Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky was born in 1895 on September 30 (according to the new style). He was the chief of the General Staff during the Second World War and took an active part in the development and implementation of almost all major military operations. In February 1945, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front and led the Koenigsberg offensive.
Biography of Vasilevsky Alexander (briefly)
The birthplace of the future Soviet military leader was s. New Golchikha. Vasilevsky himself believed that he was born on September 17 (according to the old style) - on the same day as his mother. He was the fourth of eight children. In 1897 the family moved to the village. Novopokrovskoe. Here, Vasilevsky's father began his service as a priest in the Ascension Church. After a while, Alexander entered the parish school. In 1909, after graduating from the Kinesham Theological School, he entered the Kostroma Seminary. The diploma allowed him to continue his studies at a secular educational institution. In the same year, Vasilevsky took part in a strike by seminarians who opposed the ban on authorities from entering institutions and universities. For this he was expelled from Kostroma. However, a few months later he returned to the seminary, after the demands of the rebels were partially satisfied.
World War I
Future Marshal Vasilevsky dreamed of becoming a surveyor or agronomist. However, the war radically changed his plans. Before the last class at the seminary, he and several of his classmates passed exams externally. In February, he entered the Alekseevsk military school. After completing an accelerated four-month course, Vasilevsky went as ensign to the front. From June to September, he stayed in several spare parts. As a result, he was transferred to the South-Western Front, where he was in the position of a half-company commander at the 409th Novokhopersky regiment. In the spring of 1916 he was awarded the rank of commander. After a while, his company was recognized as the best in the regiment. In this title, Vasilevsky took part in the Brusilovsky breakthrough in May 1916. Subsequently, he received the post of staff captain. During his stay in Romania, in Adjud-Nou, Vasilevsky learns about the beginning of the October Revolution. In 1917, having decided to leave the service, he quit.
Civil War
At the end of December 1917, while at home, Alexander learns that he was elected commander of the 409th Regiment. At that time, the unit belonged to the Romanian front, commanded by the gene. Shcherbachev. The latter supported the Central Rada, which proclaimed the independence of Ukraine from the newly arrived Soviets. The military department recommended that Alexander not go to the regiment. Following this advice, until June 1918 he stayed with his parents and was engaged in agriculture. Since September 1918, Vasilevsky taught in elementary schools in the villages of Podyakovlev and Verkhovye in the Tula province. In the spring of the following year, he was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army in the 4th reserve battalion. In May, he was sent to the Stupinsky volost as a commander of a detachment of 100 people. His tasks included the implementation of food reconnaissance and the fight against gangs. In 1919, in the summer, the battalion was transferred to Tula. Here formed the 1st Infantry Division in anticipation of the approach of the gene troops. Denikin and the Southern Front. Vasilevsky was appointed commander of the company first, and then the battalion. From the beginning of October, the leadership of the 5th Rifle Division, which is located in the sector of the fortified area on the southwest side of Tula, has been transferred to him. However, to participate in the hostilities did not happen, because the Southern Front stopped at Kromy and Orel in late October. In December, the division was aimed at fighting the invaders. At the request of Vasilevsky, he is appointed assistant commander. As part of the 15th army, he participates in battles with Poland.
WWII
From the first day, Vasilevsky in the rank of major general participated in the Great Patriotic War. In 1941, on August 1, he was appointed head of the Operations Directorate. From October 5 to 10, during the battle for Moscow, he was a member of a group of GKO representatives who provided expedited dispatch of troops that had left the encirclement and retreating troops to the Mozhaisk line. In organizing the defense of the capital and the ensuing counterattack, it was Marshal Vasilevsky who played one of the main roles. The great commander led the task force in Moscow in the midst of battles - from October 16 to the end of November. He led the first echelon of the General Staff serving the Headquarters. The main responsibilities of a group of 10 people were:
- Comprehensive study and correct assessment of events at the front, accurate and constant reporting of the Bet about them.
- To develop and report proposals to the High Command, in connection with changes in the situation.
- Quickly and accurately draw up directives and plans in accordance with the operational and strategic decisions of the Bet.
- Exercise strict control over the execution of orders and instructions.
- Monitor the combat readiness of the army, the timely formation of reserves, and the material and technical supply of troops.
Marshal Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky: activities before the end of the war
February 16, 1943 he received the next rank. The High Command elevates Vasilevsky to marshals. This was quite unusual, because 29 days before that he received the rank of army general. Marshal Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the Steppe and Voronezh fronts during the Battle of Kursk. Under his leadership, the planning and conduct of operations to liberate the Crimea, Right-Bank Ukraine and the Donbass took place. On the day of the expulsion of the Germans from Odessa, Marshal Vasilevsky was awarded. Before him, only Zhukov received this award from the moment of its establishment. It was the Order of Victory. During Operation Bagration, he coordinated the activities of the 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic Fronts. Under his leadership were Soviet forces during the liberation of the Baltic states. Since July 29, he participated in the direct conduct of the offensive.
East Prussian operation
Her planning and leadership of the initial stage was carried out by Stalin. Marshal Vasilevsky at that moment was in the Baltic states. But Stalin and Antonov had to go to the Yalta Conference. In this regard, Vasilevsky was recalled from the Baltic. During a conversation with Stalin on the night of February 18, he asked him to relieve him of his duties as chief of the General Staff, since he spent most of his time at the front. In the afternoon, news came of the death of Chernyakhovsky, who commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front. Stalin appoints Vasilevsky commander. In this position, he led the Koenigsberg operation.
last years of life
After the death of Stalin, Marshal Vasilevsky was the first deputy defense minister, but in 1956 he was relieved of his post at his personal request. In mid-August of the same year, he became Minister of War Affairs. In December 1957, Marshal Vasilevsky was fired due to illness. From 1956 to 1958, he served as the first chairman of the Committee of the Great Patriotic War veterans. In subsequent years, he took an active part in the work of similar organizations. The military commander died in 1977, on December 5. Like other Marshals of Victory, Vasilevsky was cremated. The urn with its ashes is in the Kremlin wall.