Andrei Grechko

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
24th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office
27 April 1973 – 26 April 1976
Personal details
Born
Andrei Antonovich Greczhko

(1903-10-04)4 October 1903
Golodaevka, Don Host Oblast, Russian Empire
Died26 April 1976(1976-04-26) (aged 72)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Resting placeKremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow
Nationality Soviet Union
Political partyCommunist Party of the Soviet Union (1928–1976)
ProfessionSoldier
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union (twice)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Soviet Russia (1919–1922)
 Soviet Union (1922–1976)
Branch/serviceSoviet Army
Years of service1919–1976
Rank Marshal of the Soviet Union (1955–1976)
Commands18th Army
1st Guards Army
Kiev Military District
Battles/wars

Andrei Antonovich Grechko (

Minister of Defence
from 1967 to 1976.

Born to a Ukrainian peasant family near Rostov-on-Don, Grechko served in the Red Army cavalry during the Russian Civil War. After graduating from the Frunze Military Academy, he took part in the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. Grechko was a fresh graduate of the Voroshilov Military Academy when Axis forces invaded the Soviet Union. He held a succession of cavalry and army commands afterwards and saw action in the Caucasus, Ukraine and Central Europe.

After the war, Grechko commanded the Kiev Military District. In 1953, he was appointed commander-in-chief of Soviet Forces in East Germany, and led the suppression of the East German uprising. In 1955, he was named a Marshal of the Soviet Union. In 1957, he became commander-in-chief of the Soviet Ground Forces, and three years later he also became the commander of the Warsaw Pact forces. In 1967, Grechko was appointed Minister of Defence, and oversaw the subsequent Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia and violent border clashes with China. He helped modernize the Soviet Army and was responsible for continuing the Soviet hegemony over Eastern Europe. An ideological hardliner, he was a defender of the first strike nuclear strategy, and only reluctantly supported Leonid Brezhnev's détente with the United States and the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT). Grechko died in 1976 at the age of 72.

Early life

Grechko was the thirteenth child born to a family of Ukrainian peasants on 17 October 1903, at a small town near Rostov-on-Don.[1][2]

Early military career

Grechko as a soldier in the Red Army

He joined the

Budyonny Cavalry". During the war, he fought in the Caucasian Front and Southern Front, where fought in battles against the White Army
troops of Generals Anton Denikin and Pyotr Wrangel, and detachments of Ataman Nestor Makhno, and the elimination of political and criminal banditry.[2]

From September 1921 to July 1922, he served in a separate battalion of

North Caucasian Military District and in August 1924, he was transferred to the North Caucasian Mountain Nationalities Cavalry School in Krasnodar. During his studies, he was a foreman of a squadron and from 1925 to 1926, he participated in military operations against gang formations in Chechnya and Dagestan. He graduated in 1926 and became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.[2]

From September 1926 to April 1932, he served in the 61st Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Separate Cavalry Brigade at the Moscow Military District, and platoon and machine-gun squadron commander.[2]

Grechko graduated from the

Belarusian Special Military District, where he served as assistant chief and chief of the 1st (operational) part of the division headquarters and commander of the 62nd Cavalry Regiment. From May 1938 to October 1938, he served as assistant chief of staff of the division.[2]

He graduated from the academy of the General Staff of the Red Army named after K. E. Voroshilov in June 1941.[2]

World War II

Grechko (center), commander of the 1st Guards Army, at the Árpád Line (1944)

In October 1938, he was appointed as chief of staff of the 62nd Cavalry Regiment. While serving in this position, he participated in the Soviet invasion of Poland.[2]

In the early days of the

6th Armies on the Southwestern Front.[2]

On 15 January 1942, Grechko was put in command of the

Transcaucasian Front from 19 October 1942 and took part in the Tuapse Operation.[3]

From 5 January 1943, Grechko was commander of the

North Caucasian Front, he participated in the Krasnodar Offensive, and then in a number of local and mostly unsuccessful offensive operations of the front troops. In September 1943, the troops of the 56th Army, in cooperation with the 9th and the 18th Armies, liberated the Taman Peninsula from the direction of Novorossiysk, during the Novorossiysk-Taman Strategic Offensive Operation.[4]

Grechko served as the deputy commander of the

Voronezh Front from 16 October 1943 and on 20 October, he was appointed as deputy commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front. During this time, he fought in the Battle of the Dnieper and Second Battle of Kiev.[5]

Then, on 14 December 1943, he was made the Commanding General of

Ivan Yefimovich Petrov. Grechko led the 1st Guards in a number of offensive operations, predominantly in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and into Austria.[5]

Cold War

East German leader Walter Ulbricht (center) and then Soviet Minister of Defense Marshal Rodion Malinovsky
(far left) (1961)

After the war, Grechko was the Commanding General of the

Soviet Forces in East Germany. During this time, he commanded the suppression of the East German uprising of 1953.[6]

On 11 March 1955, Grechko and five other high-ranking colleagues, all of whom gained recognition during the

From 1960 to 1967, he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Warsaw Pact Forces.[8]

Minister of Defense

On 12 April 1967, Grechko was made the Minister of Defense, taking over shortly after Marshal Rodion Malinovsky died. Grechko served in this capacity until his death in 1976. During the 1970s, Grechko served as the chairman of the editorial commission that produced the official Soviet history of the Second World War.[9]

In January 1968, following the outbreak of the

Damansky Island and Tielieketi. In response to the clashes, Grechko strongly persuaded General Secretary of the Communist Party Leonid Brezhnev to carry out a surgical nuclear strike against China, especially targeting the Lop Nur Nuclear Test Site in the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang. Due to the resistance of the party factions headed by Mikhail Suslov and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin, who went to Beijing to meet with the Chinese leaders to reduce tensions between the two countries, a nuclear war was avoided.[10][11]

Marshal Andrei Grechko

In December 1971, during the

Israeli Defense Forces targets at the Israeli bridgehead on the western bank of the Suez Canal on October 22, just moments before the ceasefire. Seven Israeli soldiers were killed in the attack.[12][13][14]

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 16, 1973, "for services to the Motherland in the construction and strengthening of the Armed Forces of the USSR and in connection with the 70th anniversary of his birth", Grechko was awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union for the second time.[7]

Grechko was an active member in the

Third World War would always go nuclear at some point, and as such he planned that if World War III did begin, to launch all-out nuclear strikes against the NATO nations the moment that the war began.[15] For Grechko, nuclear weapons would be weapons of first resort in a world war, not weapons of last resort. His views had caused opposition within the military and the political leadership, who wanted the Soviet Union to have a second strike capacity in order to prevent a war with the United States from going nuclear immediately as he preferred.[15]

In 1976, shortly before his death, he initiated the deployment of the

RSD-10 medium-range ballistic missiles, which led to the NATO Double-Track Decision in the early 1980s.[16][17]

Personal life and death

Grechko was married to Claudia Vladimirovna Grechko (1907-1990), with whom he had a daughter Tatyana Andreevna (1927-2002). Tatyana was married to Soviet and Russian diplomat Yuriy Kirichenko (1936-2017), the son of First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine Aleksey Kirichenko. According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, Grechko was an enthusiastic fan of the sports club CSKA Moscow. Due to his efforts, the club received not only a new stadium, but also an arena, a base in Arkhangelsk and a host of other sports facilities.[18]

Grechko died on 26 April 1976, at the age of 72. According to

coronary insufficiency. He was honoured with a state funeral and cremated on 30 April. The urn containing his ashes is buried by the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.[19][20][21]

Honours and awards

Portrait of Marshal Grechko featured in the 2003 Russian postal cover
Hero of the Soviet Union, twice (1 February 1958, 16 October 1973)[22]
Order of Lenin, six times (December 1942, 1945, 1 February 1958, October 1963, 22 February 1968, 16 October 1973)[23]
Order of the Red Banner, three times (1941, 1944, 1950)
Order of Suvorov, 1st class, twice (1944, 1945)
Order of Suvorov, 2nd class (February 1943)
Order of Kutuzov, 1st class, twice (1943, 1944)
Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 1st class (January 1944)
Medal "For the Defence of Kiev"
(1961)
Medal "For the Defence of Moscow" (1944)
Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus" (1944)
Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1945)
Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1969)
Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945"
(1965)
Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1975)
Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (1938)
Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" (1948)
Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1958)
Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (1968)
Honorary weapon – sword inscribed with golden national emblem of the Soviet Union (22 February 1968)
Foreign
Order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1st class, twice (Bulgaria)
Order of Georgi Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
Medal of Sino-Soviet Friendship (China)
Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (Czechoslovakia)
Order of Klement Gottwald (Czechoslovakia)
Military Order of the White Lion "For Victory", 1st class (Czechoslovakia)
War Cross 1939–1945 (Czechoslovakia)
Medal “For Strengthening Friendship in Arms”, Golden class (Czechoslovakia)
Military Commemorative Medal with 'USSR' clasp (Czechoslovakia)
Order of the Lion of Finland, Knight, 1st class (Finland)
Order of Karl Marx (East Germany)
Patriotic Order of Merit in gold (East Germany)
Order of the Flag of the Republic of Hungary (Hungary
)
Order of Merit of the Hungarian People's Republic, 1st class (Hungary)
Order of Merit of the Hungarian People's Republic, 5th class (Hungary)
Order of the Two Rivers, military division (Iraq)
Order of Sukhbaatar, twice (Mongolia)
Medal "30 Years of the Victory in Khalkhin-Gol" (Mongolia)
Grand Cross of the Virtuti Militari (Poland)
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland)
Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland)
Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 2nd class (Poland)[24]
Medal "For Oder, Neisse and the Baltic"
(Poland)
Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"
(Poland)
Medal of Victory and Freedom 1945 (Poland)
Brotherhood of Arms Medal (Poland)
Romania
)
Order "August 23" (Romania)

Other honors

Bronze bust of Grechko at the Alley of Heroes Monument

Selected works

  • Great Feat of the Soviet People (1970)
  • Battle for the Caucasus (1971)
  • Through the Carpathians (1972)
  • Liberation of Kiev (1973)
  • Liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Second World War (1975)
  • Years of War 1941—1943 (1976)
  • The Armed Forces of the Soviet Union (1977)

Source:[29][30]

References

  1. ^ Dennis Kavanagh (1998). "Andrei Grechko". A Dictionary of Political Biography. Oxford: OUP. p. 196. Archived from the original on 2019-05-20. Retrieved 2017-08-24.[ISBN missing]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Герои страны". Archived from the original on 2004-09-07. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  3. ^ "БИТВА ЗА КАВКАЗ. ВОСПОМИНАНИЯ МАРШАЛА АНДРЕЯ ГРЕЧКО". диктантпобеды.рф. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Andrey Antonovich Grechko (1903-76)". Global Security. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Дважды герой советского союза гречко андрей антонович. Дважды герой советского союза гречко андрей антонович Биография гречко андрей антонович". goaravetisyan.ru. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  6. ^ "Soviet Advocate of Preparedness Andrei Antonovich Grechko". The New York Times. 1971-06-15. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Гречко Андрей Антонович". Pamyat Naroda. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  8. ^ Газета «Северная Осетия» // Гость «СО».
  9. ^ Годы войны. 1941—1943 Archived 2009-03-05 at the Wayback Machine. 1976
  10. ^ Frost, Matthew (1998-08-09). "Czech Republic: A Chronology Of Events Leading To The 1968 Invasion". RFE/RL. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  11. ^ Geerson, Michael S. (2010). "The Sino-Soviet Border Conflict: Deterrence, Escalation, and the Threat of Nuclear War in 1969" (PDF). CNA. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  12. ^ Singh, Zoarwar Daulet (2019-12-19). "Calling the U.S.'s bluff in 1971". The Hindu. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  13. ^ Ginor, Isabella (2000-06-10). "How Six Day war almost led to Armageddon". The Guardian. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  14. ^ Araf, Erol (2013-10-07). "Incalculable consequences". National Post. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Cant, James "The SS-20 Missile-Why Were You Pointing at Me?" pages 240-253 from Russia War, Peace and Diplomacy edited by Ljubica and Mark Erickson, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004 page 245
  16. ^ Nünlist, Christian (2016-10-28). "Cold War Generals: The Warsaw Pact Committee of Defense Ministers, 1969-90". PHP. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  17. ^ Ambrose, Matthew (2014). The Limits of Control: A History of the SALT Process, 1969–1983 (PhD dissertation). Ohio State University. Retrieved 2022-11-21 – via OhioLINK.
  18. ^ "СПОРТ-ЭКСПРЕСС ФУТБОЛ". sport-express.ru. 2002-11-15. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  19. ^ Wren, Christopher S. (1976-04-27). "Grechko Soviet Defense Chief, Dies at 72". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  20. ^ "Андрей Антонович Гречко". hrono.ru. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  21. ^ "Soviet Anthem at State Funeral of Andrei Grechko (30 April, 1976)". YouTube. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  22. ^ Дважды Герой Советского Союза Гречко Андрей Антонович на сайте «Герои страны»Archived 2016-08-03 at the Wayback Machine.
  23. ^ Сайт «Молодая Гвардия». А. А. Гречко Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine.
  24. ^ Uchwała Prezydium Krajowej Rady Narodowej z dnia 24 czerwca 1946 r. o odznaczeniach generałów, oficerów i szeregowych b. 4-go Ukraińskiego Frontu za wybitne zasługi przy wyzwoleniu Polski spod okupacji hitlerowskiej.
  25. ^ a b c d ""Маршал всего Советского Союза"". stoletie.ru. 2013-10-17. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  26. ^ "МБОУ КУЙБЫШЕВСКАЯ СОШ ИМ. А.А.ГРЕЧКО". excheck.pro. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  27. ^ "У Києві вулицю Маршала Гречка перейменували на честь гетьмана Івана Виговського". Istpravda. 2019-12-20. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  28. ^ "Нові назви вулиць Житомира - пошук та список". streets.in.ua. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  29. ^ "Andrei Grechko". Goodreads. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  30. ^ "Grechko, A. A. (Andreĭ Antonovich) 1903-1976". WorldCat Identities. Retrieved May 26, 2022.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Minister of Defence of Soviet Union

1967–1976
Succeeded by
Dmitriy Ustinov
Military offices
Preceded by Supreme Commander of the Unified Armed Forces of the Warsaw Treaty Organization
1960–1967
Succeeded by