blocking detachments
차단분견대
Blocking detachments were Soviet military or paramilitary formations deployed near the front or in the rear to prevent unauthorized retreat and desertion and to return stragglers to their units. During the Great Patriotic War, the existing NKVD detachments must be distinguished from army-command detachments expanded inside the Red Army under Order No. 227 in 1942; they were a disciplinary instrument distinct from penal battalions and companies.
In depth
Functions and institutional lines
Derived from the Russian заградительный отряд, the term denotes a formation placed behind combat units or in the near rear to deter unauthorized withdrawal and to check and return stragglers. During the Russian Civil War, formations bearing the name also took part in controlling food transport and movement from the countryside.
From June 1941, NKVD blocking detachments operated within the rear-security system, guarding the front rear and controlling deserters and stragglers. Order No. 227 of 28 July 1942 ordered three to five army-level blocking detachments alongside penal units, so these army-command formations coexisted with the pre-existing NKVD detachments. The order therefore did not invent the institution, but expanded and regulated its army component.
Army blocking detachments were disbanded by Order No. 0349 on 29 October 1944, ending this wartime system. Their concrete duties and use of force varied by period, chain of command, and circumstance, so it is inaccurate to treat every formation as having uniformly shot friendly troops in combat.
Sources
- Wikipedia (RU) (supports the definition, historical uses, and Soviet institutional forms of заградительные отряды)
- Wikipedia (RU) (supports the distinction between pre-existing NKVD detachments and army detachments established under Order No. 227, and the 1944 dissolution)
- istmat.org (independent historical reference on the origins and use of blocking detachments, including the mistaken claim that they first appeared with Order No. 227)