Aleksandr Vasilevsky
Aleksandr Vasilevsky | |
---|---|
Александр Василевский | |
Minister of War | |
In office 25 February 1950 – 15 March 1953 | |
Premier | Joseph Stalin (1950–1953) Georgy Malenkov (1953) |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Position abolished (Post re-established as Ministry of Defence, with Nikolai Bulganin succeeding) |
Minister of the Armed Forces | |
In office 24 March 1949 – 25 February 1950 | |
Premier | Joseph Stalin |
Preceded by | Nikolai Bulganin |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Novaya Golchikha, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | 30 September 1895
Resting place | Kremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow |
Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union (2) Order of Victory (2) Order of Suvorov, 1st Class Order of Lenin (8) Order of the Red Banner (2) Virtuti Militari |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Russian Empire (1915–1917) Soviet Russia (1917–1922) Soviet Union (1922–1959) |
Years of service | 1915–1959 |
Rank | Marshal of the Soviet Union |
Commands | Chief of the General Staff 3rd Belorussian Front Far East Command |
Battles/wars |
|
Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky (
(August 1945).Vasilevsky began his military career during
At the start of the 1943 Soviet counteroffensive of
Biography
Childhood and early years
Vasilevsky was born on September 30, 1895, in Novaya Golchikha in the
According to Vasilevsky, his family was extremely poor. His father spent most of his time working to earn money, while the children assisted by working in the fields. In 1897, the family moved to Novopokrovskoe, where his father became a priest to the newly built Ascension Church,[5] and where Aleksandr began his education in the church school. In 1909, he entered Kostroma seminary,[6] which required considerable financial sacrifice on the part of his parents.[7] The same year, a ministerial directive preventing former seminarists from starting university studies initiated a nationwide seminarist movement, with classes stopping in most Russian seminaries. Vasilevsky, among others, was expelled from Kostroma, and only returned several months later, after the seminarists' demands had been satisfied.[8]
World War I and Civil war
After completing his studies in the seminary and spending a few years working as a teacher, Vasilevsky intended to become an
From June to September, Vasilevsky was assigned to a series of reserve regiments, and finally arrived at the front in September as a half-company commander (polurotny) in the 409th Novokhopersky regiment, 109th division, 9th Army.[13] In the spring of 1916, Vasilevsky took command of a company, which eventually became one of the most recognized in the regiment.[14] In May 1916, he led his men during the Brusilov offensive, becoming a battalion commander after heavy casualties among officers, and gaining the rank of captain by age 22.[15][16]
In November 1917, just after the Russian Revolution, Vasilevsky decided to end his military career. As he wrote in his memoirs, "There was a time when I led soldiers to battle, thinking I was doing my duty as a Russian patriot. However, I understood that we have been cheated, that people needed peace.... Therefore, my military career had to end. With no remorse, I could go back to my favorite occupation, working in the field."[17] He travelled from Romania, where his unit was deployed in 1917, back to his own village.[citation needed]
In December 1917, while back at home, Vasilevsky learned that the men of the 409th regiment, which had been relocated to Ukraine, had elected him as their commander (at the start of the Russian Revolution, commanders were elected by their own men). However, the local military authorities recommended that he decline the proposal because of the heavy fighting taking place in Ukraine between pro-Soviet forces and the pro-independence Ukrainian government (the Central Rada). He followed this advice and became a drill instructor in his own Kineshma uezd.[18] He retired in September 1918 and became a school teacher in the Tula Oblast.[19]
In April 1919, Vasilevsky was again conscripted into the Red Army and sent to command a company fighting against peasant uprisings and assisting in the emergency Soviet policy of
As deputy regimental commander of the 427th regiment, 32nd brigade, 11th division, Vasilevsky participated at the battle of
The interwar period
After the Treaty of Riga, Vasilevsky fought against remaining White forces and peasant uprisings in Belarus and in the Smolensk Oblast until August 1921.[25] By 1930, he had served as the regimental commander of the 142nd, 143rd, and 144th rifle regiments,[6] where he showed great skill in organizing and training his troops. In 1928, he graduated from the Vystrel regimental commander's course.[6][26] During these years, Vasilevsky established friendships with higher commanders and Party members, including Kliment Voroshilov,[27] Vladimir Triandafillov[28] and Boris Shaposhnikov.[29] Shaposhnikov, in particular, would become Vasilevsky's protector until the former's death in 1945. Vasilevsky's connections and good performance earned him an appointment to the Directorate of Military Training in 1931.[30]
While at the Directorate of Military Training, Vasilevsky supervised the Red Army's training and worked on military manuals and field books. He also met several senior military commanders, such as Mikhail Tukhachevsky and Georgy Zhukov, then the Deputy Cavalry Inspector of the Red Army. Zhukov would later characterize Vasilevsky as "a man who knew his job as he spent a long time commanding a regiment and who earned great respect from everybody."[31] In 1934, Vasilevsky was appointed to be the Senior Military Training Supervisor of the Volga Military District (Privolzhsky voyenny okrug).[6] In 1937, he entered the academy of the General Staff,[32][33] where he studied important aspects of military strategy and other topics under experienced generals, including Mikhail Tukhachevsky.[34]
By mid-1937, Stalin's
As a senior officer, Vasilevsky met frequently with Joseph Stalin. During one of these meetings, Stalin asked Vasilevsky about his family. Since Vasilevsky's father was a priest and thus a potential "enemy of the people", Vasilevsky said that he had ended his relationship with them in 1926. Stalin, surprised, suggested that he reestablish his family ties at once, and help his parents with whatever needs they might have.[3][4]
World War II
Start and Battle of Moscow
By June 1941, Vasilevsky was working around the clock in his General Staff office.[37] On June 22, 1941, he learned of the German bombing of several important military and civilian objectives,[38] starting Operation Barbarossa. In August 1941, Vasilevsky was appointed Chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff and Deputy Chief of the General Staff,[39] making him one of the key figures in the Soviet military leadership. At the end of September 1941, Vasilevsky gave a speech before the General Staff, describing the situation as extremely difficult, but pointing out that the northern part of the front was holding, that Leningrad still offered resistance, and that such a situation would potentially allow some reserves to be gathered in the northern part of the front.[40]
In October 1941, the situation at the front was becoming critical, with German forces advancing towards Moscow during
The
Summer and fall 1942
In May 1942 one of the most controversial episodes in Vasilevsky's career occurred: the
In June 1942, Vasilevsky was briefly sent to Leningrad to coordinate an attempt to break the encirclement of the 2nd Shock Army led by General
The battle of Stalingrad was another difficult period in Vasilevsky's life. Sent with Zhukov to the Stalingrad Front, he tried to coordinate the defenses of Stalingrad with radio links working intermittently, at best.
Soviet victory
In January 1943, Vasilevsky coordinated the offensives on the upper
In March 1943, after the creation of the Kursk
At the start of 1944, Vasilevsky coordinated the Soviet offensive on the right bank of the Dnieper, leading to a decisive victory in eastern Ukraine. On April 10, 1944, the day
During
John Erickson wrote that: Vasilevskii is a much underestimated soldier, a figure who flits about Soviet historiography but a commander inured to the battlefield yet deft in his handling of the whole Soviet war machine.[71]
Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation
During the 1944 summer offensive, Stalin announced that he would appoint Vasilevsky Commander-in-Chief of USSR Forces in the Far East once the war against Germany ended. Vasilevsky began drafting the war plan for Japan by late 1944 and began full-time preparation by April 27, 1945. In June 1945, Stalin approved his plan. Vasilevsky then received the appointment of Commander-in-Chief of USSR Forces in the Far East and travelled by armoured train to Chita to execute the plan.[citation needed]
During the preparation phase, Vasilevsky further rehearsed the offensive with his army commanders and directed the start of
After World War II
Between 1946 and 1949, Vasilevsky remained Chief of Staff, then became Defense Minister from 1949 to 1953. Following Stalin's death in 1953, Vasilevsky fell from grace and was replaced by Nikolai Bulganin, although he remained deputy Defense minister. In 1956, he was appointed Deputy Defense Minister for Military Science, a secondary position with no real military power. Vasilevsky would occupy this position for only one year before being pensioned off by Nikita Khrushchev, thus becoming a victim of the bloodless purge that also saw the end of Zhukov. In 1959, he was appointed a General Inspector of the Ministry of Defense, an honorary position. In 1973, he published his memoirs, The Cause of My Whole Life. Aleksandr Vasilevsky died on December 5, 1977, at the age of 82.[6] His body was cremated and his ashes immured in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.[16]
Family
In 1923, Vasilevsky married Serafima Nikolaevna Voronova (1904-1980), before divorcing in 1934. The couple had a son named Yuri (1925-2013), who went on to become a
Vasilevsky later re-married to Ekaterina Vasilievna Saburova, with whom he had a son named Igor (born 1935). Igor went on to become a well-known architect, and was recipient of the title of Honored Architect of the Russian Federation and the State Prize of Czechoslovakia. Igor is married to the daughter of Soviet statesman Ivan Tevosian.[73]
Awards
In his memoirs, Vasilevsky recalls Stalin's astonishment when, at a ceremony taking place in the Kremlin on December 4, 1941, the Soviet leader saw just a single Order of the Red Star and the medal "XX years of the RKKA" on Vasilevsky's uniform.[74] However, Vasilevsky eventually became one of the most decorated commanders in Soviet history.[citation needed]
Vasilevsky was awarded the Gold Star of
Vasilevsky was also awarded fourteen medals. For his participation in various campaigns, he was awarded the Defense of Leningrad, Defense of Moscow, Defense of Stalingrad and Capture of Königsberg medals. As with all Soviet soldiers who took part in the war with Germany and Japan, he was awarded the
- Soviet Union
A reconstruction of Vasilevsky's ribbon bar, without foreign and Imperial era decorations
- "Gold Star" Hero of the Soviet Union, twice (29 July 1944, 8 September 1945)
- Order of Victory, twice (No. 2 and No. 7, 10 April 1944, 19 April 1945)
- Eight Orders of Lenin(21 May 1942, 29 July 1944, 21 February 1945, 29 September 1945, 29 September 1955, 29 September 1965, 29 September 1970, 29 September 1975)
- Order of the October Revolution (22 February 1968)
- Order of Red Banner, twice (3 November 1944, 20 June 1949)
- Order of Suvorov, 1st class (28 January 1943)
- Order of the Red Star (1939)
- Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd class (30 April 1975)
- "For military valour. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"
- Medal "For the Defence of Moscow"
- Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad"
- Medal "For the Capture of Königsberg"
- Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
- Medal "For the Victory over Japan"
- Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
- Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
- Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow"
- Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
- Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army"
- Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy"
- Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
- Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
- Honorary weapon with gold National Emblem of the USSR (1968)
- Imperial Russia
Order of Saint Anna, 4th class | |
Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd class | |
Cross of St. George , 4th class
|
- Foreign awards
Order of Sukhbaatar, twice (Mongolia, 1966, 1971) | |
Order of the Red Banner (Mongolia, 1945) | |
Medal "30 Years of the Victory in Khalkhin-Gol" (Mongolia) | |
Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Revolution" (Mongolia) | |
Medal "30 Years of Victory over Militaristic Japan" (Mongolia) | |
Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Army" (Mongolia) | |
Order of the White Lion, 1st class (Czechoslovakia, 1955) | |
Military Order of the White Lion "For Victory", 1st class (Czechoslovakia, 1945) | |
War Cross 1939–1945 (Czechoslovakia, 1943) | |
Medal "In Commemoration of the Battle of Dukla Pass" (Czechoslovakia, 1960) | |
Order of Karl Marx (East Germany, 1975) | |
Virtuti Militari, 1st class (Poland, 1946) | |
Order of Polonia Restituta, 2nd class (Poland, 1968) | |
Order of Polonia Restituta, 3rd class (Poland, 1973) | |
Cross of Grunwald , 1st class (Poland, 1946)
| |
Order of The People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1st class (Bulgaria, 1974) | |
Medal "90th Anniversary of the Birth of Georgi Dimitrov" (Bulgaria, 1972) | |
Grand Officer of the Legion d'Honneur (France , 1944)
| |
Croix de guerre (France, 1944)
| |
Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the UK , 1943)
| |
Chief Commander, Legion of Merit (U.S., 1944) | |
Order of National Liberation (Yugoslavia , 1946)
| |
Order of the Partisan Star, 1st class (Yugoslavia, 1946) | |
Order of the National Flag, 1st class (North Korea, 1948)[citation needed] | |
Medal for the Liberation of Korea (North Korea, 1948) | |
Special Grand Cordon of the Republic of China , 1946)
| |
Medal of Sino-Soviet Friendship (China, 1956) |
Personality and opinions
Vasilevsky was regarded by his peers as a kind and soft military commander. General
Vasilevsky's actions and personality were sometimes the object of dispute, while less controversial than those of Zhukov. In particular, Nikita Khrushchev defined Vasilevsky in his memoirs as a passive commander completely under the control of Stalin, and blamed him for the Kharkov failure in Spring 1942.[78] Among Vasilevsky's strongest critics was Rokossovsky, who criticized Vasilevsky's decisions during the Stalingrad counteroffensive, especially his refusal to commit the 2nd Army to the annihilation of the encircled German divisions, and for general interference with his own work.[79] Rokossovsky even wrote in his memoirs: "I do not even understand what role could Zhukov and Vasilevsky play on Stalingrad front."[80] In fairness to Vasilevsky it needs noting that he diverted the 2nd army from the assault on the Stalingrad pocket only in order to commit it against a dangerous German counter-attack from Kotelnikovo, designed to deblockade the pocket, which was enjoying great numerical superiority. Vasilevsky, it seems, was dismayed by Rokossovsky's opposition to the transfer.[citation needed]
On the other hand, the writer
A post-1991 view on Vasilevsky was elaborated by Mezhiritzky in his book, Reading Marshal Zhukov. Mezhiritzky points out Vasilevsky's timidity and his inability to defend his opinions before Stalin. Reportedly, Vasilevsky was appointed to such high military positions because he was easy to manage.[82] However, Mezhiritzky recognizes Vasilevsky's intelligence and assumes that Vasilevsky was indeed the main author of the Stalingrad counteroffensive. He also points out that Vasilevsky and Zhukov probably deliberately under-reported the estimated strength of the 6th Army to gain Stalin's approval for that risky operation.[83]
Footnotes
- ^ "Василевский Александр Михайлович".
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 8.
- ^ a b Vasilevsky 1978, p. 96.
- ^ ISBN 0-618-36701-2.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h K.A. Zalessky, Stalin's empire (biographic dictionary), Moscow, Veche, 2000 (entry: Vasilevsky).
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 10.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 12.
- ^ a b Vasilevsky 1978, p. 14.
- ^ This is a reference to the 1917 Russian Revolution and Vasilevsky's emerging communist beliefs
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 15.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 16.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 19.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 23.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 27.
- ^ a b Shikman A.P., Actors of our History, biographical dictionary, Moscow, 1997, entry "Vasilevsky".
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 30.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 31.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 33.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 35.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, pp. 41–49.
- ISBN 978-0-203-40253-5.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, pp. 42–44.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 45.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, pp. 49–50.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 61.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, pp. 59–60.
- deep operationstheory.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 63.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 70.
- ^ a b Zhukov 2002, p. 110.
- ^ Great Soviet Encyclopedia, Moscow, 1969–1978, entry "Vasilevsky".
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 80.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 81.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 82.
- ISBN 0-7735-2666-8, p. 203 (online link)
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 106.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 110.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Soviet Military Encyclopedia, Moscow, 1976–1979, tome 2, entry "Vasilevsky"
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, p. 26.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, p. 25.
- ^ a b Shtemenko 1989, p. 27.
- ^ Khrushchev 1999, p. 296.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 146.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 145.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 150.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, p. 29.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 159.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 184.
- ^ Zhukov 2002, p. 64.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, p. 40.
- ^ ISBN 0-271-02332-5, pp. 297–299 (online link)
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, pp. 52–53.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, p. 60.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, pp. 63–64.
- ISBN 0-415-07863-6, p. 171 (online link)
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 243.
- ISBN 0-7603-0923-X, p. 127
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 248.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, p. 90.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, pp. 122–123.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, p. 131.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, p. 141.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, p. 154.
- ^ a b http://mondvor.narod.ru/OPobeda.html, retrieved on July 8, 2006.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, p. 395.
- ISBN 1-85532-478-4, p. 21.(online link)
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, p. 208.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, p. 219.
- ^ Otto von Lasch, So fell Königsberg, Moscow, 1991, chapter "Capitulation".
- ISBN 0-300-07813-7.
- ISBN 1-84176-882-0, p. 242, (online link).
- ^ a b Ariadna Rokossovskaya (2005-02-11). "Мы были на фронте рядом с отцом". Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
- ^ Vasilevsky 1978, pp. 151–152.
- ^ Shtemenko 1989, pp. 105–108.
- ^ Zhukov 2002, p. 345.
- Jonathan M. House, When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler, p. 129, University Press of Kansas, 1995.
- ^ Khrushchev 1999, pp. 362–370.
- ^ Rokossovsky 1988.
- ^ Rokossovsky 1988, p. 235.
- ^ Viktor Suvorov, Shadow of Victory, Moscow, ACT, 2002, chapter 15
- ^ Mezhiritzky 2002, ch. 32.
- ^ Mezhiritzky 2002, ch. 60.
References
- Khrushchev, Nikita (1999). Time. People. Power. (Memoirs). Vol. 1. Moscow: IIK Moscow News.
- Otto von Lasch (1991), So fell Königsberg ('So fiel Königsberg'). Moscow.
- Mezhiritzky, P. Ya. (2002). Reading Marshal Zhukov. Philadelphia: Libas Consulting.
- Rokossovsky, K. (1988). Soldier's Duty. Moscow: Politizdat.
- A.P. Shikman (1997), Actors of our History (biographical dictionary). Moscow.
- Shtemenko, S.M. (1989). The General Staff during the War (2nd ed.). Moscow: Voenizdat.
- Viktor Suvorov (2002), Shadow of Victory. Moscow: ACT.
- Vasilevsky, A. M. (1978). The Matter of My Whole Life. Moscow: Politizdat.
- K.A. Zalessky (2000), Stalin's empire (biographical dictionary). Moscow: Veche.
- Zhukov, G. K. (2002). Memoirs. Moscow: Olma-Press.
- (1969–1978) Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Moscow.
- (1976–1979) Soviet Military Encyclopedia. Moscow.