Army Shoulder Boards of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)

This section will highlight the shoulder rank boards (pogoni) worn by the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War.  All of the branches of service will be covered here except for the navy.  The boards illustrated here will cover the full range of ranks from conscript soldier to general, but for now focus heavily on the enlisted ranks. 

The period marked a dramatic shift in military uniform design - as well as ideological theory - as the Red Army departed from the old 1935 pattern ranks in favor of a more traditional Tsarist pattern in 1943.  These later rank boards were introduced on 15 January 1943 by Commissariat of Defense Order 25 to help boost morale and draw upon Russian military tradition and patriotism <3>.  These would continue to be used well into the Cold War period.

Back to Insignia Index

Earlier Period Army
Shoulder Boards

• General Grade Officer
• Senior Officer
• Junior Officer
• Enlisted Ranks

Boards for Great Coat & Tunic

• General and Marshal
• Senior Officer
• Junior Officer

 Enlisted Boards

• Branch of Service Colors
• Enlisted Ranks
• Cadet Boards

1943 Pattern Shoulder Boards for Greatcoat and Tunic (Four sided)

Here we will describe the 1943 pattern shoulder boards worn by soldiers and airmen of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War.  These boards were established by Order of the Presidium of the Soviet USSR on 6 January 1943 <3>. intended to be worn with all uniforms from tunic and great coat.  These would be attached either by sliding them through loops in the tunic or by sewing them directly to the uniform.  In all cases the boards would be affixed by means of an 18mm button <2>.  This button would feature a star with the hammer and sickle emblem inside <1>.  Buttons would be made of brass for the service uniform, but would be painted green for field uniforms.  Generals buttons featured the Soviet seal instead.

A number of new ranks were added to the existing 1940 rank structure.  The ranks of Marshal and Senior Marshal were introduced on 4 February 1943, while the tank of Lieutenant-Colonel was added on 26 July 1943 <1>.

The shoulder boards of all ranks from soldier to Marshal to be placed in this section as they are obtained.  For now only rank boards of 1943 will be displayed as those from 1935 are very difficult to obtain.  Additionally, these boards currently cover only the enlisted ranks at this time.

 Generals and Marshals

 Coming Soon!

 Senior Officer

The 1943 pattern pogoni (shoulder boards) were made in different colors to differentiate members of each branch of the Red Army.  Purple was the color of the infantry, red signified artillery, and blue was used for the air force.  The different branch of service colors used on field shoulder boards are shown below.

 Coming Soon!

 1943 Pattern Enlisted Shoulder Boards

In this section we will show a variety of shoulder boards worn by enlisted men.  The branch of service of each may vary, and it will be noted with the image below.  Both field and service shoulder boards will be shown.