Forge of Personnel, Protective Means and Weaponry for the Victory in 1945: the Military Academy of Chemical Defence during the Great Patriotic War

Highlights

 During the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945) the Military Academy of Chemical Defence (nowadays the Nuclear Biological Chemical Defence Military Academy Named after Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko (Kostroma)) 1428 competent chemical corps officers. Academy inventions gave the opportunity to create 17 new samples of chemical protection means and to write 17 manuals on chemical corps tactics, which had been actually applied in combat operations.

 Relevance. It is crucial to analyze the contribution of the Academy to the Victory, if we want to preserve historical memory and prevent history distortion. The academy successfully combines learning process, research and practical application of its inventions in combat conditions.

 Purpose of the study is to systematize and analyze the contribution of Military Academy of Chemical Defence to the military staff training, chemical protective means development and their practical application during the Great Patriotic War.

 Study base sources. The authors of this paper have analyzed the records of the central archive of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, orders and guidelines of people's commissariat of defence of the Soviet Union for the period of 1941–1945, Chemical Corps reports and dispatches from the battlefield, academy graduates recollections and  photographic documents of the war period.

 Method. Descriptive method.

 Results. The authors of this paper have found out that 93% of people who graduated from the academy were sent to the front line and 47% out of this number have been awarded with state rewards. It have been confirmed that 23 academy inventions were introduced into military practice in 1942–1944. The Soviet Union troops were quite prepared for the chemical war that is why the Wehrmacht was afraid to use poison gas against them.

Conclusions. In the war period the academy ensured regular training of chemical troops experts, created powerful chemical protection system for the Red Army of Workers and Peasants of the Soviet Union, helped to frustrate the plans of the enemy in terms of chemical warfare agents use and saved many thousands of Soviet soldiers.

1. Chugunov EA, Goroshkin MV, Kovba VI. Academician M.M. Dubinin: A Life Devoted to Science and the Motherland. Monograph. Kostroma: MA of NBCD; 2023. 476 p. (in Russian).

2. Krasilnikov MV, Petrov GI. The history of the chemical service and chemical protection troops of the Soviet Army. Textbook. Moscow: Military Academy of Chemical Defence; 1958. P. 99.

3. Kulikova KV, Chugunov EA. At the Beginning of a Long Journey: Several Episodes from the History of the Military Chemical Academy in the Context of the History of the Chemical Troops of the Red Army. Nuclear Biological Chemical Defence Military Academy after Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko: Stages of a Long Journey (on the 90th anniversary of its foundation): Proceedings of the International Military-Historical Conference. Kostroma; 2024. P. 125–34 (in Russian).

4. Starkov EG, Kovtun VA, Polishchuk IP, Smirnov AM, Kolesnikov VF, Borisov YuI, et al. Тhe troops of Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection are 100 Years Old. Military-historical Essay dedicated to the centenary of the formation of the Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Moscow; 2018 (in Russian).

5. Fedulov SV, Koneev AN, Svitnev IV. The Germans will be forced to use gas, as the war cannot be brought to desired results with conventional weapons: Nazi Germany's preparation for chemical warfare against the USSR. Military-Historical Journal. 2024;772(8):46–53 (in Russian).

6. Babushkin A. Improvement of the Chemical Service During the Great Patriotic War. Military-Historical Journal. 1978;(7):87–95 (in Russian).

7. Emelyanov IM. Nuclear Biological Chemical Defence Military Academy after Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko Turns 90. Journal of NBC Protection Corps. 2022;6(1):3–11 (in Russian).

8. Manchenko VD, Ed. 70 Years in Service to the Fatherland. Moscow; 2002 (in Russian).

9. Migachev YuS, Chugunov EA, Goroshkin MV. M.M. Dubinin – Founder of the Department of Protective Equipment at the Military Academy of Chemical Defence of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Nuclear Biological Chemical Defence Military Academy after Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko: Stages of a Long Journey (on the 90th Anniversary of Its Foundation): Proceedings of the International Military-Historical Conference. Kostroma; 2024. P. 157–8 (in Russian).

10. Polishchuk IP, Chugunov EA. Professionally Trained Officer Cadres as a Key Factor in Victory: The Contribution of the Military Academy of Chemical Defence to Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. Nuclear Biological Chemical Defence Military Academy after Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko: Stages of a Long Journey (on the 90th Anniversary of Its Foundation): Proceedings of the International Military-Historical Conference. Kostroma; 2024. P. 75–85 (in Russian).

11. Bakin AN, Goroshkin MV, Chugunov EA. We Taught What Was Needed in War: On the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Professor Major General K.M. Nikolaev. Military-Historical Journal. 2023;763(11):76–83 (in Russian).

12. Vasiliev VV, Bakin AN, Boltykov OV. Nuclear Biological Chemical Defence Military Academy after Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko: Stages of a Long. 90 Years: Historical Essay. Emelyanov IM, Ed. Saint Petersburg: PMB; 2022 (in Russian).

13. Bakin AN. Outstanding Scientist and Organizer: On the 120th Anniversary of Academician Major General M.M. Dubinin. Military-Historical Journal. 2020;728(12).68–75 (in Russian).

14. Morozik YuI, Trotsenko EM. Military-Scientific and Pedagogical Activities of General I.L. Knunyants in the Context of the History of Nuclear Biological Chemical Defence Military Academy. Nuclear Biological Chemical Defence Military Academy after Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko: Stages of a Long Journey (on the 90th Anniversary of Its Foundation). Proceedings of the International Military-Historical Conference. Kostroma; 2024. P. 74 (in Russian).

15. Sterlin R. Outstanding Chemists: Academician Ivan Ludwigovich Knunyants. Chemistry at School. 1964(3):3–15 (in Russian).

16. Chugunov EA, Kovba VI, Lovnichiy DS. "General-Sturm" and His Assault Groups: Street Fighting Tactics of Army Commander V.I. Chuikov from Stalingrad to Berlin. In: Russia's Military Security: Looking to the Future. Proceedings of the 7th International Interdepartmental Scientific-Practical Conference of Scientific Division No. 10 of RARAN. Vol. 3. Moscow: Bauman Moscow State Technical University; 2022. Р. 192–8 (in Russian).

17. Chugunov EA, Makeev ES, Kulikova KV. Tactics of Flamethrower Units and Subunits During the Great Patriotic War. In: Development of Tactics for Combined Arms Units and Branch Units in Wars and Armed Conflicts. Proceedings of the 1st All-Russian Military-Scientific Conference (Kazan, November 23–24, 2023). Kazan: KVTKU; 2023. P. 198–209 (in Russian).

18. History of Chemical Troops and Chemical Service of the Soviet Army (1918–1945). Part 1. Moscow: Military Academy of Chemical Defence; 1983. 124 p. (in Russian).

19. Kovba VI, Chugunov EA. "Yastreb" Against the Luftwaffe: The Soviet Navy's Use of Smoke Screening for the Protection of Naval Base Facilities in 1941–1942. Military-Historical Journal. 2023;4(756):38–45 (in Russian).

20. Markov VV, Zhezlov SS. The Red Banner Military Academy of Chemical Defence Named After Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko (1932–1982): Historical Sketch. Pikalov VK, Moscow; Ed. 1982 (in Russian)