Russian Liberation Army Squadrons
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By Caldrail
Extra fictional squadron mod for OFFLINE IL2:1946 only
Russian volunteers who served with the Wehrmacht wore the Russian Liberation Army patch. The ROA (Russkaya Osvoboditel'naya Armiya) was organised by General Vlasov, himself a volunteer against Stalin's regime, who lobbied long and hard to give his men a more active part in the war. Hitler disliked the idea, and preferred to have them perform secondary duties. By mid 1943 several hundred thousand ROA troops were serving in Hiwis (Helper units) or Ostenheiten (Eastern volunteer units), utilised mostly against partisans, from early 1942.
In mid 1943 the worsening situation sparked mutinies. By autumn ROA units had been withdrawn or transferred to France, Finland, Italy, and Belgium, and with absenteeism rocketing, harsh measures to alleviate the problem were imposed. Only in April 1945, at the insistence of Himmler, did the ROA fight in frontline service on the Oder River. Most units surrendered to the allies, and some even switched sides in the later months of the war.
This 'nation' was included in the original Forgotten_Countries mod as a 'what-if' choice, because no ROA personnel flew warplanes. Not all installations of IL2 will therefore have them. For those that don't, or those who want a more 'realistic' option, this mod allows the ROA as an extra German squadron.
As an extra, and for historical completeness, the Russians are also given an ROA squadron with an identical patch to simulate units that switched sides.
https://www.mediafire.com/?a0by3sayz0pm181