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Order No. 227 is Joseph Stalin's order of July 28 1942. It decreed that all in the Soviet army who retreated or otherwise left their positions without orders to do so were to be summarily shot. It is also known as the "Not one step back!" order.
Order No. 227 also authorised the punishment of families of deserters and the establishment of special units (called shrafnyi) made up of "cowards" who did the most dangerous tasks, a measure used previosly to great sucess by the Germans.
