[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by joea

Have you actually read the book? It seems the author is a bit more balanced than what you seem to be portraying in your post. What page is the info on Order 270 actually taken from? does the author have hard numbers for the number of people affected?

Order 270 1941, published in the Military History Periodical 1988, and it was taken from pge 26-28.

Here's this, also from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_No._270

and: THIS
i quote from link:

I hereby order: 1. Commanders and political workers during the battle with the obstructionists themselves, and insignia in the rear of defecting or surrendering to the enemy, is considered a malicious deserter, whose families are subject to arrest as a family have violated the oath and betrayed his homeland deserters.
Require all higher-level commanders and commissars shot on the spot like deserters from the command personnel.
2. Were encircled enemy units and subunits selflessly fight to the last, to preserve the material part, as the apple of your eye, make its way to the rear of his enemy, defeating the fascist dogs.
Oblige each soldier, regardless of his official position to demand from a superior, if part of it is surrounded, to fight until the last possible moment to get through to her, and if a head or part of the Red Army instead of the organization would prefer to repel the enemy to surrender - to destroy by all means, both ground and air, and families who have surrendered to the Red Army prisoners deprived of public assistance and care.
3. To require the division commanders and commissars immediately remove from their posts of commanders of battalions and regiments, hiding in crevices during the battle and fear lead the course of a fight on the battlefield, reducing them by post as impostors, in the rank and file transfer, and if necessary, shoot them on site, bringing to the their place of bold and courageous people of junior command personnel from the ranks of distinguished or Red.