Marshal Biryuzov is one of the most prominent Soviet military leaders. His efforts have developed many tactical and strategic innovations. He also made an invaluable contribution to the Victory over Nazi Germany. His military career passed not only in the territory of the Soviet Union, but also in other countries that were subjected to Nazi occupation. For this Biryuzov received many Soviet and foreign awards.
Sergei Semenovich Biryuzov: biography
Sergey was born on August 21, 1904 according to the old style in the Ryazan province. His family members were merchants and had a good income. Therefore, the Biryuzovs had the opportunity to send their son to church school. After graduation, he continued his studies at home. From childhood he loved reading and was interested in military art. When the Civil War broke out on the territory of the Russian Empire, Sergei was only thirteen years old. However, he fervently supported the Reds. Therefore, at the age of nineteen, he goes to Vladikavkaz, where he undergoes infantry and machine gun courses. During training shows good results.
Training
Two years later, enters the school of higher command. And two years later she enters the university. Until the thirty-seventh year, the future Marshal Biryuzov was engaged in teaching and science. At the same time, he is moving pretty quickly through the army hierarchy. In just a few years, from the platoon commander, Sergei rose to the chief of staff of the division. During this time, he was subordinate to the formation of various branches of the army: from motorized infantry battalions to the company fleet. In 1939, Sergei Semenovich became the brigade commander and sent to Kharkov to command the military district. In August of that year he was expected to be promoted to division commander. It is in this rank with his 132nd Infantry Marshal Biryuzov that he meets the beginning of the war.
The beginning of World War II
Immediately after the Nazi Germany attack on the Soviet Union, Sergey Biryuzov fights on the front line.
His soldiers took the first blows of the Reich war machine. The 132nd Infantry Division takes an active part in the defense of Smolensk. This notorious battle claimed the lives of many Soviet soldiers. However, Biryuzov and his wards managed to get out of the circle. From near Smolensk, fighters are sent to one of the most difficult destinations - near Moscow. At this time, Guderian’s tanks rush to the Soviet capital, moving several kilometers every day. For the defense of the city they are pulling together all available reserves. In the fall of the forty-first, Sergei Semenovich is seriously injured, after which he is undergoing treatment for several months.
Heavy fighting
Already in the forty-second year, Marshal Biryuzov commands the army on the Bryansk Front. After achieving impressive successes, the command sends him to Stalingrad, where one of the most bloody battles of that war is played.
Soldiers have to fight in the unusual conditions of urban ruins. Biryuzov’s division was already fighting in Smolensk and other large cities, but in Stalingrad there was a unique situation where both sides could simultaneously control the same building for several days.
To win the battle for the city, it was necessary to develop new tactics of military operations in urban conditions. The first decision was to reduce the strength of the assault groups. Also reduced the amount of heavy equipment. In the conditions of ruins and impassability, it was practically useless, and the dense fire of the enemy made it an easy target. Instead of tanks, the Red Army received flamethrowers, which showed themselves as well as possible during the capture of the strengthened positions of the Germans.
Offensive
After the victory at Stalingrad, Marshal Biryuzov was appointed chief of staff of the entire Southern Front. He takes a personal part in the development of the operation to free the Donbass. As a result, the Red Army managed to defeat the half-million group of one of the best Nazi strategists - Erich Manstein. During the Germans' retreat to the Dnieper, Soviet troops quite successfully attacked the retreating, inflicting serious damage on them. After the liberation of the territory of the Soviet Union, Marshal S. S. Biryuzov carried out combat missions in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. He worked closely with partisans and participants in the anti-fascist Resistance.
After the war
The awards of Marshal S. S. Biryuzov include Yugoslav and Bulgarian orders. For a long time after the victory over Nazi Germany, he remains an adviser to the army of the Soviet Union's socialist countries.
He commands several groups of troops. In the post-war period, it is part of special commissions that lead the restoration of Europe and the punishment of Nazi criminals. At the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces, Sergei Semenovich receives an offer to become Deputy Minister of Defense, which he gladly accepts. Hero of the Soviet Union Biryuzov Sergei Semenovich for a long time commands strategic missile forces (which also include nuclear destruction systems).
Closely collaborates with the Yugoslav People’s Army. During an exercise near Belgrade on October 19, 1964, his plane crashed. The crew died. Marshal S. S. Biryuzov is buried in the Kremlin wall.