Kazakov is an artillery marshal, an outstanding commander of the Soviet era, a hero of the USSR. He was awarded numerous orders and medals. Streets in cities and towns are named after him.
Childhood and youth
Future Marshal Vasily Kazakov was born on July 6 (eighteenth in the old style) into a peasant family. Father - I.V. Kazakov - worked as a fireman, later a janitor. Mother - E. A. Kazakova - was a simple peasant.
Vasily was the eighth child in the family. He graduated from the parish school and went to study in Petrograd. Since the summer of 1911, he worked as a “boy” in JSC Siemens and Halske, that is, he was a peddler, a messenger, and an auxiliary. In September 1912 he was apprenticed to the Otto Kirchner factory. In May 1913 he got a job as a worker at the Geisler factory.
Tsarist army
In May 1916 he went to serve in the army. At first he was in the 180th reserve infantry regiment, which was stationed in the city of Petrograd. After some time, he was included in the 433rd Novgorod Infantry Regiment and sent to the front. He fought on the Northern Front. Not far from Riga I got a shell shock in battle.
In February 1917, he was transferred back to Petrograd. There he took an active part in revolutionary events. Since December 1917, he worked as an employee of the supervising department of former private banks.
Red Army
After Vladimir Ilyich Lenin signed the decree on the creation of the Red Army, the future Marshal Kazakov, whose photo can be seen in this article, signed up as a volunteer. He served in the first artillery division of Petrograd. In November 1918 he graduated from Soviet artillery courses. Then he served in the sixth infantry division of the Moscow Military District.
Gradually climbed the career ladder. He started with the commander of an artillery platoon, then became an assistant commander of the battery. After some time, he became the battery commander himself. After he was appointed head of the primary school. As an intelligent commander, he was twice transferred to the most difficult sectors of military operations. Kazakov fought on the Western and Northern fronts, took part in the Soviet-Polish campaign.
Peace period
After the end of the Civil War, he continued his service in the sixth infantry division. In 1925 he graduated from the Higher Artillery School in Leningrad. In the future, he always sought to improve his military education and graduated from three courses for improving command staff. And in 1934 he graduated from the Military Academy. Frunze.
Since the summer of 1927 he served in the First Moscow Rifle Division of the Moscow Military District. He held the post of commander of the artillery division, later - the chief of artillery of the division. In August 1939, he was appointed chief of artillery of the 57th Rifle Corps. Since the summer of 1940, he commanded the seventh mechanized corps of the Moscow Military District.
War against fascism
The future Marshal Kazakov, whose biography is rich in military glory, entered the fighting in July 1941. He was appointed chief of artillery of the sixteenth army of the Western Front. Kazakov proved himself perfectly in the most difficult battles of the initial period of the war. He participated in the battle for Moscow and in the battle of Smolensk.
His bright head belongs to the idea of combined anti-tank strong points. They complemented each other anti-tank, heavy artillery and machine-gun fire. After some time, the creation of these points became a prerequisite for defensive operations throughout the army.
Kazakov was a great opponent of the uniform distribution of artillery across the entire defensive front and sought its massive use in the most vulnerable sections of the front. He always demanded that artillery be maneuverable and quickly move to the desired positions.
In training personnel adhered to the principles of interchange. In his opinion, every fighter of artillery crew had to be able to replace a wounded comrade. Requirements Kazakova approved the army commander Rokossovsky. They worked well together and served together until the end of the war.
Victory
In 1942, Kazakov participated in the Battle of Stalingrad. In February 1943 he was appointed commander of the artillery of the Central Front Army. On April 6, 1945 he received the title of Hero of the USSR, distinguishing himself in the Vistula-Oder operation. A month later, the Soviet Union triumphed in this bloody war.
Further service: Kazakov - Marshal
Since July 1945, he commanded the artillery of a group of forces in Germany. In March 1950, he was appointed first deputy commander of the artillery army. In January 1952, Kazakov himself began to command the artillery of the Soviet Army. He received the title of Marshal of Artillery on March 11, 1955.
In October 1956 he became head of the Air Defense Forces. In April 1965, he was an inspector-adviser to the Group of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union. Kazakov is a marshal who completed his life's journey on May 25, 1968. He was buried in the Novodevichy cemetery.
Personal life
He was married twice. The first time he married during the Civil War. In 1944, his wife died at the front. She was a major in medical services. At the front headquarters, he met his second wife, she was a signalman. Kazakov is the marshal and happy father of two sons. His eldest son Viktor followed in the footsteps of his father and fought at the front. He rose to the rank of lieutenant general of artillery. Grandson of Kazakov also served in the artillery troops.
Awards awarded by Cossacks
Marshall has earned a wide variety of awards. Here are just a few of them:
- Order of Lenin (four);
- Order of the Red Banner (five);
- Order of the Red Star;
- Order of Suvorov of the first degree (three);
- Order of Suvorov of the second degree;
- Order of Kutuzov of the first degree;
- Order of Military Valor of the fourth class;
- Order of the “Grunwald Cross” of the second class.
Streets in St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and some other settlements were named after him.