Uniform

Supply

in the RKKA

By Shawn Caza

Article copyright Shawn Caza, 2003

Ok, so all of you re-enactors out there know where to get your re-enactment Red Army uniforms. Some of you are even nice enough to share your "secret sources" with your friends. But, have you ever considered where the real RKKA soldier got his (or her) uniform?

Uniform supply in the WW2 RKKA was the responsibility of the Directorate for Clothing Supply (Upravlenie Veshchevogo Snabzehniia - UVS) of the Main Quartermaster Directorate (Glavnoe Intendantskoe Upravlenie - GIU) of the RKKA which was under the Chief of the RKKA Rear Services. During the war the commander of the UVS was Brigade Quartermaster N.N. Karpinskiy, who was promoted to Major-General of the Quartermaster Service (or Intendant's Service) in May 1943.

Uniform supply, like all supply in the RKKA, worked on the "push principle", whereby the higher body was responsible for getting the supplies to its subordinate bodies. These lower bodies included: Frontal (and Military District) Clothing Supply Depots; Army; Divisional and Brigade Clothing Supply Sections; and Regimental and Battalion Chiefs of Clothing Supply. Each level, down to Brigade, had its own Clothing Supply Warehouses and Clothing and Footwear Repair Facilities.

Clothing was supplied to the RKKA from Soviet light industry. The People's Commissariat of Defense (NKO) did not own any of its own clothing factories. Clothing underwent major repairs in Frontal and Army Repair Shops and in civilian industry. Minor repairs and maintenance were the responsibility of the military unit itself.  Soldiers undertook many repairs themselves although they also had specialists such as boot repairmen. These specialists were either regular soldiers who were exempted from many non-combat duties so they could carry out the repair work, or members of the supply platoons.

During the war the RKKA 'consumed' vast quantities of uniforms including:

~ 38 million greatcoats

~ 70 million uniforms (tunic and trouser sets)

~ 117 million sets of underwear

~ 20 million sets of padded jackets and quilted trousers (telogreika)

~ 2 million sheepskin coats (poloshubak)

~ 64 million pairs of leather boots

Enlisted personnel had space to record their issued uniform equipment in the back of their ID books (see my article in Volume 1 Issue 3 December 2002 for an example). Officer's issued uniform equipment was recorded in a separate uniform booklet. The amount of equipment issued and the duration of its use (its lifespan) was ordained by NKO regulation.

Upon demobilization at the end of the war the RKKA soldier was allowed, by law, to keep their basic uniform. Items like the greatcoat, boots, belt and peaked hat (for NCOs and officers) were often, but not necessarily, included in this demobilization uniform. However, all special uniform equipment, including: webbing, knapsacks, helmets, camouflage, etc. were always considered to be part of the unit's supplies and were only ever 'loaned' to soldiers.

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Click here to visit Shawn's site, SMC Militaria Collections Home Page. This page is the gateway to five different sites, four of which deal with topics of interest for the Red Army re-enactor.

Photograph courtesy Alex Wood