The Soviet Armed Forces (Russian: Советские Вооруженные Силы), also known as the Red Army, was the combined armed forces of the United Soviet Socialist Republics. Formed in 1917, it was unified under the USSR from 1922 after the reorganization of four Soviet nations to the dissolution of the union in 1991.
Featured in Spearhead, Breakthrough, and European Assault, the Soviet Union's involvement with Western allies is exemplified through the use of OSS operatives to gain intelligence and increase battle effectiveness. Most notable for the Great Patriotic War, Russia with the early economic aid from the West, a massive military force and great industrial prowess, the Soviet Armed Forces brought Germany to its knees, recapturing all of East Europe and assaulting the capital of Berlin.
During World War II, the Soviet Armed Forces were split into the Red Army, Red Navy and Red Air Force. Although the Red Navy only saw major action in the Baltics, Black Sea and the Arctic Circle, and the Red Air Force only saw major prominence after the victory at Stalingrad, the Red Army was a massive force. While being unequipped to fight the Wehrmacht initially, by the end of the war, it was a formidable, well equipped force. The OSS's equivalent in the Soviet Union would have been the NKVD, the precursor to the KGB.
Great Patriotic War[]
- See article: Medal of Honor: European Assault#Soviet Union and Great Patriotic War
With a total of over 30,000,000 men and women serving in the Soviet Armed Forces, the Soviet Union lost approximately 11,000,000 soldiers in the Great Patriotic War (Eastern Front). What with the primary ideological differences between Nazi Germany (a far right state who wished to conquer East Europe and Siberia) and the Soviet Union (a far left state who wished to spread industrialist and Marxist ideals), a clash was inevitable. In order to make the Invasion of Poland and most of Western Europe unrestrained, Hitler formed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, only to be broken on June 22, 1941 when a force of almost 4 million poured over the German-Soviet border, advancing as far as Moscow. However, this advanced would be stopped in December of 1941 (the same week that Germany declared war on the United States), a 1,100,000 man counteroffensive driving the Germans west.
Aided by Russian regulars as well as Soviet partisans, OSS agent William Holt assaults German positions outside of Stalingrad, eliminating a major segment of German artillery and armor positions, as well as transmitting Virus House Intel at Mamayev Hill, presumably nuclear developments, to OSS command and destroying the evidence, keeping the Soviets out of the loop.
The Battle of Stalingrad was won in February of 1943, after over a million Soviet troops outflanked and cut off the German forces within Stalingrad, forcing a surrender out of commanding General Friedrich Paulus. From then on, the Soviet Union swiftly advanced west towards Germany, the major victory during the tank battle at Kursk sealing Germany's fate. With Russia's rapid armor assembly and massive numbers, by early 1945, the Soviet Union was bearing full force on the Fatherland.
The Soviet forces, as little as 60 kilometers off of Berlin by April 16, 1945 - four days before Adolf Hitler's birthday - began its final blow on Nazi Germany, setting out on a campaign to capture the ragged capital. OSS operative/101st Airborne Division paratrooper Jack Barnes was present in Berlin during the battle, assisting the Russian forces there in figuring German movements and holding off against a swarm of Panzer IV and Tiger I tanks. With the Reichstag - the German building of parliament - captured on May 2, 1945 and Hitler's death on April 30, the Great Patriotic War ended on May 9. With the war at an end, Germany and East Europe was carved out, the Soviet Union receiving all of East Europe and East Germany, with Berlin divided amongst the Russians, Americans, French and British.
World War II Uniforms[]
After World War II[]
- See article: Cold War
Almost immediately after the end of World War II, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were high. With the Soviet Union controlling the majority of Europe and the German capital, and General Douglas MacArthur threatening to arrest the Soviet delegation to Japan if the nation were to invade North Japan, tensions were already high. The Soviet Armed Forces remained a dominant force throughout the Eastern Hemisphere, invading Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan, as well as aiding the states of North Korea, the People's Republic of China and Vietnam until is dissolution in 1991. Remnants of the Soviet Air Force are seen in Medal of Honor, rotting MiG-21 fighters and T-72's parked outside of Bagram Airfield, abandoned after the botched Russian invasion of Afghanistan.
Notable Members[]
- Gen. Sergei Borov
- Coms. Cherryenko
- Capt. Donskoi
- Lt. Padorin
- Jr. Lt. Troffimov
- Gregori
- Dimitri
Trivia[]
- In European Assault, it is odd how the Russian soldiers shown in-game speak English as the majority were from villages or were uneducated. Either the OSS could have intentionally requested Holt be placed with English speakers, Holt speaks Russian but it is interpreted as English for the player, or it is just an oversight for the sake of a smooth delivery.
- In European Assault, with Holt destroying intelligence referring to the Virus House, there are hints foreshadowing to the West-East tensions during the Cold War.
- In Spearhead, a Sarshina (naval petty officer) is fighting in Berlin with the Red Army. His model (beneath his uniform) wears the Telnyashka, a tell tale sign of Russian Naval personnel and was not expanded to include the Russian Airborne Forces until after World War II. Soviet Naval forces took part in the battle of Berlin, both on land as well as down the river Spree.
- The Efreitor in Spearhead and Breakthrough is called "Corporal" in multiplayer.