______The scale of purges is staggering. By the time the Terror ended, 3 of the Red Army's original marshals were dead and 13 of 15 Army commanders were purged as well. 55% of divisional and brigade commanders were purged, 80% of all colonels, and 43% of all other officer ranks.

______These losses were devastating. The institutional knowledge of the Red Army was severely disrupted. Officers ended up commanding at levels higher that they were trained for or even capable of. And worse of all, doctrinal innovation came to an end, because few officers were willing to stick their necks out in a time when a military theory could arbitrarily be declared "reactionary" or "counter to Leninist ideals."

______The Red Army was a mere shell of its former self. The senior leadership had more loyalty to Stalin than they did any actual strategic or tactical skill (with only a few exceptions, like Zhukov). A disastrous winter war with Finland in 1939-40 made it clear that although large, the Red Army had been bled of much of its talent. This development did not pass the notice of Nazi Germany's intelligence services, which of course passed this information on to Hitler.

______One of the calculations the Germans made prior to launching their all-out attack against the Soviet Union was the abilities of a post-purge Red Army. Had Stalin not eliminated the Red Army leadership to cement his personal security, Hitler might have thought twice before invading.

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