SOVIET WWII BORDER GUARDS

Soviet border guards (rus. Pogranichnyye Voiska SSSR) were a military formation that was subordinated to the NKVD in 1934. Initially, this formation was called the Border and Internal Guard, but in 1939 the name was changed and - in free translation - took the form of the Border Force or border protection troops. Interestingly, the Soviet border troops were composed not only of infantry and cavalry units, but also of aviation units. These troops were also distinguished by the color of their uniform caps, which was intense green, and special badges. Indirectly, these solutions referred to those used during the tsarist Russia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The armament of the border protection units did not differ from that used in the Red Army. However, the tasks differed quite clearly, because the main purpose of these troops was to guard the borders of the USSR or to control border traffic. It was also the border protection forces that fought the first to fight the German troops at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941.