Vasily Kuznetsov (general)
Encyclopedia
Vasily Ivanovich Kuznetsov (Russian: Василий Иванович Кузнецов; , Ust-Usolka, Perm Governorate
, Russian Empire
- 20 June 1964, Moscow
, Soviet Union
) was a Soviet General and a Hero of the Soviet Union
.
at April 1915, taking part in World War I
. On March the following year he completed officer training in Kazan
, attaining the rank of a Podporuchik at July. On August 1918, after the October Revolution
, he joined the Red Army
, serving in the Russian Civil War
first as a company commander and later as a deputy regimental commander. On October 1923 he was appointed commander of 89th Rifle Regiment. He joined the Communist Party
at 1928. During 1929 he undertook advanced officers' training, and graduated from the Frunze Academy at 1936. On October that year he became the 99th Rifle Division's commander. At July the following year, he was transferred to head the 16th Rifle Corps. During September 1939, Komkor Kuznetsov participated in the Invasion of Poland
as chief of the Vitebsk
and Polotsk Army Groups. on 4 June 1940, with the indroduction of new ranks, he became a Lieutenant General.
, Kuznetsov's 3rd Army was stationed in Belarus, as part of the Western Front
. It was overwhelmed and surrounded by German forces. At late July, he and the remains of his formation broke out and returned to the Soviet lines. On August, he was sent to command the Southwestern Front
's 21st Army
, but his force suffered crushing defeat once more in the Battle of Kiev
. On October, he was appointed to command the Kharkov Military District, but reassigned to head the 1st Shock Army
on 23 November, with which he took part in the Battle of Moscow
. His units liberated Klin
and Solnechnogorsk
.
On February 1942, the Army relocated to the north, taking part in the Demyansk operation
. On July, Kuzentsov was given commnad of the 63rd Army
, positioned near Stalingrad
. The formation was renamed 1st Guards Army on November. For his conduct in the campaign, Kuznetsov was awarded the Order of Suvorov
1st Class. On 25 March 1943 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel General. The 1st Guards later took part in the battles for the Donbass region and in the Dniepr crossing. On 15 December, Kuznetsov was appointed Bagramyan
's deputy in the 1st Baltic Front
. In this capacity he participated in the campaigns for Belarus, the Baltics and East Prussia
. The Front was disbanded on late February 1945, and Kuznetsov assumed command over the 1st Belorussian
's 3rd Shock Army
on 16 March. The Army was involved in the urban fighting inside Berlin
; On 30 April, one of its formations, the 150th Rifle Division, stormed the Reichstag
. Its soldiers hoisted the Victory Banner
atop the building.
. From 1953 to 1957, he headed the Volga Military District. Until his retirement at 1960, he has served in the Ministry of Defense. Kuznetsov was a deputy in the 2nd and 4th Convocations of the Supreme Soviet
.
Perm Krai
Perm Krai is a federal subject of Russia that came into existence on December 1, 2005 as a result of the 2004 referendum on the merger of Perm Oblast and Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug. The city of Perm became the administrative center of the new federal subject...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
- 20 June 1964, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
) was a Soviet General and a Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
.
Early life
Born to a working class family, he was drafted into the Imperial Russian ArmyImperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
at April 1915, taking part in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. On March the following year he completed officer training in Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
, attaining the rank of a Podporuchik at July. On August 1918, after the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, he joined the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, serving in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
first as a company commander and later as a deputy regimental commander. On October 1923 he was appointed commander of 89th Rifle Regiment. He joined the Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
at 1928. During 1929 he undertook advanced officers' training, and graduated from the Frunze Academy at 1936. On October that year he became the 99th Rifle Division's commander. At July the following year, he was transferred to head the 16th Rifle Corps. During September 1939, Komkor Kuznetsov participated in the Invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
as chief of the Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
and Polotsk Army Groups. on 4 June 1940, with the indroduction of new ranks, he became a Lieutenant General.
World War II
On the 22 June 1941Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, Kuznetsov's 3rd Army was stationed in Belarus, as part of the Western Front
Soviet Western Front
The Western Front was a Front of the Red Army, one of the Red Army Fronts during the Second World War. This sense of the term is different from the more general usage of military front which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front usually operates within designated...
. It was overwhelmed and surrounded by German forces. At late July, he and the remains of his formation broke out and returned to the Soviet lines. On August, he was sent to command the Southwestern Front
Soviet Southwestern Front
The Southwestern Front was a name given to a Front by the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War, by the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic during the Russian Civil War, and by the Red Army during the Second World War.The Southwestern Front in this article describes several...
's 21st Army
21st Army (Soviet Union)
-June to September 1941:21st Army was a part of the Second Operational Echelon of the RKKA. It was formed from the forces of the Volga Military District in May 1941 and was initially based on 63rd Rifle Corps and 66th Rifle Corps. The army was under the command of Lieutenant-General Vasilii...
, but his force suffered crushing defeat once more in the Battle of Kiev
Battle of Kiev (1941)
The Battle of Kiev was the German name for the operation that resulted in a very large encirclement of Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II. It is considered the largest encirclement of troops in history. The operation ran from 23 August – 26 September 1941 as part of Operation...
. On October, he was appointed to command the Kharkov Military District, but reassigned to head the 1st Shock Army
1st Shock Army
The 1st Shock Army was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II.The 1st Shock Army was created in late 1941 and fought in the northern areas of Russia and the Baltic States until the defeat of Germany in 1945...
on 23 November, with which he took part in the Battle of Moscow
Battle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
. His units liberated Klin
Klin
Klin is a town and the administrative center of Klinsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Moscow. The M10 highway connecting Moscow to St. Petersburg and the Moscow-Saint Petersburg Railway run through the town. It was home to Klin air base during the Cold War. ...
and Solnechnogorsk
Solnechnogorsk
Solnechnogorsk is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Solnechnogorsky District. It is situated on the Moscow-Saint Petersburg Highway and the Moscow-Saint Petersburg Railway, on the coast of Senezh Lake, north-west from Moscow. Population: Originally, there was a village...
.
On February 1942, the Army relocated to the north, taking part in the Demyansk operation
Demyansk Pocket
The Demyansk Pocket was the name given for the encirclement of German troops by the Red Army around Demyansk , south of Leningrad, during World War II on the Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February-21 April 1942. A much smaller pocket was simultaneously surrounded in Kholm, about ...
. On July, Kuzentsov was given commnad of the 63rd Army
63rd Army (Soviet Union)
The 63rd Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was formed in July 1942, by the order of Headquarters Red Army Supreme Command № 994110, by renaming Stavka's 5th Reserve Army....
, positioned near Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
. The formation was renamed 1st Guards Army on November. For his conduct in the campaign, Kuznetsov was awarded the Order of Suvorov
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov is a Soviet award, named after Aleksandr Suvorov , that was established on July 29, 1942 by a decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This decoration was created to award senior army personnel for exceptional leadership in combat operations...
1st Class. On 25 March 1943 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel General. The 1st Guards later took part in the battles for the Donbass region and in the Dniepr crossing. On 15 December, Kuznetsov was appointed Bagramyan
Hovhannes Bagramyan
Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan , also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi BaghramyanPronunciation: Bagramyan's name is most commonly written in English as Bagramyan "bahg-rahm-yahn" or Bagramian...
's deputy in the 1st Baltic Front
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The commanders of it were Army General Andrey Yeryomenko and succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It was formed by re-naming the Kalinin Front in October 12, 1943 and took part in several important military...
. In this capacity he participated in the campaigns for Belarus, the Baltics and East Prussia
East Prussian Offensive
The East Prussian Offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front . It lasted from 13 January to 25 April 1945, though some German units did not surrender until 9 May...
. The Front was disbanded on late February 1945, and Kuznetsov assumed command over the 1st Belorussian
1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...
's 3rd Shock Army
3rd Shock Army (Soviet Union)
The 3rd Shock Army was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The 'Shock' armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces, and were reinforced with more armoured and artillery assets than other combined arms armies...
on 16 March. The Army was involved in the urban fighting inside Berlin
Battle in Berlin
The Battle in Berlin was an end phase of the Battle of Berlin. While the Battle of Berlin encompassed the attack by three Soviet Army Groups to capture not only Berlin but the territory of Germany east of the River Elbe still under German control, the Battle in Berlin details the fighting, and...
; On 30 April, one of its formations, the 150th Rifle Division, stormed the Reichstag
Reichstag (building)
The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire. During the Nazi era, the few meetings of members of the...
. Its soldiers hoisted the Victory Banner
Victory Banner
The Soviet Banner of Victory is the banner raised by the Red Army soldiers on the Reichstag building in Berlin, on April 30, 1945. It was raised by three Soviet soldiers: Alexei Berest, Mikhail Yegorov, and Meliton Kantaria, from Ukraine, Russia, and Georgia respectively.The Victory Banner, made...
atop the building.
Post-war career
On 29 May 1945, Kuznetsov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (Medal no. 6460) for his performance. After the war, he remained the 3rd Army's commander in Germany for a while, then attended the Voroshilov Academy, graduating at 1948. He served as chairman of the Voluntary Society for Cooperation with the Army and later of DOSAAFDOSAAF
DOSAAF was a paramilitary society in the Soviet Union, Voluntary Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Fleet . The society was preserved in a number of post-Soviet Republics, e.g., in Russia and Belarus...
. From 1953 to 1957, he headed the Volga Military District. Until his retirement at 1960, he has served in the Ministry of Defense. Kuznetsov was a deputy in the 2nd and 4th Convocations of the Supreme Soviet
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union was the Supreme Soviet in the Soviet Union and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments...
.