During the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet army showed incredible courage. The way our warriors fought against the fascist invaders entered the history of the world as a model of heroism, the realization of the absolute value of their life only in the context of its exceptional usefulness at a particular moment of danger to their homeland. However, in addition to the heroism of the soldiers, the entire military campaign was marked by talented strategic decisions emanating from the military leaders. Such professional strategists, of course, included Antonov Alexey Innokentievich, a brief biography of which is presented in this article.
Hereditary military
The future general Alexei Antonov was born in Belarus on September 15, 1896 in a military family, which probably predetermined his fate. His father, Innokenty Alekseevich, was an officer, served in the artillery with the rank of captain. Mother Teresa Ksaverievna ran a household and raised children - the eldest daughter Lyudmila and son Alexei. She was of Polish origin, her father was exiled to Siberia for participating in the Shlakheti uprising in Poland in 1863-65. Alexey Innokentyevich’s grandfather was also an officer, originally from Siberia, who graduated from the Alexander Military School. His father wanted to study at the Academy of the General Staff, but he was denied admission due to the fact that his wife Teresa was a Catholic. He did not want to force his wife to change the faith to the Orthodox, and therefore went with his family to the Belarusian city of Grodno to serve in the artillery brigade. The future general Antonov, thanks to his mother's origin, spoke excellently not only in Russian, but also in Polish.
First years of study
When the boy was eight years old, the family moved to Ukraine, where his father received a transfer to the post of commander of the battery. Here he began his studies at the gymnasium. Antonov Alexey Innokentievich, whose biography was probably determined by the military past of his father and grandfather, initially did not show any predisposition to a military career. He was an extremely painful, shy and nervous boy. Seeing this, Antonov Sr. reconciled with the thought that his son would not follow in his footsteps. He began a lot and actively engaged with his son, his physical and intellectual development. Antonov Jr. was tempered, learned to play chess, ride a horse, later his father instilled in him interest in photography. In addition, when his son became older, he began to take him to field camps for the summer.
Alexei was twelve when his father unexpectedly died. The family lived on a military pension, the mother worked part-time. When the First World War began, the Antonov family moved to St. Petersburg. A year later, my mother also dies. At 19, the future General Antonov graduated from the St. Petersburg gymnasium and was tested at the university. His choice fell on the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. However, he will not be able to study there. Lack of livelihood forces the young man to go to work at the factory.
The beginning of the military field
In connection with Russia's participation in World War I, Antonov is called up for service at the age of 20. In December 1916 he studied externally at the Pavlovsk Military School. In the army, he was sent to the rank of ensign. Quite quickly, literally at the beginning of next year, the future General Antonov, whose biography had already entered the military rails, received a baptism of fire, was wounded in the head and sent to the hospital. Then he received his first award - the Order of St. Anne.
After being wounded, he was sent to the reserve regiment. In August 1917 he took part in the suppression of the Kornilov rebellion. He was responsible for the formation of the consolidated parts and providing them with weapons. In May 1918, his military career seemed to be over: he retired to the reserve and entered the Petrograd Forest Institute. But civilian life did not last long - as soon as the Civil War began, he joined the Red Army.
Participation in the civil war
The future General Antonov in April 1919 was placed at the disposal of the Southern Front and was sent to serve as assistant chief of staff of the division near Lugansk. In addition, he trained new recruits. Due to the fighting and the loss of Lugansk, which was occupied by units of Denikin, Antonov began to temporarily replace the post of chief of staff. In the second half of 1920, as a result of fierce battles with Wrangel’s formations, the Antonov’s division managed to recapture the territory of Ukraine north of Crimea.
During the battles for Sevastopol, the future general Antonov Alexey Innokentyevich met with the front commander Mikhail Frunze. A few years later, according to the results of past hostilities, he received the award: Certificate of Honor and Honorary weapon of the Revolutionary Military Council.
After the Civil
After the hostilities ended and the Bolsheviks finally prevailed, the future General Antonov and his division moved to a working position and took up field work in southern Ukraine. He decided to continue military education, starting to prepare for admission to the Academy. Although he was at that time among those few who, having risen to command, remained without an appropriate education, many of his colleagues noted outstanding abilities. Meanwhile, he began his studies at the Frunze Academy only six years later, in 1928, after he had joined the Communist Party and his first marriage.
He studied at the command faculty, studied French and became a military translator. According to the testimonies of his classmates, he showed serious zeal in study, paid special attention to classes on staff work and repeatedly underwent internships in the troops. After completing his studies in 1931, he returned to Ukraine and headed the headquarters in Korosten. A year later, a new faculty was opened at the Academy - on operational work, which future general Antonov Alexey Innokentievich graduates with honors.
Staff work
In 1935, he received the post of field investigator of the chief of staff of the Kharkov Military District. His responsibilities included, in particular, practicing maneuvers and organizing large-scale military exercises. Tank and aviation branches of the army were also involved in the maneuvers. In 1935, the largest tactical exercises were held in Ukraine, in which more than sixty thousand people and more than three thousand military equipment took part. It was here that many new achievements in operational work were practiced, for which Antonov, in particular, was awarded the People’s Commissar of Defense award.
In 1936, Antonov was invited as a student to the new Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army. However, he studied there for only a year, after which he was sent to the Moscow Military District, where he headed the headquarters. In 1938 he switched to teaching and research at the Frunze Academy. In particular, he studied the basic tactical methods of the German troops and the expansion of the use of tank units. This was the topic of his scientific work, with reports he repeatedly spoke to the military leadership. In February 1940, he received the title of "Associate Professor", and a little later he was awarded the military rank of Major General.
German attack
A few months before the war, the future Army General Antonov - a biography and a whim of fate brought him to hell - he headed the headquarters of the Kiev military district. By and large, he was preparing personnel for a possible strike, but the units were manned according to the rules of peacetime - by 65%. As soon as the war began, he became the chief of staff of the Kiev Special Military District. Within a fairly quick time - four days - he managed to carry out a call in ten subordinate areas by 90%, and technology - by more than 80%. In addition, the evacuation of civilians was also in his area of ​​responsibility. Already in August, future army general Antonov Alexey Innokentyevich was engaged in the formation of the headquarters of the Southern Front, which he himself headed.
For a long time, an extremely difficult situation developed on the Southwestern Front. The experience that accumulated rather quickly in the first months of the war was summarized and systematized by Antonov. He drew up recommendations on the conduct of battle, camouflage, reconnaissance, etc. to the military headquarters. He was engaged in the preparation of a counterattack in the Rostov direction in November, for which he received the Order of the Red Banner and the promotion - "Lieutenant General".
In November 1943 he was awarded the title "Army General". Later, he took part in the development of the Battle of Kursk, where he worked closely with George Zhukov and Alexander Vasilevsky. During the operation, he was twice wounded. In the same composition, the third winter military campaign was developed - the removal from the fascists of Ukraine and Crimea, the withdrawal of enemy troops from the country's borders, as well as the liberation in the northern direction and the lifting of the blockade from Leningrad. The 44-year summer campaign was also developed directly by Antonov, the army general of the USSR, about which he personally reported to Stalin in April.
Participation in the Yalta Conference
The second front, despite all the promises, was opened only in June 1944. In this regard, another direction appeared in the work - coordination of the actions of the allies. This became the responsibility of Antonov, who regularly met with representatives of the United States and Great Britain. In February 1945, Antonov, the army general, took part in the famous meeting of the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition in Yalta - he read a detailed report on the situation on the battlefields. He was later appointed chief of staff. According to historians, he was in the Kremlin office of Stalin more than anyone else from the military leadership - more than 280 times.
Antonov Alexey Innokentievich, whose exploits were more than obvious, personally developed a plan for the capture of Berlin, later he was assigned to the highest military award - the Order of Victory. It is worth noting that he was the only one of the 14 who received the order not in the rank of Marshal.
At the end of the war
After the end of the war, General Alexei Antonov was first engaged in the demobilization and disbandment of troops. Then in 1946 he was elected to the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union. From 1948 to 54 he served in the Transcaucasus, then returned to Moscow, where he began to work as the first deputy chief of the general staff, and also entered the board of the Ministry of Defense. In 1955 he headed the Warsaw Pact Organization. He died in Moscow at the age of 66. The ashes of the general are walled up in the Kremlin wall.