Soviet Armed Forces in 1939
Strength and organisation of the Red Army, Red Air Force and Red Fleet

During 1939-40, the Soviet armed forces were undergoing a period of transition. New weapons and tactical ideas were being developed, but misguided and often stultifying central control meant that there was little sense of initiative or responsibility, and important advances in any sphere were often left in isolation. The excellent progress made in tank construction, for instance, was counterbalanced by the absence of an effective radio-communication system, without which tanks were severely restricted.
The Soviet Union placed great reliance on cavalry because of vast distances, poor road and rail communications and the inability of Soviet industry to provide vehicles for all of such a huge army.
The Soviet Union was divided into 13 military districts and 2 military commissariats.
The Army was essentially a standing army which was run by professional cadre, but it relied on conscription for the mass of its personnel. Men were liable for military service for a period of 22 years from the age of 20 to 41.
The peacetime strength of the army was estimated at 1,800,000 men, while mobilised strength could be as high as 11,000,000.
The baleful influence of Stalin over the Soviet armed forces during the 1930s culminated in the purges of 1938 which decimated the officer corps. Almost inevitably, the most able and outspoken officers were destroyed by the purges and this was a significant factor in the poor performance of the Red Army in the Winter War against Finland in 1939. It has been estimated that Soviet casualties were about 200,000 men during this short campaign.

Basic Red Army units:

Armoured fighting vehicles of the Red Army 1939:

Armoured Car Strength of the Red Army 1939: 2,594
Armoured Car Strength of the Red Army 1940: 4,819

Soviet infantry with a BT-7 tank during the Mongolian fighting against Japan in 1939.

Order of Battle against Finland:

Red Air Force

Throughout the 1920's and 1930's the Soviet Government made enormous efforts to build up a large modern air force, but the difficulties in finding suitable designs and the machines and materials to mass produce aircraft were enormous.
To overcome the lack of pilots and mechanics the government poured money into the voluntary organisation Osoaviakhim (Society for the Support of Defence, Aviation and Chemical Defence). Soon after its formation in 1927 it had a membership of three million which had grown to 13 million by 1936. Aero clubs were set up to provide pilots, mechanics and parachutists, and until 1940 all Red Air Force volunteers came from this source. Shortages of instructors, training aids and aircraft meant that the standard attained was very low, however, and it was finally decided to select Air Force recruits from the annual military draft.
Between 1935 and 1937, 3,576 aircraft, including a large proportion of four-engined bombers, were produced, but as the numbers increased so effectiveness decreased because the technical standard of the aircraft industry was falling behind developments in more advanced industrial nations.
The Red Air Force had its first practical experience in the Spanish Civil War and this resulted in certain organisational and operational changes, but it was the traumatic experience of the Winter War against Finland (in which some 1,000 Soviet aircraft were lost) that really showed up the alarming shortcomings in training, tactics and equipment. Red Air Force commanders were not ignorant of these defects but the purges of 1937-1938, which removed many senior commanders, meant that the remedies undertaken were not necessarily the most effective.

The Air Force of the Red Army (VVS-RKKA) was divided into two basic components. The first was the Air Force of the Red Army which consisted of fighter and ground attack regiments under the direct control of a Military District (later Front). The second component was the Long-Range Bomber Force which was at the disposal of the State Commissariat of Defence for tactical deployment on any front when necessary.
In April 1939 a thorough re-organisation within the Air Force took place. The largest formation was now the air division, which comprised between four and six air regiments (formerly brigades). Each regiment consisted of about 60 aircraft with additional reserve planes (usually about 40 aircraft).
There were three types of Air Regiment:
bomber regiments with four squadrons of 12 aircraft each;
fighter regiments with four squadrons of 15 aircraft each;
ground attack regiments with four squadrons of 15 aircraft each.
The squadron was divided into wings of three aircraft.
The Air Force attached to a Military District or Front included a number of fighter and bomber regiments, while mixed regiments with both bomber and fighter components were attached to army corps, which also retained their own reconnaissance squadrons.

The most important fighter of the Red Air Force at this time was the Polikarpov I-16 Rata. Though this Type 24 is in Russian summer camouflage it is wearing winter landing gear. The skis retracted flush under the fuselage.

Red Navy

As a land power the Soviet Union did not look upon the Red Navy's role as a strategic one. Its main tasks, therefore, were the patrolling of territorial waters, the protection of shore installations, the support of land forces, and the provision of vessels and personnel for amphibious operations.
The strength of the whole Red Navy in 1939 was estimated at 40,000 men of whom 22,000 were serving at sea.
The fleet involved in the war against Finland was the Baltic Fleet. At the beginning of the war the fleet was operationally subordinated to the Leningrad Military District, and comprised the following:
2 battleships
2 cruisers
21 destroyers and torpedo boats
52 submarines
41 motor topedo boats
13 minelayers, minesweepers and auxiliaries
2 escort and patrol boats.
Added to this were the small craft of the Lake Ladoga Flotilla.

Total Soviet Forces against Finland:
600,000 men, 32 divisions, 1,200 tanks
696 planes divided between the armies and 300 more in Estonia
2 battleships, 1 cruiser, 9 destroyers, 16 small warships, 11 submarines deployed by the Baltic and Arctic Fleets