Quote:
Originally Posted by Abbott Shaull
With many of the Soviet units recruiting local or nearby in Soviet Republics it doesn't surprise me that entire units are defecting. Beside in many cases it is the Commander who decided to defect the unit. Many of the of the troops that serve under only follow order because they in their eyes he looking out for their best interest.
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I think that's a very good point...in many cases it may only be a small number of senior officers who actually decide the fate of entire Divisions. I'd imagine that in many cases the rank and file of the Division would simply continue to follow those officers' orders, meaning that in many cases large numbers of soldiers might have "defected" without actually knowing that they had done so.
For example, the Commanding General of one Soviet Division decides to strike out on his own and orders his troops to attack a nearby formation that has remained loyal to the higher authorities (he could even put some spin on the situation by telling his men that it was the loyal formation that had deserted and his men were only doing their duty to the Rodina).
I hope that makes sense...the point I'm trying to get across is that very few people in the unit might actually know the whole story, with the vast majority simply continuing to follow what they think are lawful orders.
Mahatatain, you might find the novel "The Devil's Alternative" by Frederick Forsyth to be of some interest. Whilst it's quite dated now (I think it was originally published in the late 1970's) part of the plot centres around Ukrainian Separatists plotting to assassinate the Chairman of the KGB, and it has some interesting background information on the subject of Ukrainian independence.