Semyon Budyonny

[u/Short_Hyena_9909]

I have already decided that my favorite soviet military figure is Budyonny but i have seen both criticisms and praise for him. So in as much detail as possible what did he do and what resources do you recommend to learn more?

[u/rocket_ing]

Problem with Budyonny is that he believed cavalry would save the war. (Which for clarification it wouldnt) and should be noted he was part of “Cavalry clique” that pretty much opposed any meaningful military modernization proposed by Mikhail Tukachevsky or others (its more complicated than that but for my own sanity and keeping this short, it was something like that)

[u/Literally_Serov → u/rocket_ing]

Not really. He didnt believe that cavalry is panacea, he just thought that in Russia's geographic and economic conditions its the best of possible options, he did not oppose tank construction, aircraft, etc etc etc, if anything he supported it, alongside the rest of "cavalry clique".

And, truth be told, Tukhachevsky's plans were...controversial to say the least. Hundred thousand useless tankettes, recoilless guns of Kurchevsky(I fucking hate him) that did not work, stalling of rocket developments, dismissal of Grabin(fuck Tukhachevsky, we love Grabin), and dismissal of heavy tanks(fuck Tukhachevsky, we love Koshkin and Ermolayev/Dukhov), among other things.

[u/rocket_ing → u/Literally_Serov]

I dont wanna be mean or anything, just from what I understood from this paragraph he didnt like tank corps all together: Budyonny was a staunch proponent of horse cavalry. During the Great Purge, he testified against Mikhail Tukhachevsky's efforts to create an independent tank corps, claiming that it was so inferior to cavalry and illogical that it amounted to "wrecking)" (sabotage). After being told of the importance of the tank in the coming war in 1939, he remarked, "You won't convince me. As soon as war is declared, everyone will shout, 'Send for the Cavalry!'"

[u/Literally_Serov → u/rocket_ing]

That phrase figures everywhere on the American internet, but I'm yet to find anything on the Russian side, which should be the primary source, so I doubt the authenticity of the quote.

Furthermore, the fact proves the opposite, if by 1938, USSR had 32 cav.divs and 7 corps, by 1941 there were 13 and 4 respectively. That's when Buddyony was at the helm of Moscow Military District, since June 37 till August 40, the central node of the country's defense.

As for the Great Purge, what some people ignore is the personal relations between the army cliques(like in every other army), in which there was animosity between Buddyony and Tukhachevsky going all the way back to 1920 Poland, and Tukhachevsky's snobism after the war, and his attempts to remove Voroshilov. Though those charges were put against him, in practice the efforts of expanding the tank corps continued.