Marshal Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich: biography, achievements and interesting facts. Biography of Alexander Vasilevsky main Vasilevsky hero

Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was born in September 1895 in the Ivanovo region. His father was a priest, while his mother was engaged in raising children, of whom there were 8 in the family. In early 1915, Alexander ended up in the Alekseevsky military school. Four months later, after completing an accelerated course, he graduated.

After graduating from college, he received the rank of ensign and arrived to serve in the Novokhopersky regiment, which was at the forefront at the front. The young officer, who immediately fell into the inferno of the First World War, spent two years on the front lines. Without rest, in battles and hardships, the personality of the future great commander was formed.

By the revolutionary events, Vasilevsky was already a staff captain and led a battalion of soldiers. In 1919 he began to serve in the Red Army. He was an assistant platoon commander in a reserve regiment. Soon he began to command a company, then a battalion, and went to the front - he fought with the Poles. For twelve years he served in the 48th Rifle Division, in turn leading the regiments that were part of this formation.

In May 1931, he was transferred to the Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army, participated in the organization of exercises, and the development of instructions for conducting combat. Work in the UPB, with the masters of military affairs Lapinsh and Sidyakin, enriched Vasilevsky with knowledge. In those same days, he met Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov.

Soon Alexander Mikhailovich was transferred to the apparatus of the People's Commissariat, then he went through the school of staff service in the People's Commissariat of Defense, as well as at the headquarters of the Volga Military District. In 1936, the colonel went to the Academy of the General Staff, graduated from it, and, under the patronage of Shaposhnikov, ended up in the General Staff.

By May 1940, Alexander Mikhailovich became deputy head of the Operations Directorate. Shaposhnikov was fired, and Vasilevsky remained in his place. The talent of the future marshal was fully appreciated by Stalin himself - he was included in the government delegation to Berlin, as a military expert.

The beginning of the Great Patriotic War hardened the character of Vasilevsky, he was in the ranks of those military men whom Stalin directly trusted. And Stalin's trust in the war years was worth a lot. In the battles for Moscow, he was wounded, joint work on the defense of the city, brought him closer to Zhukov.

Soon Vasilevsky had a very hard time. Shaposhnikov, who returned to the army with the outbreak of war, resigned from his post for health reasons. And now, Vasilevsky has become the interim chief of the General Staff. Alexander Mikhailovich, was one on one with Stalin, who issued short-sighted and unprofessional orders. Vasilevsky had to challenge them as much as possible, and also defend generals who had fallen out of favor with Stalin.

In the summer of 42, he was appointed full-fledged chief of the General Staff. Now his leadership talent was revealed, he was engaged in planning operations, supplying the fronts with food and weapons, conducted practical work, and was engaged in the preparation of reserves. He is getting closer and closer to Zhukov. After the battles near Stalingrad, the communication of the two great generals will grow into friendship. In 1943, Vasilevsky received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Now he is the second military man after Zhukov to receive such a military rank.

In the summer of 1943, Vasilevsky was awaiting trials on the Kursk Bulge. Having shared the responsibility for the operation together with Zhukov, once again, having dissuaded Stalin from his plan, the marshals were waiting for heavy battles. Having bled and exhausted the Germans in defensive battles, the Red Army went on the offensive without a break. From that moment began the expulsion of the Germans from the Russian land. The operation on the Kursk Bulge was brilliantly carried out by the remarkable marshals of the Soviet army.

He was less and less engaged in the affairs of the General Staff. Working with Vasilevsky, Stalin learned to perceive the situation more competently. The great strategist switches his attention to the front, where he conducts several successful operations. The liberation of Donbass, Odessa, Crimea - these are all well-planned operations, behind which was the great work of Marshal Vasilevsky. In the battles for Sevastopol, the marshal was wounded. His car hit a mine. For some time he was on vacation, spending time with his family in Moscow.

Soon he already drew up a plan for the liberation of Belarus. After consultations with Stalin, the plan was approved. The operation was called "Bagration", and was one of the most brilliant of the entire Second World War. Alexander Mikhailovich, developing a plan, applied all his military knowledge, there was everything: creativity, tactics and theory, which was perfectly reproduced in practice. For the liberation of Belarus, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

In February 45, Vasilevsky, after the death of Chernyakhovsky, was appointed commander of the third Belorussian Front. Under the command of the marshal, the troops completed the defeat of the Germans in East Prussia. After the surrender of Germany, he conducted a brilliant operation in the Far East and quickly defeated the Japanese army. For this campaign, he was awarded the second star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

Marshal Vasilevsky is a great commander who inscribed his name in golden letters in the history of our Motherland. Alexander Vasilyevich is the owner of many awards of the Soviet Union, but the main award for the marshal is, of course, the people's love, which he deserved by sacrificing himself for the good of the country. He died on December 5, 1977.

Born into a family of a priest, he graduated from a theological seminary and was preparing to become a rural teacher. But the First World War abruptly changed both the plans and the entire future fate of the future Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky.

"Father always promoted quickly"

Returning from the front in the 18th year, Vasilevsky still managed to work for several months as a rural primary school teacher in the Tula province.

And in the 19th he was drafted into the Red Army, to which the future commander remained devoted until the end of his life.

“Father always somehow quickly advanced in the service, achieved success,” says the son of Marshal Igor. “Even before the start of the Great Patriotic War, he was already a prominent military leader and worked as deputy chief of the General Staff. I was six years old in 41. But I remember well that when the war started, I didn’t see my father at home for a very long time. At the General Staff, they worked around the clock. They even put beds there.”

Vasilevsky, if possible, took his wife and son to the front

During the days of the defense of Moscow, at the most critical moment - from October to November of the 41st year - Vasilevsky led the task force of the General Staff to serve the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

“Then he had to inform the Headquarters and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief about changes in the situation at the front. Develop plans, monitor the implementation of the decisions of the Headquarters,” says Igor Vasilevsky. “During the war, Stalin demanded a daily report on the operational situation. Once my father moved from one front headquarters to another "He did not have the opportunity to get in touch with the Supreme Commander, and he did not make such a report. Stalin told him that if this happens again, it will be the last mistake in his life."

In June 1942, Vasilevsky was appointed chief of the General Staff. In the same year, he returns to Moscow his wife and son, who had previously been evacuated.

“During the war, my father tried not to be separated from us. In total, two of the four years while the war was going on, he spent at the front,” says Igor Vasilevsky. “If there was such an opportunity, he always took me and my mother to the front. There are even chronicles , on which I am small with my father. "

In the first days of the war, Vasilevsky took a portrait of his wife Ekaterina Vasilievna Saburova from home to the General Staff. The portrait moved with him from one front to another. Now it is kept by the son of Marshal Igor.

"Mom's love helped father in everything"

Before meeting with Ekaterina Saburova, Vasilevsky was already married. From his first marriage with Serafima Nikolaevna Voronova, in the 24th year, his son Yuri was born. The family then lived in Tver.

“In the 31st year, my father was transferred to Moscow. Neither he nor my mother ever told me about their first meeting. Maybe because my father was still married by the time he met my mother. But somewhere fate brought them together. By that time, my mother had graduated from military stenographers' courses. In 1934, they got married, and a year later I was born, "said the youngest son of Marshal Igor Vasilevsky.

The family has always been a tangible support for the commander.

During the war, Vasilevsky experienced colossal overloads - sleepless nights affected. It is known that Stalin worked at night and demanded the same from his entourage.

“Of course, mother’s love helped father in everything,” the marshal’s son believes, “we must remember that in addition to responsibility for the duties assigned to him, his father constantly lived in stress from the unknown. He did not know what would happen to him tomorrow.”

In 1944, Vasilevsky said goodbye to his sons

Igor Alexandrovich recalled how one day in 1944 his father called him for a conversation, from which it was clear that he was saying goodbye.

The family then lived at the state dacha in Volynsky, and Igor Alexandrovich was nine years old. A little earlier, Marshal Vasilevsky spoke with his eldest twenty-year-old son Yuri. He was quite clearly told that he remained in charge and was responsible for all the Vasilevskys.

“Why my father said goodbye to us then, he didn’t explain to me or his older brother,” says Igor Vasilevsky. “The time was like this: if necessary, the reasons were found quickly. And in general, our father’s official affairs were never discussed in our house. It was banned."

At the Vasilevskys' dacha in Volynskoye, the hostess, the nanny, the cook, and other servants were people from the NKVD.

“Our personal belongings were always looked through, even my childhood toys,” recalls Igor Vasilevsky, “our conversations and movements, our circle of communication were recorded. It was a life under strict control, and we understood this well.”

Vasilevsky could convince even the Supreme Commander

At the beginning of the war, Stalin rarely listened to military leaders. He believed that the Supreme Commander had the right to make decisions independently.

“According to my father, Stalin radically reorganized and began to use the collective experience of the General Staff only in the 42nd year. That is, when the situation was threatening for us. He realized that it was necessary to use the experience of military people and military science. Father said that , despite the irascibility of the Supreme, his certain emotional imbalance, he always spoke directly, concisely and accurately, "said the marshal's son.

Reporting on the situation on the fronts, Vasilevsky talked to Stalin on the phone every day. During the war, he communicated with the Supreme Commander-in-Chief more often than other military leaders and, if necessary, knew how to convince him.

Vasilevsky restored relations with his father at the suggestion of Stalin

In his autobiography, Vasilevsky wrote in 1938 that "personal and written contact with his parents has been lost since 1924."

Alexander Mikhailovich was born into the family of a priest in the village of Novaya Golchikha, near the ancient Russian city of Kineshma. His father was a church regent, and his mother was the daughter of a psalmist. When the future marshal was two years old, Mikhail Vasilevsky was appointed to serve in the Ascension Church in the village of Novopokrovskoye. It was at this church that Vasilevsky received his primary education at a parochial school. Then he graduated from a religious school and a seminary.

Having become a fighter of the Red Army, and later a red commander, Vasilevsky had to break off relations with his family. Later, he restored them at the suggestion of Stalin.

“This, of course, was such a political game. It is known that Stalin during the war years showed loyalty to the Russian Orthodox Church and the clergy. He understood that for the Victory it was necessary to use all reserves, including spiritual ones,” says Igor Vasilevsky.

Once Stalin called Vasilevsky and told him: "Why don't you go to your father. You haven't seen him for so long."

“Father went to grandfather Mikhail, after that they maintained normal family relations. And in 1946, my older half-brother Yuri brought his grandfather to the state dacha in Volynskoye. I remember he stayed with us for a long time,” said the marshal’s son.

Order of Victory number two

The contribution of Marshal Vasilevsky to the cause of the Victory is enormous. He developed all the major battles of the Great Patriotic War.

Alexander Mikhailovich planned a counteroffensive near Stalingrad. Coordinated the actions of the fronts in the Battle of Kursk. Planned and directed operations to liberate Right-Bank Ukraine and Crimea. On April 10, 1944, the day Odessa was liberated from the Nazis, Vasilevsky was awarded the Order of Victory.

This order was the second in a row since the establishment of this military insignia. The owner of the first order "Victory" was Marshal Zhukov, the third - Stalin.

Order "Victory" - the main military award of the USSR. She was awarded for the successful conduct of military operations on the scale of one or more fronts.

In total, 17 commanders were awarded this order. And only three of them twice: Stalin, Zhukov, Vasilevsky.

The second order of "Victory" was awarded to Alexander Mikhailovich for the development and leadership of the operation to capture Koenigsberg in the 45th.

Igor Vasilevsky during the days of the assault on Koenigsberg was with his father at the front. Marshal then commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front. Now Igor Alexandrovich is 76 years old, and in the days of the capture of Koenigsberg he was 10. According to the marshal's son, the burning ruins of Koenigsberg are still before his eyes.

Khrushchev demanded to confirm that Stalin led military operations on the globe

After the war, Vasilevsky was still in charge of the General Staff until the age of 48, then he held key positions in the Ministry of the Armed Forces of the USSR.

The death of Stalin and the subsequent exposure of the personality cult of the leader affected the fate of the marshal.

In 1953, Nikita Khrushchev was elected First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

“When Khrushchev was preparing for the 20th Party Congress, he demanded from his father to confirm his words that allegedly the Supreme Commander-in-Chief did not know how to use operational maps, but directed military operations on the globe,” said the marshal’s son.

Vasilevsky, who personally provided operational maps at Stalin's request, refused to do so. Soon Khrushchev, through Zhukov, conveyed to Vasilevsky that it was time for him to submit his resignation. Then Alexander Mikhailovich was the first deputy minister of defense of the USSR.

Vasilevsky suffered a heart attack, and then sat down to write his memoirs. And, according to his son, in his memoirs he survived the war once more. Alexander Mikhailovich died in the 77th year, not recovering from another heart attack.

After the war, Vasilevsky donated his things to museums

The eldest son of the marshal and his first wife, Serafima Nikolaevna Voronova, Yuri continued the military dynasty of the Vasilevskys. From a young age, he raved about airplanes. Yuri devoted his entire life to aviation, and ended his military career at the General Staff. He is a retired lieutenant general.

In the 48th year, Yuri married the eldest daughter of Marshal Zhukov, Era. Era Georgievna gave birth to two daughters. But the family soon fell apart.

Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was never particularly happy with this union of marshal surnames. Stalin did not encourage the friendship of military leaders, and even more so family ties between them.

The youngest son of the marshal chose a peaceful profession. He is an honored architect of the Russian Federation, professor at the International Academy of Architecture. For more than 30 years, Igor Alexandrovich was the chief architect of Kurortproekt. His works are included in the Anthology of European Architecture. Igor Vasilevsky's wife Roza is also an architect. Her maiden name is Tevosyan.

Her father Ivan Fedorovich Tevosyan during the Great Patriotic War was the People's Commissar of Ferrous Metallurgy and for the Victory he did no less than military leaders.

Already in 1943, largely thanks to People's Commissar Tevosyan, the military industry of the USSR surpassed Germany both in quantity and quality of military equipment.

It so happened that after the war, Marshal Vasilevsky gave away to museums, by the way, mostly provincial ones, almost all the personal belongings that were with him at the front.

Today, in the house of his youngest son, only a portrait of his wife, with whom Vasilevsky was never separated, and a measuring compass are kept.

Holding this compass in his hands, Marshal Vasilevsky developed more than one landmark operation of the Great Patriotic War.

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, was born on September 30 (according to the new style), 1895 in the village of Novaya Golchikha, Kostroma province (now within the city of Vichuga, Ivanovo region) in the family of a clergyman.

Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich, twice Hero of the Soviet Union

He was the fourth oldest of eight siblings. In the summer of 1909, Alexander completed his studies at a theological school in the city of Kineshma and entered the Kostroma Theological Seminary. He dreamed of becoming an agronomist or a teacher, but fate decreed otherwise.

In the context of the outbreak of World War I, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky, in a patriotic impulse, together with several classmates, having passed his final exams externally, applied to the Alekseevsky Military School in Moscow. After an accelerated 4-month course of study, in May 1915 he was released from the school with the rank of ensign. From June to September, he was part of a reserve battalion in the city of Rostov, Yaroslavl province, and then was appointed commander of a semi-company in the 409th Novokhopersky regiment of the 103rd infantry division.

In his memoirs “The Work of All Life” (the first edition was published in 1973), summing up some of the results of his life path, Vasilevsky noted: “ In youth, it is very difficult to solve the problem of which way to go ... I, in the end, became a military man. And I am grateful to fate that it happened that way, and I think that in life I ended up in my place».

In the autumn of 1915, the troops of the 9th Army of the Southwestern Front under the command of an experienced military man, General of Infantry P.A. Lechitsky fought heavy defensive battles in the area of ​​the city of Khotyn against the Austro-Hungarian 7th Army. The young officer quickly learned to find contact with the soldiers, which helped him more than once in the service: his subordinates tried not to let their commander down, so all the units and units that he had to command were recognized as the best. In the spring of 1916, Ensign A.M. Vasilevsky becomes commander of the 1st company. In 1917, he was already in the rank of staff captain. A.M. Vasilevsky participated in the famous Brusilovsky breakthrough, fought on the territory of Romania. For the heroism and courage shown by him during the war years, he was awarded the Orders of St. Anna of the 4th degree, St. Stanislav of the 3rd degree with swords and a bow, and the 2nd degree with swords. In addition, in 1917 he was awarded a rare for an officer soldier's St. George's Cross of the 4th degree " for the fact that in the battles from July 27 to July 30, 1917 near the town of Meresheshti, commanding first a company, and then a battalion, under heavy rifle, machine-gun and artillery fire of the enemy, he walked all the time ahead of the chain, not for a minute getting lost, encouraged the soldiers with words and with his personal courage and courage he carried them along with him ...».

After the October Revolution, A.M. Vasilevsky decided to temporarily leave the service and in November 1917 filed a letter of dismissal for a long vacation and left for his homeland. At the end of December, news came that the soldiers of the 409th regiment had elected him as their commander, but nevertheless he did not return to the army, since the unit ended up in the territory subject to the Ukrainian Central Rada, which was actively pursuing a policy of separatism. For some time A.M. Vasilevsky lived with his parents.

From June 1918 he worked as an instructor at Vsevobuch, from September as an elementary school teacher. In the context of the unfolding Civil War in April 1919, Vasilevsky was mobilized into the Red Army and sent to the 4th reserve battalion as a platoon instructor (assistant platoon commander). In the summer of 1919, the battalion was relocated to Tula, where, in connection with the approach of the Southern Front, a new rifle division was being formed. In this division, Vasilevsky commanded a company, a battalion, and since October, the 5th rifle regiment. But he had to fight not against Denikin, but as part of the 15th Army against the Polish troops in the outbreak of the Soviet-Polish war. At the front, during the last reorganization, he was appointed assistant commander of the 96th regiment.

After the war, Vasilevsky took part in the fight against the detachments of S.N. Bulak-Balakhovich on the territory of Belarus, and then until August 1921 - in the liquidation of gangs in the Smolensk province.

In the next 10 years, A.M. Vasilevsky was a regiment commander in the 48th Tver Rifle Division, headed the divisional school of junior commanders.

In 1927 he graduated from the shooting and tactical courses "Shot". In the fall of 1930, the 144th Rifle Regiment, which was considered the least trained in the division before Vasilevsky took command, took first place and received an excellent mark in district maneuvers. As one of the best unit commanders A.M. Vasilevsky in May 1931, on the recommendation of V.K. Triandafillova was transferred to Moscow and appointed to the Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army as an assistant to the head of the 2nd department. Possessing an analytical mind, Vasilevsky had long been interested in military history, studied the works of specialists in the theory of military art. Now he was able to join the military-theoretical work himself - he edited the Combat Training Bulletin published by the department, assisted the editors of the Military Bulletin magazine, and participated in the creation of a number of instructions and instructions for the service of headquarters. In 1934 A.M. Vasilevsky is appointed head of the combat training department at the headquarters of the Volga Military District. In the autumn of 1936, as a colonel, he was enrolled in the newly opened General Staff Academy among its first students, but less than a year later he was unexpectedly appointed to the post of head of the logistics department of this academy, since the former head I.I. Trutko was repressed. On October 4, 1937, a new appointment followed - head of the department for operational training of command personnel in the General Staff. In August 1938 A.M. Vasilevsky is awarded the military rank of brigade commander. Since 1939, he concurrently served as deputy chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff and, in this capacity, participated in the planning of military operations in the event of a war with Finland.

With the beginning of the Soviet-Finnish war, A.M. Vasilevsky replaced the 1st Deputy Chief of the General Staff I.V. Smorodinov. As a military representative, he participated in the negotiations and signing of a peace treaty with Finland, and then in the demarcation of the new Soviet-Finnish border.

In the spring of 1940, as a result of reshuffles in the apparatus of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR and the General Staff of A.M. Vasilevsky was appointed deputy head of the Operational Directorate with the military rank of division commander (after the introduction of general ranks on June 4, he became a major general). November 9, 1940 A.M. Vasilevsky is included in the Soviet delegation headed by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov and sent to Berlin, where he participates in negotiations with the German leadership.

After the start of the Great Patriotic War, on August 1, 1941, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky headed the Operational Directorate, being a deputy ex officio, from March 31, 1942 - 1st Deputy Chief of the General Staff.

On April 25, 1942, he held the post of 1st Deputy Chief of the General Staff. At the same time, Vasilevsky was promoted in military ranks: in October 1941, he became a lieutenant general, and in May 1942, a colonel general.

From April 24, due to the illness of the Chief of the General Staff, Boris Mikhailovich Shaposhnikov, he acted as his duties, and on June 26, 1942, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was appointed Chief of the General Staff, in October of the same year he became the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR.

Having prepared for himself a worthy replacement in the person of Army General A.I. Antonov, Vasilevsky filed a report on being sent to the front and on February 20, 1945 was appointed commander of the troops (instead of the deceased general of the army), at the same time he was introduced to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

As military leader A.M. Vasilevsky enjoyed great confidence in the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin, who considered him a worthy successor to B.M. Shaposhnikov. At the same time, Stalin personally made sure that his closest assistant did not overwork unnecessarily, set rest hours for him and monitored his observance of the daily routine. A.M. Vasilevsky deservedly became one of the most awarded military leaders, as evidenced by the numerous orders, medals and titles awarded to him. So, the military rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was awarded to him just 29 days after the rank of army general. Alexander Mikhailovich, thanks to his personal qualities and high professionalism, fully corresponded to the responsible positions he held. At the most difficult moment of the war, when in October 1941 the evacuation of government institutions from Moscow began and the fate of not only the capital was decided, but the further course of the war was largely determined, instead of the General Staff at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, a group of only 10 people headed by Vasilevsky was left . During the Battle of Stalingrad, he was one of the authors of the counteroffensive plan of the Red Army. In 1943-1944. on behalf of Stavka A.M. Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the fronts in the Battle of Kursk, during the liberation of the Donbass, Crimea, Right-Bank Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Lithuania. Of the 34 months he spent as Chief of the General Staff during the war, 22 months he was directly in the troops, and on the most difficult sectors of the Soviet-German front. At the same time, he continued to simultaneously manage the work of the General Staff, which testifies to his highest organization and efficiency. During the Belarusian offensive operation of 1944, A.M. Vasilevsky for the first time received the right to independently, bypassing Stalin, give orders to the commanders of the fronts. A.M. Vasilevsky also showed himself as an outstanding commander, commanding the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, who stormed the city-fortress of Koenigsberg with minimal losses.

According to the Marshal of the Soviet Union: " Alexander Mikhailovich was not mistaken in his assessment of the operational-strategic situation. Therefore, it was his I.V. Stalin sent to responsible sectors of the Soviet-German front as a representative of the Headquarters. In the course of the war, Vasilevsky's talent as a large-scale military leader and a deep military thinker unfolded in its entirety. In cases where I.V. Stalin did not agree with the opinion of Alexander Mikhailovich, Vasilevsky was able to convince the Supreme Commander with dignity and weighty arguments that in the given situation, no other decision than he proposes should be made.».

April 25, 1945 A.M. Vasilevsky was appointed Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR and began to develop a plan for a military campaign against militaristic Japan. From June to October 1945, he was the commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East. On July 5, 1945, disguised as a colonel general, with documents in the name of Vasiliev, he arrived in Chita. In less than a month, from August 9 to September 2, 1945, under the leadership of Vasilevsky, the Manchurian strategic offensive operation was carried out in the Far East, during which the millionth Japanese Kwantung Army was defeated and vast territories were liberated - Manchuria, Northeast China, northern Korea. , South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The loss of the Kwantung group in killed amounted to 83.7 thousand people, captured - about 650 thousand. Irretrievable losses of the Soviet troops - 12 thousand people.

Quite characteristic, says General of the Army M.A. Gareev that " those who have been writing a lot lately about how our army “filled up the enemy with corpses” do not like to recall this operation". This operation became the pinnacle of A.M. Vasilevsky. In terms of its spatial scope, such a strategic operation has not been carried out in the entire history of wars.

In the post-war, 1946, on March 21, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky again headed the General Staff with the rank of Deputy (from March 1947 - 1st Deputy) Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In November 1948, he became the 1st Deputy Minister of the USSR Armed Forces.

From March 24, 1949 A.M. Vasilevsky - Minister of the Armed Forces (from February 26, 1950, after the division of the Ministry of the USSR Armed Forces into Military and Naval, he was Minister of War), from March 16, 1953 - 1st Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. March 13, 1956 A.M. Vasilevsky was relieved of his post at his personal request, but in August of the same year he was again called up for military service and appointed to the post of Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR for military science, which he served until December 1957.

During this period, he simultaneously served as chairman of the Soviet Committee of War Veterans. In December 1957 A.M. Vasilevsky was dismissed due to illness with the right to wear a military uniform, but in January 1959 he was returned to the cadres of the Armed Forces for the second time with an appointment to the formed Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

For many years of service in responsible military positions, Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky made a significant contribution to the construction and development of the domestic Armed Forces, to strengthening the country's defense capability, to the defeat of Nazi Germany and militaristic Japan in World War II. As chief of the General Staff, throughout most of the war he led the planning and development of the most important operations, successfully solving complex issues of providing the fronts with personnel and material and technical means. His activities during the war years and in the post-war period deservedly received high praise. He was twice awarded the highest honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union (July 29, 1944 and September 8, 1945) for the preparation and successful conduct of the Odessa and Manchurian offensive operations. Alexander Mikhailovich is one of three Soviet military figures who was twice awarded the highest military order "Victory" - on April 10, 1944 for No. 2 (No. 1 for G.K. Zhukov) and on April 19, 1945 (after the completion of the Koenigsberg operation).

Among his awards are 8 Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, 2 Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Suvorov 1st degree, the Red Star, "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree, many foreign orders, Honorary weapons - checker with the image of the State Emblem of the USSR.

Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky died on December 5, 1977 at the age of 83. The urn with his ashes is walled up in the Kremlin wall on Red Square, a bust is installed nearby.

The memory of the famous Marshal is preserved for posterity. The Military Academy of Military Air Defense in Smolensk bears his name. In Moscow in 1978 in honor of A.M. Vasilevsky named street, in the hall of commanders in the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War on Poklonnaya Hill installed a bust. In many cities of Russia - Volgograd, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Tver and others - there are streets, squares and squares bearing the name of Vasilevsky.

The material was prepared at the Research Institute of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces.

In the year of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and World War II, I was going to start a biographical column called "Marshals of Victory". But there were so many events in the past year that, having turned around with the calendar, I simply did not have time to start it. For this, I fulfill this promise already in the current year, 2016. This idea came to my mind for a reason: many marshals and military leaders of the USSR and the Red Army celebrated their milestone dates last year, though posthumously. But even this year there are also "heroes of the occasion". Nevertheless, they made a significant contribution to the defeat of the enemy in that world slaughter. The first person to be discussed is Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky. September 18 last year marked the 120th anniversary of his birth.
Alexander Vasilevsky among students of the Kostroma Theological Seminary in 1914 (in the first row, second from the left)
On September 30 (September 18 according to the old style), 1895, in the small village of Novaya Golchikha, Kineshma district, Kostroma province (today as part of the city of Vichugi, Ivanovo region), Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was born. The future marshal of the Soviet Union was born into the family of an Orthodox priest. A talented general staff officer, Marshal Vasilevsky was a real conductor of the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. His daily work and a huge amount of rough work underlay many of the brilliant victories of the Red Army. One of the best senior strategic officers, Alexander Vasilevsky did not win such a loud glory as a victorious marshal as Georgy Zhukov, but his role in the victory over Nazi Germany is hardly less significant.

Bust of Marshal in Vichugi
Alexander Mikhailovich was born into a large family. His father, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vasilevsky, was the church regent and psalmist of the Nikolsky Edinoverie (a direction in the Old Believers) church. Mother Nadezhda Ivanovna Vasilevskaya was engaged in raising 8 children. The future marshal was the fourth oldest among his brothers and sisters. Initially, the famous future Soviet military leader chose the spiritual path, following the example of his father. In 1909 he graduated from the Kineshma Theological School, after which he entered the Kostroma Theological Seminary. The diploma of this seminary allowed to continue education in any secular educational institution. Vasilevsky graduated from the seminary already at the height of the First World War in January 1915, and his life path changed dramatically. Vasilevsky did not find a serious desire to become a priest in himself, but decided to go to defend the country.

Memorial plaque on the building of the Kostroma State University named after N. A. Nekrasov
Since February 1915, Alexander Vasilevsky has been part of the Russian Imperial Army. In June 1915, he graduated from accelerated courses (4 months) at the famous Moscow Alekseevsky Military School, he was awarded the rank of ensign. Vasilevsky spent almost two years at the front. Without normal rest, vacations, in battles, the future great commander matured, his character as a warrior was forged. Vasilevsky managed to take part in the famous Brusilovsky breakthrough in May 1916. In 1917, Alexander Vasilevsky, already in the rank of staff captain, acted as a battalion commander on the Southwestern and Romanian fronts. In the conditions of the total collapse of the army after the October Revolution, Vasilevsky quit his service and returned to his home.

After returning home, he worked for some time in the field of education. In June 1918 he was appointed an instructor of general education in the Ugletsky volost (Kineshma district of the Kostroma province). And since September 1918, he worked as a primary school teacher in the villages of Verkhovye and Podyakovlevo in the Tula province (today the territory of the Oryol region).

A.M. Vasilevsky. 08/01/1928
Again he was called up for military service in April 1919, now in the Red Army. The staff captain of the tsarist army, in fact, begins a new military career from a sergeant's position, becoming an assistant platoon commander. However, the knowledge and experience gained make themselves felt, and soon enough he grows up to assistant regiment commander. Vasilevsky has been a participant in the civil war since January 1920, as an assistant commander of the 429th Infantry Regiment in the 11th and 96th Infantry Divisions, he fought on the Western Front. He fought against gangs operating on the territory of the Samara and Tula provinces, Bulak-Balakhovich's detachments. He took part in the Soviet-Polish war as an assistant commander of the 96th Infantry Division from the 15th Army. But then Vasilevsky could not rise above the post of regiment commander for a long 10 years, most likely, his past affected.

An asset of Osoaviakhim of the city of Tver. In the third row, third from the left, A. M. Vasilevsky, 1926.
The long-awaited leap in the fate of the future marshal occurred in 1930. Following the results of the autumn maneuvers, Vladimir Triandafillov, who was one of the largest theorists of the operational art of the Red Army (he was the author of the so-called "deep operation" - the main operational doctrine of the Soviet armed forces until the Great Patriotic War), drew attention to a capable commander. Unfortunately, Triandafillov himself, who at that time held the post of deputy chief of staff of the Red Army, died in a plane crash on July 12, 1931. However, before that, he managed to notice the talented regiment commander Alexander Vasilevsky and promoted him along the headquarters line. Thanks to him, Vasilevsky got into the combat training system of the Red Army, where he was able to focus on summarizing and analyzing the experience of using troops.
Beginning in March 1931, the future marshal served in the Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army as an assistant to the head of the sector and the 2nd department. Since December 1934 he was the head of the combat training department of the Volga Military District. In April 1936, he was sent to study at the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army, which had just been created in the country, but after completing the first year of the academy, he was unexpectedly appointed head of the logistics department at the same academy. It is noteworthy that the former head of the department, I. I. Trutko, was repressed at that time.

In October 1937, a new appointment awaited him - head of the operational training department of the Operational Directorate of the General Staff. In 1938, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was granted the rights of a graduate of the Academy of the General Staff. Since May 21, 1940, Vasilevsky served as deputy chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff. If, in the words of another Soviet marshal Boris Shaposhnikov, the General Staff was the brain of the army, then its operational management was the brain of the General Staff itself. Operational control was the place where all the options for conducting hostilities were planned and calculated.

In the spring of 1940, Vasilevsky headed the government commission for the demarcation of the Soviet-Finnish border, and was also involved in the development of action plans in case of war with Germany. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, already on June 29, 1941, Boris Mikhailovich Shaposhnikov again became the chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, who took the place of Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, who left this position with a considerable scandal, who was uncomfortable in the headquarters walls and all the time wanted to break out to the front line closer to the troops. On August 1, 1941, Alexander Vasilevsky was appointed deputy chief of the General Staff, as well as head of the Operations Directorate. Thus, one of the most fruitful officer tandems in the military administration of the Soviet Union during the war was launched. Already in 1941, Vasilevsky played one of the leading roles in organizing the defense of Moscow, as well as the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops that followed.

It is worth noting that the former colonel of the tsarist army, Boris Shaposhnikov, was the only military man whom Stalin himself always addressed exclusively by his first name and patronymic, and who, regardless of his position, was the personal consultant of the Soviet leader on military issues, enjoying the boundless trust of Stalin . However, at that time Shaposhnikov was already 60 years old, he was ill, and the unbearable workload of the first months of the Great Patriotic War seriously affected his health. Therefore, more and more often Vasilevsky turned out to be the main "on the farm". Finally, in May 1942, after the worst disasters that befell the Red Army in the south - the boiler near Kharkov and the collapse of the Crimean Front, Shaposhnikov resigned. His place at the head of the General Staff is occupied by Alexander Vasilevsky, who officially takes up his new position only on June 26, 1942, before that he dangled along the fronts from north to south.

With S.M. Budyonny in Donbass. 1943
By that time he was already a colonel general. In his new position, he received what is called a complete set: a catastrophe near Kharkov, a breakthrough of German troops to Stalingrad, the fall of Sevastopol, a catastrophe of Vlasov's 2nd shock army near the town of Myasnoy Bor. However, Vasilevsky pulled out. He was one of the creators of the plan for the counteroffensive of the Red Army in the Battle of Stalingrad, took part in the development and coordination of some other strategic operations. Already in February 1943, after the victory at Stalingrad, Vasilevsky became a marshal of the Soviet Union, while setting a kind of record - Alexander Vasilevsky spent less than one month in the rank of army general.
The modest chief of the General Staff did an excellent job with the poorly visible from the outside, but very large-scale work of the conductor of a huge orchestra, which was the army in the field. He made a great contribution to the development of Soviet military art, personally taking part in the planning of many operations. On behalf of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, he coordinated the actions of the Steppe and Voronezh fronts during the Battle of Kursk. He led the planning and conduct of strategic operations to liberate the Donbass, Northern Tavria, Crimea, the Belarusian offensive operation. On July 29, 1944, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for exemplary performance of the tasks of the Supreme High Command on the front of the fight against the Nazi invaders.

Vasilevsky accepts the surrender of Alfon Hitter. Vitebsk, 1943
But one should not think that Vasilevsky spent all his time at the headquarters. In May 1944, after the capture of Sevastopol, he was even slightly injured when a staff car hit a mine. And in February 1945, for the first time in the war, he personally led one of the fronts. He several times asked to be relieved of his post in order to personally work in the troops. Stalin hesitated, because he did not want to let go of the chief of the General Staff he was accustomed to, but in February the tragic news came of the death of the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Ivan Chernyakhovsky, after which Stalin gave his consent. Leaving another talented officer at the "helm" of the General Staff - Alexei Antonov - Vasilevsky leads the 3rd Belorussian Front, directly exercising operational and strategic leadership of a large formation of troops. It was he who led the assault on Königsberg.

Back in the autumn of 1944, Vasilevsky was given the task of calculating the necessary forces and means for a possible war with Japan. It was under his leadership that already in 1945 a detailed plan of the Manchurian strategic offensive operation was drawn up. On July 30 of the same year, Alexander Mikhailovich was appointed commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops stationed in the Far East. On the eve of the large-scale offensive, Vasilevsky personally visited the starting positions of his troops, got acquainted with the units entrusted to him, and discussed the situation with the commanders of the corps and armies. During these meetings, the deadlines for fulfilling the main tasks, in particular, reaching the Manchurian Plain, were clarified and reduced. It took the Soviet and Mongolian units only 24 days to defeat Japan's million-strong Kwantung Army.

Postage stamp depicting Marshal. 1980
The campaign of the Soviet troops "through the Gobi and Khingan", which Western historians called the "August storm" is still being studied in the military academies of the world, as an excellent example of precisely built and implemented logistics. Soviet troops (more than 400 thousand people, 2100 tanks and 7000 guns) were transferred from the west to a rather poor theater of operations in terms of communications and deployed on the spot, carrying out long marches on their own, passing 80-90 kilometers on peak days without major delays due to a perfectly thought out and implemented in practice supply and repair system.
For the skillful leadership of the Soviet troops in the Far East of the country during the fleeting campaign against Japan on September 8, 1945, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky was awarded the second Gold Star medal, he became twice a Hero of the Soviet Union. After the end of the war, Vasilevsky returned to the leadership of the General Staff, and then headed the military leadership of the country. Before him, the post of Minister of Defense was held by Nikolai Bulganin, who, although he wore marshal weather on his shoulders, was a party functionary, not a military leader. Before them, the People's Commissariat of Defense was personally headed by Joseph Stalin. The Soviet leader was suspicious of the "marshals of Victory" and the fact that it was Alexander Vasilevsky who eventually received the military ministry spoke volumes.

Joseph Stalin clearly saw in the marshal a replacement for Shaposhnikov, who died in 1945, at the post of conditional "consultant leader No. 1." At the same time, all Stalin's motives, according to the traditions of that era, remained behind the scenes. On the one hand, Alexander Vasilevsky, like Stalin, was once a seminarian. On the other hand, he was the first student of Boris Shaposhnikov, whom he respected, who during the war proved his ability to work independently at the highest level.
Ship "Marshal Vasilevsky"
One way or another, under Joseph Stalin, the career of Marshal Vasilevsky went uphill, and after his death it began to collapse. The step back took place literally in the very first days after the death of the leader, when Bulganin again became the Minister of Defense of the USSR. At the same time, Vasilevsky did not have a relationship with Nikita Khrushchev, who demanded that all the military disown Stalin, but Vasilevsky, like some Soviet military leaders, did not. Alexander Vasilevsky, who of the military leaders who lived in those years, most likely, more and more often than others personally communicated with Stalin during the Great Patriotic War, simply could not afford to play tricks, saying that the leader was planning military operations almost a pack of from cigarettes "Belomor". And this despite the fact that Alexander Vasilevsky estimated the role of Joseph Stalin himself in the history of the Soviet Union far from unambiguous. In particular, he criticized the repressions against the senior command staff that had been going on since 1937, calling these repressions one of the possible reasons for the weakness of the Red Army in the initial period of the war.

The result of this behavior of Marshal Vasilevsky was that at first he became Deputy Minister of Defense "for military science", and already in December 1957 he retired. A little later, he will be included in the "paradise group" of general inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In 1973, Alexander Mikhailovich published a book of memoirs, quite rich in descriptions, entitled “The Matter of All Life”, in which he described in detail, but dryly, the work he had done during the war. At the same time, until the end of his days, the marshal refused to shoot a film about himself or write additional biographies, citing the fact that he had already written everything in his book. Vasilevsky passed away on December 5, 1977 at the age of 82. The urn with his ashes was walled up in the Kremlin wall on Red Square.

The future marshal of the Soviet Union was born on September 16, 1895 in the village of Novaya Golchikha, Kineshma district (Ivanovo region). His father was a church regent and psalmist, his mother also came from a church family - Alexander was the fourth of their eight children. As a boy, he began his studies at a parochial school, in 1909 he graduated from a religious school in the city of Kineshma, and then from a theological seminary in Kostroma.

Alexander Vasilevsky dreamed of becoming an agronomist, but the outbreak of the First World War interrupted these plans. Before the last class of spiritual education, the young seminarian suddenly became imbued with patriotic ideas for those around him and, having passed all the exams ahead of schedule, entered the Alekseevsky military school. At that time, there were not enough non-commissioned officers and officers on the fronts, so Alexei Mikhailovich was urgently sent to an accelerated four-month training course, and then with the rank of ensign to the front. In the spring of 1916, he was appointed to be a company commander, which after a certain period of time began to be considered the best in the regiment. Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky took part in the famous Brusilovsky breakthrough, for his bravery he received the rank of staff captain ahead of schedule.

The October Revolution caught a young officer in Romania, Vasilevsky left the service and retired to the reserve. From September 1918 he worked as a teacher in a rural school, and in April 1919 he was mobilized into the Red Army as an assistant platoon commander. A month later, he went to the Tula province to help provide food requisitions and fight against bandit formations. In December 1919 Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich took part in the war with Poland. Over the next few years, his army career went up rapidly. When success allowed him to apply for a staff job, he decided to apply to join the party. Up to this point, the origin did not give such an opportunity.

Between 1933 and 1936 they are still in no hurry to declare him a communist, in view of the repressions carried out among the senior army staff. In his autobiography of 1938, Vasilevsky wrote that he had lost any connection with his parents, starting in 1924 - he was accepted into the ranks of the party in the same year (later I. Stalin personally allowed him to communicate with his parents). Back in 1936, Alexei Mikhailovich Vasilevsky entered the Military Academy of the General Staff, from which he graduated with honors a year later with the rank of chief of logistics of the academy. In 1939 - he was already deputy chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff. In the spring of 1940, the talented commander was appointed first deputy head of the Operations Directorate, and on November 9 of the same year he was sent to participate in negotiations with Germany as part of the Molotov delegation to Berlin.

Vasilevsky A.M. during the Great Patriotic War

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Vasilevsky in August 1941 became the head of the Operations Directorate - deputy to the head of the General Staff Shaposhnikov. Together with him, he regularly participates in Stavka meetings in the Kremlin. In October 1941, Vasilevsky was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. He headed the task force at the Headquarters after the evacuation of the General Staff from October to November 1941. During Shaposhnikov's illness in early December 1941, Vasilevsky acted as chief of the General Staff. Order No. 396 of December 1, 1941 on the start of a counteroffensive near Moscow was signed by Vasilevsky and Stalin. In April 1942, he was promoted to the rank of colonel general, and in June he assumed the post of chief of the General Staff. Starting from October 1942, at the same time he was the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. As a representative of the Headquarters during the Battle of Stalingrad, Vasilevsky was in Stalingrad until its completion, coordinating the interaction between the fronts, and participated in repelling Manstein's deblocking group. In January 1943, Vasilevsky was awarded the rank of General of the Army and the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree, and less than a month later, on February 16, 1943, he became Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Before the start of the Battle of Kursk, Vasilevsky convinced Stalin and other representatives of the General Staff of the need for a defensive operation, followed by a counteroffensive during the Battle of Kursk. In its midst, he coordinated the actions of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts. I personally observed the tank battle near Prokhorovka from the position of my command post. In the first half of 1944, he planned and conducted operations of the Southern and Southwestern fronts to liberate the Donbass, Crimea and southern Ukraine. On April 10, 1944, on the day of the capture of Odessa, Vasilevsky was awarded the Order of Victory. He became the second holder of this order after Zhukov. During a trip to Sevastopol, which had just been occupied by Soviet troops, in early May 1944, Vasilevsky's car stumbled upon a mine, and he was slightly wounded. For some time he was in Moscow for treatment. At the end of May, he left for the front to coordinate the actions of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts during Operation Bagration. For the exemplary performance of the tasks of the Supreme Commander in the liberation of the Baltic states and Belarus, Vasilevsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on July 29, 1944 with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. In February 1945, after the death of the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Chernyakhovsky, Vasilevsky was appointed in his place and at the same time a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. Soon, the 1st Baltic Front also came under his command. In this position, he led the assault on Koenigsberg during the East Prussian operation.

On April 19, 1945, Vasilevsky was awarded the second Order of Victory, and in July he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East. During August 1945, the Kwantung Japanese Army was defeated, and on September 8, Vasilevsky received the second "Gold Star", and on September 29 - the fourth Order of Lenin. After the end of the war, he again assumed the post of chief of the General Staff, and since 1948 Vasilevsky became the first deputy minister of the Armed Forces. In 1949-50. he was in the position of Minister of the Armed Forces, and until the death of Stalin in March 1953 - in the position of Minister of War. After Khrushchev came to power, Vasilevsky's career went downhill, because he saw him as a Stalinist nominee. First, he was demoted to Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, and in 1957, at the insistence of Khrushchev, he resigned with the right to wear a military uniform. From 1959 until the end of his life he was the General Inspector of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

He died on December 5, 1977 and was buried in the Kremlin wall on Red Square in Moscow. In addition to the Soviet ones, Vasilevsky was the owner of more than 30 foreign awards, including the Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, the French "Military Cross" and the American Order of the Legion of Honor of the degree of Commander-in-Chief. Streets, schools, squares were named after Vasilevsky, and memorial plaques were installed in many cities of the former USSR. Also, the Military Academy of the Military Air Defense of the Russian Ground Forces in Smolensk and a Russian tanker with a registry in the port of Novoossiysk are named after him. In 2000, in Kaliningrad, on Vasilevsky Square, a granite monument was opened to him in the form of a thoughtfully seated figure of Marshal, leaning over military maps.