Marshal Vasilevsky is a great commander and failed teacher. Marshal Vasilevsky - biography, information, personal life

Participation in wars: First world war. Civil war in Russia. World War II
Participation in battles:

(Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky) Soviet military leader and statesman, one of the most prominent commanders of World War II

Boss General Staff Red Army Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich went down in history World War II as one of the main authors of the main strategic operations.

Vasilevsky was born on September 17, 1895 in the village of Novaya Golchikha near Kineshma in the family of a poor priest.

In 1909, he graduated from theological school in Kineshma and entered the Kostroma Theological Seminary. In the summer of 1914, the First World War began, and Vasilevsky, who had entered the last class of the seminary, decided to take his final exams as an external student in order to join the army.

In the winter of 1915, Vasilevsky was sent to the Alekseevsky Infantry School, located in Lefortovo.

Having completed an accelerated course of study, Vasilevsky sent to the reserve battalion stationed in Rostov (Veliky), and in the fall, as a company commander, he volunteered for the Southwestern Front.

In the spring of 1916, the regiment in which Vasilevsky served, as part of the troops of the 9th Army, took part in the famous Brusilovsky breakthrough. After Romania entered the war, the regiment went to the new Romanian front.

After the outbreak of revolutionary unrest and the collapse of the army, Vasilevsky goes on vacation and goes home. Here he begins to work as a teacher at a local school.

In 1919 Vasilevsky was drafted into the Red Army and sent to the reserve battalion stationed in the city of Efremov. The march on Moscow by the army of A.I. Denikin forced the Bolsheviks to temporarily appoint former officers to responsible command positions. So Vasilevsky became the commander of the Tula regiment rifle division. But Vasilevsky’s regiment did not have to participate in the battles with Denikin, since the enemy did not reach Tula.

In December, the Tula Division was sent to the Western Front, where an offensive by Polish troops was expected. Under the command of Tukhachevsky, Vasilevsky took part in several offensive operations: on the Berezina, near Smorgon, Vilna.

In 1926, Vasilevsky, already a regiment commander, completed a year of training at the Shot course.

Then, after almost twelve years in the 48th Division, by order of the People's Commissar he was sent to the newly formed Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army, which tested the combat readiness of troops and practiced new forms of combined arms combat.

In 1936, Vasilevsky was awarded the rank of colonel, and in the fall of the same year, by order of the People's Commissar, he was enrolled in the first intake of students at the Academy of the General Staff.

Arrests among senior military leaders of the Red Army in 1937-1938. accelerated the promotion of young specialists to their positions. At the end of August, Vasilevsky was appointed head of the department of operational art (army operations) of the academy, and a month later - head of the department of the General Staff. And from now on, Vasilevsky’s military activities will be connected with the General Staff.

He headed the operational training department until June 1939. In connection with the impending war, work on the General Staff was strained to the limit. Vasilevsky had to personally participate in the development of the military campaigns of 1939-1940. (battles at Khalkhin Gol, campaign in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus in the fall of 1939, the Soviet-Finnish War), and in the rearmament of the Red Army. A prominent military scientist, who worked for many years as Chief of the General Staff, played a significant role in Vasilevsky’s upbringing as a first-class General Staff officer. B.M. Shaposhnikov. During these same years, personal relationships between Vasilevsky and Stalin.

In November 1940, Vasilevsky, as a military expert, took part in a trip to Berlin as part of a delegation led by the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, V.M. Molotov.

Already in February 1941, Germany began to gradually concentrate troops near the Soviet borders. The General Staff had to, taking into account the alarming information received daily, make adjustments to the existing plan to repel the impending attack.

In the spring, measures began to mobilize reservists, transfer troops from the interior of the country to the borders, and build new defensive structures. However, these activities could not be completed completely.

On June 22 the war began. A few days later, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was created, first headed by People's Commissar of Defense S.K. Timoshenko, and then headed by I.V. Stalin. Vasilevsky also becomes a member of the Headquarters.

B.M. Shaposhnikov was again appointed Chief of the General Staff, and Vasilevsky was appointed his deputy and head of the operational department. From then on, his meetings with Stalin became almost daily. One of the main topics of the reports to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was the formation of strategic reserves.

The main direction was the central one, where the bulk of Hitler’s troops were concentrated, aimed at capturing Moscow. But the General Staff was unable to timely predict the enemy’s plan, which planned to encircle significant masses of troops of the Western, Reserve and Bryansk Fronts near Vyazma and Bryansk, and subsequently attack Moscow with infantry formations from the west, and tank groups to cover the capital from the north and south. On September 30, Operation Typhoon began; The enemy managed to break through the front and encircle four Soviet armies in the Vyazma area.

To hold the area of ​​Gzhatsk and Mozhaisk with the most stringent defense measures, representatives of the State Defense Committee V.M. Molotov and K.E. Voroshilov arrived there, and Vasilevsky as a representative of the Headquarters. Budyonny, who had lost contact with his troops, was removed from command of the Reserve Front, and the commander of the Western Front, General Konev, was threatened with a tribunal. Saved the situation G.K.Zhukov, who took command of the Western Front and took Konev as his deputy.

As a result of the threat looming over Moscow, most of the General Staff was evacuated to Kuibyshev. In Moscow, only an operational group of ten people remained to serve Headquarters, the leadership of which was entrusted to Vasilevsky.

At the height of the battle for Moscow, on the personal instructions of Stalin, Vasilevsky was awarded the rank of lieutenant general.

At the end of November, Shaposhnikov fell ill, and the duties of the Chief of the General Staff were temporarily assigned to Vasilevsky. His name is associated with the leadership of the offensive of the Kalinin Front (commander I.S. Konev), which was the first to launch a counteroffensive on the night of December 5, as well as the coordination of the actions of the Southwestern Front to liberate Rostov-on-Don.

Despite carefully conducted reconnaissance, the Soviet command was unable to accurately determine the enemy’s plans. The General Staff still believed that significant German reserves were concentrated in the central direction, while the Wehrmacht was preparing the main offensive in the Caucasus with the aim of seizing oil sources.

It was decided to carry out several separate operations near Leningrad, Smolensk, Kharkov and in the Crimea.

In May 1942, due to a serious illness, Shaposhnikov was relieved of his duties as Chief of the General Staff. The latter were assigned to Vasilevsky. He was awarded the rank of Colonel General.

In May, a streak of failures began again for the Red Army. At the very beginning of the month, German troops broke into Crimea. The last stage has begun defense of Sevastopol, running until July 4th. On the same days, operations began in the Kharkov area. At first they were successful, but soon the German troops themselves went on the offensive and by mid-May they reached the rear of the troops of the Southwestern Front and launched an offensive south towards the Caucasus and Stalingrad.

By the end of August, Vasilevsky arrived in the Stalingrad area on the South-Eastern Front, commanded by A.I. Eremenko. The headquarters ordered to accept everything necessary measures to mobilize the population, but not to surrender Stalingrad. After a conversation with Stalin, Vasilevsky decided to concentrate two or three armies from the Headquarters reserve north and north-west of Stalingrad and use their forces to liquidate units of the enemy who had broken through. Soon Zhukov arrived there, and Vasilevsky flew to Moscow.

At the end of September, Vasilevsky returned to the South-Eastern Front, where he carefully studied the situation during the preparation of an offensive with the aim of encircling the entire German group in Stalingrad. The operation was prepared in the strictest secrecy; only a few of the top command leadership knew about it.

Vasilevsky still controlled the South-Eastern Front, which became known as the Stalingrad Front. The plan of the operation provided for a strike on the Romanian troops standing on the flanks of the German group, breaking through their defenses with tank and mechanized corps of the Stalingrad and Southwestern fronts, with their further connection in the Kalach area.

Already in the first days of the offensive, which began on November 19, Vasilevsky understood that the German command would try to help its encircled group and release it. Therefore, he insisted in advance to Stalin on the creation of a sufficiently strong outer ring of encirclement, and behind them reserves from mobile troops.

At the final stage Battle of Stalingrad Vasilevsky led the military operations to repel attempts to release the encircled group and its final liquidation. On his initiative, one of the best armies, the 2nd Guards, was thrown against Army Group Don, which was trying to relieve the encircled 6th Army Paulus.

For participation in the defeat of the German group in the Stalingrad area, Vasilevsky was awarded the order Suvorov I degree (No. 2).

After the Battle of Stalingrad, the German command decided to prepare an offensive from the Kursk ledge, which emerged as a result of the battles in the winter and spring of 1943. This time, the intelligence of the General Staff promptly revealed the enemy’s plan. It was decided not to go on the offensive first, but to take a tough defense, knock out German tanks, wear out the enemy in defensive battles, and only then go on the offensive by introducing accumulated reserves.

The troops of the Central Front under the command of K.K. Rokossovsky and Voronezh - under the command of I.F. Vatutin, as well as troops of the Bryansk and left wing of the Western Fronts.

On July 5, the German offensive began on Kursk Bulge, reflected by the connection of Central and Voronezh fronts. The culmination of the defensive battles was the famous tank battle near Prokhorovka on July 12, in which up to 1,200 tanks and self-propelled guns took part. On the same day, the Bryansk and Western Fronts went on the offensive, and on July 15, the troops of the Central Front also went on the offensive.

In August, the battle for Donbass began, in which Vasilevsky was entrusted with coordinating the actions of the Southwestern and Southern fronts. Vasilevsky’s activities were connected with these fronts during the battle for the Dnieper, as well as during the liberation of Melitopol, Krivoy Rog, Zaporozhye and the beginning of the liberation of Crimea.

The following year, the troops of the fronts, whose actions were coordinated by Vasilevsky, liberated Nikopol, Nikolaev, Odessa during the spring thaw and reached the Dniester. On the day of the liberation of Odessa, April 10, Vasilevsky was awarded the Order of Victory (No. 2).

In the summer, the main military operations were transferred to Belarus, where troops from four fronts began Operation Bagration.

At the suggestion of Vasilevsky, the two armies that liberated Crimea were transferred to Belarus, and the former administration of the 4th Ukrainian Front also went there. Vasilevsky was ordered to coordinate the actions of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts, commanded by the young generals I.Kh. Bagramyan and I.D. Chernyakhovsky.

On June 22, the offensive of the fronts began. In the first days of the fighting, Vitebsk was liberated, to the west of which there were about 5 German divisions in the cauldron. On June 27, Orsha was liberated. Soviet troops crossed the Berezina. On July 3, troops of the 3rd and 1st Belorussian Fronts met in Minsk. The liberation of the Baltic states began, which Vasilevsky did not leave until the new city.

From the Baltic states the fighting spread to East Prussia, which was replete with fortified areas. At first, Vasilevsky continued to coordinate the actions of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts. But after the death of Chernyakhovsky, Vasilevsky personally led his troops. He asked Stalin to relieve him from the post of Chief of the General Staff and appoint him to his place former boss Operational Directorate of the General Staff A.I. Antonov.

Decisive battles took place on the Zenland Peninsula and near Koenigsberg. On April 6, the assault on the fortress city, covered by a chain of forts, began. Four armies stormed Koenigsberg, and towards the end fourth day After the assault, the fortress garrison capitulated.

Even before the end of the Great Patriotic War, summer 1944, Vasilevsky the upcoming appointment to the post of commander of Soviet troops in the Far East in the war with Japan was announced. Immediately after the end of the East Prussian operation, Vasilevsky was recalled to Moscow, where he began preparing a war plan.

Vasilevsky’s plan was to simultaneously launch attacks from the Transbaikalia, Primorye and Amur regions to the center of Northeast China. The fighting was to take place over an area of ​​about 1.5 million square meters. km and to a depth of 200–800 km. Soviet troops had to cut the Japanese Kwantung Army into pieces and then defeat it. Troops of the Transbaikal Front were to take part in the operation (commander Marshal Soviet Union R.A. Malinovsky), 1st and 2nd Far Eastern (commanders Marshal of the Soviet Union K.A. Meretskov and General M.A. Purkaev) and ships of the Pacific Fleet and Amur Flotilla.

A huge mass of troops and equipment was secretly transferred to the Far East and Mongolia.

The offensive began on August 9 and ended on August 17. The 600,000-strong Japanese army surrendered to Soviet troops. This was the last act of World War II.

In March 1946 Vasilevsky was reappointed Chief of the General Staff, almost simultaneously he became Deputy Minister, and then First Minister of Defense. In 1949-1953. He was the Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR in 1953-1957. - First Deputy Minister of Defense.

Then, due to illness, he resigned and since 1959 he was in the group of inspectors general of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Childhood and youth

World War and Civil War

Period between wars

Great Patriotic War

Post-war period of life

Military ranks

Hero of the Soviet Union

Weapon of honor

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 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 and led the assault on Königsberg. In 1945, commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East in the war with Japan. One of greatest commanders 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).

Biography

Childhood and youth

Born, according to the metric book (art. style), on September 16, 1895. A. M. Vasilevsky himself believed that he was born on September 17, on the same day as 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 “fixed” in Vasilevsky’s memoirs “The Work of a Whole Life”, as well as in the dates of awarding anniversary post-war awards preceding his birthday). 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 psalm-reader (Psalm-reader is the lowest rank of church ministers) of the St. Nicholas Edinoverie Church, Mikhail Alexandrovich Vasilevsky (1866-1953). Mother - Nadezhda Ivanovna Vasilevskaya (30.09.1872 - 7.08.1939), nee Sokolova, daughter of a psalm-reader in the village of Uglets, Kineshma district. Both mother and father were " Orthodox religion according to common faith" (as recorded in the metric book of St. Nicholas Church in the village of Novaya Golchikha). Alexander was the fourth oldest of eight siblings.

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 tutelage of Novogolchikha manufacturer D.F. Morokin) stone Ascension Edinoverie Church. Later, Alexander Vasilevsky began studying at the parish school at this temple. 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 secular educational institution. As a result of participating 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 the demands of the seminarians were partially met.

World War and Civil War

Alexander dreamed of becoming an agronomist or land surveyor, but the outbreak of the First World War changed his plans. Before the last class of the seminary, Vasilevsky and several classmates took external exams, and in February began studying at the Alekseevsky Military School. In May 1915, he completed an accelerated course of training (4 months) and was sent to the front with the rank of ensign. From June to September, he visited a number of reserve units and finally ended up on the Southwestern Front, where he took up the post of half-company commander 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, which after some time was recognized as one of the best in the regiment. In this position he participated in the famous Brusilov breakthrough in May 1916. As a result of heavy losses among the officers, he ended up as a battalion commander of the same 409th regiment. Received the rank of staff captain. The news of the October Revolution found Vasilevsky near Ajud-Nou, in Romania, where he decided to leave military service and went on leave in November 1917.

While at home, at the end of December 1917, Vasilevsky received news that the soldiers of the 409th regiment had elected him as commander in accordance with the then-current principle of election of commanders. 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 declared the independence of Ukraine from the Soviets. The Kineshma military department recommended that Vasilevsky not go to the regiment. Following the advice, “he remained dependent on his parents until June 1918, studying agriculture" From June to August 1918 he worked as a hundredth instructor of general education at the Ugletsky volost of the Kineshma district of the Kostroma province.

From September 1918 he worked as a teacher in primary schools ah villages of Verkhovye and Podyakovlevo, Golun volost, Novosilsky district, Tula province.

In April 1919, he was drafted into the Red Army and sent to the 4th reserve battalion, to the position of platoon instructor (assistant platoon commander). A month later, he was sent as the 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 appropriation 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. At the beginning of October, he takes command of the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Tula Infantry Division, which occupies a sector of the fortified area southwest of Tula. The regiment did not have the chance to participate in hostilities against Denikin’s troops, since the Southern Front stopped at 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 position 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 conducts military operations against the Poles in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha region. Here Vasilevsky has a conflict with brigade commander O.I. Kalnin. Kalnin orders to take command of the 427th Regiment, which retreated in disarray. No one knows the exact location of the regiment, and the deadlines set by Kalnin seem insufficient to Vasilevsky. Vasilevsky reports that he cannot carry out the order. Kalnin first sends Vasilevsky to court, then halfway returns him 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.

Period between wars

After the war, Vasilevsky took part in the fight against Bulak-Balakhovich’s detachment on the territory of Belarus, and until August 1921 he fought with bandits in the Smolensk province. Over the next 10 years, he commanded all three regiments of the 48th Tver Rifle Division and headed the division school for junior commanders. In 1927 he graduated from rifle and tactical advanced training courses for the command staff of the Red Army named after. III Comintern "Shot". In June 1928, the 143rd Regiment was singled out as an inspection team for exercises. In the fall of 1930, the 144th Regiment, which was considered the most poorly trained in the division before Vasilevsky took command, took first place and received an excellent rating in circumferential maneuvers.

Probably, Vasilevsky’s successes led to his transfer to staff work, which was reported to him by V.K. Triandafillov immediately after the end of the maneuvers. In order not to once again postpone joining the party due to a change in duty station, Vasilevsky submits an application to the regiment party bureau. The application was granted, and Vasilevsky was accepted as a candidate member of the party. Due to the party purge that took place in 1933-1936, the period of being a candidate was somewhat delayed, and Vasilevsky would be accepted into the party only in 1938, already while serving on the General Staff.

Vasilevsky, in his 1938 autobiography, stated that “personal and written communication with parents has been lost since 1924.” Relations were restored in 1940 at the suggestion of Stalin.

Since the spring of 1931, Vasilevsky worked in the Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army, edited the Combat Training Bulletin published by the department and assisted the editors of the Military Herald magazine. Participated in the creation of the “Instructions for conducting 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 was unexpectedly appointed head of the academy's logistics department. In October 1937, a new appointment followed - head of the operational training department for command personnel at the General Staff. Since 1939, he has concurrently held the position of Deputy Chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff. In this position, he participated in the development of the initial version of the plan for war with Finland, which was later rejected by Stalin. With the beginning Winter War performed the duties of First Deputy Chief of the General Staff Ivan Smorodinov, sent to the front. He participated as one of the representatives of the Soviet Union in the negotiations and signing of a peace treaty with Finland, and 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 head of the Operations Directorate with the rank of division commander. Since April 1940, he took part in the development of a plan for war with Germany.

On November 9, as part of the Soviet delegation led by Vyacheslav Molotov, he traveled to Berlin for negotiations with Germany.

Great Patriotic War

A participant in 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 part of a group of GKO representatives who ensured the speedy dispatch of retreating troops that had escaped encirclement to the Mozhaisk defensive line.

Vasilevsky played one of the key roles in organizing the defense of Moscow and the subsequent counter-offensive. During the most critical days near Moscow, from October 16 to the end of November 1941, when the General Staff was evacuated, he headed an operational group in Moscow (the first echelon of the General Staff) to serve Headquarters. The main responsibilities of the task force, consisting of 10 people, included: “to have a comprehensive knowledge and correct assessment of events at the front; constantly and accurately, but without excessive pettiness, inform Headquarters about them; in connection with changes in the front-line situation, promptly and correctly develop and report to the Supreme High Command your proposals; in accordance with the operational and strategic decisions made by 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 effectiveness of troops, the formation and training of reserves, and the material and combat support of troops". On October 28, 1941, the activities of the task force were highly appreciated by Stalin - four were awarded the next rank: Vasilevsky - the rank of lieutenant general, and the other three - the rank of major general. From November 29 to December 10, 1941, due to Shaposhnikov’s illness, Vasilevsky served as chief of the General Staff. The entire burden of preparing a counteroffensive near Moscow fell on the shoulders of A. Vasilevsky. The counteroffensive began by the troops of the Kalinin Front on December 5, 1941. Since “the Headquarters 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 to “personally convey to the front commander a directive to move to counter-offensive and explain to him all the requirements for it.”

From mid-April to May 8, 1942, as a representative of Headquarters, he was on the North-Western Front, where he assisted in the attempt to liquidate the Demyansk bridgehead. From 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, due to the German breakthrough of the Crimean Front, he was recalled by 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 from October he was simultaneously deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR. From July 23 to August 26 - representative of the Headquarters on the Stalingrad Front, sent joint action 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 the counter-offensive at Stalingrad. A. M. Vasilevsky 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 until mid-December carried out the liquidation of the enemy group in the Stalingrad pocket, which he did not complete, as he was transferred to the southwest to assist in repelling Manstein’s relief group operating in the Kotelnikov direction. From January 2 on the Voronezh, then on the Bryansk front, he coordinates the offensive of 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 just 29 days earlier he was awarded the rank of army general.

On behalf of the Supreme Command Headquarters, Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts in the Battle of Kursk. He led the planning and conduct of operations for the liberation of Donbass, the operation for the liberation of right-bank Ukraine and Crimea. On April 10, 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 was 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 resulted in a head bruise and a face cut by fragments of the windshield. His driver's leg was injured in the explosion. After this, Vasilevsky remained on bed rest for some time at the insistence of doctors.

During the Belarusian operation, Vasilevsky worked on the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts, coordinating their actions. From 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 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 Command.

The planning and management of the start of the East Prussian operation was carried out personally by Stalin; Vasilevsky was busy in the Baltic states at that time. 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 fulfill the duties of 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 had returned from Yalta, in response to Stalin’s offer 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 arrived about 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 a front commander, Vasilevsky led the assault on Königsberg - an operation that became a textbook one.

After the war, the commandant of Königsberg, General Lyash, in his book “So Königsberg Fell” accused Vasilevsky of not complying with the guarantees he gave 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 became involved in the development of a plan for war with Japan on April 27, 1945, at the end of the East Prussian operation, although rough sketches of the plan were made in the fall of 1944. Under his leadership, the Manchurian Strategic Plan was prepared by June 27 offensive operation, which was approved by the Headquarters and State Committee Defense. On July 5, 1945, dressed in the uniform of a colonel general, with documents addressed to Vasiliev, Vasilevsky arrived in Chita. On July 30, by directive of the State Defense Committee, he was appointed commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East.

During the preparation for the offensive, Vasilevsky visited the initial positions of the troops, met the troops of the Transbaikal, 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, in particular reaching the Machzhur Plain, were clarified and shortened. 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 Soviet and Mongolian troops under the command of A. M. Vasilevsky to defeat the million-strong Kwantung Army of Japan in Manchuria.

Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was awarded the second Gold Star medal on September 8, 1945 for his skillful leadership of Soviet troops in the Far East during the war with Japan.

Post-war period of life

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, A. M. Vasilevsky's military career 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) re-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 military uniform", and in January 1959 he was again returned to the staff Armed Forces and appointed inspector general of the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense (until December 5, 1977).

At the 19th and 20th congresses he was elected a member of the CPSU Central Committee (1952 - 1961). He was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 2nd–4th 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.

Military ranks

• Brigade commander - assigned on August 16, 1938,
• Divisional Commander - April 5, 1940,
• Major General - June 4, 1940,
• Lieutenant General - October 28, 1941,
• Colonel General - May 21, 1942,
• Army General - January 18, 1943,
• Marshal of the Soviet Union - February 16, 1943.

• 2 Gold Star medals (July 29, 1944, September 8, 1945),
• Bronze bust of the Hero in the city of Kineshma, Ivanovo region. (1949, sculptor Vuchetich).

Orders

• 8 Orders of Lenin (May 21, 1942, July 29, 1944, February 21, 1945, September 29, 1945, September 29, 1955, September 29, 1965, September 29, 1970, September 29, 1975),
• Order of the October Revolution (February 22, 1968),
• 2 Orders of Victory (No. 2 and No. 7) (April 10, 1944, April 19, 1945),
• 2 Orders of the Red Banner (November 3, 1944, June 20, 1949),
• Order of Suvorov, 1st class (January 28, 1943),
• Order of the Red Star (1939),
• Order "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" III degree (April 30, 1975).

Medals

• “For military valor. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"
• “XX years of the Red Army” (1938)
• "For the defense of Moscow"
• "For the defense of Stalingrad"
• "For the capture of Koenigsberg"
• “For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.”
• "For victory over Japan"
• “Twenty years of victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.”
• “Thirty years of victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.”
• "In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow"
• "30 years Soviet Army and Fleet"
• "40 years of the USSR Armed Forces"
• "50 years of the USSR Armed Forces"

Weapon of honor

• Personalized checker with a gold image State emblem USSR (1968)

Foreign awards

• 2 Orders of Sukhbaatar (MPR, 1966, 1971)
• Order of the Red Banner of Battle (MPR, 1945)
• Order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, 1st degree (NRB, 1974)
• Order of Karl Marx (GDR, 1975)
• Order of the White Lion, 1st class (Czechoslovakia, 1955)

• Order of the White Lion "For Victory" 1st degree (Czechoslovakia, 1945)
• Order "Virtuti Miltari" 1st class (Poland, 1946)
• Order of the Renaissance of Poland, II and III class (Poland, 1968, 1973)
• Order of the Grunwald Cross, 1st class (Poland, 1946)
• Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor (France, 1944)
• Order of the Legion of Honor, Commander-in-Chief degree (USA, 1944)
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (UK, 1943)
• Order of the Partisan Star, 1st class (SFRY, 1946)
• Order of National Liberation (SFRY, 1946)
• Order of the State Banner, 1st class (DPRK, 1948)
• Order of the Precious Chalice, 1st class (China, 1946)
• Military Cross 1939 (Czechoslovakia, 1943)
• Military Cross (France, 1944)
• 6 medals of the MPR, one medal each of the People's Republic of Belarus, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, North Korea, China

In total, he was awarded 31 foreign state awards.

Movies

• Forgotten Victory / Battlefield. Manchuria - The Forgotten Victoria. Documentary film about the Manchurian offensive strategic operation under the command of A. M. Vasilevsky.

Monuments and plaques

• Bronze bust of twice Hero of the Soviet Union (square named after A. M. Vasilevsky) in the city of Kineshma, Ivanovo region. (1949, sc. Vuchetich);
• Monument to Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky in Kaliningrad on the square named after him (2000);
• Bust of Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky in his homeland, in the city of Vichuga, Ivanovo region. (Walk of Glory, opened on May 8, 2006, sk. A. A. Smirnov and S. Yu. Bychkov, architect I. A. Vasilevsky).
• Memorial plaque at the marshal's birthplace (Vasilevsky St., 13) in Vichuga, Ivanovo region.
• Memorial plaque on the former building. Kostroma Theological Seminary (now the building of the Kostroma state university named after N.A. Nekrasov at the address: Kostroma, st. May 1, 14)
• Memorial plaque (Vasilevsky St., 4) in Ivanovo (2005).
• Memorial plaque (Vasilevsky St., 2) in Volgograd (2007 - within the framework of the year of memory of Marshal of Victory A.M. Vasilevsky).
• Memorial plaque (Vasilevsky St., 25) in the Sakharovo microdistrict, Tver.

Perpetuating the name of Vasilevsky

• The village of Vasilevskoye (formerly the village of Wesselhöfen) in the Marshal rural settlement of the Guryevsky district of the Kaliningrad region is named after the marshal.
• A square in Kaliningrad is named after Marshal Vasilevsky.
• Streets in the following Russian cities are named after Marshal Vasilevsky: Vichuga, Volgograd, Kineshma (street and square), Moscow, Tver, Ivanovo, Chelyabinsk, Engels (Saratov region).
• Streets in the following cities of Ukraine are named after Marshal Vasilevsky: Krasnodon, Krivoy Rog (boulevard), Nikolaev, Simferopol, Slavyansk.
• Large anti-submarine ship "Marshal Vasilevsky" (in Severomorsk, scrapped in January 2007).
• Military Academy of Military Air Defense of the Armed Forces Russian Federation named after Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky (Smolensk). The name was assigned on May 11, 2007 (order of the Government of the Russian Federation (dated 05/11/2007 N 593-r), approved by order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 04.11.2004 N 1404-r) within the framework of the year of memory of Marshal of Victory A. M. Vasilevsky, organized by the editors federal magazine "Senator".
• Tanker "Marshal Vasilevsky" (home port - Novorossiysk).
• Lilac variety “Marshal Vasilevsky”, bred in 1963 by breeder L. A. Kolesnikov.
• Peak "Marshal Vasilevsky" (until 1961 - peak of the RevVoenSovet, height 6330 meters, located in Tajikistan) and glacier "Marshal Vasilevsky" in the Pamirs.
• Military Academy of Military Air Defense Ground Forces named after Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky (Kiev). Founded on June 20, 1977. In February 1978, the academy was named after the outstanding Soviet commander, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich VA-SILEVSKY. In June 1992, in connection with the transition of the academy to the jurisdiction of Ukraine, the academy held its 100th and last graduation and ceased to exist as the Military Academy of Air Defense of the Ground Forces named after Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky.

Alternative views on Marshal Vasilevsky

N. S. Khrushchev, in his memoirs dating back 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 view Vasilevsky as a brilliant military leader who made a major contribution to the victory, although after the war, in a number of memoirs, front and army commanders expressed restrained dissatisfaction with the activities of Headquarters representatives.

In literature about the Great Patriotic War not bound by the official Soviet canon, another extreme is presented: for example, Viktor Suvorov (Rezun) in his book “Shadow of Victory” directly connects the Stalingrad victory and Vasilevsky, pointing to the operation plan on which his name appears, and a sign of his talent, including the fact that it was his talent that Stalin kept with him in Moscow after the war. The decisive factor in defeating Nazi Germany he considers the well-functioning work of the General Staff under his leadership. From Suvorov's point of view post-war years the contribution of the General Staff was systematically downplayed by Zhukov and Soviet propaganda, and the role Communist Party, on the contrary, was exaggerated.

Another post-Soviet view of Vasilevsky’s personality and role in the war is the book by publicist P. Ya. Mezhiritsky “Reading Marshal Zhukov,” in which, like Khrushchev, attention is drawn to Vasilevsky’s timidity in the initial period of the war, the solidarity of his opinion with Shaposhnikov, and 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 large 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 Vasilevsky’s brilliant analytical abilities, 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 surrounded German troops in order to obtain permission for a risky operation from Stalin.

Relations with Stalin. Vasilevsky's character and leadership style

Undoubtedly, the greatest influence on the development of Vasilevsky’s staff work skills and operational art was exerted by B. M. Shaposhnikov, under whose leadership Alexander Mikhailovich began working in a staff position. Before this, Shaposhnikov was the commander of the troops 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, who found it difficult and long to get along with people.

In addition to the formation of his style of working with subordinates during his entire previous service and the skills of staff service received from B. M. Shaposhnikov, there was another stage in Vasilevsky’s formation as a military leader - studying at the first intake of the General Staff Academy, where the best experts in military affairs were gathered time.

Vasilevsky's first meetings with Stalin took place during the preparation of the Winter War plan. In addition to working meetings, there was also one informal one: lunch in the Kremlin, where Stalin was keenly interested in the fate of Vasilevsky’s parents, and upon learning that the relationship was severed, he was very surprised and proposed to restore it immediately. Vasilevsky claimed that from February 1940 to August 1941 he had no contacts with Stalin and constant meetings resumed only with the appointment to the post of chief of the operational department of the General Staff, which occurred 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 about Vasilevsky: “Well, let’s listen to what the Shaposhnikov school will tell us!”

Already when Vasilevsky was the chief of the General Staff, Stalin showed sensitivity to personal problems, tried to prevent overwork, personally setting rest hours for Vasilevsky and checking his progress. However, this did not stop Stalin from reprimanding Vasilevsky for his official blunders. Stalin's harsh telegrams are known regarding slight delays in sending reports from the fronts, where Vasilevsky traveled as a representative of Headquarters. While in Moscow, A.M. Vasilevsky reported daily to Stalin about the situation at the fronts, and while going to the front he continuously maintained telephone contact. By the marshal's own admission, there was not a day when he did 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 lieutenant general’s dress uniform. When the Soviet Union began to have its first successes at the front, Vasilevsky became one of the most awarded military leaders, as evidenced by the numerous orders, medals and titles awarded to him. For example, he was awarded the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union just 29 days after the rank of army general (which he was the first to receive 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 had 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.

The Great Patriotic War found Major General Vasilevsky at the General Staff, in the position of Deputy Chief of Operations. Less than two months later he was appointed chief of the operational department and deputy chief of the General Staff. The Chief of the General Staff was, as you know, Shaposhnikov.

Together with Shaposhnikov, Vasilevsky participates in Headquarters meetings in the Kremlin. And in December 1941, during Shaposhnikov’s illness, Vasilevsky served as chief of the General Staff.

A. M. Vasilevsky played a key role in organizing the defense of Moscow and the counter-offensive, which began at the end of 1941. During these tragic days, when the fate of Moscow was being decided, from October 16 to the end of November, he headed the operational group to serve Headquarters. The group’s responsibilities included recognizing and correctly assessing events at the front, constantly informing Headquarters about them, reporting their proposals to the Supreme High Command in connection with changes in the front-line situation, and quickly and accurately developing plans and directives. The task force, as can be seen from this list of responsibilities, was the brain and heart of the grandiose military operation that became known as the Battle of Moscow.

In April 1942, Vasilevsky was awarded the rank of Colonel General, and in June of the same year he took the post of Chief of the General Staff.

Throughout the Battle of Stalingrad, Vasilevsky, as a representative of the Headquarters, was in Stalingrad, coordinating the interaction of the fronts. He played a decisive role in repelling the Manstein group. In January 1943, Vasilevsky was awarded the rank of Army General and was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree. And less than a month later, which is extremely unusual, he became Marshal of the Soviet Union.

It was Vasilevsky who came up with the idea of ​​conducting a defensive operation, followed by a counteroffensive during Battle of Kursk. It was he who convinced Stalin and other representatives of the General Staff to do just that. At the height of the Battle of Kursk, he coordinated the actions of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts. Tank battle near Prokhorovka, Vasilevsky observed personally from the position of his command post.

Vasilevsky planned and led operations to liberate Donbass, Crimea and southern Ukraine. On the day of the capture of Odessa in April 1944, Vasilevsky was awarded the Order of Victory. He became the second holder of this order. The first was Zhukov.

When Sevastopol was liberated, in early May 1944, Vasilevsky was personally driving around the city, and his car came across a mine. The marshal was wounded. The wound was minor, but he had to undergo treatment in Moscow for some time.

However, already at the end of May, Marshal Vasilevsky was leaving for the front to command the actions of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts during Operation Bagration. For the liberation of the Baltic states and Belarus, on July 29, 1944, Vasilevsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

In February 1945, the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Chernyakhovsky, died. Vasilevsky was appointed in his place. In this position, he led the assault on Konigsberg - an operation included in all military textbooks.

Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky was born in 1895 on September 30 (new style). He was the Chief of the General Staff during the Second World War and took active participation 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 Königsberg offensive.

Biography of Vasilevsky Alexander (briefly)

The birthplace of the future Soviet military leader was the village. 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. Novopokrovskoe. Here Vasilevsky’s father began serving as a priest in the Ascension Church. After a while, Alexander entered a 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 secular educational institution. In the same year, Vasilevsky took part in a strike of seminarians who opposed the authorities’ 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.

First World War

The future Marshal Vasilevsky dreamed of becoming a land surveyor or agronomist. However, the war radically changed his plans. Before the start of his last year at the seminary, he and several of his classmates took exams as external students. In February he entered Alekseevskoye military school. After completing an accelerated four-month course, Vasilevsky went to the front as an ensign. Between June and September he was stationed in several reserve units. As a result, he was transferred to the Southwestern Front, where he served as a half-company commander at the 409th Novokhopersky 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. He subsequently received the position of staff captain. During his stay in Romania, in Adjud-Nou, Vasilevsky learns about the beginning of the October Revolution. In 1917, having decided to leave the service, he resigned.

Civil war

At the end of December 1917, while at home, Alexander learned that he had been elected commander by the soldiers of the 409th regiment. At that time, the unit belonged to the Romanian Front, commanded by General. 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 recommended that Alexander not go to the regiment. Following this advice, he stayed with his parents until June 1918 and was engaged in agriculture. Since September 1918, Vasilevsky taught in primary schools in the villages of Podyakovlevo and Verkhovye in the Tula province. In the spring of the following year, he was drafted into 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 implementing surplus appropriation and fighting gangs. In the summer of 1919, the battalion was transferred to Tula. Here the 1st Infantry Division is formed in anticipation of the approach of the troops of General. Denikin and the Southern Front. Vasilevsky is appointed commander of first a company and then a battalion. From the beginning of October, he was given leadership of the 5th Infantry Division, 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 at Kromy and Orel at the end of October. In December, the division was sent to fight the invaders. At Vasilevsky's request, he is appointed assistant commander. As part of the 15th Army, he takes part in battles with Poland.

WWII

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 of Moscow, he was a member of a group of GKO representatives who ensured the expedited dispatch of the encircled and retreating troops to the Mozhaisk line. In organizing the defense of the capital and the subsequent counter-offensive, Marshal Vasilevsky played one of the main roles. headed the task force in Moscow at the height of the battles - from October 16 to the end of November. He led the first echelon of the General Staff, serving Headquarters. The main responsibilities of the group of 10 people were:

Marshal Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky: activities before the end of the war

On February 16, 1943 he received another rank. The High Command elevates Vasilevsky to marshal. This was quite unusual, since 29 days earlier he received the title of Marshal Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the Steppe and Voronezh fronts during the Battle of Kursk. Under his leadership, the planning and conduct of operations to liberate 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 since its inception. It was during Operation Bagration that he coordinated the actions of the 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic fronts. Under his leadership were Soviet forces during the liberation of the Baltic states. Here, from July 29, he participated in the direct conduct of the offensive.

East Prussian operation

Stalin was responsible for its planning and leadership of the initial stage. Marshal Vasilevsky was in the Baltic states at that moment. But Stalin and Antonov had to go to Russia. In this regard, Vasilevsky was recalled from the Baltic states. 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 arrived about the death of Chernyakhovsky, commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. Stalin appoints Vasilevsky commander. In this position he led

Last years of life

After Stalin's death, 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 over as Minister of Military Affairs. In December 1957, Marshal Vasilevsky was dismissed due to illness. From 1956 to 1958 he served as the first chairman of the Great Patriotic War Veterans Committee. In subsequent years, he took a fairly 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 located in the Kremlin wall.

In the year of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and World War II, I was going to start a biographical column called “Marshals of Victory.” But there were so many events in the past year that, having fidgeted with the calendar, I simply did not have time to start it. For this reason, I am fulfilling this promise already in the current year, 2016. This idea came to me for a reason: many marshals and military leaders of the USSR and the Red Army celebrated their birthdays last year, albeit posthumously. But even this year there are also “heroes of the occasion”. Nevertheless, they made a significant contribution to the defeat of the enemy in that world massacre. The first person we will talk about is Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky. September 18 last year marked the 120th anniversary of his birth.

Alexander Vasilevsky among students of the Kostroma Theological Seminary in 1914 (in the first row, second from left)
On September 30 (September 18, old style), 1895, in the small village of Novaya Golchikha, Kineshma district, Kostroma Province (today part of the city of Vichuga, Ivanovo region), Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was born. The future Marshal of the Soviet Union was born into the family of an Orthodox priest. A talented General Staff officer, Marshal Vasilevsky was a real conductor of the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. His daily work and enormous amount of grunt work lay at the basis of many brilliant victories of the Red Army. One of the best senior strategic officers, Alexander Vasilevsky did not gain such great fame as a victorious marshal like Georgy Zhukov, but his role in the victory over Nazi Germany was hardly less significant.

Bust to Marshal in Vichuga
Alexander Mikhailovich was born into a large family. His father Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vasilevsky was the church regent and psalm-reader of the St. Nicholas Edinoverie (direction in the Old Believers) church. Mother Nadezhda Ivanovna Vasilevskaya was raising 8 children. The future marshal was the fourth oldest among his brothers and sisters. Initially, the famous future Soviet military leader elected spiritual path, following the example of his father. In 1909, he graduated from the Kineshma Theological School, after which he entered the Kostroma Theological Seminary. A diploma from this seminary allowed him to continue his education in any secular educational institution. Vasilevsky graduated from the seminary at the height of the First World War in January 1915, and his life path changed dramatically. Vasilevsky did not discover a serious desire to become a priest, but decided to go and defend the country.


Memorial plaque on the building of Kostroma State University named after N. A. Nekrasov
Since February 1915, Alexander Vasilevsky has been part of the Russian Imperial Army. In June 1915, he completed accelerated courses (4 months) at the famous Moscow Alekseevsky Military School and was awarded the rank of ensign. Vasilevsky spent almost two years at the front. Without normal rest, vacations, the future matured in battles great commander, his warrior character was forged. Vasilevsky managed to take part in the famous Brusilov breakthrough in May 1916. In 1917, Alexander Vasilevsky, already with the rank of staff captain, served as battalion commander on the Southwestern and Romanian fronts. In conditions of the total collapse of the army after October Revolution Vasilevsky quits his service and returns to his home.

Returning home, he worked for some time in the education sector. In June 1918, he was appointed instructor of general education in the Ugletsky volost (Kineshma district, Kostroma province). And from September 1918 he worked as a primary school teacher in the villages of Verkhovye and Podyakovlevo, Tula province (today the territory of the Oryol region).

A.M. Vasilevsky. 08/01/1928
He was called up for military service again in April 1919, this time to the Red Army. The staff captain of the tsarist army, in fact, begins a new military career from a sergeant position, becoming an assistant platoon commander. However, the knowledge and experience gained make themselves felt, and soon enough he rises to the rank of assistant regiment commander. Vasilevsky is a member civil war from January 1920, as assistant commander of the 429th Infantry Regiment in the 11th and 96th Infantry Divisions, he fought on the Western Front. He fought against gangs operating in the Samara and Tula provinces, Bulak-Balakhovich’s detachments. He took part in the Soviet-Polish War as assistant commander of the 96th Infantry Division from the 15th Army. But Vasilevsky could not rise above the position of regiment commander for 10 long years; most likely, his past affected him.


Asset of Osoaviakhim of the city of Tver. In the third row, third from left, A. M. Vasilevsky, 1926.
The long-awaited leap in the fate of the future marshal occurred in 1930. Following the results of the autumn maneuvers, Vladimir Triandafillov, who was one of the largest theorists of the operational art of the Red Army (he was the author of the so-called “deep operation” - the main operational doctrine of the Soviet armed forces until the Great Patriotic War), drew attention to a capable commander. Unfortunately, Triandafillov himself, who at that time held the post of deputy chief of staff of the Red Army, died in a plane crash on July 12, 1931. However, before this, he managed to notice the talented regiment commander Alexander Vasilevsky and promoted him along the staff line. Thanks to him, Vasilevsky got into the combat training system of the Red Army, where he was able to focus on generalizing and analyzing the experience of using troops.
Beginning in March 1931, the future marshal served in the Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army - assistant to the head of the sector and 2nd department. From December 1934 he was the head of the combat training department of the Volga Military District. In April 1936, he was sent to study at the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army, which had just been created in the country, but after completing the first year of the academy, he was unexpectedly appointed head of the logistics department at the same academy. It is noteworthy that the former head of the department, I. I. Trutko, was repressed at that time.

In October 1937, a new appointment awaited him - head of the operational training department of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff. In 1938, by order People's Commissar Defense of the USSR, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was awarded the rights of a graduate of the Academy of the General Staff. From May 21, 1940, Vasilevsky served as deputy chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff. If, in the words of another Soviet Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov, the General Staff was the brain of the army, then its operational management was the brain of the General Staff itself. Operations control was the place where all options for conducting combat operations were planned and calculated.

In the spring of 1940, Vasilevsky headed the government commission to demarcate the Soviet-Finnish border, and was also involved in developing action plans in the event of war with Germany. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, already on June 29, 1941, Boris Mikhailovich Shaposhnikov again became the chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, who took the place of Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, who left this position with considerable scandal, who was not at ease within the headquarters walls and always wanted to break out to the front line closer to the troops. On August 1, 1941, Alexander Vasilevsky was appointed deputy chief of the General Staff, as well as head of the Operations Directorate. Thus, one of the most fruitful officer tandems in the military command of the Soviet Union during the war was launched. Already in 1941, Vasilevsky played one of the leading roles in organizing the defense of Moscow, as well as the subsequent counter-offensive of Soviet troops.

It is worth noting that the former colonel of the tsarist army Boris Shaposhnikov was the only military man whom Stalin himself always addressed exclusively by his first name and patronymic and who, regardless of his position, was a personal consultant Soviet leader on military issues, enjoying the unlimited trust of Stalin. However, at that time Shaposhnikov was already 60 years old, he was ill, and the unbearable load of the first months of the Great Patriotic War seriously affected his health. Therefore, more and more often, Vasilevsky turned out to be in charge “on the farm”. Finally, in May 1942, after the most severe catastrophes that befell the Red Army in the south - the cauldron near Kharkov and the collapse of the Crimean Front, Shaposhnikov resigned. His place at the head of the General Staff is taken by Alexander Vasilevsky, who officially assumed his new position only on June 26, 1942, before which he wandered along the fronts from north to south.

With S.M. Budyonny in Donbass. 1943
By that time he was already a colonel general. In his new position, he received what is called the full set: the disaster near Kharkov, the breakthrough of German troops to Stalingrad, the fall of Sevastopol, the disaster of the 2nd shock army Vlasov near the town of Myasnoy Bor. However, Vasilevsky pulled it out. He was one of the creators of the plan for the counteroffensive of the Red Army in the Battle of Stalingrad, and took part in the development and coordination of several other strategic operations. Already in February 1943, after the victory at Stalingrad, Vasilevsky became Marshal of the Soviet Union, setting a kind of record - Alexander Vasilevsky remained in the rank of army general for less than one month.
The modest Chief of the General Staff did an excellent job with the poorly visible from the outside, but very large-scale work of the conductor of the huge orchestra that was the active army. He made a great contribution to the development of Soviet military art, personally taking part in the planning of many operations. On behalf of the Supreme Command Headquarters, he coordinated the actions of the Steppe and Voronezh fronts during the Battle of Kursk. He led the planning and conduct of strategic operations for the liberation of Donbass, Northern Tavria, Crimea, and the Belarusian offensive operation. On July 29, 1944, for the exemplary performance of the Supreme Commander's tasks on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.


Vasilevsky accepts surrender from Alfon Hitter. Vitebsk, 1943
But you shouldn’t think that Vasilevsky spent all his time at headquarters. In May 1944, after the capture of Sevastopol, he was even slightly wounded when a staff car hit a mine. And in February 1945, for the first time during the war, he personally led one of the fronts. He asked several times to be relieved of his position in order to personally work in the troops. Stalin hesitated, because he did not want to let go of his usual Chief of the General Staff, but in February the tragic news came about the death of the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Ivan Chernyakhovsky, after which Stalin gave his consent. Leaving another talented officer at the helm of the General Staff - Alexei Antonov - Vasilevsky heads the 3rd Belorussian Front, directly exercising operational and strategic leadership of a large formation of troops. It was he who led the assault on Koenigsberg.

Back in the fall of 1944, Vasilevsky was given the task of calculating the necessary forces and means for a possible war with Japan. It was under his leadership that already in 1945 a detailed plan for the Manchurian strategic offensive operation was drawn up. On July 30 of the same year, Alexander Mikhailovich was appointed commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops located in the Far East. On the eve of the large-scale offensive, Vasilevsky personally visited the starting positions of his troops, got acquainted with the units entrusted to him, and discussed the situation with the commanders of the corps and armies. During these meetings, the deadlines for completing the main tasks, in particular reaching the Manchurian Plain, were clarified and reduced. It took Soviet and Mongolian units only 24 days to defeat the million-strong Kwantung Army of Japan.

Postage stamp with the image of the Marshal. 1980
The campaign of the Soviet troops “through the Gobi and Khingan,” which Western historians called the “August Storm,” is still being studied in military academies around the world as an excellent example of precisely structured and executed logistics. Soviet troops (more than 400 thousand people, 2,100 tanks and 7,000 guns) were transferred from the west to a rather poor theater of operations in terms of communications and deployed on the spot, carrying out long marches under their own power, covering 80-90 kilometers on peak days without major delays due to a perfectly thought-out and practically implemented supply and repair system.
For his skillful leadership of Soviet troops in the Far East of the country during the fleeting campaign against Japan, on September 8, 1945, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky was awarded the second Gold Star medal, he became twice Hero of the Soviet Union. After the end of the war, Vasilevsky returned to the leadership of the General Staff, and then headed the country’s military leadership. Before him, the post of Minister of Defense was held by Nikolai Bulganin, who, although he carried the marshal's weather on his shoulders, was a party functionary, not a military leader. Before them, the People's Commissariat of Defense was headed personally by Joseph Stalin. The Soviet leader was suspicious of the “Marshals of Victory” and the fact that it was Alexander Vasilevsky who eventually received the War Ministry spoke volumes.

Joseph Stalin clearly saw in the marshal a replacement for Shaposhnikov, who died in 1945, in the post of conditional “consultant to the leader No. 1.” At the same time, all Stalin’s motives, according to the traditions of that era, remained behind the scenes. On the one hand, Alexander Vasilevsky, like Stalin, was once a seminarian. On the other hand, this was the first student of the respected Boris Shaposhnikov, who during the war proved his ability to work independently at the highest level.

Ship "Marshal Vasilevsky"
One way or another, under Joseph Stalin, Marshal Vasilevsky’s career was going uphill, and after his death it began to collapse. A step back occurred literally in the very first days after the death of the leader, when Bulganin again became the Minister of Defense of the USSR. At the same time, Vasilevsky did not have a good relationship with Nikita Khrushchev, who demanded that all military personnel disown Stalin, but Vasilevsky, like some Soviet military leaders, did not do this. Alexander Vasilevsky, who of the military leaders who lived in those years most likely personally communicated with Stalin more and more often than others during the Great Patriotic War, simply could not afford to buffoonery, saying that the leader was planning military operations almost at a time from Belomor cigarettes. And this despite the fact that Alexander Vasilevsky’s assessment of the role of Joseph Stalin himself in the history of the Soviet Union was far from ambiguous. In particular, he criticized the repressions against senior command personnel that had been going on since 1937, calling these repressions one of the possible reasons for the weakness of the Red Army in the initial period of the war.

The result of this behavior of Marshal Vasilevsky was that he first became Deputy Minister of Defense “for military science”, and already in December 1957 he retired. A little later, he will become part of the “paradise group” of inspectors general of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In 1973, Alexander Mikhailovich published a book of memoirs, quite rich in descriptions, entitled “The Work of a Whole Life,” in which he outlined in detail, but rather dryly, the work he did during the war. At the same time, until the end of his days, the marshal refused to make a film about himself or write additional biographies, citing the fact that he had already written everything in his book. Vasilevsky passed away on December 5, 1977 at the age of 82. The urn with his ashes was walled up in the Kremlin wall on Red Square.