Andrei Antonovich Grechko - Marshal of the Soviet Union, twice Hero of the USSR. He was Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union and Commander-in-Chief of Soviet Forces in Germany. Well-known party and statesman.
A family
Andrei Antonovich Grechko, family whom she lived in the Rostov region, in the small village of Golodaevka, was born in 1903, October 17. Now in this place is the village of Kuibyshevo. His mother, Olga Karpovna, gave birth to fourteen children. Andrei Antonovich was born on the thirteenth. His father, Anton Vasilievich, was a simple peasant. But since the family was very large, and there were not enough funds, he still worked as a physical education teacher at a local school.
Childhood
Andrei Antonovich Grechko, whose biography began with the Holodaevka, often recalled his native village. Games comrades, a strict but kind teacher and classmates forever remained in my memory.
Andrei Antonovich from childhood was very savvy and restless. Fellow villagers recalled that he did not differ in obedience, often acted contrary to the requirements of his parents. Andrei Antonovich has a well-developed imagination since childhood. And the favorite game was āwar gameā.
Once Andrei decided to play with weapons without demand. And miraculously survived. Father often told his sons about military service. Andrei listened with rapture. Perhaps in the future, these stories also played a role in choosing a life path.
Andrei Antonovich falls into the squadron
In 1919, the Bolsheviks launched an attack on Rostov. Then Andrew for the first time saw the Red Army men who entered the village. Local residents went out to meet them, and he looked with admiration and envy at the Budenovites. Andrei saw that among them were his sixteen-year-old peers.
The army needed an urgent delivery of ammunition. Therefore, the Red Army borrowed all the horses in the village. Andrei himself was carrying ammunition to Rostov on his horse. And there he persuaded Stepan Vasilenko, the squadron commander, to take him into service. So his dream came true. He received uniforms, weapons and joined the army.
After the release of Rostov, Andrei returned to the village to visit his family. He announced to his family that he had become a military man. Father approved his decision.
The beginning of a military career
Throughout the Civil War, the future Marshal Grechko, whose family supported him in a desire to make a military career, fought as an ordinary Red Army man. He graduated from the courses of commanders in Krasnodar. And in 1926 he began to study at the cavalry school. Successfully graduated from it, and he was entrusted with commanding a platoon. A little later - a squadron in the 1st Separate cavalry brigade.
In 1938, Andrei Antonovich Grechko became chief of staff of the Special Cavalry Division of the BOVO. And the very next year he defended Western Ukraine and Belarus from the Germans in order to deprive Germany of a chance to gain a foothold in these territories.
The first days of World War II
When the Great Patriotic War began, Andrei Antonovich was still studying at the Academy of the General Staff. Already passing the final exam in June 1941, Grechko understood that the USSR was in serious danger. Three days after this, war broke out. He immediately rushed to the front, in the thick of things, but only a few of his classmates were seconded.
The future Marshal Grechko, whose biography is closely related to military service, was sent to the General Staff. Andrei Antonovich was confused. He understood that this was a responsible appointment, but really wanted to get on the battlefield. He began to seek the opportunity to fulfill his desire. As a result, he served in the General Staff only twelve days.
Work in the General Staff
The staff of the General Staff worked day and night. If you could sleep, then only in the workplace. At the front, the situation was changing rapidly and sometimes it was almost impossible to track the course of the struggle. The information received by the General Staff was often fragmentary and sometimes even contradictory. Grechko led a consolidated map of the operational situation.
At first, Andrei Antonovich was angry at staff work, wanting to get into the thick of things - to the front. And only when he got there, he realized how difficult it was for the staff of the General Staff to navigate the situation, and what responsibility fell on their shoulders. It was very difficult to report accurate data. And they still had to pass "up".
BOB: Grechko again gets to the front
Andrei Antonovich, future Marshal of the USSR Grechko, whose biography is closely connected with military service from his youth, after much deliberation nevertheless turned to the addict Tymoshenko and asked to go to the front. After a while, the answer came. Grechko was appointed commander of the cavalry division. He was heading to Kharkov, to the Southwestern Front. In the city of Priluki, Grechko was to form the 34th cavalry division.
World War II: at the front
The first days at the front for Andrei Antonovich were the most difficult. The practice of military operations was very different from the theory taught in peacetime. Grechko had to navigate and adapt to circumstances immediately on the spot and as soon as possible. There was not enough ammunition. There was nothing to stop even the infantry, not to mention the tanks. And the authorities were silent about this and only gave orders to advance and defeat the Germans. Grechkoās division, gritting her teeth, fought in these terrible conditions.
But already in 1941, the Red Army began to win victories. This year, Grechko already headed the 5th cavalry corps, which in 1942 liberated Barvenkovo. After many successful battles, a little later, Andrei Antonovich was handed over to the 12th Army defending the Voroshilovograd direction. Then, in the autumn of 1942, Grechko began to command the 47th Army. They defended the Black Sea coast. A little later he became commander of the 18th army, operating in the direction of Tuapse.
After the victory at Stalingrad in 1943, the future Marshal of the USSR Grechko began to command the 56th Army. On October 9, he was the first to report to the General Staff about the liberation of the Caucasus. Andrei Antonovich has proven himself in numerous battles and was appointed deputy commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front. Thanks to the skillful regrouping of troops conducted by Grechko, the 3rd Panzer and 38th armies defeated the Germans in Kiev with a powerful offensive.
Liberation of Europe
In 1943, Grechko Andrei Antonovich (the years of the war brought him invaluable military experience) was already in the rank of colonel general. He was appointed to command the 1st Guards Army, which was then under his command until the end of the war. Grechkoās troops participated in the liberation of Zhytomyr, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Then Grechkoās army reached Prague.
Grechko's activities after the war
After the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the future Marshal Grechko Andrey Antonovich led the troops of the Kiev district. In 1953 he became Commander-in-Chief of all Soviet military units located in Germany. In June of that year, he led the suppression of the uprising.
Grechko also visited his native village. She was in a deplorable state, completely destroyed. Andrei Antonovich helped all fellow countrymen to "get back on their feet" again after the war. Thanks to his support, the village was quickly restored. Helped by technology, manpower. He took patronage over other villages and entire areas destroyed during the war. New houses, office buildings, schools were erected.
In early 1967, Rodion Malinovsky was the Minister of Defense. But he did not welcome new directions (equipment, helicopters, space exploration, etc.). It was just Andrei Grechko, Marshal of the USSR, who was engaged in this. As a result, he was able to gather near him many talented and young personnel, ready for the further development of the country.
Malinovsky did not finish to retirement. He fell ill and ended up in a hospital, from which he no longer left. In his place Brezhnev appointed Grechko Andrei Antonovich. In the post of Minister of Defense of the USSR, he worked for 9 years. He proved himself to be a demanding and principled leader. I did not tolerate people who were "out of place". He carefully selected the staff, paying attention to the track record.
For example, General Joseph Gusakovsky decided to review the staff and rejuvenate him. He put on the list for the dismissal of many high military leaders who had vast experience to replace them with younger ones. Brought this document for approval by Grechko. Andrei Antonovich, after reading the list, offered to head it to Gusakovsky. Thus, the general lost his post. Grechko highly appreciated the experience and achievements of war veterans.
Marshal Grechko was loved and respected by the Soviet troops. He was interested and supported the development of new technology. Thanks to him, combat helicopters and modified improved tanks appeared in service. He demanded that the soldiers constantly engage in sports, so that they were in shape at any time.
By his decrees, military camps were built, officers could receive housing from the state. The salaries of the military were growing, so they had no problems how to feed their families and send their children to kindergarten. Thanks to Grechko, the country gradually rebelled from the ruins. New training centers were built, military exercises and trainings were constantly held. The rank of officer was valued "worth its weight in gold."
Title of Marshal of the USSR
Gradually moving up the military career ladder, from 1955 Andrei Antonovich Grechko - Marshal of the Soviet Union. This is the highest military rank that he achieved when starting his military service with a simple Red Army man bringing in ammunition. Despite his high position, Grechko did not try to interfere in the activities of the KGB. Andrei Antonovich believed that politics and the army are different concepts.
Reaching military heights
After receiving the rank of Marshal, in 1957, Grechko was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces and at the same time First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union Andrei Antonovich was awarded in February 1958 for the heroism and courage shown in the struggle against the Nazis.
In 1960, he became the head of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact. In 1973 he received the second Golden Star medal.
Advantages and character of Grechko
Many who met with Andrei Antonovich remembered him as a man of his word. An intelligent, educated, experienced defense minister. Even in combat conditions, Grechko was always dressed neatly, clean-shaven. His communication was always correct, he knew how to listen to a person, did not make hasty decisions.
Grechko (Marshal of the USSR) was a devoted fan of CSKA. He has done more for the football club than all the other ministers. After the war, he even hosted the team when CSKA came to Kiev. And when Grechko was in the capital, he took up the clubās problems more closely. Thanks to Grechko, CSKA acquired not only the stadium and arena, but also the training base in Arkhangelsk and other sports facilities.
Andrei Antonovich Grechko: children, grandchildren, wife
Grechko had a wife (worked as a teacher) and daughter Tatyana. Andrei Antonovich died in 1976. And later, in 1990, Grechkoās wife was buried. Andrei Antonovich adopted his granddaughters, the twins Claudius and Irina, who were born to their only daughter. Newly made "daughters" grew up, got married and gave birth to a girl. And they, too, were adopted by Andrei Antonovich Grechko. His children and granddaughters after the death of a parent subsequently received pensions from the state. And from childhood, governesses looked after them.
The death of the great warlord
When Andropov took the post of Minister of Defense, he tried to strengthen the influence and expansion of the structures of the State Security. But Grechko, Marshal of the USSR, reacted negatively to this and āslowed downā the Secretary General. The relationship between them was tense. Historians believe that Andropov desired complete power and gradually āremovedā those who were objectionable to him on the way to the āstate Olympusā.
Very often, prominent figures died somehow very late. Most often, a person went to bed completely healthy. And in the morning the guards found a cold corpse in bed. Oddly enough, but the earthly path of Andrei Antonovich ended just like that. In 1976, on April 26, Grechko, Marshal of the USSR, returned from work to his country house in good health. As always, went to bed calmly. And in the morning his body was found in bed.
Death overtook the Marshal suddenly. Grechko died in a dream. There were no traces of violent death, and the doctors were unable to establish the cause of the death of Andrei Antonovich. On the contrary, they assured that Grechko was in excellent physical shape. Therefore, his death was more than strange. The urn with the ashes of Andrei Antonovich is located on Red Square, in the Kremlin wall.