Description:
This rare uniform consists of the following items:
1. NKVD branch officer's visor cap. Maroon band with blue peak, both piped in raspberry with vinyl chinstrap and fibre visor. Red enameled star cockade. Grey liner marked with 1939 manufacture date. Very good original condition with very minor wear (some heavier wear to the liner), some damage to the enamel on the cockade.
2) NKVD Internal Troops branch officer's field tunic. In khaki green, piped in raspberry with maroon collar tabs - each with infantry badge of two crossed rifles over the round target and two square rank devices indicating rank of Political Advisor 2nd class. Commissar "red star" patches on both sleeves. Very good original condition with minor staining as shown. Marked with 1939 manufacture date.
3) Brown leather officer's belt.
A Bit of History - NKVD Troops in WW2:
During WW2, NKVD troops did see some front line combat, but were more usually deployed as "blocking detachments" in the rear to prevent front line troops retreating. They were employed in the repression and mass deportation of ethnic groups suspected of being disloyal to the regime, both during and after the war, and in prolonged operations against anti-Soviet partisans in the Ukraine and Baltic republics which lasted into the early 1950s. With some 50 divisions their strength was equal to about 10% of the total man power of Red Army Rifle divisions in 1945.
Aside from combat units of the Red Army, Soviet state security forces fielded a large number of combat units during the war. At the beginning of the war, the NKVD Internal troops were greatly expanded to include rifles, cavalry, motorized and even airforce and naval units, 15 divisions in total. The NKVD special troops were further expanded during the final years of the war, eventually totaling 53 divisions and 28 brigades, not counting Border Troops. This was equal to about 10% of the total number of regular Red Army divisions. In some respects, the NKVD formations resembled the German Waffen-SS in terms of independence from the normal military structure. However, the NKVD troops were used mainly for internal security and repression, and were not heavily enough armed for front-line combat. Unlike the SS, they had no major armored or mechanized formations.
Reference Images: (Not a part of this lot)
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I am selling a small collection of Soviet WW2 uniforms. Please see my other auctions for a similar items.
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Shipping and Handling:$45 worldwide. Shipped direct from Europe, safe arrival guaranteed.
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