August Kork

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In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Ivanovich and the family name is Kork.
August Kork
Born2 August [O.S. 22 July] 1887
Aardla, Kreis Dorpat, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire
Died11 June 1937(1937-06-11) (aged 49)
Kommunarka shooting ground, Moscow, Soviet Union
Buried
Donskoye Cemetery
Allegiance
Service/branch
Years of service
  • 1908–1917
  • 1918–1937
RankKomandarm 2nd rank
Commands held
Battles/wars
Awards
Spouse(s)Yekaterina Mikhailovna

August Ivanovich Kork (Russian: Август Иванович Корк, also Аугуст Яанович Корк; 2 August [O.S. 22 July] 1887 – 11 June 1937) was an Estonian Red Army commander (Komandarm 2nd rank) who was tried and executed during the Great Purge in 1937.

Kork became an officer of the

Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
.

After the end of the campaign, Kork took command of the

Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization
. He was acquitted twenty years later.

Early life and career

Kork was born on 2 August 1887 in the village of

Vilno Military District headquarters.[2]

Kork fought in World War I on the Northwestern Front and the Western Front. In October 1914, he was awarded the Order of Saint Anna 3rd class with Swords. On 1 April 1915, he was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus 2nd class with Swords. Kork became an adjutant on the staff of the 3rd Siberian Army Corps and was promoted to Staff captain on 14 June. On 16 November, Kork received the Order of Saint Anna 4th class. At the same time, he became an adjutant at the headquarters of the 8th Siberian Rifle Division. On 25 or 30 December he was transferred to the 10th Army headquarters. He also served with the 20th Army Corps and the Office of the Quartermaster General on the Staff of the Western Front. On 15 August 1916, he was promoted to captain. In 1917, he graduated from the Observer-Pilot Military School. On 25 February, Kork became an officer for Aircraft Orders on the Staff of the Western Front. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel. On 31 March, Kork was awarded the Order of Saint Anna 2nd class with Swords. Between August 1917 and February 1918 he was chairman of the Soldiers' Committee of the Western Front.[2][1]

Russian Civil War

In June 1918, Kork joined the

Northwest Army led by Nikolai Yudenich. Mikhail Tukhachevsky repeatedly noted Kork's ability to manage troops in combat and Sergey Kamenev considered him the best of the Western Front army commanders. On 26 October 1919 Kork began an attack on Luga, capturing it on 31 October. The army advanced north towards Volosovo, forcing the Northwest Army to retreat. On 6 November the army linked up with the 5th Latvian Regiment and captured Volosovo.[3] For operations around Gdov in October 1919 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.[2]

Kork led the 15th Army in the

Neman. After the Polish counteroffensive, two of the army's divisions were interned in East Prussia.[5] For actions in the Polish-Soviet War in July 1920 Kork was awarded a second Order of the Red Banner.[2]

He became commander of the

Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel in Crimea. The 6th Army's attack began two days later. On 29 October it had captured Perekop in an attempt to encircle White forces north of the isthmus, but the Soviet cavalry units that were to complete the encirclement failed and many of Wrangel's troops escaped. On 8 November the 6th Army captured the Turkish Wall and began its advance south. Wrangel issued evacuation orders and by 16 November most of the White troops had evacuated.[6] Kork was awarded an Honorary Revolutionary Weapon on 30 December 1920 for the capture of Perekop and Yushunskaya positions and the occupation of Crimea.[2][1]

Interwar

On 16 May 1921 Kork became commander of the

Western Military District. Between February and November 1925, Kork led the Red Banner Caucasus Army. In November 1925, he became commander of the Western Military District again. In 1927, he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Between May 1927 and May 1928, he led the Leningrad Military District. In June 1928, Kork was sent to Berlin as the Soviet military attaché there. After his return to the Soviet Union in May 1929, Kork became head of the Red Army's supply. In November of that year, he was appointed commander of the Moscow Military District. Kork became a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union. He commanded the Frunze Military Academy and was a Komandarm 2nd rank from November 1935.[1] Kork lived in an apartment in the House on the Embankment.[2]

Kork was arrested on 12 May (16 May according to

Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization, Kork did not answer when asked if he had conducted spying.[9] He was convicted of "involvement in a military conspiracy in the Red Army and in preparing to overthrow Soviet power through an armed uprising and the defeat of the Soviet Union in a future war." He was shot in Moscow the next day and buried in the Donskoye Cemetery. The Frunze Military Academy was purged. On 31 January 1957 Kork was "rehabilitated" (acquitted)[2][1] for "lack of evidence."[10]

Personal life

Kork married Yekaterina Mikhailovna (born 1894). In June 1937, after Kork's arrest, Yekaterina was exiled to Astrakhan, where she was arrested on 5 September. She and other wives of executed military leaders were moved back to Moscow and subjected to torture and interrogation.[11] On 13 July 1941 she was sentenced to death and was shot at the Kommunarka shooting ground on 28 July.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Cherushev & Cherushev 2012, pp. 31–32.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Русская армия в Великой войне: Картотека проекта: Корк Август Иванович" [Russian Army in the Great War: Kork, August Ivanovich]. www.grwar.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  3. ^ Ziemke 2004, pp. 106–108.
  4. ^ Ziemke 2004, p. 119.
  5. ^ Ziemke 2004, pp. 122, 125, 129.
  6. ^ Ziemke 2004, pp. 131–132.
  7. ^ Conquest 2008, p. 194.
  8. ^ Conquest 2008, pp. 199–200.
  9. ^ Conquest 2008, pp. 203, 205.
  10. ^ Hiio, Toomas (1 October 2012). "Kork, August". www.estonica.org. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  11. ^ Braithwaite 2010, p. 258.

References

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