Order No. 270
1941 Soviet Army command prohibiting surrender / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Order No. 270 (Russian: Приказ № 270, romanized: Prikaz No. 270), entitled "On the responsibility of military personnel for surrendering and leaving weapons to the enemy" (Об ответственности военнослужащих за сдачу в плен и оставление врагу оружия, Ob otvetstvennosti voyennosluzhashchikh za sdachu v plen i ostavleniye vragu oruzhiya) issued on 16 August 1941, by Joseph Stalin during the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, ordered Red Army personnel to "fight to the last", virtually banned commanders from surrendering, and set out severe penalties for senior officers and deserters regarded as derelicting their duties. Order 270 is widely regarded as the basis of subsequent, often controversial Soviet policies regarding prisoners of war.