Medics assigned to units

[RichieC]

I would be interested in learning more about the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Army and their affiliation, or disaffiliation with the regular Red Army.

I comprehensively study the conflicts in Crimea during 1941/42 and 1944 and would be interested in any new information about other participants that I am unaware of.

[RedHorseman25]

It is my understanding that all Soviet Republics had territorial Armies, and they served in a manner (similar to the U.S. National Guard, or British Territorial Army units), except that they were primarily full time. They were under the authority of the Republic Soviets, not the Soviet central committee. They had similar, but not necessarily identical T,O&E, or rank structure.

I have done a great deal of research also, but find that much of the history, if written by a Russian, or Russian Soviet historian either ignores the territorial units altogether, or minimizes their role. If one reads the "Official" history of the Ukrainian front, one will find absolutely no mention of any of the Ukrainian territorial units by name/designation. A perfect example, the unit I portray is the 25th Ukrainian Mounted Rifle Regiment. The Russians make no reference to this unit at all, even though it did exist, and it did quite a bit to slow the fascist advance on Stalingrad.

The 25th was composed from the remnants of a Tsarist Cavalry unit (146th Cavalry IIRC). During the Civil War, the unit was renumbered/renamed as the 114th Red Guard (something [not sure what term they used at this time]). In the early 1930s, there was a major re-organization of all territorial units, and the 114th became the 25th territorial Regiment of foot.

In 1941 the mostly farm boys of the unit, as they were falling back, refused to carry out the orders to destroy all farm animals to prevent them from falling into fascist hands. What they did instead was take all the horses, and mules, and used them for their own needs. By the time the front stabilized in late 41, nearly 90% of the "infantry" were mounted. The Russian senior officers ordered that all the mounts be surrendered for transfer to Russian units. The Ukrainian junior Officers, NCOs, and troops balked at this, and argued that they were better capable of using the mounts themselves, and the Ukrainian central committee (or whatever it was called at the time) agreed, and finally the STAVKA recognized the 25th as a Mounted Rifle regiment. I wish I had more accurate history, with dates, and order numbers, but that is generally the breakdown.

I have friends who live in the Ukraine, and they keep digging as much as they can, and we collect tid bits of the history as time goes by, but unlike the Russian, and regular Red Army units, the history was not recorded, or kept, as it was not considered a priority.

Boridin

[RichieC]

Very interesting in any case - and I truly understand about the lack of "official" records.

Please, keep us posted in this thread if any new information evolves from yours and the research of your associates.