Date of Birth: |
|
Place of Birth: |
Novaya Golchikha village, Kineshma district, Kostroma province, Russian Empire |
Date of death: |
|
A place of death: |
Moscow, RSFSR, USSR |
Accessory: |
|
Years of service: |
|
Marshal Soviet Union Chief of the General Staff, Minister of Defense of the USSR |
|
Commanded: |
Command of fronts, military districts |
Battles / wars: |
First World War, Russian Civil War, World War II |
|
Foreign awards: |
|
Childhood and youth
World and Civil War
period between the wars
The Great Patriotic War
Post-war period of life
Military ranks
The hero of the USSR
Honorary Weapon
Foreign awards
(September 16 (30), 1895 - December 5, 1977) - an outstanding Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1943), chief of the General Staff, member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. During the years of the Great Patriotic War A. M. Vasilevsky as Chief of the General Staff (1942-1945) took an active part in the development and implementation of almost all major operations on the Soviet-German front. From February 1945 he commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front, led the assault on Königsberg. In 1945, the commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops on Far East in the war with Japan. One of the greatest commanders of World War II.
In 1949-1953 Minister of the Armed Forces and Minister of War of the USSR. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945), holder of two Orders of Victory (1944, 1945).
He was born, according to the register of births (old style), on September 16, 1895. A. M. Vasilevsky himself believed that he was born on September 17, on the same day with his mother on the Christian holiday of Faith, Hope, Love, which, according to the new style, is celebrated on 30 September (this date of birth is “enshrined” in Vasilevsky’s memoirs “The Work of All Life”, as well as in the dates of awards preceding the birthday with commemorative post-war awards). Alexander Vasilevsky was born in the village of Novaya Golchikha, Kineshma district (now part of the city of Vichuga Ivanovo region) in the family of the church regent and psalmist (psalmist, the lowest rank of church ministers) of the St. Nicholas Church of the same faith, Mikhail Alexandrovich Vasilevsky (1866-1953). Mother - Nadezhda Ivanovna Vasilevskaya (09/30/1872 - 08/07/1939), nee Sokolova, daughter of a psalmist in the village of Uglets, Kineshma district. Both mother and father were "Orthodox according to the same faith" (as recorded in the metric book of St. Nicholas Church in the village of Novaya Golchikha). Alexander was the fourth oldest of eight brothers and sisters.
In 1897, he moved with his family to the village of Novopokrovskoye, where Vasilevsky's father began to serve as a priest in the newly built (under the patronage of the Novogolchikhinsk manufacturer D.F. Morokin) stone Ascension Edinoverie church. Later, Alexander Vasilevsky began his studies at the parochial school at this church. In 1909 he graduated from the Kineshma Theological School and entered the Kostroma Theological Seminary, a diploma from which allowed him to continue his education in the secular educational institution. As a result of participation in the same year in the all-Russian strike of seminarians, which was a protest against the ban on entering universities and institutes, Vasilevsky was expelled from Kostroma by the authorities and returned to the seminary only a few months later, after partially satisfying the demands of the seminarians.
Alexander dreamed of becoming an agronomist or surveyor, but the outbreak of the First World War changed his plans. Before the last class of the seminary, Vasilevsky took external exams with several classmates, and in February he began training at the Alekseevsky Military School. In May 1915 he completed an accelerated course of study (4 months) and was sent to the front with the rank of ensign. From June to September, he visited a number of spare parts and finally ended up on the South-Western Front, where he assumed the position of half-company commander of a company of the 409th Novokhopyorsky regiment of the 103rd infantry division of the 9th army. In the spring of 1916 he was appointed commander of a company, after some time recognized as one of the best in the regiment. In this position, he participated in May 1916 in the famous Brusilovsky breakthrough. As a result of heavy losses among the officers, he turned out to be a battalion commander of the same 409th regiment. Received the rank of staff captain. The news of the October Revolution caught Vasilevsky near Ajud-Nou, in Romania, where he decides to leave military service and in November 1917 goes on vacation.
While at home, at the end of December 1917, Vasilevsky received the news that the soldiers of the 409th regiment had elected him commander in accordance with the principle of electing commanders that was in force at that time. At that time, the 409th regiment was part of the Romanian Front under the command of General Shcherbachev, who, in turn, was an ally of the Central Rada, which proclaimed the independence of Ukraine from the Soviets. The Kineshma military department advised Vasilevsky not to go to the regiment. Following the advice, “he remained dependent on his parents until June 1918, doing agriculture". From June to August 1918 he worked as a centenary instructor of universal education at the Ugletsky volost of the Kineshma district of the Kostroma province.
From September 1918 he worked as a teacher in primary schools the villages of Verkhovye and Podyakovlevo in the Golunsky volost of the Novosilsky district of the Tula province.
In April 1919, he was drafted into the Red Army and sent to the 4th reserve battalion, to the post of platoon instructor (assistant platoon commander). A month later, he was sent as a commander of a detachment of 100 people to the Stupino volost of the Efremov district of the Tula province to assist in the implementation of food requisitions and the fight against gangs.
In the summer of 1919, the battalion was transferred to Tula to form the Tula Rifle Division in anticipation of the approach of the Southern Front and the troops of General Denikin. Vasilevsky is appointed first as a company commander, then as a commander of a newly formed battalion. In early October, he takes command of the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Tula Infantry Division, which occupies the sector of the fortified area southwest of Tula. The regiment did not have a chance to participate in the hostilities against Denikin, since the Southern Front stopped near Orel and Kromy at the end of October.
In December 1919, the Tula division was intended to be sent to the Western Front to fight the invaders. Vasilevsky, at his own request, was transferred to the post of assistant regiment commander. At the front, as a result of reorganization, Vasilevsky was appointed assistant commander of the 96th regiment of the 32nd brigade of the 11th division. As part of the 15th Army, Vasilevsky fights in the war with Poland.
At the end of July, Vasilevsky was transferred to the 427th regiment of the 48th (former Tula) division, where he had previously served. Until mid-August, it is in Vilna, where the division carries out garrison service, then leads fighting against the Poles in the area of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Here Vasilevsky has a conflict with brigade commander O. I. Kalnin. Kalnin orders to take command of the 427th regiment, which retreated in disarray. Exact location no one knows the regiment, and the deadlines set by Kalnin seem insufficient to Vasilevsky. Vasilevsky reports that he cannot fulfill the order. Kalnin first sends Vasilevsky to the tribunal, then returns him halfway through and removes him from the post of assistant regiment commander to the post of platoon commander. Subsequently, as a result of the investigation, the head of the 48th division cancels the order of the brigade commander, and Vasilevsky is temporarily appointed commander of a separate battalion in the division.
After the war, Vasilevsky took part in the fight against Bulak-Balakhovich's detachment on the territory of Belarus, until August 1921 he fought bandits in the Smolensk province. In the next 10 years, he commanded all three regiments of the 48th Tver Rifle Division, headed the divisional school of junior commanders. In 1927 he graduated from the shooting and tactical courses for the improvement of the command staff of the Red Army. III Comintern "Shot". In June 1928, the 143rd regiment was specially highlighted by the inspector group during the exercises. In the fall of 1930, the 144th regiment, which was considered the least trained in the division before Vasilevsky took command, took first place and received an excellent mark in district maneuvers.
Probably, Vasilevsky's successes led to his transfer to staff work, as V.K. Triandafillov informs him immediately after the maneuvers. In order not to postpone once again joining the party due to a change in the place of service, Vasilevsky submits an application to the party bureau of the regiment. The application was granted, and Vasilevsky was accepted as a candidate member of the party. In connection with the purge of the party, which took place in 1933-1936, the stay in the candidates was somewhat delayed, and Vasilevsky was accepted into the party only in 1938, already while serving in the General Staff.
Vasilevsky, in his 1938 autobiography, stated that "personal and written contact with parents has been lost since 1924." Relations were restored in 1940 at Stalin's suggestion.
Since the spring of 1931, Vasilevsky worked in the Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army, edited the Combat Training Bulletin issued by the Directorate, and assisted the editors of the Military Bulletin magazine. Participated in the creation of the "Instructions for the conduct of deep combined arms combat", "Instructions for the interaction of infantry, artillery, tanks and aviation in modern combined arms combat", as well as the "Manual for the service of military headquarters".
In 1934-1936 he was the head of the combat training department of the Volga Military District. In 1936, after the introduction of personal military ranks in the Red Army, he was awarded the rank of "colonel". In 1937 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff and unexpectedly was appointed head of the academy's logistics department. In October 1937, a new appointment followed - head of the department for operational training of command personnel in the General Staff. Since 1939, he has concurrently held the position of Deputy Chief of the Operational Directorate of the General Staff. Participated in this position in the development of the initial version of the plan for the war with Finland, later rejected by Stalin. With the beginning of the Winter War, he served as First Deputy Chief of the General Staff Ivan Smorodinov, sent to the front. Participated as one of the representatives of the Soviet Union in the negotiations and signing of a peace treaty with Finland, took part in the demarcation of the new Soviet-Finnish border.
In the spring of 1940, as a result of reshuffles in the apparatus of the People's Commissariat of Defense and the General Staff, he was appointed first deputy chief of the Operational Directorate with the title of division commander. From April 1940 he took part in the development of a plan for the war with Germany.
On November 9, as part of the Soviet delegation led by Vyacheslav Molotov, he traveled to Berlin for negotiations with Germany.
Member of the Great Patriotic War from the first day?. On August 1, 1941, Major General Vasilevsky was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff - Head of the Operations Directorate. During the battle for Moscow from October 5 to October 10, he was a member of a group of GKO representatives who ensured the speedy dispatch of retreating and encircled troops to the Mozhaisk defensive line.
Vasilevsky played one of the key roles in organizing the defense of Moscow and the subsequent counteroffensive. In the most critical days near Moscow, from October 16 until the end of November 1941, when the General Staff was evacuated, he led the task force in Moscow (the first echelon of the General Staff) to serve the Headquarters. The main responsibilities of the task force, consisting of 10 people, included: “comprehensively know and correctly assess the events at the front; constantly and accurately, but without excessive pettiness, inform the Headquarters about them; in connection with changes in the front-line situation, timely and correctly develop and report to the Supreme High Command their proposals; in accordance with the operational-strategic decisions made by the Headquarters, quickly and accurately develop plans and directives; conduct strict and continuous control over the implementation of all decisions of the Headquarters, as well as over the combat readiness and combat capability of the troops, the formation and training of reserves, and the material and combat support of the troops ". On October 28, 1941, the activities of the task force were highly appreciated by Stalin - four were awarded another title: Vasilevsky - the rank of lieutenant general, and three others - the rank of major general. From November 29 to December 10, 1941, due to Shaposhnikov's illness, Vasilevsky acted as Chief of the General Staff. The whole burden of preparing a counteroffensive near Moscow fell on the shoulders of A. Vasilevsky. The counteroffensive began with the troops of the Kalinin Front on December 5, 1941. Since the “Stavka was very concerned about ensuring the exact execution of the order” on the counteroffensive from Konev, Vasilevsky arrived at the headquarters of the Kalinin Front on the night of December 5 in order to “personally convey to the front commander the directive to move to counteroffensive and explain to him all the demands on it.
From mid-April to May 8, 1942, as a representative of the Headquarters, he was on the North-Western Front, where he assisted in an attempt to eliminate the Demyansk bridgehead. Since April 24, due to the illness of B. M. Shaposhnikov, he acted as Chief of the General Staff, on April 26 Vasilevsky was awarded the rank of Colonel General. On May 9, in connection with the breakthrough of the Crimean Front by the Germans, he was recalled by the Headquarters to Moscow. After the 2nd shock army of General Vlasov was encircled near Leningrad in June 1942, he was sent, together with the commander of the Volkhov Front, Meretskov, to Malaya Vishera to organize the withdrawal of troops from the encirclement.
On June 26, 1942, he was appointed chief of the General Staff, and since October he was simultaneously deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR. From July 23 to August 26 - the representative of the Stavka on the Stalingrad front, directed the joint actions of the fronts during the defensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad. He made a great contribution to the development of Soviet military art, planned and prepared a counteroffensive near Stalingrad. A. M. Vasilevsky Headquarters was entrusted with the coordination of the counteroffensive (Zhukov was sent to the Western Front). As a result of the successful completion of the operation, Vasilevsky carried out the liquidation of the enemy grouping in the Stalingrad cauldron until mid-December, which he did not complete, as he was transferred to the southwest to assist in repelling the Manstein deblocking group operating in the Kotelnikovsky direction. Since January 2, on the Voronezh, then on the Bryansk front, he coordinates the offensive of the Soviet troops on the Upper Don.
On February 16, A.M. Vasilevsky was awarded the military rank of "Marshal of the Soviet Union", which was extremely unusual, since only 29 days ago he was awarded the rank of army general.
On behalf of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts in the Battle of Kursk. He led the planning and conduct of operations to liberate the Donbass, the operation to liberate the right-bank Ukraine and Crimea. On April 10, on the day of the liberation of Odessa, he was awarded the Order of Victory. This order was the second in a row since its establishment (the first one was with Zhukov). After the capture of Sevastopol, Vasilevsky decided to inspect the liberated city as soon as possible. As a result, his car hit a mine while crossing a German trench. For Vasilevsky, the incident cost a bruise to the head and a face cut off by fragments of a windshield. His driver's leg was injured by the explosion. After that, Vasilevsky for some time, at the insistence of doctors, observed bed rest.
During Belarusian operation Vasilevsky worked on the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts, coordinating their actions. On July 10, the 2nd Baltic Front was added to them. Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of these and other fronts during the liberation of the Baltic states.
From July 29, he carried out not only coordination, but also direct leadership of the offensive in the Baltic states. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal was awarded to Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky on July 29, 1944 for exemplary performance of the tasks of the Supreme High Command.
The planning and leadership of the beginning of the East Prussian operation was carried out personally by Stalin, Vasilevsky at that time was busy in the Baltic states. However, in connection with the departure of Stalin, as well as Deputy Chief of the General Staff A. I. Antonov, to the Yalta Conference, Vasilevsky returned to his duties as Chief of the General Staff and Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, leading the East Prussian operation. On the night of February 18, during a conversation with Stalin, who returned from Yalta, in response to Stalin's proposal to go to East Prussia to help the front commanders, Vasilevsky asked to be relieved of his post as Chief of the General Staff due to the fact that he spends most of his time at the front . And on the afternoon of February 18, news came of the death of the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Chernyakhovsky. In this regard, Stalin quickly decided to appoint Vasilevsky as commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, and in addition, to introduce Vasilevsky to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. As front commander, Vasilevsky led the assault on Königsberg, an operation that became a textbook.
After the war, the commandant of Königsberg, General Lyash, in the book “So Königsberg Fell” accused Vasilevsky of failing to comply with the guarantees given to him during the surrender of the fortress.
Back in the summer of 1944, at the end of the Belarusian operation, Stalin informed Vasilevsky about plans to appoint him commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East after the end of the war with Germany. Vasilevsky was involved in the development of a plan for the war with Japan on April 27, 1945, at the end of the East Prussian operation, although rough outlines of the plan were made in the fall of 1944. Under his leadership, by June 27, a plan for the Manchurian strategic offensive operation, which was approved by the Headquarters and the State Defense Committee. On July 5, 1945, disguised as a colonel general, with documents in the name of Vasilyev, Vasilevsky arrived in Chita. On July 30, by directive of the GKO, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East.
During the preparation of the offensive, Vasilevsky visited the starting positions of the troops, got acquainted with the troops of the Trans-Baikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts, and discussed the situation with the commanders of the armies and corps. At the same time, the deadlines for completing the main tasks were specified and reduced, in particular, the exit to the Machzhurskaya plain. At dawn on August 9, 1945, with the transition to the offensive, he led the actions of the Soviet troops. It took only 24 days for the Soviet and Mongolian troops under the command of A. M. Vasilevsky to defeat the millionth Kwantung Army of Japan in Manchuria.
The second medal "Gold Star" Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was awarded on September 8, 1945 for the skillful leadership of Soviet troops in the Far East during the war with Japan.
After the end of the war, from March 22, 1946 to November 1948, he was Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces and Deputy Minister of the USSR Armed Forces. Since 1948 - First Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces. From March 24, 1949 to February 26, 1950 - Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR, then - Minister of War of the USSR (until March 16, 1953).
After Stalin's death, the military career of A. M. Vasilevsky changed dramatically. For three years (from March 16, 1953 to March 15, 1956) he was the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, but on March 15, 1956 he was relieved of his post at his personal request, but after 5 months (August 14, 1956) again appointed Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR for military science. In December 1957, he was "dismissed due to illness with the right to wear a military uniform", and in January 1959 he was again returned to the cadres. Armed Forces and was appointed Inspector General of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense (until December 5, 1977).
At the XIX and XX congresses he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1952 - 1961). Elected deputy Supreme Council USSR 2-4 convocations (1946 - 1958).
Died December 5, 1977. The urn with the ashes of Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was walled up in the Kremlin wall on Red Square in Moscow.
In total, he was awarded 31 foreign state awards.
N. S. Khrushchev, in his memoirs relating to the spring of 1942, characterized Vasilevsky as a weak-willed military leader, completely under the control of Stalin. Khrushchev dictated these memoirs unofficially, after his resignation. In general, in the Soviet Union, it was customary to consider Vasilevsky as a brilliant military leader who made a major contribution to the victory, although after the war, in a number of memoirs, the commanders of the fronts and armies expressed restrained dissatisfaction with the activities of the Stavka representatives.
In literature about the Great Patriotic War that is not bound by the official Soviet canon, another extreme is also presented: for example, Viktor Suvorov (Rezun) in his book “The Shadow of Victory” directly connects the Stalingrad victory and Vasilevsky, pointing to the plan of operation on which his name is, and a sign of his talent, including the fact that Stalin left it with him in Moscow after the war. The decisive factor in the victory over Nazi Germany he considers the well-adjusted work of the General Staff under his leadership. From Suvorov's point of view, in the post-war years, the contribution of the General Staff was systematically downplayed by Zhukov and Soviet propaganda, while the role of the Communist Party, on the contrary, was exaggerated.
Another post-Soviet view of the personality and role of Vasilevsky in the war is the book of the publicist P. Ya. initial period war, the solidarity of his opinion with Shaposhnikov, the inability to defend his opinion in a dispute with Stalin. This point of view is to some extent confirmed by the memoirs of the marshal himself, who noted Stalin's tendency at the initial stage of the war to make decisions individually and the great role of Shaposhnikov in shaping Vasilevsky's views on the conduct of the war. However, it is known that the tactful Vasilevsky already during the Stalingrad operation stubbornly defended his point of view in a dispute with Stalin, sometimes in a raised voice. Mezhiritsky draws attention to the brilliant analytical abilities of Vasilevsky, notes his co-authorship in all operations of the war, and suggests that the authorship of the Stalingrad operation belongs mainly to him. Mezhiritsky puts forward the version that Vasilevsky and Zhukov conspired to underestimate the number of people surrounded German troops to get permission for a risky operation from Stalin.
Undoubtedly, B. M. Shaposhnikov had the greatest influence on the formation of the skills of staff work and operational art of Vasilevsky, under whose supervision Alexander Mikhailovich began work in a staff position. Prior to that, Shaposhnikov was the commander of the Moscow Military District, where Vasilevsky served as a regiment commander. In addition, joint meetings with the Supreme Commander-in-Chief allowed Vasilevsky to eventually enter the circle of Stalin's confidants, which was difficult and took a long time to get along with people.
In addition to the formation of his own style of working with a subordinate during the entire previous service and the skills of staff service received from B. M. Shaposhnikov, there was another stage in the formation of Vasilevsky as a military leader - studying in the first set of the General Staff Academy, where the best experts in military affairs of that time.
Vasilevsky's first meetings with Stalin took place during the preparation of the Winter War plan. In addition to working meetings, there was one informal one: a dinner in the Kremlin, where Stalin was keenly interested in the fate of Vasilevsky's parents, and when he learned that the relationship was broken, he was very surprised and offered to restore them immediately. Vasilevsky claimed that from February 1940 to August 1941 he had no contact with Stalin and constant meetings resumed only with the appointment to the post of chief of the operational department of the General Staff, which happened not without the participation of Shaposhnikov, who was at that time the chief of the General Staff and enjoyed great respect from Stalin. Subsequently, Stalin often spoke of Vasilevsky: “Come on, let's listen to what the Shaposhnikov school will tell us!”
Even when Vasilevsky was chief of the General Staff, Stalin showed sensitivity to personal problems, tried to prevent overwork, personally setting Vasilevsky rest hours and checking performance. However, this did not stop Stalin from chastising Vasilevsky for service blunders. Stalin's harsh telegrams are known about small delays in sending reports from the fronts, where Vasilevsky traveled as a representative of the Headquarters. While in Moscow, A. M. Vasilevsky daily reported to Stalin on the situation at the fronts, and when leaving for the front, he constantly maintained telephone communications. By his own admission, the marshal did not have a day when he would not talk to Stalin.
In his memoirs, Vasilevsky recalls the surprise of Stalin, who, at a reception on December 4, 1941, saw only one order and one medal on the dress uniform of a lieutenant general. When the first successes at the front began to appear in the Soviet Union, Vasilevsky became one of the most awarded military leaders, as evidenced by the numerous orders, medals and titles awarded to him. For example, the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was awarded to him just 29 days after the rank of army general (which he received first since the beginning of the war).
A. M. Vasilevsky several times during the First World War and the Civil War refused higher positions, considering himself unprepared. He also considered himself insufficiently prepared for the post of Chief of the General Staff. In his memoirs, Vasilevsky does not mention that he was twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He was the owner of a soft (for a military leader during the Great Patriotic War), fair style of communication with subordinates, which he began to develop during the First World War, studying the works of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Milyutin, Skobelev and, in particular, Dragomirov.
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. The 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). Head-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. Since 1940, he served in the General Staff, where he was caught by the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). In June 1942, he became 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, AM Vasilevsky spent 22 directly at the front (pseudonyms: Mikhailov, Alexandrov, Vladimirov). He was wounded and shell-shocked. In a year and a half of the war, 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 Battle of Stalingrad(Operations "Uranus", "Small Saturn"), near Kursk (Operation "Commander Rumyantsev"), during the liberation of Donbass (Operation "Don"), in the Crimea and during the capture of Sevastopol, in 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 in the famous "star" assault on Koenigsberg.
On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet commander A. M. Vasilevsky smashed Hitler's field marshals and generals F. von Bock, G. Guderian, F. Paulus, E. Manstein, E. Kleist, Eneke, E. von Busch, V. von Model, F. Scherner, von Weichs and others.
In June 1945, the marshal was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Forces in the Far East (pseudonym Vasiliev). For the quick defeat of the Kwantung Army of the Japanese, 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.
The urn with the ashes of A. M. Vasilevsky was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall next to the ashes of G. K. Zhukov. A bronze bust of the marshal is installed in Kineshma.
Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky had:
V.A. Egorshin, Field Marshals and Marshals. M., 2000
Born on September 16 (September 30), 1895 in the village. Novaya Golchikha, Kineshma district, Ivanovo region, in the family of a priest, Russian. In February 1915, after graduating from the Kostroma Theological Seminary, he entered the Alekseevsky Military School (Moscow) and completed it in 4 months (in June 1915). In 1926 he graduated from the "Shot" courses, in 1937 - the 1st course of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army, and by Order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR of December 11, 1938 "he was given all the rights of a graduate of the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army."
He began military service in the tsarist army in June 1915. junior officer company in the reserve battalion, and from September 1915 to December 1917 - company commander and acting battalion commander in the "409 Novokhopersky regiment of the 103rd infantry division of the 9th, 4th and 8th armies on the Southwestern and Romanian front."
In the Red Army from May 1919 to November 1919 - assistant platoon commander, company commander, for two months - battalion commander: from January 1920. to April 1923 - assistant commander of the regiment; until September - acting commander of the regiment, until December 1924 - head of the divisional school and until May 1931 - commander of the rifle regiment.
In his characterization in 1935, it was noted that he "... has a fairly strong character, shows his initiative ...".
In October 1937, he was appointed head of a department in the General Staff (until May 1940). His evaluation emphasized that he was “a firm, energetic and resolute commander. Able to organize work and transfer his knowledge and experience to subordinates. Hardworking and persistent."
From May 21, 1940 to August 1, 1941 - Deputy Chief of the Operational Directorate of the General Staff.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, A.M. Vasilevsky - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army - Head of the Operational Directorate (08/01/1941–01/25/1942): First Deputy Chief of the General Staff - Head of the Operational Directorate; First Deputy Chief of the General Staff (April 25, 1942–June 26, 1942).
From June 26, 1942 - Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, and from October 15, 1942 - at the same time Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. From February 20 to April 25, 1945, he was commander of the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, and then, until June 1945, again deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR.
In June-October 1945, A. M. Vasilevsky was the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East.
After the end of the war, from March 22, 1946 to March 6, 1947, he was Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces.
From March 24, 1949 to February 26, 1950 - Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR and Minister of War of the USSR (until March 16, 1953).
In the future, the military career of A. M. Vasilevsky often changed dramatically. For three years (from 03/16/1953 to 03/15/1956) he was the first deputy minister of defense of the USSR, but on March 15, 1956 he was relieved of his post at his personal request, but after 5 months (08/14/1956) again appointed Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR for military science.
In December 1957, he was "dismissed due to illness with the right to wear a military uniform", and in January 1959 he was again returned to the cadres of the Armed Forces and appointed Inspector General of the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense (until December 5, 1977).
A. M. Vasilevsky was twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (07/29/1944 and 09/08/1945). He was awarded 8 Orders of Lenin (05/21/1942, 07/29/1944, 02/21/1945, 09/29/1945, 09/29/1955, 09/29/1965, 09/29/1970, 09/29/1970). 1975); Order of the October Revolution (02/22/1968), Honorary weapon with a golden image of the State Emblem of the USSR (02/22/1968); 2 Orders of the Red Banner (November 3, 1944, June 20, 1949): Order of Suvorov, I degree (January 28, 1943); Orders of the Red Star (1939), "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" III degree (04/30/1975). He was twice awarded the Order of Victory (04/10/1944, 09/06/1945), and was also awarded 13 medals of the USSR and 28 orders and medals of foreign states.
Military ranks; brigade commander - assigned on 08/16/1938, division commander - 04/05/1940, major general - 06/04/1940, lieutenant general - 10/28/1941, colonel general - 05/21/1942, army general - 01/18/1943, Marshal of the Soviet Union - 02/16/1943
Member of the CPSU since 1938, member of the Central Committee of the CPSU (1952-1961), deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1946-1958).
Marshals of the Soviet Union: personal affairs are told. M., 1996
Show comments
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich
18(30).09.1895–5.12.1977
Marshal of the Soviet Union,
Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR
Years of life: 18 (30). 09.1895-5.12.1977.
He was Marshal of the Soviet Union and Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
Born in the village of Novaya Golchikha near Kineshma on the Volga. He was the son of a priest. Graduated from the Kostroma Theological Seminary. In 1915 he graduated from the courses of the Alexander Military School and served at the front with the rank of warrant officer during the First World War (1914-1918). He was a staff captain in the tsarist army. He joined the Red Army during the Civil War of 1918-1920, was a company, battalion and regiment commander. In 1937 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. Starting from 1940, he served in the General Staff, where he was caught by the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). In June 1942, he headed the General Staff, replacing Marshal B. M. Shaposhnikov in this position due to illness. For 34 months as Chief of the General Staff, 22 Vasilevsky spent at the front and had pseudonyms Mikhailov, Alexandrov, Vladimirov. He was seriously wounded and shell-shocked. For 1.5 years of the Great Patriotic War, from the rank of major general, he became Marshal of the Soviet Union (02/19/1943) and, like Zhukov, became the first holder of the Order of Victory. He led the development of many key military operations of the Soviet troops. Vasilevsky coordinated the fronts in the Stalingrad operation, during the battles near Kursk (Operation "Commander Rumyantsev"), during the liberation of Donbass (Operation "Don"), in the Crimea during the liberation of Sevastopol, during the battles on the Right Bank of Ukraine, in Belarus (Operation "Bagration ").
After the death of General I. D. Chernyakhovsky, Vasilevsky commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front during the operation in East Prussia, which ended in the "star" assault on Koenigsberg.
During the Great Patriotic War, Vasilevsky defeated such German field marshals and generals as F. von Bock, G. Guderian, F. Paulus, E. Manstein, E. Kleist, Eneke, E. von Busch, V. von Model, F. Scherner, von Weichs and others.
On April 19, 1945, he was awarded the second Order of Victory. In June 1945 Vasilevsky was appointed Commander-in-Chief Soviet Army in the Far East. For a quick victory over the Kwantung Army, the Japanese, led by General O. Yamada, in Manchuria, Vasilevsky was awarded the second Gold Star. At the end of the war in 1946, he was Chief of the General Staff, and from 1949 to 1953 he served as Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR.
A. M. Vasilevsky was the author of memoirs of the same name “The Work of All Life”. The urn with the ashes of A. M. Vasilevsky was buried in Moscow on Red Square near the Kremlin wall near the ashes of G. K. Zhukov. In Kineshma there is a bust of Marshal made of bronze.
Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky was awarded:
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 nominal weapon - a checker with the golden Emblem of the USSR (1968),
28 foreign awards (including 18 foreign orders).
V.A. Egorshin, Field Marshals and Marshals. M., 2000
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich
Born on September 16 (September 30), 1895 in the village of Novaya Golchikha in the Ivanovo region in the Kineshma district in the family of a clergyman, Russian by nationality. From February 1915, after graduating from the Kostroma Theological Seminary, he began to study at the Alekseevsky Military School in Moscow, and after 4 months, he graduated from it. In 1926 he graduated from the "Shot" course, in 1937 he entered the first year of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army and, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR of December 11, 1938, he was awarded the rights of graduating from the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army.
Vasilevsky began serving in the army under the tsar, in June 1915 he was a junior officer in a company of a reserve battalion, and from September 1915 to December 1917 he was a company commander, as well as acting battalion commander in the 409th Novokhopersk regiment of the 103rd infantry division 9, 4 and 8 armies on the Southwestern and Romanian front.
He served in the Red Army from May to November 1919, after which he became assistant platoon commander, company commander, then, for two months, he became acting battalion commander, from January 1920. until April 1923 he was assistant regiment commander, after which he temporarily served as regiment commander. In December 1924 he was head of the division's school, and until May 1931 he commanded a rifle regiment.
After that, Vasilevsky began to engage in staff work, he took the post of head of the 2nd department of the Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army. In 1935, he was characterized as a man with a rather strong character, who takes the initiative.
In October 1937, Vasilevsky assumed the post of Chief of the General Staff and held it until May 1940. During his certification, it was indicated that he was an energetic and decisive commander. He is able to organize the work, as well as to transfer his knowledge and skills to the commanding staff, who are lower in rank. In the process of work, he shows perseverance and perseverance.
In the period from May 21, 1940 to August 1, 1941, he served as deputy chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Vasilevsky was Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, and from 08/01/1941 to 01/25/1942 he was the head of the Operations Directorate. He also served as First Deputy Chief of the General Staff from 04/25/1942 to 06/26/1942, was the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff.
On June 26, 1942, Vasilevsky took the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, and starting on October 15, 1942, he became Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the Soviet Union. From February 20 to April 25, 1945, he became commander of the army of the 3rd Belorussian Front, after which, until June 1945, he again became deputy people's commissar of defense of the Soviet Union.
From June to December 1945 Vasilevsky was Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Army in the Far East.
At the end of the war, from March 22, 1946 to March 6, 1947, he was chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. From March 24, 1949 to February 26, 1950, Vasilevsky served as Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR, as well as the Minister of War of the USSR.
In subsequent years, Vasilevsky's military career changed quite dramatically. For three years from 03/16/1953 to 03/15/1956 he served as Deputy Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, but on March 15, 1956 he was relieved of his posts at his request, but after 5 months on 08/14/1956 Vasilevsky again took up the post Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union on issues of military science.
At the end of 1957, Vasilevsky was dismissed due to illness with the right to wear military uniforms. And starting from January 1959, he was again admitted to the Armed Forces of the USSR to the post of Inspector General of the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense and he stayed in this position until December 5, 1977.
Beginning in 1938, he was a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU, as well as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
Interestingly, Alexander Vasilevsky - Marshal of the Soviet Union and one of the most significant military leaders of the USSR - in his youth could not imagine that he would make such a dizzying career. His contribution to the long-awaited victory over Nazi Germany was truly enormous: in the most difficult Soviet state for years he headed the General Staff, developing major military operations and coordinating their implementation.
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich, according to the metrics, was born in 1895, September 16 (according to the old style). However, he always believed that he was born a day later, namely on the holiday of Faith, Hope and Love, significant for all Christians, celebrated according to the new style on September 30th. The fact is that on this day his mother was born, whom he loved very much. Maybe that's why he named this date in his memoirs.
Vasilevsky Alexander - a native of the village of Novaya Golchikha (Kineshma district). His father, Mikhail Alexandrovich, served as a psalmist at the St. Nicholas Church of the same faith, and his mother, Nadezhda Ivanovna Sokolova, was the daughter of a clergyman from the neighboring village of Uglets. Alexander grew up in a large family with eight children. He was the fourth child.
In 1897, the family moved to the village of Novopokrovskoye, where Alexander Mikhailovich's father became the priest of the newly built Ascension Church of the same faith. The future marshal received his primary education at a parochial school, in 1909 he successfully graduated from a religious school in Kineshma, and then entered the Kostroma seminary.
Becoming a student, in the same year he took part in the All-Russian strike of students, which opposed the ban on entering institutes and universities. For this protest, he and several of his comrades were expelled from Kostroma by the authorities. He was able to return to studies only after a few months, when some of the requirements of the seminarians were satisfied.
According to Vasilevsky himself, he was not interested in the career of a priest, since he dreamed of working on the land and wanted to become a land surveyor or agronomist. But plans changed dramatically when the First World War began.
The slogans about the defense of the Motherland then captured most of the young people, Vasilevsky Alexander and his comrades were no exception. In order to graduate from the seminary a year earlier, he and several of his classmates passed their final exams as an external student, after which they entered Alekseevskoe military school.
Already in May 1915, after an accelerated course of study that lasted only four months, he received the rank of ensign and was sent to the front. This is how it started military biography Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich, future Marshal of the Soviet Union. At first he served in one of the spare parts, and a few months later he ended up on the South-Western Front, where he became a half-company commander in the Novokhopersky regiment. Per good service Vasilevsky was soon promoted to company commander, which was later recognized as the best in the regiment.
In the spring of 1916, together with his soldiers, he participated in the notorious. Then the Russian army suffered heavy losses not only among personal, but also among officers. So, he was appointed battalion commander with the rank of staff captain. Being under Ajud-Nou (Romania), Alexander Vasilevsky learned about the October Revolution that had taken place in Russia. After some deliberation in November 1917, he decides to leave the service for a while and goes on vacation.
At the end of December of the same year, Vasilevsky received a notification that, on the basis of the principle of electing commanders in force at that time, he was elected by the soldiers of his 409th regiment, which at that time was part of the Romanian Front and was under the command of General Shcherbachev. This man was an ardent supporter of the Central Rada, which advocated the independence of Ukraine. In this regard, the military department of Kineshma advised Vasilevsky not to return to his native regiment. Before being drafted into the Red Army, he, living in his parents' house, was engaged in agriculture, and then for some time worked as a teacher in two elementary schools in the Novosilsky district (Tula province).
In the spring of 1919, Alexander Vasilevsky was sent to the 4th battalion as a platoon instructor, and literally a month later he was appointed commander of a detachment of a hundred people and sent to the Efremov district (Tula province) to combat banditry and to assist in the implementation of food requisitions.
In the summer of the same year, he was transferred to Tula, where a new rifle division was just being formed. By that time, the Southern Front, together with the troops of General Denikin, was rapidly approaching the city. Vasilevsky was appointed commander of the 5th Infantry Regiment. However, he and his soldiers did not have to engage in battle with Denikin, because the Southern Front did not reach Tula, but stopped near Kromy and Orel.
At the end of 1919, the Tula division was sent to the Western Front, where the fight against the invaders was already underway. Here Alexander Vasilevsky becomes an assistant to the regiment commander and, as part of the 15th Army, shoulder to shoulder with his soldiers, bravely fights against the White Poles. In July of the same year, he was transferred back to the regiment where he once served. Some time later, Vasilevsky participates in hostilities against Polish army deployed near Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
At this time, Alexander Mikhailovich first had a conflict with his superiors. The fact is that the brigade commander O. I. Kalnin ordered him to take command of the regiment, which had already randomly retreated to no one knows where. The order had to be executed in a very short time, and, according to Vasilevsky himself, this was simply impossible to do. As a result of the conflict that arose, he almost fell under the tribunal, but everything was resolved successfully, and he was only first demoted, and then the order of the brigade commander was completely canceled.
After finishing civil war Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich, short biography which is presented in this article, took part in the liquidation of the Bulak-Balakhovich detachment, and also fought against banditry on the territory. Over the next ten years, he successfully commanded simultaneously three regiments that were part of the 48th Infantry Division stationed in Tver.
In 1927, he took tactical shooting courses, and a year later one of his regiments distinguished himself in exercises, which was noted by an inspection group specially created for this purpose. At the district maneuvers in 1930, his soldiers also performed well, receiving excellent marks and taking first place among numerous applicants.
It can be assumed that it was these successes that largely determined his early transfer to work at the headquarters. Due to the fact that A. M. Vasilevsky began to occupy higher military positions, his entry into Communist Party became essential. He submitted an application to the Politburo. It was considered in a short time, and Alexander Mikhailovich became a candidate member of the party. However, in connection with the purges of 1933-1936. he will be accepted into the party only a few years later, in 1938, when he will work in the General Staff.
In 1937, Vasilevsky received a new appointment - the head of one of the departments of the General Staff. In 1939, he took another position - deputy head of the Operations Directorate. In this post, he was involved in the development of the first version of military operations against Finland, which was later rejected by Stalin himself. Vasilevsky Alexander was one of the representatives of the USSR who participated in the negotiations, as well as the signing of peace agreements with the Finns. In addition, he was present at the demarcation of the new border between the two countries.
In 1940, as a result of numerous personnel changes in the General Staff and the People's Commissariat of Defense, he became deputy head of the Operational Directorate and received the rank of division commander. In April of the same year, he took part in the development of a plan regarding possible military operations against Germany. On November 9, AM Vasilevsky, as part of a Kremlin delegation headed by him, makes a trip to Berlin for negotiations with the German government.
From the first days of the war, Major General Vasilevsky took an active part in the management and development of military plans for the defense of our Motherland. As you know, Alexander Mikhailovich was one of the key figures involved in organizing the defense of the capital of the Soviet state and the counteroffensive that followed.
In October and November 1941, when the military situation near Moscow was not in our favor and the General Staff was evacuated, Vasilevsky headed the task force that provided full service Rates. Its main duty was to quickly and objectively assess all events taking place at the front, develop strategic directives and plans, maintain strict control over their implementation, prepare and then form reserves, and also provide the troops with everything necessary.
At the beginning of the war, A. M. Vasilevsky happened to replace the ill Chief of the General Staff Shaposhnikov several times and develop various military operations. In June 1942, he was already officially appointed to this position. As a representative of the Headquarters, from July 23 to August 26, he was at the front and coordinated the joint actions of various military formations at the defensive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad.
His contribution to the development and improvement of military art at that time was truly enormous. While Zhukov fought on the Western Front, Vasilevsky successfully completed. After that, he was transferred to the southwest, where Soviet troops repelled the blows of the Manstein group. Unfortunately, in a short article it is impossible to list all the merits of Alexander Mikhailovich during the Second World War, and, as history shows, there were many of them.
His first wife was Serafima Nikolaevna Voronova. In this marriage, in 1924, his son Yuri was born. At that time, the Vasilevsky family lived in Tver. In 1931, Alexander Mikhailovich was transferred to Moscow, where he met Ekaterina Saburova, his future second wife. He never told anyone about their first meeting, since at that time he was still married. After 3 years, he left the family and married Ekaterina, who had already completed stenographers' courses. A year later they had a son, who was named Igor.
I must say that the family has always been a significant support for the Soviet commander, especially during the Great Patriotic War. Needless to say, the military biography of Alexander Vasilevsky and the position of Chief of the General Staff assumed colossal moral and physical stress? In addition, numerous sleepless nights began to affect, since it is known that JV Stalin worked at this particular time of day, which he also demanded from his entourage.
The selfless love of his wife, of course, supported Vasilevsky, but none of those close to the Soviet government could live in peace. The constant stress of not knowing what will happen to him and his family tomorrow greatly depressed the marshal.
One day in 1944 he called his younger son to a conversation from which it became clear that Alexander Mikhailovich wanted to say goodbye. And this was not a surprise, since the lives of everyone who was surrounded by Stalin literally hung in the balance. It is known that in Volynskoye, at the state dacha of the Vasilevsky family, all the servants, including the hostess sister, the cook and even the nanny, were employees of the NKVD.
After the victory over Nazi Germany from March 1946 to November 1948, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky was both Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Minister of the USSR Armed Forces. From 1949 to 1953, he held ministerial positions in the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union.
After the death of I.V. Stalin, the marshal's career moved up and down. In 1953-1956. he served as the first deputy minister of defense, after which he himself asked to be relieved of his post. Less than five months later, Vasilevsky was again returned to his former place of work. At the end of 1957, he was dismissed for health reasons, and then returned for the umpteenth time.
Alexander Vasilevsky died (see photo above) on December 5, 1977. Almost all of his life and work was entirely aimed at serving the Motherland, therefore, according to the tradition that had developed in the Soviet Union, he was buried near the wall of the Moscow Kremlin.
Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky was born in 1895 on September 30 (according to the new style). He was Chief of the General Staff during the Second World War and took an active part in the development and implementation of almost all major military operations. In February 1945 he was appointed commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front and led the Koenigsberg offensive.
The birthplace of the future Soviet military figure was with. New Golchikha. Vasilevsky himself believed that he was born on September 17 (old style) - on the same day as his mother. He was the fourth of eight children. In 1897 the family moved to the village. Novopokrovskoye. Here Vasilevsky's father began his service as a priest in the Ascension Church. After a while, Alexander entered the parish school. In 1909, after graduating from the Kineshma Theological School, he entered the Kostroma Seminary. The diploma allowed him to continue his studies in the secular educational institution. In the same year, Vasilevsky took part in a strike of seminarians who opposed the government's ban on entering institutes and universities. For this he was expelled from Kostroma. However, a few months later he returned to the seminary, after the demands of the rebels were partially satisfied.
The future Marshal Vasilevsky dreamed of becoming a land surveyor or an agronomist. However, the war radically changed his plans. Before the start of his last class at the seminary, he and several of his classmates took their exams externally. In February, he entered the Alekseevsky military school. After an accelerated four-month course, Vasilevsky went to the front as an ensign. Between June and September, he was in several spare parts. As a result, he was transferred to the Southwestern Front, where he served as a half-company commander at the 409th Novokhopersk Regiment. In the spring of 1916 he was awarded the rank of commander. After a while, his company was recognized as the best in the regiment. Vasilevsky took part in this rank in May 1916. Subsequently, he received the post of staff captain. During his stay in Romania, in Ajud Nou, Vasilevsky learns about the beginning of the October Revolution. In 1917, having decided to leave the service, he quits.
At the end of December 1917, while at home, Alexander learns that he was elected commander by the soldiers of the 409th regiment. At that time, the unit belonged to the Romanian Front, commanded by Gen. Shcherbachev. The latter supported the Central Rada, which declared the independence of Ukraine from the Soviets that had recently come to power. The military department advised Alexander not to go to the regiment. Following this advice, he stayed with his parents until June 1918 and was engaged in agriculture. From September 1918, Vasilevsky taught at elementary schools in the villages of Podyakovlevo and Verkhovye in the Tula province. In the spring of the following year, he was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army in the 4th reserve battalion. In May, he was sent to the Stupino volost as commander of a detachment of 100 people. His tasks included the implementation of food requisitioning and the fight against gangs. In the summer of 1919, the battalion was transferred to Tula. Here the 1st Rifle Division is being formed in anticipation of the approach of the troops of Gen. Denikin and the Southern Front. Vasilevsky is appointed commander, first of a company, and then of a battalion. Since the beginning of October, he has been given command of the 5th rifle unit, which is located in the sector of the fortified area on the southwestern side of Tula. However, it was not possible to take part in hostilities, since the Southern Front stopped near Kromy and Orel at the end of October. In December, the division was sent to fight the invaders. At the request of Vasilevsky, he was appointed assistant commander. As part of the 15th Army, he participates in battles with Poland.
From the first day, Vasilevsky, with the rank of major general, participated in In 1941, on August 1, he was appointed head of the Operations Directorate. From October 5 to October 10, during the battle for Moscow, he was a member of a group of GKO representatives who ensured the accelerated dispatch of troops that had left the encirclement and retreated to the Mozhaisk line. When organizing the defense of the capital and the subsequent counteroffensive, it was Marshal Vasilevsky who played one of the main roles. led the task force in Moscow in the midst of the battles - from October 16 to the end of November. He led the first echelon of the General Staff serving the Stavka. The main responsibilities of the 10-member group were:
On February 16, 1943, he received the next rank. The High Command raises Vasilevsky to the marshals. This was rather unusual, since 29 days before that he had received the rank of Marshal Vasilevsky, he coordinated the actions of the Steppe and Voronezh fronts during Battle of Kursk. Under his leadership, the planning and conduct of operations to liberate the Crimea, Right-Bank Ukraine and Donbass took place. On the day of the expulsion of the Germans from Odessa, Marshal Vasilevsky was awarded. Before him, only Zhukov received this award from the moment of its establishment. It was during the operation "Bagration" he coordinated the actions of the 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic fronts. Under his leadership were the Soviet forces during the liberation of the Baltic states. Here, since July 29, he participated in the direct conduct of the offensive.
Her planning and leadership initial stage Stalin did. Marshal Vasilevsky at that moment was in the Baltic. But Stalin and Antonov had to go to. In this regard, Vasilevsky was recalled from the Baltic. During a conversation with Stalin, which took place on the night of February 18, he asked to be relieved of his duties as chief of the General Staff, since he spent most of his time at the front. In the afternoon, news was received of the death of Chernyakhovsky, who commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front. Stalin appoints Vasilevsky as commander. In this position, he supervised
After the death of Stalin, Marshal Vasilevsky was the first deputy minister of defense, but in 1956 he was relieved of his post at his personal request. In mid-August of the same year, he took up the post of Minister for Military Affairs. In December 1957, Marshal Vasilevsky was dismissed due to illness. From 1956 to 1958 he served as the first chairman of the Committee of Veterans of the Great Patriotic War. In subsequent years, he took an active part in the work of similar organizations. The military leader died in 1977, on December 5. Like other marshals of Victory, Vasilevsky was cremated. The urn with his ashes is in the Kremlin wall.
.jpg)
