Alexander Yegorov (soldier)
Alexander Yegorov | |
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Donskoi Cemetery | |
Allegiance |
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Service/ |
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Years of service | 1902–1938 |
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Commands held | |
Battles/wars |
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Awards | (see below)' |
Alexander Ilyich Yegorov or Egorov (Russian: Александр Ильич Егоров,
Yegorov was born in Samara to a middle-class family. He joined the Imperial Russian Army in 1901 and saw action during the First World War. Following the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, Yegorov became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and was one of the few trusted ex-tsarist officers in the Red Army. During the Russian Civil War, he commanded the Red Army's Southern Front and played an important part in defeating the White forces in Ukraine. Yegorov was the commander of the Southwestern Front during the Polish–Soviet War.
A good friend of
When the Great Purge began, Yegorov was initially spared, and he was one of the judges that presided over the trial of Mikhail Tukhachevsky. By the end of 1937 he had become a target, and he was arrested a few months later. Yegorov was executed in February 1939.
Early life
Yegorov was born near
Military career
After graduating from
World War I
During
Russian Civil War and Polish-Soviet War
During the
As one of the few ex-tsarist officers at this stage who was trusted by the Bolshevik leadership, he was assigned to the Southern Front.[4] From August to October 1918, he commanded the section within Balashov and Kamyshin, and the 9th Army, where he formed regular units from irregular Red Army formations.[3] On 26 December 1918 he replaced Kliment Voroshilov as commander of the 10th Army, during the Battle of Tsaritsyn.[6] In March 1919, with over 23000 troops under his command, he carried out an offensive along the railway line from Tsaritsyn to Velikoknyazheskaya. The 10th Army was halted by the White Army soldiers led by General Konstantin Mamontov, in the swampy areas near River Manych,[7] but the numerical superiority of the Red Army gave them a chance to continue their march towards Bataysk and Tikhoretsk.[8]
From July 1919, he commanded the
During the
Post war
His further career in the 1920s was facilitated by good relations with Stalin, whom he met during the defense of Tsaritsyn. Both men were considered friends and their families spent holidays together. However, Stalin never trusted Yegorov and believed that the latter had never become a good communist. Stalin had collected a private archive of discreditable materials against Yegorov.[15]
After the Polish-Soviet War, Yegorov served as commander of the
In 1925, he was sent to China, where he served as a military adviser to Chiang Kai-shek and Feng Yuxiang. This was considered an important task for the Soviet leadership, as Soviet Union sought to protect its own interests in China and also to support the Communist movement in China. He served there till 1926.[3][16]
In 1927, he became commander of the
Purge and execution
Because of his old connections to Stalin and Budyonny, Yegorov seemed to be safe from the wave of arrests that swept through the Red Army in 1937 as the Great Purge gathered pace.
He was officially listed as one of the judges at
After Stalin's death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev rehabilitated Yegorov by the decision of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union. He was also posthumously reinstated his rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union and military awards restored.[20]
Personal life
In 1911, he married Varvara Alexandrovna Egorova (Vasilyeva), with whom he had daughter named Tatyana. After divorcing his first wife, he remarried Galina Antonovna Tseshkovskaya, who was of Polish descent. During the Great Purge, Galina was also arrested and after being accused as a Polish spy, she was executed before her husband on 28 August 1938.[21][22]
Yegorov's grandson is guitarist Aleksey Kuznetsov, a recipient of the title People's Artist of Russia. [23]
Awards and honors
- Russian Empire
Order of Saint Vladimir, 2nd class with swords (12 February 1917) | |
Order of Saint Stanislaus, 2nd class with swords (30 May 1915) | |
Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd class (10 March 1907) | |
Order of Saint Anna, 2nd class with swords (23 October 1915) | |
Order of Saint Anna, 3rd class (6 April 1914) | |
Order of Saint Anna, 4th class (30 March 1915) | |
Saint George Gold Sword for Bravery, with inscription "For the battle near Busk on 13 August 1914" (24 January 1917) | |
Medal "In Commemoration of the 300th Anniversary of the Reign of the House of Romanov" | |
Medal "In Memory of the Patriotic War of 1812" | |
Cross "50th Anniversary of the End of the Caucasian Wars" |
- Soviet Union
Order of the Red Banner, twice (1919, 1930) | |
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Order of the Red Banner of Azerbaijan SSR (1922) |
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Order of the Red Banner of Georgian SSR (1924) |
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Honorary Revolutionary Weapon (1921) |
Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (1938) |
Other honors
References
- ^ Wieczorkiewicz. Page 466.
- ^ Spahr. Page 53.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Александр Ильич Егоров". hrono.ru. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ^ a b c d Wieczorkiewicz. Page 467.
- ^ a b Spahr. Page 69.
- ^ Smele. Pages 122-123.
- ^ Kenez. Page 33.
- ^ Smele. Page 120.
- ^ a b Kenez. Pages 217-218.
- ^ Kenez. Page 222.
- ^ Kenez. Page 233.
- ^ Smele. Page 154.
- ^ Wieczorkiewicz. Page 468.
- ^ Smele. Pages 156-157.
- ^ Wieczorkiewicz. Pages 468-469.
- ^ 小鱼书社. "追溯近现代中国起源与历史 第四章(上)". p. 446. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ a b Medvedev 1989.
- ^ Parrish. Page 88.
- ^ Conquest 2008, p. 435.
- ^ "Содержание "Военная Литература" Исследования: Маршал Егоров". militera.lib.ru. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ^ Wieczorkiewicz. Page 481.
- ^ "Дети Кремля". 1001.ru. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ^ "Алексей Кузнецов рассказал о секретах джазовой гитары". rg.ru. 2017-01-12. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ^ "В Бузулуке увековечили память Маршала Советского Союза Александра Егорова". Администрация города Буzулука. 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
Bibliography
- Conquest, Robert (2008) [1968]. The Great Terror: A Reassessment (40th Anniversary ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-531699-5.
- Wieczorkiewicz, Paweł (2016). Łańcuch śmierci. Czystka w Armii Czerwonej 1937-1939 (Hardcover). Warsaw: Zysk i S-ka. ISBN 9788377857946.
- ISBN 9780891415640.
- ISBN 9780974493459.
- Smele, Jonathan (2016). The 'Russian' Civil Wars, 1916-1926: Ten Years That Shook the World: First Edition (Hardcover). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9781849044240.
- Parrish, Michael (2004). Sacrifice of the Generals: Soviet Senior Officer Losses, 1939-1953 (Hardcover). Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810850095.
- ISBN 9780231063517.
External links
- Media related to Alexander Yegorov at Wikimedia Commons