The film provides an accurate portrayal of modern military tactics. Its worth lies in the fact that it awakens patriotic feeling, recalls the danger of war created by Fascism and educates the audience to hate the enemy. The credit for this goes to the group of artists that made the film: above all the celebrated Efim Dzigan and Ancy- Polovskij, director of the Studio’s for Cultural Films in Leningrad; but also Berezko, Mosfilm’s director and Karmasinski and Efimov, the studio’s directors and cameramen for documentary films. The film is largely based on documentary material that was shot at different times during the Red Army’s manoeuvres, parades and exercises. The scenes that link these documents to form a narrative were shot from scratch. It is a perfectly successful exercise. Esli zavtra vojna is a cinematic billboard, but it is successful, comprehensible and effective. The Mosfilm Studio completed it in three months. This success must be consolidated with the prompt production of new defence films.

8. Morov, Pravda, 8.2.1939