Page:Joseph Davies Memorandum regarding Military Strength of the Soviet Union.djvu/12

 traitors caused a shock throughout the army, and the subsequent cleansings instituted in military units produced serious although temporary, dislocation and confusion. It is believed that these changes have now resulted in a feeling of greater security on the part of the average soldier and a belief that his destiny is now in the hands of trustworthy officers and that the traitors have met a deserved fate. The promotion of many younger officers as a result of the elimination of higher commanders has built up new groups of commanders, younger in age and experience but apparently more energetic and more devoted in their loyalty than their predecessors. The system of parallel control by commissars, whatever may be its disadvantages for active operations in war time, has produced no ill effects in peace time administration. Since both officers and conscripts are undoubtedly ready to defend their government, and since personal discontent is far less among the military forces than among the civilian population, the morale of the Red Army is judged to be satisfactory.

29. The Soviet Union faces potential enemies on its western and far eastern boundaries, against which the Red Army must be prepared to operate simultaneously. -12-