The Russian Liberation Army was a force of Russian defectors that fought for Nazi Germany during World War II. After the Soviet Union was defeated at the Battle of Moscow, the ROA became the military of the Russian Republic, a puppet regime established by Germany. Following the final defeat of the Soviet Union in 1944 at the Siege of Ufa, the ROA swelled in numbers due to draft, gaining at least one million soldiers. To keep them in line, Hitler had German officers placed in high positions within the Army.