Purges in the Red Army The late 1930s saw the so called Purges of the Red Army cadres occurring against the historical background of the Great Purge The Purges had the objective of cleansing the Red Army of the politically unreliable element mainly among the higher ranking officers This inevitably provided a convenient pretext for settling personal vendettas and eventually resulted in a witch hunt Some observers believe that the Purges weakened the Red Army considerably but this remains a hotly debated subject Many commentators overlook the fact that the Red Army grew significantly in numbers during the peak of the Purges In 1937 the Red Army numbered around 1 3 million and it grew to almost three times that number by June 1941 This necessitated quick promotion of junior officers often despite their lack of experience or training with obvious grave implications In another important consideration by the end of the Purges the pendulum swung back restoring and promoting many of the purged officers Recently declassified data indicate that in 1937 during the culmination of the Purges the Red Army had 114 300 officers of whom 11 034 suffered repression and did not gain rehabilitation until 1940 Yet in 1938 the Red Army had 179 000 officers 56 more compared to 1937 of whom a further 6 742 suffered repression and did not gain rehabilitation until 1940 In the highest echelons of the Red Army the Purges removed 3 of 5 marshals 13 of 15 army generals 8 of 9 admirals 50 of 57 army corps generals 154 out of 186 division generals 16 of 16 army commissars and 25 of 28 army corps commissars