At the outbreak of [[World War II]], the Red Army had 1,800,000 soldiers, 10,000 tanks, and 5,000 front-line planes. Originally, the soldiers swore an oath to fight for international socialism. However, that was changed in January of 1939. Men pledged "To protect with all his strength the property of the Army and the people and to cherish unto death his people, the Soviet homeland, and the government of Workers and Peasants, also, to respond at first call from the government of Workers and Peasants to defend the homeland, the [[U.S.S.R.]]"
The Red Army conducted most of the fighting against [[Nazi Germany]] during the [[Second World War]], inflicting about eighty percent of German casualties along the [[Eastern Front]]. Among it's most successful commanders were Marshals [[Ivan Konev]], [[Georgi Zhukov]] and [[Vasily Chuikov]]. Red Army losses were between 8 million and 11 million dead, while Soviet civilian casualties were between 8 million and 16 million dead as a result of the war.
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