Military Council (Red Army)
The military council (also: war council ; Russian Военный Совет ) refers to a collegial military commanding body of the Red Army to advise and in some cases also to decide on fundamental questions of military construction, the organization of combat operations, troop command, training, and securing of troops their preparation through recommendations, which are reflected in the orders and directives of the commanders in chief (Oberbefehlshaber).
Permanent military councils (councils of war) with an advisory character exist at the highest military command institutions in almost all states. In the Soviet armed forces, there were military councils in the armed forces, military districts, groups of armed forces, air defense districts, fleets, armies, flotillas, border troops, and internal troops.
The military councils had to ensure the troops' constant readiness for combat and mobilization, a high level of moral and combat training, strict military discipline and the consolidation of individual leadership and the political and moral condition of the members of the army. Since April 1958 , a military council has consisted of the commander-in-chief ( commander-in-chief , commander, chief) as chairman and the following members:
- the head of political administration (head of the political department)
- the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Union or Autonomous Republic or the secretary of the Party's regional (regional) committee
- the 1st deputy of the commander-in-chief (commander-in-chief, commander, chief)
- the chief of staff
- u. a.
The composition of a military council was confirmed by the Central Committee (ZK) of the CPSU on the proposal of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR and the Main Political Administration (from 1946) of the Soviet Army and Naval Navy .