SOVIET MILITARY MANPOWER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000500130010-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 15, 2009
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: July 20, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

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INFORMATION REPORT INFORMATION REPORT
CENTRAL 'INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws. Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited 25X1
C-"?+m1D-4-N-T1A-
COUNTRY USSRVWast Germany
SUBJECT Soviet Military Manpower
REPORT
DATE DISTR. 20 July 1955
NO. OF PAGES 9
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
This is UNEVALUATED Information EFERENCEs
ARMY review completed.
C-"-F-I-D- X-T I-AF-L
ARMY#
NAVY
(Note: Washington distribution indicated by "X"; Field distribution by
INFORMATION REPORT INFORMATION REPORR
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COUNTRY , USSR/East Germany
SUBJECT Soviet Military Manpower
DATE OF INFORMATION
PLACE ACQUIRED
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THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
2 ZZF'.AL
REPORT
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DATE DISTR. 27.. June 1955.
NO. OF PAGES 8
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Of the seven men that were inducted with two were sent to
the Molotov Polyclinic to take a second,very detailed medical
examination. One of them,,hhd eye trouble. did not know
what happened to them after they were sent o 0 0 ov immediately
following their second appearance before the Karagay Voyenkomat.
Assignments in Ba.eic Training
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were sent out supposedly to Austria according to the platoon ser
geant. knew of no one gain tp . oland or remainin in the 25X1
USSR. The five men who were induc ! r~ all went 2bAl
to East Germany 25X1
TRAVEL AND ASSIGNMENT
Route to East f)ermitnyr
left for East Germany after receiving O basic training in 25X1
hvicinity of Kamyshlov, Sverdlovsk Oblast, From Kamyshlov to
East Germany= traveled through the following Soviet cities: 25X1
Chelyabinsk, Penza (N 53-12, z 45-01), and Brest (N 52-070 E 23-42).
Final destination was Weimar, M. Travel was both day and night
with occasional stops of sevens; hours,
Trave1in Condition for Troo s
6. The train comprised about 50 freight oars, 25X1
some of which carried about 00 soldiers while other smaller care
carried only 30 to 140 soldiers, The personnel cars were equipped
with two rows of either double-or triple-tiered wooden beds, One
kitchen oar was set up, while a second car was used to transport
food supplies. The soldiers were fed three times a day. Twice a
day they received dry rations while the train was moving, and once
a day they received hot food. During the hot meals,lthe train was
stopped.
Replacement D Cott
went through one replacement depot (sortirovochnyy punkt) 25X1
so we ere in the vicinity of Weimar towards the end of July 1952.
His group of 2,000 to 2,500 recruits arrived there at about 0600
hours and left there again at 1400 or 1500 hours on the same day
for the 93r`'d Bepirite,Be~+uxity'.Batta, iOf . ~~ did 25X1
riot know whether other groups-besides his ow through this
center at the same time or arrived there later. The majority,of
the soldiers in group were from the class of 1933 but 25X1
there were some from the classes of 1930 and 1931. One soldier, a gypsy),
was from the class of 1928 or 1929?
SERVICE IN THE 93D SEPARATE SECURITY BATTALION
Arrival at Battalion
,
about 200 recruits, most of them of the class of
When ~ arrived at the 4th Company, 93d $eoarate curity 25X1
Battalion in Bockstadt (N 50-25, E 10-54) on he 25X1
found out that about 60 other soldiers of the class of 1933 had
arrived there about three days earlier. Towards the end of the year,
heard that about 150 soldiers, most of them from the class 25X1
of 1933, had arrived from the USSR in Meiningen (N 50-33, E 10-25)
and had been assigned to the 4th Company of the battalion. [ 25X1
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did not remember anyone arriving in his company or in any other unit
in East Germany during 1953. In January or February 1954, however,
about 10 soldiers of the class of 1934 were assigned to the 2d Company
of 0 battalion which was located in Schafhausen (N 50-34, E 10-10).
In October 1954,,, about 150 members of the,class of 1935 arrived from
the USSR at the 93d Separate Security Battalion in Meiningen,
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Unit Strength
the 2d Company, 93d Separate Security Battalion
expected orecast or ha for some reinforcements,
comprised about five officers, 1,3 NCO $',, 35 P`FG s, ' and 35 privates
During a training break an officer once stated that the 2d Company
was not at full strength.. The officer said.that.there were three
possible strength levels for unite, namely low,, medium, and high,
and that the 2d Company apparently was at the lowest of these three
levels. also vaguely remembered that eompany.officers either
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10. Out of 13 NCOs in his company] one 1Lrat
sergeant sverk "sncqhnjk;;wae o.4) ds ~a Five soldiers
were of. the o ass of 1934 arid. seven: were of the class of 1933.
Out of these seven, four were PFCs, who
were being trained in an NCO' school in Meiningen
After completion of training they were to return and replace four
sergeants who were demobilized in October 1954. Out of 70 PFCe and
privates in his unit, about three were from the classes of 1930
through 1932. and about 12 were from the class of 1934. The rest
were of the class of 1933.
Demobilization-Policies and Practices
11.
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about 20 soldiers of the class of 1930 pox]
.A soldier '25X1
o ea er, soon be demobilized', The officer
corrected. the soldier: "Not demobilized, but transferred into the 25X1
reserve,'"
rans errsd - into the reserves an expression entirely new
months of the same year, 1951, and, assigned to the 25X1
93d Separate Security Battalion, This latter group was demobilized
.during the middle of October 1954, However, their officers did not 25X1
use thee term ""demobilized"" in their case but instead the term 25X1'
""t 11
the classes of 1931 and 1912, were called up during different
re emobilized, in 1953, also D about 20 members of
-2. Of the 20 soldiers demobilized in 1953 (see paragraph 11) the first
two departed for the USSR on 14 October 1954. They left earlier
than the other 18 men because they had to go the homes, namely to Siberia.
some sol ze- earlier be-
deer-drawn transport. Others left on 17 October'1954,vand all EM
of the group scheduled for demobilization were supposed to have
left by 23 November 1954.
All soldiers who were members of the classes
of 1931 and 1 were returns to the USSR, with the exception of
about three soldiers of the classes of 1930 through 1932 (see
paragraph 10). who had been inducted, later with members of the
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18. L~ knew of no replacement pool except that in the case of his
19
pool for three other companies stationed along the USSR-US zonal
border,
own battalion, the 14th Company constituted the replacement or reserve
sent to mechanized units where they Would have to serve four years
instead of three.
CO had told them that if they kept on getting drunk.,, they would be
attached 93d Separate Security Battalion, 25X1
might have to serve four years instead of three as previously
scheduled. 0 also heard from drivers that their 25X1
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FORCED EXTENSIONS OF MILITARY SERVICE
in August or Se tember six VNOS personnel 25X1
20, Transfers of Individuals for Physical or Other Reasons
a. Sickness or Injuries ... About one month after
company because o run en-
ne was rumored that he was sent to the USSR, although he
first was sent to battalion headquarters in Meiningen.
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Battalion, was demobilized for wounds received accidentally in
his left arm. Ostensibly, this soldier was on border guard
patrol with another soldier. Both stopped in a German gasthaus
to have a few drinks, and somehow the second soldier's carbine
was accidentally discharged and wounded, the first soldier in
the arm, The second soldier was sent to the guardhouse for a
few days as a result.
b. Political Unreliability - did not know the degree of
political unreliability necessary to cause an officer or soldier
to be returned to the USSR.
one soldier of the let Co, 93d Separate Security
' the third had a growth on his neck.
they had to leave barefoot, since the generosity of their oom.
rades did not go so far as to provide them with shoes. When
ree trainees were returned home to civilian life
for h sical disabilities, One of them had some kidney ailment.
did not know what specific ailments the other two were
er ng from, but he was certain that all three of them were
sick. Two of them had thrown their c ire i.l :1 an clothes away upon.
arrival at the basic training center and when they were rejected
for physical reasons their uniforms were taken away from them.
Although some of their comrades provided. them with some clothes,
M
was in the Erfurt hospi t` private
,
a arver was sent
home because or ea sease. Three others from unknown units
were sent home from the hospital. Two of them had stomach
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one sergeant of the 25X1
in e ningen had, k e a German policeman
was being sent home to the USSR. He had originally been sen-
tenced to die before a firing squad., but the German policeman's
family had interceded on his behalf. according 25X1
to later rumors, the sergeant had subsequently been assigned to
serve in Moscow in another army unit,
d. Disci linary Reasons -. Toward the end of 1952, one soldier in
the [~ Company was transferred4, to theme Company of the same 25X1
battalion because of drunkenness and because he was courting
a German girl. In 1953, one PFC was trans- .25X1
ferred to the Rifle Regiment in e n ngen and another one
was transferre o the Soviet Komendatura in Meiningen. Both,
of these transfers were
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c. Civil Offenses
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men, from 35 to 40 years old, some of whom were dressed in
civilian clothes and others dressed in soldiers' uniforms without
shoulder boards.
21 sg men e reserve (see paragraph 11) was automatic, but
o
had no information on the existence of ep'ecifio reserve units 25X1
knew of no other cases of soldiers being returned to the
e. Permanent Changes of Station - One senior. lieutenant, leader of
the lst Platoon in the same company, was transferred to the
position of leader of the SMG Platoon attached to the,93d.
Separate Security Battalion Headquarters in Meiningen. One
lieutenant colonel, the political officer.of the same battalion,,
was transferred on PIS to. another.station. possibly 25X1
in'the USSR. did not know the reasons for this transfer, 25X1
On 15 November 1954 four PFOs 25X1
were sent to the NCO school. in'.Meiningen (as previously indicated).
USSR.
r.
did riot know if there - was 'arse-;p+~oedam~i ~'?~+a~~,bi a1~3~',da?l
reservists or reserve units nor did- he know sunk units% existed.
However, ?officers F_ I told sergeants about to be demob- 25X1
lined, that they would not be reoalled for active duty training the
first year after being demobilized but that they would be recalled
to train for two or three mouths after the second year,, 25X1'
a sue or the length of time a soldier' had to remain in the reserve,
It was rumored'that privates in the reserve-'did not have to train.
a, Length o Servin for Officers om any 25X1
officers had to serve 2. ears. However,= also 25X1
once overheard a conversation between officers in which they 25X1
mentioned the possibility of leaving the military service before
the expirations of the 25-year period in order to serve as manager
of a kolkhoz or in a similar capacity. He had no further inform-
ation on this specific point.
b. Recall of Reserve Officers to Active Duty - 25X1
observed, a group or about 40 20A]
break in basic training
were reserve officers holding ranks from lieutenant through
colonel who were taking refresher military training. During
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were taking basic training, i.e. a young so er's course kurs
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these reserve officers were recalled during each summer for a
period of about three to four months training: 25X1
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reserve a cers Jokingly o
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UTILIZATION OF WOMEN IN THE SOVIET ARMY
.23.
Soviet female
shoulder boards, i.e,, black shoulder boards with 1i ht 1,1"
i
ng
and metallic signal corps emblem. d no e h p
t know ected.inat
their duties were, beyond, the fact that ,they wereconn
some way with the hospital.
24. Other women were nurses and assistants in the hospital. They usually
wore white nurse' u if
s
m,
S
e e assisted at operations, did. not know at specific
unit any of these women were asaigned to. they par-
ticipated in some sort of military training two to three times a week,
is arms although one female lieutenant or senior
lieutenant wore.the uniform with medical service shoulder boards and
embl
h
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25, the enlisted. women received either 300 or 600
n
h
, eo, muc
more than Soviet male enlisted per-
sonnel. For example, only received 30 E
ast marks a months..801-
diers disliked femalemilitary personnel because of this; they
claimed that they did no work.but received high pay.
..mow.+o vi .6 Wulaa.v 1RJ.J. J. Vlii'y
personnel had volunteered or had been inducted. However, he believed
females were inducted through voyenkomaty during the immediate post.
war period, in the same manner as males, He also believed that the
women also served for three-year periods.
MILITARY EDUCATION IN CIVILIAN SCHOOLS AND INSTITUTIONS
Schools
Berta i n of - }w..w~ ~v~ i'V i V 1J..LQ[1
scricoas or college level but was not
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LABOR SERVICE.
30.
er Train. for.oivilians
young men might be sent
a labor battalions (rabochyye batalony) instead of
to army units because their fathers had been kulaks or were con-
sidered politically unreliable because they hdd been in prison or
because they were physically unfit for general military service.
the voyenkomat was responsible for securing
labor service personnel,
DRAFT EXEMPTIONS
31.
(FZO) were called into military service depended largely on the type
of work they were doing, For example, a graduate of an
unidentified factory work school p was called into military service.
td
man~rwho was in the military class of 1926 earned good wages, had easy
work conditions, and was exempt from military service.
On the other hand,
a man in
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had finished a factory work school and was working in an
-e-ntified factory engaged in some sort of military production. This
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