Mobilization in Penza region in the first half of 1941

Abstract

Background. Partial mobilization was announced in Russia in 2022. As Russian President Vladimir Putin said, the last mobilization in our country took place 80 years ago. Therefore, it is an urgent task to consider how the issue of preparation for mobilization events was solved then, as well as the process of mobilization itself, to raise the main problematic issues, to find out the attitude of people to the events taking place. The purpose of the study is to consider the complex of mobilization measures in the spring of 1941 and in the first months of the Great Patriotic War by the example of Penza region. Materials and methods. The research is based on archive documents and materials revealing the mobiliza-tion activities in the spring of 1941 and at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in Penza region. In the course of writing the work, basic research methods were used – dialectical, the method of historicism, objectivity, consistency, which made it possible to organize and structure the material taking into account military issues. To determine the degree of relia-bility and representativeness of the documentary material, the method of critical analysis of historical sources was used. Results. By the example of the activities of military enlistment offices of Penza region, the actions of local military authorities and the difficulties they faced in preparing mobilization resources and conducting mobilization in the summer of 1941 are considered. Conclusions. The military enlistment offices in the spring of 1941, during large training camps and mobilization in connection with the outbreak of war, did a lot of work despite the difficulties. An inspection of the state of mobilization resources (horse-drawn vehicles, carts, and tractor equipment) in the spring of 1941 showed an unsat-isfactory state of affairs. Despite objective and subjective difficulties, mistakes and unpro-fessionalism, the government task was completed, which proved the effectiveness of the system of formation of military units in war conditions.

Keywords

• mobilization
• large training camps
• red army
• military enlistment offices
• penza region
• rumors
• mobilization of horses and tractor equipment