Outstanding military leaders of the Second World War. Great commanders of World War II
During the confrontation with Germany and its allies (1941-1945), the Soviet leadership approved the deployment of more than a dozen fronts of the armed forces. Each of the operational-strategic formations was led by the highest military leaders of the Soviet Union. The commanders of the Great Patriotic War will be discussed in our article.
Ground Forces Commanders
Let's briefly talk about the most outstanding:
- Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny (1883-1973): Marshal, three times Hero. One of the organizers and commander of the First Cavalry Army (since 1918). On his initiative, new cavalry divisions were created in 1941. Commander-in-Chief in the southwestern direction. The troops of the North Caucasus Front operated under his leadership (1942). Commanded cavalry (since 1943);
- Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov (1988-1969): Marshal, statesman, twice Hero. Participated in the Civil War. Commander-in-Chief in the northwestern direction (1941). Commanded the Leningrad Front. Personally led the attacks of the Marines (1941). Commander-in-Chief of the partisan movement (1942-1943). In 1943 he became chairman of the Armistice Commission. Participated in the Tehran Conference;
- Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (1896-1974): Marshal, four times Hero. Fought in the First World War. Commanded a special corps in Mongolia (1939), the Kyiv special district (1940); Chief of the General Staff (1941); Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief (since 1942). In 1942 he led offensive operations: Moscow, Rzhevsko-Vyazemsk, two Rzhevsko-Sychevsk. Developed operations to break the Leningrad blockade and liberate the region (1943). He regulated the actions of several fronts in the Battle of Kursk, at the first stage of the battle for the Dnieper. In 1944 he headed the First Ukrainian Front, which carried out a successful operation to separate enemy forces in the Carpathian region. He led the First Belarusian Front (1944-1945), which participated in the liberation of Warsaw and the capture of Berlin.
Rice. 1. Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny.
The first to receive the special personal title of Marshal of the Soviet Union, even before the start of the Great Patriotic War, were military commanders Semyon Budyonny and Kliment Voroshilov (in 1935). During the war, Georgy Zhukov was the first to receive the title for outstanding services.
- Pavel Artemyevich Artemyev (1897-1979): Colonel General, Head of the Operational Troops Directorate of the NKVD (since 1941), Commander of the Moscow Defense Zone. He gained military experience in the First World War as a miner-demolitionist. As a detachment commander, he participated in the Soviet-Finnish war. It was he who organized the reliable defense of Moscow;
- Mikhail Grigorievich Efremov (1987-1942): Lieutenant General, posthumously Hero of the Russian Federation. He gained command experience during the Civil War. He commanded the 21st Army on the Western Front, which delayed the advance of enemy troops to the Dnieper (1941). Commander of the Central Front (August 1941), deputy commander of the Bryansk Front. The army under his leadership eliminated the enemy breakthrough in the area of the Nara River (Moscow region). He died during the Rzhev-Vyazemsk operation.
Many Soviet officers and soldiers were distinguished by their high tenacity, never stopping fighting to the last. Instead of surrendering, they preferred death. So Mikhail Efremov, when a plane was sent for him (he sent the wounded on it), found himself leaving the remaining units of his army. A little later, having received a serious wound, he shot himself.
Rice. 2. Mikhail Grigorievich Efremov.
Commanders of air defense forces
The air defense fronts, among others, were commanded by generals:
- Mikhail Stepanovich Gromadin (1899-1962): Colonel General. He served in the air defense forces since 1935. Participated in the development of Moscow air defense. Commander of the air defense fronts: Western (1943), Northern (1944), Central (1945);
- Gavriil Savelyevich Zashikhin (1898-1950): Colonel General, Head of Air Defense of the Baltic Fleet (since 1940). Commanded the air defense fronts: Southern, Eastern.
Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus
Belarusian State University
Faculty of Humanities
Abstract on the Great Patriotic War
on the topic “Commanders of the Great Patriotic War”
Performed :
1st year student, group 3
departments communication design
Trusevich Anna
1. Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich
2. Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich
3. Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich
4. Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich
5. Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich
6. Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich
7. Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich
8. Konev Ivan Stepanovich
9. Kuznetsov Nikolay Gerasimovich
Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich
Four times Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union
Born on November 19 (December 1), 1896 in the village of Strelkovka, Ugodsko-Zavodskaya volost, Maloyaroslavets district, Kaluga region (now Zhukovsky district, Kaluga region), in the family of peasants Konstantin Artemyevich and Ustinya Artemyevna Zhukov.
At the beginning of May 1940, G.K. Zhukov was received by I.V. Stalin. This was followed by his appointment as commander of the Kyiv Special Military District. In the same year, a decision was made to assign the ranks of general to the senior command staff of the Red Army. G.K. Zhukov was awarded the rank of Army General.
In December 1940, a meeting was held at the General Staff with the participation of district and army commanders, members of Military Councils and chiefs of staff. Army General G.K. Zhukov also made a report there. He emphasized that an attack on the USSR by Nazi Germany is inevitable. The Red Army will have to deal with the most powerful army in the West. Based on this, Georgy Konstantinovich put forward the most important task of accelerating the formation of tank and mechanized formations, strengthening the Air Force and air defense.
At the end of January 1941, G.K. Zhukov was appointed Chief of the General Staff - Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. Relying on his closest assistants, he quickly got used to this multifaceted and very responsible position. The General Staff carried out a great deal of operational, organizational and mobilization work. But G.K. Zhukov immediately noticed significant shortcomings in his activities, as well as in the work of the People's Commissar of Defense and the commanders of the military branches. In particular, in case of war, no measures were taken to prepare command posts from which it would be possible to control all the Armed Forces, quickly transmit Headquarters directives to the troops, and receive and process reports from the troops.
The activities of the General Staff under the leadership of G.K. Zhukov intensified significantly. First of all, it was aimed at successfully preparing our army for war in a short time. But time was already lost. On June 22, 1941, the troops of Nazi Germany attacked the USSR. The Great Patriotic War began.
In August-September 1941, G.K. Zhukov, commanding the troops of the Reserve Front, successfully carried out the first offensive operation in the history of the Great Patriotic War. Then an extremely dangerous situation developed near Yelnya. A ledge had formed there, from which the German tank and motorized divisions of Army Group Center, led by Field Marshal von Bock, were preparing to attack our troops, crush them, and deal them a mortal blow. But Georgy Konstantinovich figured out this plan in time. He threw the main artillery forces of the Reserve Front against the tank and motorized divisions. Seeing dozens of tanks and vehicles go up in flames, the field marshal ordered the armored forces to be withdrawn and replaced with infantry. But that didn't help either. Under powerful fire, the Nazis were forced to retreat. The dangerous ledge was eliminated. The Soviet Guard was born in the battles near Yelnya.
When an extremely critical situation developed near Leningrad and the question arose about whether this glorious city on the Neva should exist or not, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was appointed commander of the troops of the Leningrad Front on September 11, 1941. At the cost of incredible efforts, he manages to mobilize all reserves and rouse everyone who was able to contribute to the defense of the city to fight.
Since August 1942, G. K. Zhukov has been the first deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR and deputy supreme commander-in-chief. He coordinated the actions of the fronts at Stalingrad, during the days of breaking the siege of Leningrad, in the battle of Kursk, and in the battles for the Dnieper. In April 1944, troops under his command liberated many cities and railway junctions and reached the foothills of the Carpathians. For particularly outstanding services to the Motherland, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov was awarded the highest military award - the Order of Victory No. 1.
In the summer of 1944, G. K. Zhukov coordinated the actions of the 1st and 2nd Belarusian Fronts in the Belarusian Strategic Operation. Well-planned and well-provided with logistics, this operation was completed successfully. The destroyed Minsk and many cities and villages of Belarus were liberated from the enemy.
On August 22, 1944, G. K. Zhukov was summoned to Moscow and received a special task from the State Defense Committee: to prepare the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front for the war with Bulgaria, whose government continued to cooperate with Nazi Germany. On September 5, 1944, the Soviet government declared war on Bulgaria. However, on the territory of Bulgaria, Soviet troops were met by Bulgarian military units with red banners and without weapons. And crowds of people greeted Russian soldiers with flowers. G.K. Zhukov reported this to J.V. Stalin and received instructions not to disarm the Bulgarian garrisons. Soon they opposed the fascist troops.
In April–May 1945, front troops under the command of Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, in cooperation with the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 2nd Belorussian Fronts, successfully carried out the Berlin offensive operation. Having defeated the largest group of Nazi troops, they captured Berlin. On May 8, 1945, G. K. Zhukov, on behalf of the Soviet Supreme High Command, accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany in Karlshorst. This is the brightest and most brilliant page in the biography of the outstanding commander Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. The second outstanding event in his life was the Victory Parade on Red Square. He, the commander who made a huge contribution to the defeat of fascism, had the honor of hosting this historical parade.
While retired, Georgy Konstantinovich accomplished his last feat. Despite his poor health (heart attack, stroke, inflammation of the trigeminal nerve), he did a truly gigantic job, personally writing a truthful book about the Great Patriotic War - “Memories and Reflections.” The book began with the words: “I dedicate it to the Soviet Soldier. G. Zhukov." On June 18, 1974 at 14.30 Georgy Konstantinovich died.
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union
Born on December 21, 1896 in the small Russian town of Velikiye Luki (formerly Pskov province), in the family of a Pole railway driver, Xavier-Józef Rokossovsky, and his Russian wife Antonina.
With the outbreak of World War I, Rokossovsky asked to join one of the Russian regiments heading west through Warsaw.
After the October armed uprising, he served in the Red Army as an assistant detachment chief, commander of a cavalry squadron and a separate cavalry division. For the battle against Kolchak he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Then Rokossovsky commanded cavalry regiments, brigades, divisions, and corps. On the Eastern Front he took part in battles against the White Czechs, Admiral Kolchak, Semenov's gangs, and Baron Ungern. For the last operation he was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner.
In August 1937, he became a victim of slander: he was arrested and accused of having connections with foreign intelligence services. He behaved courageously, did not admit guilt to anything, and in March 1940 he was released and fully restored to civil rights.
From July to November 1940, K.K. Rokossovsky commanded the cavalry, and from the beginning of the Great Patriotic War - the 9th mechanized corps. In July 1941, he was appointed commander of the 4th Army and transferred to the Western Front (Smolensk direction). The Yartsevo group of troops, led by Rokossovsky, stops the powerful pressure of the Nazis.
During the German offensive on Moscow, Rokossovsky commanded the troops of the 16th Army and led the defense of the Yakhroma, Solnechnogorsk and Volokolamsk directions. In the decisive days of the battle for the capital, he organized a successful counter-offensive of the troops of the 16th Army in the Solnechnogorsk and Istra directions. During the bold operation, enemy strike forces trying to bypass Moscow from the north and south were defeated. The enemy was driven back 100–250 km from Moscow. The Wehrmacht suffered its first major defeat in the war, and the myth of its invincibility was dispelled.
In July 1942, during the German breakthrough to Voronezh, K.K. Rokossovsky was appointed commander of the Bryansk Front. In those days, the enemy managed to reach the great bend of the Don and create a direct threat to Stalingrad and the North Caucasus. The front troops covered the Tula direction with their right wing, and the Voronezh direction with their left, with the task of holding the occupied line (northwest of Voronezh) and stopping the enemy’s advance into the interior of the country. With a counterattack from the front forces, Rokossovsky thwarted the Germans’ attempt to expand the breakthrough to the north towards Yelets.
In 1943, the Central Front, led by Rokossovsky, first successfully carried out a defensive battle on the Kursk Bulge, and then, having organized a counteroffensive west of Kursk, defeated fascist troops here, liberated from the invaders the entire territory east of the Sozh and Dnieper rivers from Gomel to Kyiv, capturing a number of bridgeheads on western bank of the Dnieper.
Battle of Stalingrad. Our troops number more than a million. There are more than a million enemies. By April 16, 1945, two and a half million of our soldiers were operating in the Berlin direction. They were opposed by a group of more than a million fascists. And in addition, there is “inanimate force”: huge concentrations of tanks and artillery, giant flocks of aircraft.
And with such “density of fire” the battles lasted a long time. Counteroffensive at Stalingrad - 75 days. And “Mamaevo’s Massacre” took three hours. And the Battle of Poltava lasted almost as long.
But, when comparing, we will not argue that the great battles of past centuries are just “battles of local significance” if we measure them by the standards already known to us. The great future has never diminished the great past.
We are talking about something else - about commanders.
Napoleon said that many of the questions facing a commander were a mathematical problem worthy of the efforts of Newton and. He meant his time. But what can we say about our commanders? How to measure the complexity of the tasks facing them?
Zhukov, Vasilevsky, Rokossovsky, Konev, Vatutin, Tolbukhin, Chernyakhovsky, Meretskov, Bagramyan. The names speak for themselves. They say a lot to many people. Moreover, the series can be continued further; even its length is amazing.
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
General G.K. Zhukov, a platoon and squadron commander in the civil war, the hero of Khalkhin Gol, became the chief of the General Staff back in January 1941, at the age of forty-four. He held the position until July 30, that is, a little more than six months. The Great Patriotic War, as we see, accounts for a month and a little more than a week of this period. Then, in civilian terms, he was transferred to another job. This happened in the bitter days of our failures.
Very little time will pass, and Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov will become Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief. But it will be so. Very soon and very soon. The hours and years count on the clock of war.
The first thing Zhukov will do in his new capacity as commander of the Reserve Front will be Yelnya, where he will go to organize a counterattack.
He will understand a lot very quickly, that our units are firing artillery not at actual enemy firing points, but at supposed ones.
He will understand that, while delaying decisive action, he must constantly keep the enemy in suspense, exhaust him, and even mislead him with his activity.
Let us remember: Zhukov replaced the former commander of the Leningrad Front when Army Group North, having captured Shlisselburg, surrounded Leningrad. The enemy tried with all his might to turn the blockade ring into a suffocating noose thrown around the neck of the tormented city.
Zhukov stayed in Leningrad for less than a month and was urgently recalled - now Moscow was in mortal danger. Fulfilling his longed-for dream - to capture the Soviet capital in order to thereby surpass Napoleon (at that time Moscow was not the first city of Russia), Hitler sent almost half of all the troops that operated on the Soviet-German front to the operation, including two-thirds of all tank and motorized divisions. He remembered the experiences of Paris, Oslo, Copenhagen, Belgrade.
The same person goes precisely to the “boiling points”. According to Vasilevsky, Zhukov was the most noticeable in the main cohort of Soviet commanders, and turns out to be where he should be every time. And this despite his “hotness”, his independent character. But he will not change - he will remain the same. But the attitude towards such people will become different (“Gradually, under the pressure of the circumstances of the course of the war,” Vasilevsky would later write). To those who know their business perfectly, for whom the interests of the cause, the interests of Victory are above all.
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich
We often hear and repeat these words: time dictates, time demands. That's when - during the war - it became absolutely clear that these were not just words. That's when it became absolutely obvious that the principles of personnel selection are vitally important. Wartime complicated many things, but it also unexpectedly simplified many things - for example, the view of who was considered a promising person worthy of nomination.
Rokossovsky started the war not as a 44-year-old general, but as a very young man. In civilian life he made a daring raid on the White headquarters train, took part in the defeat and capture of Baron Ungern, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In fact, in nine months, minus the time spent in the hospital after being wounded, Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky went from corps commander to front commander. Rapid growth, instant assessment of merit. Instant, but not hasty.
If you think about it, Rokossovsky’s “official” growth was facilitated by his enemies - they gave him commendable characteristics. How? At least this: in January 1942, the Sixteenth Army was transferred to the Sukhinichi area, and an incident occurred there that at first seemed inexplicable.
The Nazi units opposing our troops suddenly abandoned their positions and retreated seven to eight kilometers. Without a fight, without any coercion on our part.
It later became clear what prompted them to act this way - they heard a rumor about the arrival of the Sixteenth Army. The enemy already knew the name of its commander well, and therefore decided, without tempting fate, to withdraw the troops to more prepared positions.
During the war, responsibility for decisions made sharply increased. The need for these decisions to be error-free has become more acute than ever: the cost of every mistake, especially in decisions of a military nature, has never been higher.
By accepting them, they risked not their position, not their reputation, they not only put themselves at risk, but so many others, their lives - the lives of tens, hundreds, thousands.
Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich
The war answered all questions incomparably quickly. A decision was made - and everything became clear tomorrow, or even today - an hour later.
When in one of the battles the artillery fell behind, changing firing positions - and every minute was valuable, otherwise the offensive would bog down, Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky - and this was, it seems, for the first time in the history of the Great Patriotic War - was removed from firing positions and moved to the front line to fight by the ground enemy the main group of the army's anti-aircraft artillery.
The anti-aircraft guns did not hit planes, but tanks and fortified enemy positions. This was a big risk, but Chernyakhovsky, having made such a decision, hoped to break the enemy’s resistance in an hour or two. And he turned out to be right.
In another battle, again remembering Suvorov’s order: one minute decides the outcome of battles, one hour - the success of the campaign, one day - the fate of the country, not allowing the enemy to gain a foothold on advantageous lines, and therefore, avoiding unjustified losses, Chernyakhovsky orders the troops to force the Dnieper.
Without pulling up the pontoon-bridge parks, without ensuring the simultaneous crossing of infantry, tanks and artillery, cross on rafts and fishing boats. The plan was for surprise. And to German loyalty to the letter of the charter.
The general knew that in all the instructions of the German army, crossing such large rivers was allowed only if engineering crossing facilities were available. He knew that the Germans would not dare to allow, even if this was happening before their eyes, that someone was doing something they themselves would never do. And again I was right.
And when, under fierce enemy fire, our advanced units reached the opposite bank and entered into an unequal battle, Chernyakhovsky conveyed to the advanced units: “I am sending reinforcements, I will support you with fire. Order: expand the bridgehead. I’ll go to you myself!”
The bridgehead was not only maintained, but also expanded.
They were like-minded people, our outstanding military leaders. Everyone thought and fought outside the box, faithful to the rule that Chernyakhovsky formulated as follows: a commander in battle should not do what the enemy is looking for and expecting from him.
Everyone understood that the true commander of a war for those who expect to win it must be a thought - new, deep, unexpected.
At the age of 37, Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky was already commanding the front. Now, knowing how he fought, it’s not easy to even imagine that someone could have thought at one time: isn’t it too early for him to take such a post? For him, commanding an army is an achievement beyond his age?
Nikolai Fedorovich Vatutin, who was the front commander at that time, suggested that Chernyakhovsky take command of the army. He was only five years older, but managed to test himself in battles with the Makhnovists, and by the beginning of the war, at thirty-nine years old, he already held the high post of First Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
The offer to take command of the army took Chernyakhovsky by surprise:
It's only been a month since I commanded the corps.
A month in war is a very long time.
There are other generals, more experienced, deserved, my appointment will hurt their pride.
Well, here’s the thing,” Vatutin said almost sternly, “now is not the time to talk about someone’s pride.” The enemy put us in harsh conditions. And we cannot ignore this.
A man of position, with past merits, he seemed much older than the youngest of the front commanders. By the way, other major military leaders also had past achievements.
Konev Ivan Stepanovich and Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich
Konev became the head of the front at the age of 43, and first announced himself in the years of his combat youth - the red commissar of armored train No. 102 “Grozny”, division commissar, participant in the suppression of the counter-revolutionary rebellion in Kronstadt.
Tolbukhin, who in those years seemed to himself an elderly man, although he was only two years older than Zhukov and Rokossovsky, three years older than Konev, fought against Yudenich and the White Poles, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for personal bravery, was awarded three times with a personalized silver watch with the inscription "To the honest warrior of the workers and peasants."
But even with regard to past merits, time has spoken quite clearly - a real war cannot be won by past victories, or even by the methods by which they were achieved. The path to victories in a modern war must be new, modern. Different times, different battles. And the commanders are different.
"Can not". Even if they wanted to. It is not man who dictates, it is time. Although someone, some person, much less impartial than time, could say: really, what’s the rush? Let the young general get used to his previous position. He will gain experience in leadership work... He still has everything ahead...
The military leader was required to constantly comprehend the situation, sometimes instantly solve complex problems, while minimizing possible mistakes. The work of a commander, ideally, is unmistakable creativity. But is it possible to create with the guarantee that you will avoid mistakes? Is one compatible with the other? But the fact of the matter is that someone managed to get closer to the ideal. It was then that time “interceded” for such people, demanding immediate recognition, immediate promotion. For the ability to fight, how to do one’s military work, such “trifles” as a complex character, like youth were forgiven... The most promising, in any case, turned out to be precisely those personnel changes that were made “in the spirit of the times,” not pre-war or post-war - military .
Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich
With the name of Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov - he commanded the Leningrad Front - the heroic epic of the great city, the breakthrough of the Leningrad blockade, went down in history forever. Little talkative, dry, even somewhat gloomy in appearance, he could not or did not want to make an impression that was advantageous to himself.
However, this quality of nature is not the only thing that could prevent the future marshal from making a worthy contribution to the defeat of fascism and demonstrating his abilities as a strategist. In his early youth, due to difficult circumstances, he found himself in the Kolchak army, and although he quickly parted with it, and subsequently fought with, he was wounded twice in battles for Soviet power, awarded the Order of the Red Banner, who could guarantee that not a single personnel officer would ever be glance sideways at the “dark page” of his biography. But, as we already know, nothing stopped it. And Zhukov “looked after” him, seeing in Govorov a major military talent.
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich
Preparing a counteroffensive near Stalingrad, the Soviet Supreme High Command sent its representatives to the fronts. Chief of the General Staff Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky arrived at the Stalingrad Front. The operation was scheduled to begin on October 20, 1942. But it started a month later. What happened? Who delayed the day that was so longed for? By what right and for what reasons?
Vasilevsky “dragged” with the start of the counteroffensive.
Arriving at the front, I became convinced that the day it began, judging by the state of the enemy, was chosen extremely well. The enemy could no longer attack, and did not have time to properly organize the defense. But such a “one-sided view” did not suit him. It was also necessary to take into account the fact that our fronts, in turn, had not yet had time to raise troops or concentrate material resources.
There are examples in the history of war when commanders with a “convenient character” hastened to console the Supreme High Command with optimistic assurances that in no way stemmed from a sober analysis of the situation. The arrogance of the leaders was paid for with the blood of the soldiers.
Facts of this kind explain not only what kind of Chief of the General Staff A.M. Vasilevsky was, but also why he became one, for what merits, and why he grew up.
Results of the leadership of the generals
As we see, having an inconvenient character is the “privilege” of not only Zhukov, but also other commanders. They knew how to firmly stand their ground. Yes, not on “ours” - on the common one, needed by the people, the country. Having been promoted to high positions by deeds, they proved by deeds that they occupied them by right.
Still, this ancient and solemn word “commander” sounds strange when talking about our contemporaries, including those who quite recently came to meetings with us, so to speak, according to Moscow time, and not thanks to a fabulous time machine, came not from legends, but from his apartments.
Did he himself, Ivan Chernyakhovsky, a thirteen-year-old orphan shepherd boy, who disappeared in the meadows with his flock from morning to evening, ever think that someday this “commander” would also refer to him? And Konstantin Rokossovsky is also an orphan from the age of fourteen? And the cook’s son Rodion Malinovsky? And Nikolai Voronov, our first marshal of artillery, when he was left without a mother as a child - did she commit suicide, tormented by hopeless poverty? And Georgy Zhukov, whose brother died of hunger, living in his Strelkovka in a house with a roof that had collapsed from disrepair? The same Zhukov, who would grow into the most prominent commander of his time, on behalf of the army and the people, will accept the surrender of Nazi Germany in Karlshorst, and then, riding a white horse, will host the Victory Parade on Red Square?
I believed that while in power, a person has no idea how damn difficult the situation of ordinary ordinary people can be. Whether this is true or not depends, probably, on many things.
Let us remember and compare: born in 1887, the one whose armies attacked Leningrad and then unsuccessfully tried to relieve the Nazi troops encircled at Stalingrad, was no longer a first-generation general, he represented the dynasty of the Prussian military aristocracy. And how many of them were there besides him in the avalanche that was rolling towards us - hereditary generals who were allegedly haunted by the “genes” of aggression and hatred that had settled in them from past centuries. Generals are from some families, soldiers are from others. It's like from another world.
This is a symbol. They were one family, our commanders and our soldiers.
Soviet propaganda did its job, and every schoolchild knew the names of these military leaders. And the phrase of Mikhail Ulyanov in the role of Zhukov: “To fight to the death... made me shiver.” However, recently there have been a lot of alternative points of view that cast doubt on the abilities of the commanders of that war, pointing to obvious tactical miscalculations and unjustified sacrifices. Whether this is true or not, I don’t know, but I’m sure that, sitting at a computer with a cup of coffee, it’s very easy to evaluate people’s actions, find mistakes and move entire armies, everything is different in life and understand the motives for actions without having all the data very not easy.
Let's remember the names of these people.
1 . Zhukov (1896-1974)
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov is a three-time hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union, who has the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree, and two Orders of Victory. Participated in the Leningrad and Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk battles. In 1944 he was appointed commander of the First Belorussian Front.
2 Voroshilov (1881-1969)
Voroshilov Kliment Efremovich - twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor, since 1935 - Marshal of the Soviet Union. In 1942-43 he was the commander-in-chief of the partisan movement, and in 1943 he was the coordinator of troops in breaking the siege of Leningrad.
3 Rokossovsky (1896-1968)
Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky is one of the most titled military leaders of the Great Patriotic War. It was he who was entrusted with commanding the Victory Parade in 1945. Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland, Rokossovsky was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Victory, the Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov, 1st degree. Known for his participation in many military operations, including Operation Bagration for the liberation of Belarus. He commanded troops in the Battles of Stalingrad and Leningrad, participated in the Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations.
4 Tolbukhin (1894-1949)
Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin is a man who went through the war from chief of staff (1941) to Marshal of the Soviet Union (1944). His troops took part in the Crimean, Belgrade, Budapest, Vienna and other operations. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to Tolbukhin posthumously in 1965.
Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky is the commander of dozens of successful military operations. At the age of 35, he became the commander of a tank division, and from 1944, the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, awarded many orders and medals. He died in 1945 from a fatal wound.
6 Govorov (1897-1955)
Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov - Hero and Marshal of the Soviet Union, commander at different times of the Leningrad and Baltic fronts. He led the defense of Leningrad for 670 of the 900 days of the siege. Participated in the liberation of Borodino. He led the encirclement of the Kurland group of Germans, who capitulated on May 8, 1945.
7 Malinovsky (1898-1967)
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky - twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union, holder of the highest Soviet Order of Victory. Participated in the liberation of Rostov and Donbass, led the Zaporozhye and Odessa operations.
8 Konev (1897-1973)
Ivan Stepanovich Konev - commander of the army and fronts, and since 1950 - deputy. Minister of Defense During the Great Patriotic War, he participated in the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of Moscow, in the Berlin, Vistula-Oder and Paris operations.
9 Vasilevsky (1885-1977)
Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky - Hero and Marshal of the Soviet Union, Chief of the General Staff, Commander of the 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic Fronts. Participated in operations to liberate Donbass, Crimea, Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania. He led troops in the Far East in the Russo-Japanese War.
10 Tymoshenko (1895-1970)
Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko is a holder of the Order of Victory, awarded a personalized saber with the coat of arms of the USSR. He took part in the Leningrad and Moscow battles; in the Iasi-Kishinev and Budapest operations, and also took part in the liberation of Vienna.
Marshals of the Great Patriotic War
Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich
11/19 (12/1). 1896—06/18/1974Great commander
Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of Defense of the USSR
Born in the village of Strelkovka near Kaluga in a peasant family. Furrier. In the army since 1915. Participated in the First World War, a junior non-commissioned officer in the cavalry. In the battles he was seriously shell-shocked and awarded 2 Crosses of St. George.
Since August 1918 in the Red Army. During the Civil War, he fought against the Ural Cossacks near Tsaritsyn, fought with the troops of Denikin and Wrangel, took part in the suppression of the Antonov uprising in the Tambov region, was wounded, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After the Civil War, he commanded a regiment, brigade, division, and corps. In the summer of 1939, he carried out a successful encirclement operation and defeated a group of Japanese troops under General. Kamatsubara on the Khalkhin Gol River. G. K. Zhukov received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of the Red Banner of the Mongolian People's Republic.
During the Great Patriotic War (1941 - 1945) he was a member of the Headquarters, Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and commanded the fronts (pseudonyms: Konstantinov, Yuryev, Zharov). He was the first to be awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union during the war (01/18/1943). Under the command of G.K. Zhukov, troops of the Leningrad Front, together with the Baltic Fleet, stopped the advance of Army Group North of Field Marshal F.W. von Leeb on Leningrad in September 1941. Under his command, the troops of the Western Front defeated the troops of Army Group Center under Field Marshal F. von Bock near Moscow and dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the Nazi army. Then Zhukov coordinated the actions of the fronts near Stalingrad (Operation Uranus - 1942), in Operation Iskra during the breakthrough of the Leningrad blockade (1943), in the Battle of Kursk (summer 1943), where Hitler’s plan was thwarted. Citadel" and the troops of Field Marshals Kluge and Manstein were defeated. The name of Marshal Zhukov is also associated with victories near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky and the liberation of Right Bank Ukraine; Operation Bagration (in Belarus), where the Vaterland Line was broken and Army Group Center of Field Marshals E. von Busch and W. von Model was defeated. At the final stage of the war, the 1st Belorussian Front, led by Marshal Zhukov, took Warsaw (01/17/1945), defeated Army Group “A” of General von Harpe and Field Marshal F. Scherner with a dissecting blow in the Vistula-Oder operation and victoriously ended the war with a grandiose Berlin operation. Together with the soldiers, the marshal signed the scorched wall of the Reichstag, over the broken dome of which the Victory banner fluttered. On May 8, 1945, in Karlshorst (Berlin), the commander accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany from Hitler’s Field Marshal W. von Keitel. General D. Eisenhower presented G. K. Zhukov with the highest military order of the United States “Legion of Honor”, the degree of Commander-in-Chief (06/5/1945). Later in Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate, the British Field Marshal Montgomery placed on him the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, 1st Class, with star and crimson ribbon. On June 24, 1945, Marshal Zhukov hosted the triumphal Victory Parade in Moscow.
In 1955-1957 “Marshal of Victory” was the Minister of Defense of the USSR.
American military historian Martin Kaiden says: “Zhukov was the commander of commanders in the conduct of war by mass armies of the twentieth century. He inflicted more casualties on the Germans than any other military leader. He was a "miracle marshal". Before us is a military genius."
He wrote the memoirs “Memories and Reflections.”
Marshal G.K. Zhukov had:
- 4 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (08/29/1939, 07/29/1944, 06/1/1945, 12/1/1956),
- 6 Orders of Lenin,
- 2 Orders of Victory (including No. 1 - 04/11/1944, 03/30/1945),
- order of the October Revolution,
- 3 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Suvorov, 1st degree (including No. 1), a total of 14 orders and 16 medals;
- honorary weapon - a personalized saber with the golden Coat of Arms of the USSR (1968);
- Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (1969); Order of the Tuvan Republic;
- 17 foreign orders and 10 medals, etc.
In 1995, a monument to Zhukov was erected on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow.
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich
18(30).09.1895—5.12.1977 Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR
Born in the village of Novaya Golchikha near Kineshma on the Volga. Son of a priest. He studied at the Kostroma Theological Seminary. In 1915, he completed courses at the Alexander Military School and, with the rank of ensign, was sent to the front of the First World War (1914-1918). Staff captain of the tsarist army. Having joined the Red Army during the Civil War of 1918-1920, he commanded a company, battalion, and regiment. In 1937 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. From 1940 he served in the General Staff, where he was caught up in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). In June 1942, he became the Chief of the General Staff, replacing Marshal B.M. Shaposhnikov in this post due to illness. Of the 34 months of his tenure as Chief of the General Staff, A. M. Vasilevsky spent 22 directly at the front (pseudonyms: Mikhailov, Alexandrov, Vladimirov). He was wounded and shell-shocked. Over the course of a year and a half, he rose from major general to Marshal of the Soviet Union (02/19/1943) and, together with Mr. K. Zhukov, became the first holder of the Order of Victory. Under his leadership, the largest operations of the Soviet Armed Forces were developed. A. M. Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the fronts: in the Battle of Stalingrad (Operation Uranus, Little Saturn), near Kursk (Operation Commander Rumyantsev), during the liberation of Donbass (Operation Don "), in the Crimea and during the capture of Sevastopol, in the battles in Right Bank Ukraine; in the Belarusian Operation Bagration.
After the death of General I.D. Chernyakhovsky, he commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front in the East Prussian operation, which ended with the famous “star” assault on Koenigsberg.
On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet commander A. M. Vasilevsky smashed Nazi field marshals and generals F. von Bock, G. Guderian, F. Paulus, E. Manstein, E. Kleist, Eneke, E. von Busch, W. von Model, F. Scherner, von Weichs, etc.
In June 1945, the marshal was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Soviet troops in the Far East (pseudonym Vasiliev). For the quick defeat of the Kwantung Army of the Japanese under General O. Yamada in Manchuria, the commander received a second Gold Star. After the war, from 1946 - Chief of the General Staff; in 1949-1953 - Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
A. M. Vasilevsky is the author of the memoir “The Work of a Whole Life.”
Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky had:
- 2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 09/08/1945),
- 8 Orders of Lenin,
- 2 orders of "Victory" (including No. 2 - 01/10/1944, 04/19/1945),
- order of the October Revolution,
- 2 Orders of the Red Banner,
- Order of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of the Red Star,
- Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree,
- a total of 16 orders and 14 medals;
- honorary personal weapon - saber with the golden Coat of Arms of the USSR (1968),
- 28 foreign awards (including 18 foreign orders).
Konev Ivan Stepanovich
16(28).12.1897—27.06.1973 Marshal of the Soviet Union
Born in the Vologda region in the village of Lodeyno in a peasant family. In 1916 he was drafted into the army. Upon completion of the training team, junior non-commissioned officer Art. division is sent to the Southwestern Front. Having joined the Red Army in 1918, he took part in battles against the troops of Admiral Kolchak, Ataman Semenov, and the Japanese. Commissioner of the armored train "Grozny", then brigades, divisions. In 1921 he took part in the storming of Kronstadt. Graduated from the Academy. Frunze (1934), commanded a regiment, division, corps, and the 2nd Separate Red Banner Far Eastern Army (1938-1940).
During the Great Patriotic War he commanded the army and fronts (pseudonyms: Stepin, Kyiv). Participated in the battles of Smolensk and Kalinin (1941), in the battle of Moscow (1941-1942). During the Battle of Kursk, together with the troops of General N.F. Vatutin, he defeated the enemy on the Belgorod-Kharkov bridgehead - a German bastion in Ukraine. On August 5, 1943, Konev’s troops took the city of Belgorod, in honor of which Moscow gave its first fireworks, and on August 24, Kharkov was taken. This was followed by the breakthrough of the “Eastern Wall” on the Dnieper.
In 1944, near Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, the Germans set up “New (small) Stalingrad” - 10 divisions and 1 brigade of General V. Stemmeran, who fell on the battlefield, were surrounded and destroyed. I. S. Konev was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union (02/20/1944), and on March 26, 1944, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front were the first to reach the state border. In July-August they defeated the Army Group “Northern Ukraine” of Field Marshal E. von Manstein in the Lvov-Sandomierz operation. The name of Marshal Konev, nicknamed “the forward general,” is associated with brilliant victories at the final stage of the war - in the Vistula-Oder, Berlin and Prague operations. During the Berlin operation, his troops reached the river. Elbe near Torgau and met with the American troops of General O. Bradley (04/25/1945). On May 9, the defeat of Field Marshal Scherner near Prague ended. The highest orders of the “White Lion” 1st class and the “Czechoslovak War Cross of 1939” were a reward to the marshal for the liberation of the Czech capital. Moscow saluted the troops of I. S. Konev 57 times.
In the post-war period, the marshal was the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces (1946-1950; 1955-1956), the first Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact member states (1956-1960).
Marshal I. S. Konev - twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1970), Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic (1971). A bronze bust was installed in his homeland in the village of Lodeyno.
He wrote memoirs: “Forty-fifth” and “Notes of the Front Commander.”
Marshal I. S. Konev had:
- two Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 06/1/1945),
- 7 Orders of Lenin,
- order of the October Revolution,
- 3 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- Order of the Red Star,
- a total of 17 orders and 10 medals;
- honorary personalized weapon - a saber with the Golden Coat of Arms of the USSR (1968),
- 24 foreign awards (including 13 foreign orders).
Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich
10(22).02.1897—19.03.1955 Marshal of the Soviet Union
Born in the village of Butyrki near Vyatka in the family of a peasant, who later became an employee in the city of Elabuga. A student at the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute, L. Govorov, became a cadet at the Konstantinovsky Artillery School in 1916. He began his combat activities in 1918 as an officer in the White Army of Admiral Kolchak.
In 1919, he volunteered to join the Red Army, participated in battles on the Eastern and Southern fronts, commanded an artillery division, and was wounded twice - near Kakhovka and Perekop.
In 1933 he graduated from the Military Academy. Frunze, and then the General Staff Academy (1938). Participated in the war with Finland of 1939-1940.
In the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), artillery general L.A. Govorov became the commander of the 5th Army, which defended the approaches to Moscow in the central direction. In the spring of 1942, on instructions from I.V. Stalin, he went to besieged Leningrad, where he soon led the front (pseudonyms: Leonidov, Leonov, Gavrilov). On January 18, 1943, the troops of generals Govorov and Meretskov broke through the blockade of Leningrad (Operation Iskra), delivering a counter-attack near Shlisselburg. A year later, they struck again, crushing the Germans' Northern Wall, completely lifting the blockade of Leningrad. The German troops of Field Marshal von Küchler suffered huge losses. In June 1944, troops of the Leningrad Front carried out the Vyborg operation, broke through the “Mannerheim Line” and took the city of Vyborg. L.A. Govorov became Marshal of the Soviet Union (06/18/1944). In the fall of 1944, Govorov’s troops liberated Estonia, breaking through the enemy Panther defenses.
While remaining commander of the Leningrad Front, the marshal was also the representative of Headquarters in the Baltic States. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In May 1945, the German army group Kurland surrendered to the front forces.
Moscow saluted the troops of commander L. A. Govorov 14 times. In the post-war period, the marshal became the first Commander-in-Chief of the country's air defense.
Marshal L.A. Govorov had:
- Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (01/27/1945), 5 Orders of Lenin,
- Order of Victory (05/31/1945),
- 3 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- Order of the Red Star - a total of 13 orders and 7 medals,
- Tuvan "Order of the Republic",
- 3 foreign orders.
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich
9(21).12.1896—3.08.1968 Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Marshal of Poland
Born in Velikiye Luki in the family of a railway driver, a Pole, Xavier Jozef Rokossovsky, who soon moved to live in Warsaw. He began his service in 1914 in the Russian army. Participated in the First World War. He fought in a dragoon regiment, was a non-commissioned officer, was wounded twice in battle, was awarded the St. George Cross and 2 medals. Red Guard (1917). During the Civil War, he was again wounded 2 times, fought on the Eastern Front against the troops of Admiral Kolchak and in Transbaikalia against Baron Ungern; commanded a squadron, division, cavalry regiment; awarded 2 Orders of the Red Banner. In 1929 he fought against the Chinese at Jalainor (conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway). In 1937-1940 was imprisoned as a victim of slander.
During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he commanded a mechanized corps, army, and fronts (Pseudonyms: Kostin, Dontsov, Rumyantsev). He distinguished himself in the Battle of Smolensk (1941). Hero of the Battle of Moscow (September 30, 1941—January 8, 1942). He was seriously wounded near Sukhinichi. During the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943), Rokossovsky’s Don Front, together with other fronts, was surrounded by 22 enemy divisions with a total number of 330 thousand people (Operation Uranus). At the beginning of 1943, the Don Front eliminated the encircled group of Germans (Operation “Ring”). Field Marshal F. Paulus was captured (3 days of mourning were declared in Germany). In the Battle of Kursk (1943), Rokossovsky's Central Front defeated the German troops of General Model (Operation Kutuzov) near Orel, in honor of which Moscow gave its first fireworks (08/05/1943). In the grandiose Belorussian operation (1944), Rokossovsky’s 1st Belorussian Front defeated Field Marshal von Busch’s Army Group Center and, together with the troops of General I. D. Chernyakhovsky, surrounded up to 30 drag divisions in the “Minsk Cauldron” (Operation Bagration). . On June 29, 1944, Rokossovsky was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. The highest military orders “Virtuti Militari” and the “Grunwald” cross, 1st class, were awarded to the marshal for the liberation of Poland.
At the final stage of the war, Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front participated in the East Prussian, Pomeranian and Berlin operations. Moscow saluted the troops of commander Rokossovsky 63 times. On June 24, 1945, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, holder of the Order of Victory, Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky commanded the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow. In 1949-1956, K.K. Rokossovsky was the Minister of National Defense of the Polish People's Republic. He was awarded the title of Marshal of Poland (1949). Returning to the Soviet Union, he became the chief inspector of the USSR Ministry of Defense.
Wrote a memoir, A Soldier's Duty.
Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky had:
- 2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944, 06/1/1945),
- 7 Orders of Lenin,
- Order of Victory (30.03.1945),
- order of the October Revolution,
- 6 Orders of the Red Banner,
- Order of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- a total of 17 orders and 11 medals;
- honorary weapon - saber with the golden coat of arms of the USSR (1968),
- 13 foreign awards (including 9 foreign orders)
Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich
11(23).11.1898—31.03.1967 Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of Defense of the USSR
Born in Odessa, he grew up without a father. In 1914, he volunteered for the front of the 1st World War, where he was seriously wounded and awarded the St. George Cross, 4th degree (1915). In February 1916 he was sent to France as part of the Russian expeditionary force. There he was again wounded and received the French Croix de Guerre. Returning to his homeland, he voluntarily joined the Red Army (1919) and fought against the whites in Siberia. In 1930 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze. In 1937-1938, he volunteered to take part in battles in Spain (under the pseudonym “Malino”) on the side of the republican government, for which he received the Order of the Red Banner.
In the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he commanded a corps, an army, and a front (pseudonyms: Yakovlev, Rodionov, Morozov). He distinguished himself in the Battle of Stalingrad. Malinovsky’s army, in cooperation with other armies, stopped and then defeated Army Group Don of Field Marshal E. von Manstein, which was trying to relieve Paulus’s group encircled at Stalingrad. The troops of General Malinovsky liberated Rostov and Donbass (1943), participated in the cleansing of Right Bank Ukraine from the enemy; Having defeated the troops of E. von Kleist, they took Odessa on April 10, 1944; together with the troops of General Tolbukhin, they defeated the southern wing of the enemy front, encircling 22 German divisions and the 3rd Romanian Army in the Iasi-Kishinev operation (08.20-29.1944). During the fighting, Malinovsky was slightly wounded; On September 10, 1944, he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. The troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky, liberated Romania, Hungary, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. On August 13, 1944, they entered Bucharest, took Budapest by storm (02/13/1945), and liberated Prague (05/9/1945). The marshal was awarded the Order of Victory.
From July 1945, Malinovsky commanded the Transbaikal Front (pseudonym Zakharov), which dealt the main blow to the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria (08/1945). Front troops reached Port Arthur. The marshal received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Moscow saluted the troops of commander Malinovsky 49 times.
On October 15, 1957, Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky was appointed Minister of Defense of the USSR. He remained in this position until the end of his life.
The Marshal is the author of the books “Soldiers of Russia”, “The Angry Whirlwinds of Spain”; under his leadership, “Iasi-Chisinau Cannes”, “Budapest - Vienna - Prague”, “Final” and other works were written.
Marshal R. Ya. Malinovsky had:
- 2 Gold Stars of the Hero of the Soviet Union (09/08/1945, 11/22/1958),
- 5 Orders of Lenin,
- 3 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- a total of 12 orders and 9 medals;
- as well as 24 foreign awards (including 15 orders of foreign states). In 1964 he was awarded the title of People's Hero of Yugoslavia.
Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich
4(16).6.1894—17.10.1949 Marshal of the Soviet Union
Born in the village of Androniki near Yaroslavl in a peasant family. He worked as an accountant in Petrograd. In 1914 he was a private motorcyclist. Having become an officer, he took part in battles with Austro-German troops and was awarded the Anna and Stanislav crosses.
In the Red Army since 1918; fought on the fronts of the Civil War against the troops of General N.N. Yudenich, Poles and Finns. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In the post-war period, Tolbukhin worked in staff positions. In 1934 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze. In 1940 he became a general.
During the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) he was the chief of staff of the front, commanded the army and the front. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Stalingrad, commanding the 57th Army. In the spring of 1943, Tolbukhin became commander of the Southern Front, and from October - the 4th Ukrainian Front, from May 1944 until the end of the war - the 3rd Ukrainian Front. General Tolbukhin's troops defeated the enemy at Miussa and Molochnaya and liberated Taganrog and Donbass. In the spring of 1944, they invaded Crimea and took Sevastopol by storm on May 9. In August 1944, together with the troops of R. Ya. Malinovsky, they defeated the army group “Southern Ukraine” of Mr. Frizner in the Iasi-Kishinev operation. On September 12, 1944, F.I. Tolbukhin was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Tolbukhin's troops liberated Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria. Moscow saluted Tolbukhin's troops 34 times. At the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945, the marshal led the column of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
The marshal's health, undermined by the wars, began to fail, and in 1949 F.I. Tolbukhin died at the age of 56. Three days of mourning were declared in Bulgaria; the city of Dobrich was renamed the city of Tolbukhin.
In 1965, Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
People's Hero of Yugoslavia (1944) and "Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria" (1979).
Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin had:
- 2 Orders of Lenin,
- Order of Victory (04/26/1945),
- 3 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- Order of the Red Star,
- a total of 10 orders and 9 medals;
- as well as 10 foreign awards (including 5 foreign orders).
Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich
26.05 (7.06).1897—30.12.1968 Marshal of the Soviet Union
Born in the village of Nazaryevo near Zaraysk, Moscow region, into a peasant family. Before serving in the army, he worked as a mechanic. In the Red Army since 1918. During the Civil War he fought on the Eastern and Southern fronts. He took part in battles in the ranks of the 1st Cavalry against Pilsudski's Poles. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In 1921 he graduated from the Military Academy of the Red Army. In 1936-1937, under the pseudonym "Petrovich", he fought in Spain (awarded the Orders of Lenin and the Red Banner). During the Soviet-Finnish War (December 1939 - March 1940) he commanded the army that broke through the Manerheim Line and took Vyborg, for which he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (1940).
During the Great Patriotic War, he commanded troops in the northern directions (pseudonyms: Afanasyev, Kirillov); was a representative of the Headquarters on the North-Western Front. He commanded the army, the front. In 1941, Meretskov inflicted the first serious defeat of the war on the troops of Field Marshal Leeb near Tikhvin. On January 18, 1943, the troops of generals Govorov and Meretskov, delivering a counter strike near Shlisselburg (Operation Iskra), broke the blockade of Leningrad. On January 20, Novgorod was taken. In February 1944 he became commander of the Karelian Front. In June 1944, Meretskov and Govorov defeated Marshal K. Mannerheim in Karelia. In October 1944, Meretskov's troops defeated the enemy in the Arctic near Pechenga (Petsamo). On October 26, 1944, K. A. Meretskov received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union, and from the Norwegian King Haakon VII the Grand Cross of St. Olaf.
In the spring of 1945, the “cunning Yaroslavets” (as Stalin called him) under the name of “General Maksimov” was sent to the Far East. In August - September 1945, his troops took part in the defeat of the Kwantung Army, breaking into Manchuria from Primorye and liberating areas of China and Korea.
Moscow saluted the troops of commander Meretskov 10 times.
Marshal K. A. Meretskov had:
- Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union (03/21/1940), 7 Orders of Lenin,
- Order of Victory (8.09.1945),
- order of the October Revolution,
- 4 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 2 Orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
- Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
- 10 medals;
- an honorary weapon - a saber with the Golden Coat of Arms of the USSR, as well as 4 highest foreign orders and 3 medals.
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