the beginning of the war, the Russian army consisted of over 40 thousand. Officers and about 40 thousand. Was intended to mobilize. After the war the military schools have moved to a shorter course (3-4 months, special - six months), and their graduates as a war-time officers made no lieutenants, and ensigns; from December 1914 as issued by all officers. In addition, it opened more than 40 schools of ensigns with the same period of study. Finally, over 30 thousand. People have been produced directly from the volunteers (people with rights to the production of civic education), non-commissioned officers and soldiers of military distinction.
In total, for the war was made an officer of about 220 thousand. People (including 78,581 from military schools and 108,970 school [522] warrant), ie three and a half years more than in the entire history of the Russian army to the World War II. Given that immediately after mobilization (before the release wartime officers), the number of the officer corps was about 80 thousand. People, the total number of officers will be 300 thousand. Of this total should be deducted the losses suffered during the war. Immediate casualties (killed, died of wounds on the battlefield, wounded, prisoners of war and missing in action) amounted to more than 70 thousand. People (71,298, including 208 generals and headquarters 67772 3368 chief officer of the last 37392 Ensign) {345} .
However, in this figure, on the one hand, consists of survivors and even returned to the system (20 thousand) {346} , and the other - not part of the dead of other causes (accidents, suicides) and died from disease. So to find out how many officers remained alive at the end of 1917, should determine the approximate number of victims (dead, dead in Russia and in captivity and missing). The number of killed and died of wounds from various sources ranges from 13.8 to 15.9 thousand. People. Who died of other causes (including captive) - 3.4 thousand., Left on the battlefield and missing lead - 4.7 thousand., for a total of about 24 thousand. man. Thus, by the end of the war, there were about 276 thousand. Officers, of which by this time 13 thousand. Were still in captivity, and 21-27 thousand. Severity of injuries have not been able to return to duty. So that figure is 276,000 officers (including and not yet returned to action) seems closest to the truth and can hardly objectionable {347} . It is entirely consistent with what we know about the size of the officer corps of the army (which belonged to the 70-75% of officers). On January 1, 1917, it was on the list of 145 916 officers and 48 thousand. Military officials on March 1 - 190 623 officers, May 1 - 202, 2 thousand. The list and 136.6 thousand. There, to October 25, 1917 r - 157 884 (available) {348} . The fleet at 1 January 1917 totaled 5,248 officers at the end of 1917 (there was no great loss) - about 6 thousand. (And 80% were not above the rank of lieutenant), by January 1918 - 8371 {349} . The number of physicians and other military officials (almost doubled in the second half of 1917) amounted to about 140 thousand. Man.
Huge changes in the size of the officer corps in itself imply a radical break with all its usual features, but it is even more aggravated by the fact that weight loss is not distributed proportionally among staff and produced for the war officers; the bulk of it is just passed on the first: 73 thousand. 45.1 thousand combat losses. falls on 1914-1915., while in 1916 - 19.4 and 1917 - 8.5 m. e. almost the entire staff officers ruled out already in the first year of the war. It is clear that by 1917 it was already quite different officers than they currently usually. By the end of the war many infantry regiments had only 1-2 personnel officer, in others, at best, they were provided with the battalion level, on average, [523] had 2-4 staff officer in the regiment {350} . Companies (and in many cases, and battalions) throughout commanded war-time officers, many of whom were lieutenants and staff captain, and some even captains (to lieutenant colonel as the war-time officers have not received a full military education could not be produced). Since the beginning of the war in infantry units changed from 300 to 500% of the officers in the cavalry and artillery - from 15 to 40% {351} .
As a result, the most common type of pre-war officer - a hereditary military (in many cases, hereditary nobleman), wearing epaulets ten years of age, who came to the school of the cadet corps and brought up in the spirit of boundless devotion to the throne and the country - has virtually disappeared. The cavalry, artillery and engineering troops (as well as the Navy) the situation was better. Firstly, due to the relatively smaller losses in those military branches and, secondly, because the relevant schools were completed during the war all the graduates of the cadet corps at the most. This, as we shall see later, it is clearly evident in the behavior of the officers of cavalry, artillery and engineering troops during the Civil War. However, these kinds of troops together accounted for a very small part of the army.
I must say that during the war, added the officer corps and come from the old hereditary military families in time of peace (due to the above trend of weakening interest of the representatives of these families for military service) would not have been officers. These people - the graduates and students of the best civilian institutions - Alexandrovsky Lyceum and College of Law - almost to a man (of suitable health) during the war, became officers {352} . They are not being serving officers, maintained, however, ideas and concepts corresponding environment and relatively small in this sense, different from the pre-war officers {353} . However, the total mass of non-staff officers, they were a very small part.
From whom was a result of a 1917 officer corps can be stated that it is generally consistent with the caste composition of the population. Before the war (1912) 53.6% of officers (in the infantry - 44.3%) came from the nobility, 25.7% - of the burghers and peasants, 13.6% - of the honorable citizens, 3.6% - from clergy and 3.5% - from the merchants. Among the graduates of military academies and schools of martial ensigns of nobility never share reaches 10%, while the share of people from peasants and townspeople growing (and most of the warrant was made precisely in 1916-1917.). Over 60% of graduates Infantry School 1916-1917. It was due to farmers {354} Gen. NN Golovin, testified that in 1000 ensigns, past school improvement in his army (7th), about 700 farmers from happening, 260 of the middle class, workers and merchants and nobles of the 40 {355} . [524]
The officer corps by this time included all the educated people of Russia, because almost all those who had education in the amount of high school, secondary school and equivalent schools and fit for health reasons, was made an officer. In addition, as part of the officer corps were several tens of thousands of people with a lower level of education. After the February revolution were also lifted all restrictions (concerns of Jews) and religious principle (from 11 May 1917. When the issues began enrollment after February, 14,700 people were released from military schools and 20115 of the school warrant, and all produced about 40 thousand. officers) {356} . With such a huge quantitative growth of the officer corps could not be filled with a mass of people and not just random (such was the vast majority of officers wartime), but completely alien and even hostile to him and all of Russia's statehood. If, during the riots of 1905-1907. of the 40 thousand members of the officer corps, soldered single upbringing and ideology, was not found and a dozen renegades who joined the rebels, in 1917, among nearly three hundred thousand officers' masses are, of course, not only thousands of people tuned very disloyal, but many hundreds members of revolutionary parties.