In the Lefortovo prison in Moscow on August 1950, three generals were shot dead after the war and were awarded many awards. They were accused of plotting and overthrowing the existing system. Their names V.N. Gordov, G.I. Kulik and F.T. Rybalchenko.
Youth of the future general
The future General Gordov was born in a peasant family in the small village of Matveevka in the territory of present-day Tatarstan. By the beginning of World War I, he had already reached the draft age and was at the front. Here, from the very first days, the young guy managed to stand out from the crowd and, at the end of the training course, was promoted to non-commissioned officer.
During the Civil War, he actively participated in battles. Already in those years, Vasily Gordov showed an extraordinary talent for career growth. Without any special commanding data, in a short time he went from a platoon to a regiment commander. In those same years he joined the party.
Failures in Mongolia
After the war, his career growth continued, and despite obvious miscalculations on his part. So, for example, he was recalled from a business trip to Mongolia, where he was sent as an army instructor, for his gross mistakes.
It should be noted here that back in 1918, Gordov was in the development of a specially created department, which in the future will become known as military counterintelligence. The reason was the illiterate orders given to them, which cost the lives of a huge number of military personnel, and his boorish manner of communicating with his subordinates. However, everything got away with it. So, having returned from Mongolia, he received another promotion.
On the fronts of two wars
By the beginning of the Finnish War, General Gordov was already the chief of staff of the 7th Army. And the old story repeats itself again. Illiterate command decisions, loss of personnel, removal from office and, as a result, another increase. From the first days of World War II, General Gordov departed for the front.
Here he takes part in many major military operations. And again, the reviews of colleagues paint the image of a commander who has personal courage, but is completely devoid of the ability to command large military formations. And again endless rudeness.
The failure of the defense of Smolensk
In 1942, completely unexpectedly for members of the highest command staff, Stalin appointed him commander of the Stalingrad Front. General Gordov here showed his complete lack of talent. As a result of his mistakes, the Germans managed to break through the defenses of the city’s defenders.
But even this caused only demotion - he became his deputy from the front commander. Why, in the years when even for insignificant official miscalculations were brought before the tribunal, the general, who had been under the supervision of the competent authorities for many years and was guilty of the failure of many military operations, was not brought to justice, remains a mystery.
"Officer meat grinder"
In October 1942, General Gordov was already commanding the front. And so it will continue until the end of the war. Some successful operations carried out under his command will be replaced by a series of failures, as a result of which many, many soldiers and officers will completely unjustifiably die. According to the memoirs of his colleagues, the officers were especially hard hit by his tyranny.
The orders that Gordov issued were preserved. The general forced all officers, up to the highest ranks, to go into battle in the front ranks of the attacking. As a result of such orders, combat units were deprived of experienced, well-trained commanders and lost their combat effectiveness. At the front he was called the “officer meat grinder.” It is difficult to add anything to this characterization. However, nothing prevented him from rising through the ranks and even becoming a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Retired general
But the war ended, victorious fireworks died out. Soon General Gordov was dismissed. For the first time in his life, Vasily Nikolaevich found himself outside the army. True, he was a member of the Supreme Council, and he did not have to sit idle. Going on business trips already as a civilian, Gordov saw a completely different life.
The general did not imagine the poverty in which ordinary people lived. Especially distinctly she appeared against the background of Western life, which he saw in conquered Germany. A huge scale of corruption opened before him. He did not find the strength to fight them. Everything came down, as we often do, to drunken conversations with two generals like him — Kulik and Rybalchenko.
Lefortovo tragedy
In these conversations, he scolded and blamed the head of state — Stalin — for everything. These conversations were recorded by the NKVD officers, and the “father of the peoples” became aware of everything. He could forgive and mediocre command, and rudeness with subordinates, and even failure to comply with orders. He didn’t forgive one thing - criticism. As a result, the arrest and the process, called the "riot of the generals." General Gordov and his two comrades were sentenced to death. This story is sad, but, unfortunately, quite typical for those years.