if you're handy with the Russian language (or Google Translate) you can read about penal battalions here.
penal battalions
And about the SVT-40 here
SVT-40
About assault engineering brigade here
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I've read the whole article about Penal Batallions. I want to stop particularly on what is written about their equipment:
Each PB had:
---3 riflemen companies - each squad in riflemen platoon had light machinegun. Each riflemen company also had platoon of 50mm mortars.
---1 submachinegunner company equipped with PPD and PPSH submachineguns.
---1 HMG company equipped with old Maxims and modern Goryunov HMGs (SG-43).
---PTRS company
---Mortar company with 82mm mortars.
Nothing is written about SVT-40.
They often left gas masks before assault to be able to carry as much bullets and grenades as they could. Penal batallions always had the hardest tasks, they started fighting first and finished last, thats why they needed good equipment and lots of ammo.
Giving them sticks as someone mentioned above seems to be a very bad idea.
I think that they need an armor buff, something like 1.15-1.2 armor so they can deflect at least some shots.