Ursidey wrote:
Enfin, j'ai réinterprété des unités, comme les Shtrafnyies. Dans la description officielle du mod, ils sont décrits comme "sans peur" et ne peuvent se replier. Ce sont des prisonniers sortis des goulags, pourquoi seraient ils sans peur ?? Je considère au contraire qu'ils étaient morts de trouille comme les autres, à la différence qu'un commissaire du parti stalinien n'était jamais très loin pour les gratifier d'une balle dans la tête au moindre signe de déroute. Ce qui explique pourquoi ils ne peuvent se replier.
Don't get me wrong, but you're
a little wrong about the penal troops:
Firstly - their amount never reached more than 1,5 % of the total amount of soldiers in the Red Army at any voluntarily taken moment of war. This shows their significance.
Secondly - Penal battalions consisted of volunteers who were (unlike most of others, who applied for "paying the blood-price for their crimes") approved to service.
Thirdly - there were commissars, and machine-gunners "covering" their back (make no mistake, I'm not saying it was good, or humane), but what would you expect - they were sentenced criminals, after all (no political prisoners, no "enemies of the state", no serious felony criminals, but mostly thieves etc.)
Finally, I should state, I find this whole idea of penal battalions to be just one of many propaganda moves of that unimaginably harsh time. It sure wasn't anything good, but viewing it, as if those people were just taken against their will, put on the front-line and used as a cannon fodder is wrong, in part, since they were not forced to enlist the army.
By the way, getting wounded in a successful battle (that would be any battle, where you haven't got yourself killed, while your unit was able to hold the line\advance) granted you total amnesty for the crimes, restoration in civil rights, medical treatment and the right to join the regular army, or to be commissioned, if considered to be unworthy for the actual service.
Once again, I'm not saying it was good, I'm just saying, that you seem to take it all the other way around.
Regards,
IJoe
P.S.: sorry it's all in english, but my knowledge of french is way too puny.

If you want a picture of the future,
imagine a boot stamping on a human face
— forever.
Last edited February 20, 2011 at 9:11 PM by IJoe