There are a lot of rumors around the legendary structure - the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence SMERSH, which operated during the Great Patriotic War and was part of the USSR People's Commissariat of Defense. Partly due to the fact that so far the details of some of the operations carried out have not been made public. Even in the movie "In August 1944 …", which is loved by many, the name "SMERSH" is never mentioned.
Good from Skorzeny
The motorcycle was stopped in the early September morning of 1944 at the entrance to Moscow - a routine document check at a checkpoint. It would seem, given the rank and position of Peter Tavrin - major, deputy head of the SMERSH department of the 39th Army - a pure formality. Later, he wondered what the senior lieutenant had caught, barely glancing at the documents: the officer asked him and his companion, the junior lieutenant, to go to the duty room.
What's the matter? After all, everything is thought out to the smallest detail: impeccably made documents, a telegram from the SMERSH leadership summoning to Moscow, a Hero of the Soviet Union star on his chest, and a specially printed newspaper Pravda on the tablet with a decree awarding this high rank to Major Tavrin. But it was precisely at the awards that the German agent, prepared for the assassination attempt on Joseph Stalin, pierced: he had the Order of the Red Star on the left side of his tunic, and not on the right, as expected …
However, the message about a possible sabotage of this magnitude came to the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence (GUKR) SMERSH in early summer. Information came from the Riga agents that in the atelier someone ordered a leather coat that looked like a military one, but with a peculiarity: the right sleeve was asked to be made wider than the left one. Hiding weapons in the Soviet rear?
The Arado Ar-232 aircraft from the special squad for the transfer of saboteurs was also reported on the day of its arrival at the German front-line airfield. Moreover, the approximate time of departure and the area of unloading of saboteurs were known. The counterintelligence officers did not even hinder the fact that the plane knocked out by our anti-aircraft gunners made an emergency landing away from the intended site. The pilots helped two passengers to roll out an army motorcycle, and in it - a miniature Panzerknakke grenade launcher (the one that is attached to the sleeve of the cloak), a mine, ammunition, and various documents.
Then there was not only an attempt to assassinate the head of state thwarted by carefully prepared agents (saboteur No. 1 of the Third Reich Otto Skorzeny met with Tavrin three times and approved his candidacy), but also a radio game was successfully held. During it, the recruited radio operator Shilova, until April 1945, transmitted messages to the German intelligence center about the work done and that the main task was about to be completed. In other words, there is no need to send another group to Moscow.
Promotional video:
This operation, codenamed "Fog", is one of many carried out by the SMERSH counterintelligence officers.
To fight intelligence
Where did the name "Death to Spies" come from! (SMERSH)? It was invented by Stalin personally. At first he was offered a different name - "SMERNESH", that is, "Death to German spies!" To this the Supreme Commander replied that it is necessary to fight intelligence not only in Germany, but also in other countries - it is not worth focusing on one. One could not but agree with this: the secret services of Japan, Finland, Romania, Italy were actively acting against the Soviet Union.
Why was the GUKR SMERSH created not from the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, but only on April 19, 1943? The explanation is simple: after being defeated at Stalingrad, Germany and its allies have noticeably stepped up intelligence and sabotage activities on the Eastern Front. Only in the band of the German Army Group "North" there were 14 intelligence schools, plus agents prepared by the central apparatus of the Abwehr (a body of military intelligence and counterintelligence). In response to this, it was also required to strengthen the work: to increase the effectiveness of the fight against spies, saboteurs, deserters and traitors. And the very fact of the dissolution of the GUKR SMERSH a year after the end of the Great Patriotic War suggests the same - this structure fulfilled its task.
Although, in general, the tasks were much broader. Here the fight against agents in our rear, their identification and neutralization behind the front line, work with prisoners of war - spies were also thrown through this channel, conducting investigations, etc. Each direction was headed by its own department in the central office.
Double check and embarrassment
The main merit of SMERSH was that, by neutralizing the enemy's agents and supplying him with disinformation, it was possible to deprive the Germans of reliable information about the operations planned by the Soviet command. That is, the main efforts were aimed at neutralizing the actions of the enemy's intelligence agencies: the Abwehr, the field gendarmerie, the main directorate of the imperial security. During the war years, German intelligence did not receive a single important plan for the offensive of the Soviet troops and were unable to implement large-scale sabotage. Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel (the one who signed the act of Germany's surrender on May 8, 1945) was forced to admit: "We have never received data that would have a significant impact on the development of military events."
Each operation successfully carried out by military counterintelligence agents means thousands of saved lives of Soviet soldiers. For example, on the Leningrad Front, during the preparation of the operation to completely liberate the city on the Neva from the enemy blockade, the enemy was misinformed about the main blow. Although only from July to September 1943, 16 reconnaissance groups with radios were sent to various sections of our front line. The activities of all SMERSH employees were suppressed, and several agents were recruited. In particular, one of them - Mokiy Karashchenko - himself appeared in counterintelligence, stating that he deliberately agreed to cooperate with the Abwehr, seeing in this only a way to find himself on Soviet territory and fight against the enemy.
With his help, as well as other measures, it was possible to deceive German intelligence - to give false information about the concentration of the main forces. By the way, to check the information received from Karashchenko, an experienced agent, a teacher of the Kaunas intelligence school, Boris Solomakhin, was abandoned. But after the arrest, he immediately expressed a desire to work for SMERSH: returning to the Germans, Solomakhin confirmed Karashchenko's information. He was even awarded the Medal of Merit by the Abwehr.
Killed while executing
Contrary to the prevailing stereotype about the actions of the Smershevites mainly in the rear, the most numerous detachment of military counterintelligence officers are officers who served directly in the troops, on the front line. Among them are the biggest losses: by March 1, 1944, 3,725 people died at the fronts. Only during the defense of Leningrad and the battles during the lifting of the blockade, 1267 officers were killed.
There are known cases when military counterintelligence officers took command of subunits, replacing killed officers. So, the operative lieutenant Grigory Kravtsov in August 1944 achieved the direction to the front, where he first supervised the penalty company of the 69th Army. And he didn't just know every penalty box in person - he went with scouts behind the front line, took a valuable language, was awarded an order. Later, while serving in the SMERSH department of the 134th Infantry Division, Kravtsov on January 14, 1945, in a battle near the Polish town of Koha Nuva, replaced the killed company commander. Wounded, he continued to command and died from shell fragments when the task was completed. During the war years, he and three other SMERSH officers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Posthumously…
Only in November 1943, the leadership of the GUKR SMERSH for the first time submitted to Stalin a draft decree on awarding military counterintelligence officers - earlier, only some were presented to orders and medals by commanders in the troops. Then 1,656 operational employees received awards.
Just three months
The accusation of SMERSH in the sentencing of execution or imprisonment is not true. This was the prerogative of military tribunals. Moreover, even for arrest it was required to obtain a command authorization. So, the go-ahead for the arrest of junior officers (up to the captain inclusive) was given by the military advice of the army or front, senior and higher - the people's commissar of defense or the people's commissar of the USSR Navy. The GUKR SMERSH has nothing to do with repressions against the civilian population of the liberated territories. If only because it was part of the direct functions of another department - the NKVD. Joint operations were carried out only against the Hitlerites' henchmen who actively resisted with weapons in their hands: the Bandera in Western Ukraine, the "forest brothers" in the Baltic states, etc.
Nothing but a myth, and an opinion about the special position of the Smershevites in comparison with other officers. Counterintelligence officers received standard food and manufactured goods cards, experienced front-line hardships and were exposed to no less danger. On average, a SMERSH operative served only three months, and then dropped out of action - either died or was wounded on the front line or during a special operation. Even the ranks of the military counterintelligence officers from the end of April 1943 were not "chekist", but army ones.
… There is no need to discuss with those who question the important role of the GUKR SMERSH during the Great Patriotic War. There is a fact that even opponents admit: our military counterintelligence officers completely outplayed their opponents from Germany, Japan and other countries. During the war years, more than 6 thousand terrorists and about 3.5 thousand saboteurs have been neutralized, over 30 thousand spies have been neutralized. More than 3 thousand agents were sent to the enemy rear. These figures speak for themselves - SMERSH fulfilled the task set before him and made his significant contribution to the approach of victory over fascism.