Further retreat will lead to ruining themselves and ruining our country. Every new piece of territory will be left behind us in every way to strengthen the enemy and in every way weaken our defense, our homeland From this it follows that it is time to finish retreat. Not one step back! So now should be our main challenge. ” Order 227 played a historic role in the most critical moment of the battle of Stalingrad, and this role was undoubtedly positive. At close reading the text it appears that about any reprisals against the families of captured Red Army was not there a word in the order talking about something else: the suspension of all the available and acceptable from the point of wartime methods of panic retreat of the Red Army.

‘We have to establish in our army the strictest order and discipline, if we want to save the situation and defend the motherland’. Front and army Command asked to form special units capable of preventing panic retreat. And what is most interesting, as an example the experience of the enemy – the Nazi invaders. Germans after the winter retreat of 1941-1942 formed around a hundred fine mouth, where to send ‘guilty of breaches of discipline due to cowardice or instability of the’ soldiers and officers. They were placed on the most dangerous sections of the front with Order ‘expiate their sins by blood. ” In addition, to prevent the retreat of its troops Nazis formed a ‘special squads’, which exhibited behind unstable divisions, with orders to open fire on alarmists leave their positions.