istoria 3

Triandafilov's report was a curious amalgam of purely Russian doctrine, heavily flavored with the somewhat faddish ideas then current abroad. The Russian elements could be seen in the concern given to combined-arms tactics and the theory of deep battle, whereas the Western elements were visible in the attention [23] paid to the use of armor. Triandafilov envisioned an integration of combined-arms and independent armored operations. He stated that the new forms of technical equipment then available would allow the enemy to be attacked "in the entire depth of his tactical deployment." Several echelons of tanks can attack the enemy's first line of defense in cooperation with infantry supported by artillery and close air support. Conditions could thus be created that would be favorable for simultaneous operations over broad expanses of front and at great depth. Even though the doctrine presented in Triandafilov's report was Sacking in specifics and the philosophy behind it was somewhat murky, the general tone it set did have some influence. In February 1933, the war commissariat approved and issued to the armed forces a program entitled "Provisional Regulations Regarding the Organization of Deep Battle," which was based on Triandafilov's work as well as that of the new chief of the general staff, A.I. Egorov, and his operations officer, I. P. Obysov.

The work of Triandafilov and Egorov was carried further toward a workable solution by M. N. Tukhachevski, Trotsky's old foe, who became the deputy chief of the general staff in 1924 after serving as head of the Red Army Military Academy. Although Tukhachevski was a man gifted with a talent for theory, he was, apparently, politically naive. He eventually aroused the suspicion of Stalin (in spite of his rank as marshal) because of his wide contacts in the West, particularly within the German Wehrmacht. He was executed on the dictator's orders in June 1937. His accusation and trial led off what became a blood purge of the officer corps in that year that resulted in the liquidation of about half of the Red Army's commissioned staff.