Alexey Innokentievich

Battles and victories

General of the Army, a prominent Soviet military leader and one of the most talented staff officers in the Soviet Armed Forces. Participated in the development of all significant operations of the Great Patriotic War since 1942, took part in the work of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences (1945).

The only general awarded the Order of Victory. The rest of the knights of this highest order were in the rank of no lower than marshal.

Aleksey Innokent'evich was an extremely competent military man, a man of great culture and charm.

G.K. Zhukov about A.I. Antonov

Future boss General Staff The Soviet army was born in the city of Grodno on September 15, 1896 in the family of a regular military man and spent all his childhood on the move. In 1908, his father died, and by the beginning of the First World War, the Antonovs moved to St. Petersburg, to their relatives on the maternal side. In 1914 his mother died.

Alexei grew up a modest and sickly boy, so the question of officer service was very difficult for him. On the one hand - an example of the officer service of his father and grandfather, on the other - a craving for science, an inner desire to be realized in the civil service. Antonov graduated from the gymnasium and successfully passed the entrance exams to the Petrograd University at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. However, he failed to get an education. Due to the disaster financial position he went to work in a factory.

After being drafted into the army in 1916, he was sent to crash course wartime training at the Pavlovsk Military School. In the same year, ensign Antonov was enrolled in the Jaeger regiment. In July 1917, he participated in the offensive of Russian troops on the Southwestern Front, during which he received a shrapnel wound in the head. Was awarded the order St. Anne for bravery and sent to reserve units formed in the capital.

Participated in the organization of the defense of Petrograd from the Kornilov troops in September 1917. In the spring of the following year, A.I. Antonov made one last attempt to avoid a military career, but the Civil War brought him back to the army. From April 1919, Antonov began serving in staff positions. Under the command of Antonov, the 15th Inza Division, having seized the initiative, in 1920 cleared the Kuban and southern Ukraine from the White Guard units. For his merits, he received an honorary weapon and a certificate of honor from the Revolutionary Military Council, which stated: "by his active participation in the last military operations on the Sivash, he contributed ... to consolidating the gains of the great proletarian October."

The Civil War finally determined the path of Alexei Innokent'evich Antonov. He left his civilian career forever and devoted peacetime to work to strengthen the combat readiness of units and formations in Ukraine, as well as intense military studies - preparation for entering the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze. During this period, he developed into a military leader with a great general political and military outlook.

It has a soft character, broad initiative, quick-witted, skillfully versed in any situation. Disciplined, healthy, hardy in camping life. He has extensive practical experience in staff work. Valuable staff member. Valuable qualities: accuracy and perseverance.

From the certification of the commander of the Ukrainian military district I.E. Yakira on A.I. Antonova, 1925

During his studies, he showed remarkable abilities for military affairs, a scientific approach to research and an analytical mindset. Having successfully mastered French, Antonov qualified as a military translator. Antonov's bright personality and personal qualities draw the attention of leaders and mentors to him, which led to his appointment as chief of staff of the 46th Infantry Division. Having got up to speed and worked there for some time, Alexei Innokent'evich felt the need to improve his skills and returned to his studies. In 1933, he graduated from the operational department of the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze. Its head and commissioner of the faculty G.S. Isserson gave him an excellent description, among other things, noting: “An excellent operational staff worker. Ready for work in higher headquarters.

After completing his studies, A.I. Antonov continues to serve in staff positions in the 46th Infantry Division, in a fortified area, as well as the head of the First (operational) department of the headquarters of the Kharkov Military District. Antonov in practice was able to implement many theoretical positions Soviet military thought, participating in the organization of September 12-17, 1935 major military maneuvers. For the successful completion of the maneuvers, Antonov received the gratitude of the People's Commissar of Defense K.E. Voroshilov.

The knowledge and experience gained again distinguish him from others, and in 1936 the district command sent him to study at the newly opened Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army. There, his classmates were A.M. Vasilevsky, N.F. Vatutin, I.Kh. Bagramyan, L.A. Govorov. Academic success brought him to the fore, and the very next year Antonov was appointed chief of staff of the Moscow Military District. In this position, he gave great attention the development of mechanized units, as well as (based on the experience of the Spanish Civil War) the preparation of air and anti-tank defense, and the development of interaction between various branches of the armed forces. It seemed that this very organized and intelligent person of great energy had extra hours in the day. After hard work with the troops of the capital district, Antonov found time to train students at the department of general tactics of the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze. There, in his classes, Soviet military leaders got acquainted with the evolution of the practical use of German (including tank) troops during the events of 1936-1940.

In March 1941, Major General Antonov was appointed deputy chief of staff of the Kiev Special Military District. It was he, an expert on the fighting of the Wehrmacht, who had to prepare troops for western border USSR to repel the approaching German aggression. However, this task was not fully completed. By the time Antonov arrived in Kyiv, the staffing of the KOVO troops was 65 - 70%. On June 24, 1941 (with the separation of the South-Western Front from the administrative district), General Antonov was appointed to the post of Chief of Staff of the Kiev Special Military District, successfully continuing the mobilization work he had begun a little earlier. He also dealt with the evacuation of the population and material values ​​from the front line, the formation of new military units and subunits. In August 1941, Antonov was working on the formation of the Directorate of the Southern Front and subsequently headed its headquarters.

The critical situation in the autumn of 1941 also allowed Antonov to show his skills. In late August - early September 1941, the German Army Group "South" reached the Dnieper on a wide front from Kherson to Kyiv, part of the enemy formations had already crossed the Dnieper, and by the end of September, Soviet troops were pushed back 100 kilometers to Melitopol. On October 5, Antonov moved to the battlefield at the headquarters of the 9th Army to develop measures for the withdrawal of troops from the threat of encirclement and the defense of Rostov-on-Don. Waging heavy battles against a more prepared enemy, the Soviet military leadership, however, did not ignore the military-analytical work. General Antonov was instructed to summarize the experience gained during the first months of the war.

Air Marshal F.Ya. Falaleev, Army General A.I. Antonov, and Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov

In less than a month, he collected and processed all the data, resulting in recommendations for combat, reconnaissance, camouflage, and interaction of forces. The work carried out by Antonov played a key role in the Rostov defensive operation of 1941. The timely regrouping, careful strengthening of defensive positions and more effective control of the actions of the troops made it possible to prevent the Germans from forcing the river on the move. Moreover, the 1st Panzer Army of von Kleist was thrown back by a counterattack of the 9th Army by 10-15 kilometers.

Thanks to the deepest analysis of the strategy and tactics of the enemy, forecasting possible options for his actions, the threat to Rostov-on-Don has become much less. Losses german army near Taganrog amounted to about 35 thousand soldiers and officers, and the German command abandoned the original plans to capture Rostov from two sides. On November 5, the German army moved directly to Rostov, intending to take the city with a blow from the north.

The enemy was still on the outskirts of the city when the headquarters of the Southern Front was already planning a counterattack, which was carried out preemptively on November 17, 1941 by the forces of the 9th, 18th, 37th and 56th armies. The blow was delivered to the rear of the 1st Panzer Army of the enemy in the western and south-western direction. On the night of November 28, Rostov-on-Don was liberated, and by December 2, German units were pushed back across the Mius River, where the front was long time stabilized. This operation was one of the first successful offensives Red Army in the Great Patriotic War.

On December 13, Alexei Antonov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for a successfully planned and carried out operation, and on December 27 he was promoted to lieutenant general.

In early January 1942, Antonov again showed himself as a talented strategist, he led the development of the Barvenkovo-Lozovsky operation. The offensive of the Soviet troops southeast of Kharkov, planned with his participation, initially led to significant success. However, the mistakes of the Headquarters and the command of the South-Western direction led to a heavy defeat of the Soviet troops near Kharkov in May 1942.

On July 28, 1942, with the beginning of the battle for the Caucasus, a unified North Caucasian Front was created, and Antonov was appointed chief of staff. The commander of the Transcaucasian Front, General of the Army Tyulenev, wrote in his memoirs: “Antonov personally carefully carried out all the calculations of the upcoming hostilities, planned the necessary regrouping of troops, outlined the knots of resistance and counterattacks,” which made it possible to more effectively and successfully conduct fighting on this sector of the front. The ability to think outside the box prompted Antonov to recommend to the military council of the front the creation of mountain batteries of MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems) on railcars.

In November 1942, Antonov was appointed chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Front. The key task at this stage was the complete liberation North Caucasus. Among other things, Antonov set the formation of divisions according to the national principle as a priority. By the end of the year, 19 national divisions and more than 200 fighter battalions were created.

In early December 1942, Chief of the General Staff Vasilevsky offered Antonov the position of his deputy, chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff, emphasizing the approval of his candidacy personally by I.V. Stalin. On December 11, Antonov arrived in Moscow.

"Name of Victory": Antonov Alexey Innokentevich

Prior to the appointment of Antonov, the chiefs of the Operational Directorate of the General Staff, due to insufficiently well-organized work, were replaced 7 times within six months. The duties of the head of the department, among other things, included daily reports to the Headquarters on the state of affairs on the fronts. At first, as head of the Operations Directorate, Antonov was practically not involved in working with the Headquarters. And work in the General Staff was not entirely comfortable for him. He applied several times to be transferred back to the front, closer to the scene, but was constantly refused. Moreover, Vasilevsky in one of his reports characterized Alexei Innokent'evich as exceptionally valuable for the General Staff and Headquarters.

In early January 1943, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff Antonov was sent to the Bryansk Front to the location of the 18th separate rifle corps as a representative of the Stavka. His work in the Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh and Voronezh-Kastornoye operations made a significant contribution to the success of the Red Army. The merits and authority of Antonov were recognized by everyone, including the chief of the General Staff and Stalin personally. Upon his return, he began to often visit the Supreme with reports.

He made a considerable contribution to the very order of work of the Operational Directorate and the entire General Staff as a whole for its optimization and efficiency. Among the most significant innovations, one can note a single universal system of conditional topographic designations. Now the map could be read without the presence of its compiler, which previously significantly complicated and slowed down the work. A rigid work schedule was established. Antonov made higher demands, first of all, to himself, being in the service on average 17-18 hours a day. According to the memoirs of deputy Antonov Shtemenko, “who knows the situation thoroughly, he nevertheless prepared for each report at Headquarters for 2-3 hours. Antonov was tactful with subordinates, never raised his voice, however, he was stingy with encouragement, almost never wrote down, but at the same time he remembered everything.

Despite a more rational and efficient distribution of time and effort, the volume of information processed by the General Staff continued to grow. In its structure, on the orders of Antonov, the Main organizational management and the Office for the Use of War Experience. A corps of officers-representatives of the General Staff was created under the command of the Operational Directorate.

The main direction of Antonov's work was strategic planning. Starting with the Kursk operation, Antonov participated in the development of all key operations and campaigns of the Armed Forces of the USSR, visiting the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. several times a day with carefully prepared reports. Stalin. During this period, General Antonov worked especially closely with Vasilevsky and Zhukov. The general plan of the operation was to oppose the German offensive expected on the Kursk Bulge with a defense in depth, weakening and exhausting the German troops, and then, with the forces of five fronts, go on a counteroffensive and destroy the enemy forces. In general, this plan was successfully brought to life during the defensive stage of the battle.

After the start of the Soviet counter-offensive on the Kursk Bulge, on August 7, 1943, Antonov came to the conclusion that in the course of moving forward, the principle of maximum concentration of forces in the chosen direction to Kharkov was violated. In this regard, the corresponding instruction sent to the commander of the Voronezh Front, General Vatutin, was almost too late: the enemy took advantage of the current situation and counterattacked, but the formations of Soviet troops who arrived in time did not allow a significant change in the balance of forces. The Kharkov group of Germans was drained of blood and began to withdraw.

Looking through archival materials Headquarters, you pay attention to the fact that since the end of 1943, most of the directive documents were signed by Stalin together with Antonov or Antonov alone on behalf of the Headquarters.

YES. Volkogonov. Stalin. political portrait

A significant contribution of A.I. Antonov contributed to the third winter military campaign, the planning of which began in November 1943. The plans of the Supreme Command Headquarters included the deployment of a full-scale offensive operation on a wide front from the Baltic to the Black Sea by troops of all branches and fronts. As a result of the operation, the liberation of Ukraine, Crimea and access to the border of the USSR, the defeat of Army Group North, complete withdrawal blockade of Leningrad, laying the foundations for the liberation of the Baltic states. key figures to work out the details of the plan were Zhukov, Vasilevsky and Antonov. During the campaign, all the main goals of the command were achieved, and on March 26, the troops reached the border.

The development of the summer campaign of 1944 at the General Staff was also carried out with the direct participation of Alexei Innokent'evich Antonov. At the end of April, Antonov reported to Stalin about its main provisions, and on May 1, the latter signed the corresponding order on its approval. The result of the campaign was to be the complete liberation of the occupied territories of the USSR.

It was planned to inflict the main blow on the Belarusian direction, the development of which was personally worked out by Antonov. In preparing Operation Bagration, the General Staff paid special attention to disinforming the enemy about the directions of the main strikes and the number of troops. It was necessary to give the enemy the impression that the summer Soviet offensive would begin in Ukraine. So, on May 3, Antonov instructed the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian front Army General Malinovsky "show the concentration of eight to nine rifle divisions behind the right flank of the front, reinforced with tanks and artillery ... Show the movement and location of individual groups of people, vehicles, tanks, guns and equipment of the area." Similar orders were given to the command of other formations.

The development and preparation of the operation lasted several weeks. On May 20, her plan was signed by Antonov for execution. The immediate task was to destroy the Minsk grouping of the enemy by flank attacks on Army Group Center. The offensive operation lasted 2 months, ending with the complete defeat of the opposing German troops.

With the opening of the second front in Europe on June 6, 1944, it became necessary to coordinate the actions of the allies, which for Antonov meant new concerns and a wider range of emerging problems. The exchange of information with the allies and the coordination of various operations became one of Antonov's key areas of work. He had to coordinate the objects for bombing strikes, the range of the allied air forces, determine the timing of actions and the direction of the efforts of the troops and fleets. In order to achieve the fastest results in this area, Soviet proposals were prepared for Yalta Conference, which opened on February 4, 1945.

On the very first day of the conference, Antonov delivered a detailed report on the situation and planned operations on Soviet-German front. Among other things, at the conference it was decided to entrust all the work of coordinating the actions of the allied forces to the General Staff of the Red Army in close cooperation with the heads of military missions allied states in Moscow. At the conference, the question was raised about the timing of the start of the war with Japan. Antonov, right in Yalta, had to make the appropriate calculations, predict the situation and determine with what forces, in what time frame, it would be possible to strike at the Kwantung grouping. According to preliminary calculations, the date of the offensive was determined as two to three months after the surrender of Germany. An interesting fact in this planning is that during the direct preparation of the Far Eastern campaign, no adjustments were required to these plans.

Yalta (Crimean) Conference of the Allied Powers (February 4-11, 1945)

The authority of the talented strategist was so great that in 1943-1945. in the Kremlin office of Stalin, Antonov was more often than others from the leadership of the Armed Forces. He enjoyed great prestige with Stalin, who, as a rule, listened to his recommendations in matters of strategic operations.

This cultural and educated person made a very favorable impression. Antonov was very close to Stalin, who reckoned with his opinion, had obvious sympathy and trust in him, spent long hours together with him, discussing the situation on the fronts and planning future operations. Antonov kept himself simple, without arrogance and ambition. He was always modestly dressed - a protective tunic, breeches, boots, and only the general's shoulder straps betrayed his high position in the army.

Aircraft designer A.S. Yakovlev about A.I. Antonov

In February 1945, with the transfer of Marshal Vasilevsky to the post of commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Antonov took the place of the chief of the General Staff. The commanders of the troops who came to Headquarters, before going to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, turned to Antonov for advice and an assessment of the preparation of hostilities. Representatives of the Headquarters, sending their reports to Stalin, certainly addressed a copy of them to "Comrade Antonov", knowing that the general would take all the necessary actions on these reports accurately and on time.

The plan for the Berlin operation, prepared by the General Staff under the leadership of Antonov and presented to the Headquarters on April 1, 1945, was immediately approved. The general did a great job of refining the plan and its implementation directly with the command of the fronts.

On June 4, 1945, General Antonov was awarded the highest military order of the USSR "Victory" "for the skillful fulfillment of the tasks of the Supreme High Command in conducting large-scale military operations." The award is unique in its essence, since all 14 holders of the order, except for Antonov, were in the rank of no less than a marshal.

With the end of the war, Antonov was faced with the difficult task of transferring troops to a peaceful track. These included demobilization, changes in the organizational structure of the troops and military educational institutions. By the summer of 1945, the Red Army numbered 11.3 million people. In less than half a year, all fronts and many armies were disbanded, and the number of military educational institutions was significantly reduced. Since March 1946, General Antonov again held the post of First Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and in 1946 he was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

On November 6, 1948, Antonov was transferred to the Transcaucasian Military District, where for a year he was the first deputy commander of the district troops, Marshal of the Soviet Union Tolbukhin, and in 1950, for the first time in a long time of staff work, he received a command post - commander of the district troops.

In April 1954, he became the first deputy chief of the General Staff, Marshal Sokolovsky, and, at the same time, a member of the board of the USSR Ministry of Defense. After signing Warsaw Pact On May 14, 1955, Antonov was entrusted with the main work of organizing the apparatus for commanding the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries and training troops in joint operations. He personally participates in the organization and conduct of most of the exercises of the troops of the allied countries. As Chief of Staff of the Joint Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact countries A.I. Antonov was until the end of his days.

Accurate, responsible, knowing the value of time and actions, during his life he invested a lot of work, his outstanding organizational skills and military talent in the defense of the Motherland, the strengthening and power of its armed forces.

A.I.Antonov (right) and S.M.Shtemenko

The largest military leader, Antonov was a lyricist in his spiritual disposition. He loved nature, subtly felt music and enjoyed it in his free hours. His deputy during the war years, S. Shtemenko, remarked: “It can be said without exaggeration that Alexei Innokentevich was an exceptional person. Its distinguishing features were primarily high erudition, general and especially military culture, which manifested itself in the breadth and depth of the approach to all issues of work, in speech, behavior, and attitude towards people. For six years joint work in the General Staff, I never had to see him "lost his temper," flared up, scolded someone. He possessed a surprisingly even, balanced character, which, however, had nothing in common with mildness. Antonov's poise and sincerity were combined with a rare firmness and perseverance, I would say, even with a certain dryness in official matters. He did not tolerate superficiality, haste, imperfections and formalism. He was stingy with encouragement, and only people who think, enterprising, accurate and impeccable in their work could deserve them. He valued time very much and planned it carefully. Apparently, therefore, his speech was distinguished by conciseness and clarity of thought. An enemy of long and frequent meetings, he held them only in exceptional cases and always short... home environment he was pleasant conversationalist and hospitable host. His wife, Maria Dmitrievna, was a match for him, and in terms of character and attitude towards people, she even resembled him in some way.

In his youth, Antonov dreamed of becoming a forester. But after the February Revolution, the soldiers elected ensign Antonov as assistant regimental adjutant. For the rest of his life he remained in the military, and the ensign went up to the army general and chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Army.

A.I. died. Antonov June 18, 1962 in Moscow. The urn with the ashes of the general is located in the Kremlin wall on Red Square.

SURZHIK D.V., IVI RAS

Literature

Lubchenkov Yu. 100 Great commanders of the Second World War. M., 2005.

Gaglov I.I., General Antonov, M., 1978.

Military Encyclopedic Dictionary. M., 1986.

Internet

Readers suggested

Slashchev-Krymsky Yakov Alexandrovich

Defense of the Crimea in 1919-20 “The Reds are my enemies, but they did the main thing - my business: they revived great Russia!" (General Slashchev-Krymsky).

Rurik Svyatoslav Igorevich

Year of birth 942 date of death 972 Expansion of the borders of the state. 965 the conquest of the Khazars, 963 the campaign to the south to the Kuban region the capture of Tmutarakan, 969 the conquest of the Volga Bulgars, 971 the conquest of the Bulgarian kingdom, 968 the foundation of Pereyaslavets on the Danube (the new capital of Russia), 969 the defeat of the Pechenegs in the defense of Kyiv.

Dovator Lev Mikhailovich

Soviet military leader, major general, Hero of the Soviet Union. Known for successful operations to destroy German troops during the Great Patriotic War. The German command appointed a large reward for the head of Dovator.
Together with the 8th Guards Division named after Major General I.V. Panfilov, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade of General M.E. Katukov and other troops of the 16th Army, his corps defended the approaches to Moscow in the Volokolamsk direction.

Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich

General Kotlyarevsky, son of a priest in the village of Olkhovatka, Kharkov province. He went from private to general in the tsarist army. You can call him great-grandfather Russian special forces. He carried out truly unique operations ... His name is worthy of being included in the list of the greatest commanders of Russia

Rurikovich Svyatoslav Igorevich

He defeated the Khazar Khaganate, expanded the boundaries of Russian lands, successfully fought with the Byzantine Empire.

Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich

"There are in huge Russia the city to which my heart is given, it went down in history as STALINGRAD ... " V.I. Chuikov

Olsufiev Zakhar Dmitrievich

One of the most famous commanders of Bagrationov's 2nd Western Army. He always fought with exemplary courage. He was awarded the Order of St. George 3rd degree for heroic participation in the Battle of Borodino. He distinguished himself in the battle on the Chernishna (or Tarutinsky) River. The award to him for participating in the defeat of the vanguard of Napoleon's army was the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd degree. He was called "general with talents". When Olsufiev was captured and was delivered to Napoleon, he said to his entourage the famous words in history: "Only Russians know how to fight like that!"

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

Outstanding Russian commander. Successfully defended the interests of Russia both from external aggression as well as outside the country.

Kosich Andrey Ivanovich

1. For your long life(1833 - 1917) A. I. Kosich went from non-commissioned officer to general, commander of one of the largest military districts of the Russian Empire. He took an active part in almost all military campaigns from the Crimean to the Russian-Japanese. He was distinguished by personal courage and bravery.
2. According to many, "one of the most educated generals of the Russian army." He left many literary and scientific works and memoirs. He patronized the sciences and education. He has established himself as a talented administrator.
3. His example served the formation of many Russian military leaders in particular, Gen. A. I. Denikin.
4. He was a resolute opponent of the use of the army against his people, in which he disagreed with P. A. Stolypin. "The army should shoot at the enemy, not at its own people."

Spiridov Grigory Andreevich

Became a sailor under Peter I, participated in the Russian-Turkish war (1735-1739) as an officer, finished the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) as rear admiral. The pinnacle of his naval and diplomatic talent reached during Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774. In 1769, he led the first transition of the Russian fleet from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the difficulties of the transition (among those who died from diseases was the son of the admiral - his grave was recently found on the island of Menorca), he quickly established control over the Greek archipelago. Chesme battle in June 1770, it remained unsurpassed in terms of loss ratio: 11 Russians - 11 thousand Turks! On the island of Paros, the Aouz naval base was equipped with coastal batteries and its own Admiralty.
The Russian fleet left mediterranean sea after the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainarji peace in July 1774, the Greek islands and the lands of the Levant, including Beirut, were returned to Turkey in exchange for territories in the Black Sea region. Nevertheless, the activities of the Russian fleet in the Archipelago were not in vain and played a significant role in world naval history. Russia, having made a strategic maneuver with the forces of the fleet from one theater to another and having achieved a number of high-profile victories over the enemy, for the first time forced to talk about itself as a strong maritime power and an important player in European politics.

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

In front of the Kazan Cathedral there are two statues of the saviors of the fatherland. Saving the army, exhausting the enemy, Smolensk battle- that's more than enough.

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

Finnish war.
Strategic retreat in the first half of 1812
European campaign of 1812

Uvarov Fedor Petrovich

At the age of 27 he was promoted to general. Participated in the campaigns of 1805-1807 and in the battles on the Danube in 1810. In 1812 he commanded the 1st artillery corps in the army of Barclay de Tolly, and later - the entire cavalry of the combined armies.

Chapaev Vasily Ivanovich

01/28/1887 - 09/05/1919 life. Head of a division of the Red Army, participant in the First World War and the Civil War.
Cavalier of three St. George's crosses and the St. George medal. Cavalier of the Order of the Red Banner.
On his account:
- Organization of the county Red Guard of 14 detachments.
- Participation in the campaign against General Kaledin (near Tsaritsyn).
- Participation in the campaign of the Special Army against Uralsk.
- An initiative to reorganize the Red Guard detachments into two regiments of the Red Army: them. Stepan Razin and them. Pugachev, united in the Pugachev brigade under the command of Chapaev.
- Participation in battles with the Czechoslovaks and the People's Army, from whom Nikolaevsk was recaptured, renamed in honor of the brigade in Pugachevsk.
- Since September 19, 1918, the commander of the 2nd Nikolaev division.
- From February 1919 - Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Nikolaevsky district.
- From May 1919 - brigade commander of the Special Alexander-Gai Brigade.
- Since June - the head of the 25th Infantry Division, which participated in the Bugulma and Belebeev operations against Kolchak's army.
- The capture by the forces of his division on June 9, 1919 of Ufa.
- The capture of Uralsk.
- A deep raid by a Cossack detachment with an attack on the well-guarded (about 1000 bayonets) and located in the deep rear of the city of Lbischensk (now the village of Chapaev, West Kazakhstan region of Kazakhstan), where the headquarters of the 25th division was located.

Nakhimov Pavel Stepanovich

Successes in the Crimean War of 1853-56, victory in Sinop battle in 1853, the defense of Sevastopol in 1854-55.

Monomakh Vladimir Vsevolodovich

Margelov Vasily Filippovich

Wrangel Pyotr Nikolaevich

Member of the Russo-Japanese and World War I, one of the main leaders (1918−1920) white movement during the years of the Civil War. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in the Crimea and Poland (1920). General Staff Lieutenant General (1918). St. George Cavalier.

Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1787-91 and the Russian-Swedish war of 1788-90. He distinguished himself during the war with France in 1806-07 at Preussisch-Eylau, from 1807 he commanded a division. During Russian-Swedish war 1808-09 commanded a corps; led a successful crossing through the Kvarken Strait in the winter of 1809. In 1809-10, the Governor-General of Finland. From January 1810 to September 1812, the Minister of War, did a lot of work to strengthen the Russian army, singled out the intelligence and counterintelligence service into a separate production. In the Patriotic War of 1812 he commanded the 1st Western Army, and he, as Minister of War, was subordinate to the 2nd Western Army. In the conditions of a significant superiority of the enemy, he showed the talent of a commander and successfully carried out the withdrawal and connection of the two armies, which earned such words from M.I. Kutuzov as THANK YOU FATHER !!! SAVE THE ARMY!!! SAVE RUSSIA!!!. However, the retreat caused discontent in the noble circles and the army, and on August 17, Barclay handed over the command of the armies to M.I. Kutuzov. In the Battle of Borodino, he commanded the right wing of the Russian army, showing stamina and skill in defense. He recognized the position near Moscow chosen by L. L. Bennigsen as unsuccessful and supported the proposal of M. I. Kutuzov to leave Moscow at the military council in Fili. In September 1812 he left the army due to illness. In February 1813 he was appointed commander of the 3rd, and then the Russian-Prussian army, which he successfully commanded during the foreign campaigns of the Russian army of 1813-14 (Kulm, Leipzig, Paris). He was buried in the Beklor estate in Livonia (now Jõgeveste Estonia)

Ivan the Terrible

He conquered the Astrakhan kingdom, to which Russia paid tribute. Destroyed the Livonian Order. Expanded the borders of Russia far beyond the Urals.

Romanov Alexander I Pavlovich

The actual commander in chief of the allied armies that liberated Europe in 1813-1814. "He took Paris, he founded a lyceum." The Great Leader who crushed Napoleon himself. (The shame of Austerlitz is not comparable to the tragedy of 1941.)

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

according to the only criterion - invincibility.

Golovanov Alexander Evgenievich

Is the creator Soviet aviation long range(ADD).
Units under the command of Golovanov bombed Berlin, Koenigsberg, Danzig and other cities in Germany, attacked important strategic targets behind enemy lines.

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

Russian admiral who gave his life for the liberation of the Fatherland.
Oceanographer, one of the largest polar explorers late XIX- early XX centuries, military and political figure, naval commander, full member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, leader of the White movement, Supreme Ruler of Russia.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

He led the armed struggle of the Soviet people in the war against Germany and its allies and satellites, as well as in the war against Japan.
He led the Red Army to Berlin and Port Arthur.

Rurikovich Yaroslav the Wise Vladimirovich

He devoted his life to defending the Fatherland. Defeated the Pechenegs. He approved the Russian state as one of the greatest states of his time.

Brusilov Alexey Alekseevich

To the first world war commander of the 8th Army in the Battle of Galicia. On August 15-16, 1914, during the Rogatin battles, he defeated the 2nd Austro-Hungarian army, capturing 20 thousand people. and 70 guns. Galich was taken on August 20. The 8th Army takes an active part in the battles near Rava-Russkaya and in the Battle of Gorodok. In September he commanded a group of troops from the 8th and 3rd armies. September 28 - October 11, his army withstood the counterattack of the 2nd and 3rd Austro-Hungarian armies in the battles on the San River and near the city of Stryi. During the successfully completed battles, 15 thousand enemy soldiers were captured, and at the end of October his army entered the foothills of the Carpathians.

Blucher, Tukhachevsky

Blucher, Tukhachevsky and the whole galaxy of heroes of the Civil War. Don't forget Budyonny!

Makhno Nestor Ivanovich

Over the mountains, over the valleys
waiting for your blues for a long time
wise father, glorious father,
our kind father - Makhno ...

(peasant song from the Civil War)

He was able to create an army, led successful military operations against the Austro-Germans, against Denikin.

And for * carts * even if he was not awarded the Order of the Red Banner, then this should be done now

Bobrok-Volynsky Dmitry Mikhailovich

Boyar and governor of the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. "Developer" of the tactics of the Battle of Kulikovo.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, Generalissimo of the Soviet Union, Supreme Commander. Brilliant military leadership of the USSR in World War II.

Kappel Vladimir Oskarovich

Without exaggeration - the best commander of the army of Admiral Kolchak. Under his command, in 1918, Russia's gold reserves were captured in Kazan. At the age of 36 - lieutenant general, commander of the Eastern Front. Siberian is associated with this name. ice hike. In January 1920, he led 30,000 "Kappelevites" to Irkutsk to capture Irkutsk and release the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Admiral Kolchak, from captivity. The death of the general from pneumonia largely determined the tragic outcome of this campaign and the death of the Admiral ...

Dragomirov Mikhail Ivanovich

Brilliant crossing of the Danube in 1877
- Creation of a tactics textbook
- Creation of the original concept of military education
- Leadership of the NAGSH in 1878-1889
- Huge influence in military matters for the whole 25th anniversary

Pokryshkin Alexander Ivanovich

Air Marshal of the USSR, the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union, a symbol of victory over the Nazi Wehrmacht in the air, one of the most successful fighter pilots of the Great Patriotic War (WWII).

Participating in air battles of the Great Patriotic War, he developed and "tested" in battles a new tactic of air combat, which made it possible to seize the initiative in the air and eventually defeat the fascist Luftwaffe. In fact, he created a whole school of aces of the Second World War. Commanding the 9th Guards Air Division, he continued to personally participate in dogfights, having won 65 air victories for the entire period of the war.

John 4 Vasilyevich

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

Alexander Vasilievich Kolchak (November 4 (November 16), 1874, St. Petersburg, - February 7, 1920, Irkutsk) - Russian oceanographer, one of the largest polar explorers of the late XIX - early XX centuries, military and political figure, naval commander, active member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1906), admiral (1918), leader of the White movement, Supreme Ruler of Russia.

Member of the Russo-Japanese War, Defense of Port Arthur. During the First World War, he commanded the mine division of the Baltic Fleet (1915-1916), the Black Sea Fleet (1916-1917). Georgievsky Cavalier.
The leader of the White movement both on a national scale and directly in the East of Russia. As the Supreme Ruler of Russia (1918-1920), he was recognized by all the leaders of the White movement, "de jure" - by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, "de facto" - by the Entente states.
Supreme Commander of the Russian Army.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

He personally took part in the planning and implementation of ALL offensive and defensive operations of the Red Army in the period 1941-1945.

Kappel Vladimir Oskarovich

Perhaps the most talented commander of the entire Civil War, even if compared with the commanders of all its sides. A man of powerful military talent, fighting spirit and Christian noble qualities is a real White Knight. Kappel's talent and personal qualities were noticed and respected even by his opponents. The author of many military operations and exploits - including the capture of Kazan, the Great Siberian Ice Campaign, etc. Many of his calculations, which were not evaluated in time and missed through no fault of his own, later turned out to be the most correct, which was shown by the course of the Civil War.

Ermolov Alexey Petrovich

Hero of the Napoleonic Wars and the Patriotic War of 1812. Conqueror of the Caucasus. Smart strategist and tactician, strong-willed and brave warrior.

Margelov Vasily Filippovich

Author and initiator of the creation of technical means of the Airborne Forces and methods of using parts and connections Airborne Troops, many of which personify the image of the Airborne Forces of the Armed Forces of the USSR and the Armed Forces of Russia, which exists at the present time.

General Pavel Fedoseevich Pavlenko:
In the history of the Airborne Forces, and in the Armed Forces of Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, his name will remain forever. He personified a whole era in the development and formation of the Airborne Forces, their authority and popularity are associated with his name, not only in our country, but also abroad ...

Colonel Nikolai Fedorovich Ivanov:
Under the leadership of Margelov for more than twenty years, the landing troops became one of the most mobile in the combat structure of the Armed Forces, prestigious service in them, especially revered by the people ... high price- for a set of badges. The competition for the Ryazan Airborne School blocked the figures of VGIK and GITIS, and applicants who failed their exams for two or three months, before snow and frost, lived in the forests near Ryazan in the hope that someone would not withstand the stress and it would be possible to take his place .

Kazarsky Alexander Ivanovich

Captain Lieutenant. Member of the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-29. He distinguished himself in the capture of Anapa, then Varna, commanding the Rival transport. After that, he was promoted to lieutenant commander and appointed captain of the Mercury brig. On May 14, 1829, the 18-gun brig "Mercury" was overtaken by two Turkish battleships"Selimiye" and "Real Bey" Having accepted an unequal battle, the brig was able to immobilize both Turkish flagships, one of which was the commander of the Ottoman fleet himself. Subsequently, an officer from the Real Bey wrote: “In the continuation of the battle, the commander of the Russian frigate (the infamous Raphael, which surrendered without a fight a few days earlier) told me that the captain of this brig would not give up, and if he lost hope, then he would blow up the brig If in the great deeds of ancient and our times there are feats of courage, then this act should overshadow all of them, and the name of this hero is worthy to be inscribed in gold letters on the temple of Glory: he is called Lieutenant Commander Kazarsky, and the brig is "Mercury"

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

He is a great commander who did not lose a single (!) Battle, the founder of Russian military affairs, brilliantly fought battles, regardless of its conditions.

Khvorostinin Dmitry Ivanovich

The commander who did not have defeats ...

Minich Christopher Antonovich

Due to the ambiguous attitude to the period of the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the largely underestimated commander, who was the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops throughout her reign.

Commander of the Russian troops during the War of the Polish Succession and architect of the victory of Russian arms in the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739.

Nevsky, Suvorov

Undoubtedly holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky and Generalissimo A.V. Suvorov

Brusilov Alexey Alekseevich

One of the best Russian generals of the First World War. In June 1916, the troops of the Southwestern Front under the command of Adjutant General Brusilov A.A., simultaneously striking in several directions, broke through the enemy’s defense in depth and advanced 65 km. In military history, this operation was called the Brusilovsky breakthrough.

Prophetic Oleg

Your shield is on the gates of Tsaregrad.
A.S. Pushkin.

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

It's simple - It was he, as a commander, who made the greatest contribution to the defeat of Napoleon. He saved the army in the most difficult conditions, despite misunderstanding and heavy accusations of betrayal. It was to him that our great poet Pushkin, practically a contemporary of those events, dedicated the verse "Commander".
Pushkin, recognizing the merits of Kutuzov, did not oppose him to Barclay. To replace the common alternative “Barclay or Kutuzov”, with the traditional resolution in favor of Kutuzov, Pushkin came to a new position: both Barclay and Kutuzov are both worthy of the grateful memory of their descendants, but Kutuzov is honored by everyone, but Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly is undeserved forgotten.
Pushkin mentioned Barclay de Tolly even earlier, in one of the chapters of "Eugene Onegin" -

Thunderstorm of the twelfth year
It has come - who helped us here?
The frenzy of the people
Barclay, winter or Russian god?...

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

The great Russian commander, who did not suffer a single defeat in his military career (more than 60 battles), one of the founders of Russian military art.
Prince of Italy (1799), Count of Rymnik (1789), Count of the Holy Roman Empire, Generalissimo of the Russian Land and naval forces, Field Marshal of the Austrian and Sardinian troops, grandee of the Sardinian kingdom and prince of royal blood (with the title "king's cousin"), knight of all Russian orders of their time, awarded to men, as well as many foreign military orders.

Saltykov Pyotr Semyonovich

The commander-in-chief of the Russian army in the Seven Years' War, was the main architect of the key victories of the Russian troops.

Suvorov Mikhail Vasilievich

The only one who can be called GENERALLISIMUS ... Bagration, Kutuzov are his students ...

Skobelev Mikhail Dmitrievich

A man of great courage, a great tactician, organizer. M.D. Skobelev possessed strategic thinking, saw the situation, both in real time and in perspective

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

Prominent military leader, scientist, traveler and discoverer. Admiral of the Russian Fleet, whose talent was highly appreciated by Sovereign Nicholas II. The Supreme Ruler of Russia during the Civil War, a real Patriot of his Fatherland, a tragic man, interesting fate. One of those military men who tried to save Russia during the years of unrest, in the most difficult conditions, being in very difficult international diplomatic conditions.

Muravyov-Karssky Nikolai Nikolaevich

One of the most successful commanders of the middle of the 19th century in the Turkish direction.

Hero of the first capture of Kars (1828), leader of the second capture of Kars (the biggest success of the Crimean War, 1855, which made it possible to end the war without territorial losses for Russia).

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

A commander who has not lost a single battle in his career. He took the impregnable fortress of Ishmael, the first time.

Vorotynsky Mikhail Ivanovich

"The compiler of the charter of the watchdog and border service' is, of course, good. For some reason, we have forgotten the battle of YOUTH from July 29 to August 2, 1572. But it was precisely from this victory that Moscow's right to a lot was recognized. The Ottomans were recaptured a lot of things, they were very sobered by the thousands of destroyed Janissaries, and unfortunately they helped Europe with this. The battle of YOUTH is very difficult to overestimate

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. Under his leadership, the Red Army crushed fascism.

Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich

Hero of the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813
"General Meteor" and "Caucasian Suvorov".
He fought not in numbers, but in skill - first, 450 Russian soldiers attacked 1,200 Persian sardars in the Migri fortress and took it, then 500 of our soldiers and Cossacks attacked 5,000 askers at the crossing over the Araks. More than 700 enemies were exterminated, only 2,500 Persian fighters managed to escape from ours.
In both cases, our losses are less than 50 killed and up to 100 wounded.
Further, in the war against the Turks, with a swift attack, 1000 Russian soldiers defeated the 2000th garrison of the Akhalkalaki fortress.
Then, again in the Persian direction, he cleared Karabakh of the enemy, and then, with 2,200 soldiers, defeated Abbas-Mirza with a 30,000-strong army near Aslanduz, a village near the Araks River. In two battles, he destroyed more than 10,000 enemies, including English advisers and artillerymen.
As usual, Russian losses were 30 killed and 100 wounded.
Kotlyarevsky won most of his victories in night assaults on fortresses and enemy camps, preventing the enemies from coming to their senses.
The last campaign - 2000 Russians against 7000 Persians to the fortress of Lankaran, where Kotlyarevsky almost died during the assault, lost consciousness at times from blood loss and pain from wounds, but still, until the final victory, he commanded the troops as soon as he regained consciousness, and after that he was forced to be treated for a long time and move away from military affairs.
His feats for the glory of Russia are much cooler than the "300 Spartans" - for our generals and warriors more than once beat the 10-fold superior enemy, and suffered minimal losses, saving Russian lives.

Soldier, several wars (including World War I and World War II). past way to Marshal of the USSR and Poland. Military intellectual. not resorting to "obscene leadership." he knew tactics in military affairs to the subtleties. practice, strategy and operational art.

I beg the military historical society to correct the extreme historical injustice and add to the list of the 100 best generals, the leader of the northern militia who played prominent role in the liberation of Russia from the Polish yoke and turmoil. And apparently poisoned for his talent and skill.

Osterman-Tolstoy Alexander Ivanovich

One of the brightest "field" generals of the early 19th century. Hero of the battles of Preussisch-Eylau, Ostrovno and Kulm.

Ushakov Fedor Fedorovich

A man whose faith, courage, and patriotism defended our state

Rumyantsev Petr Alexandrovich

Russian military and statesman, throughout the reign of Catherine II (1761-96) ruled Little Russia. During the Seven Years' War he commanded the capture of Kolberg. For the victories over the Turks at Larga, Kagul and others, which led to the conclusion of the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace, he was awarded the title of "Transdanubian". In 1770 he received the rank of Field Marshal. Cavalier of the orders of the Russian St. Andrew the Apostle, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. George 1st class and St. Vladimir I degree, the Prussian Black Eagle and St. Anna I degree

Kolovrat Evpaty Lvovich

Ryazan boyar and governor. During the Batu invasion of Ryazan, he was in Chernigov. Having learned about the invasion of the Mongols, he hastily moved to the city. Having caught Ryazan all incinerated, Evpaty Kolovrat with a detachment of 1700 people began to catch up with Batu's army. Having overtaken them, he destroyed their rearguard. He also killed the strong heroes of the Batyevs. He died on January 11, 1238.

Shein Mikhail Borisovich

He led the Smolensk defense against the Polish-Lithuanian troops, which lasted 20 months. Under the command of Shein, repeated attacks were repulsed, despite the explosion and a breach in the wall. He held and bled the main forces of the Poles at the decisive moment of the Time of Troubles, preventing them from moving to Moscow to support their garrison, creating an opportunity to assemble an all-Russian militia to liberate the capital. Only with the help of a defector, the troops of the Commonwealth managed to take Smolensk on June 3, 1611. The wounded Shein was taken prisoner and was taken away with his family for 8 years in Poland. After returning to Russia, he commanded an army that tried to return Smolensk in 1632-1634. Executed on boyar slander. Undeservedly forgotten.

Antonov Alexey Inokent'evich

Chief strategist of the USSR in 1943-45, practically unknown to society
"Kutuzov" World War II

Humble and dedicated. Victorious. The author of all operations since the spring of 1943 and the victory itself. Others gained fame - Stalin and the commanders of the fronts.

Drozdovsky Mikhail Gordeevich

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

He was the Supreme Commander of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War! Under his leadership, the USSR won the Great Victory during the Great Patriotic War!

Kornilov Lavr Georgievich

KORNILOV Lavr Georgievich (08.18.1870-04.31.1918) Colonel (02.1905). Major General (12.1912). Lieutenant General (08.26.1914). Infantry General (06.30.1917). with a gold medal from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff (1898). Officer at the headquarters of the Turkestan Military District, 1889-1904. Participant in the Russian-Japanese war of 1904 - 1905: headquarters officer of the 1st rifle brigade (at its headquarters). When retreating from Mukden, the brigade got surrounded. Having led the rearguard, he broke through the encirclement with a bayonet attack, ensuring the freedom of defensive combat operations of the brigade. Military attache in China, 04/01/1907 - 02/24/1911. Participant in the First World War: commander of the 48th Infantry Division of the 8th Army (General Brusilov). During the general retreat, the 48th division was surrounded and General Kornilov, who was wounded on 04.1915, was captured near the Duklinsky Pass (Carpathians); 08.1914-04.1915. Captured by the Austrians, 04.1915-06.1916. Having changed into the uniform of an Austrian soldier, he escaped from captivity on 06.1915. Commander of the 25th Rifle Corps, 06.1916-04.1917. Commander of the Petrograd Military District, 03-04.1917. Commander of the 8th Army, 04.24-07.08.1917. On 05/19/1917, by his order, he introduced the formation of the first volunteer "1st Shock Detachment of the 8th Army" under the command of Captain Nezhentsev. Commander of the Southwestern Front...

Loris-Melikov Mikhail Tarielovich

Known mainly as one of the secondary characters in the story "Hadji Murad" by L.N. Tolstoy, Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov went through all the Caucasian and Turkish campaigns of the second half of the middle of the 19th century.

Having shown himself excellently during the Caucasian War, during the Kars campaign of the Crimean War, Loris-Melikov led intelligence, and then successfully served as commander-in-chief during the difficult Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, having won a number of major victories over the united Turkish troops and for the third time will capture Kars, which by that time was considered impregnable.

Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich

Dolgorukov Yury Alekseevich

An outstanding statesman and military leader of the era of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, prince. Commanding the Russian army in Lithuania, in 1658 he defeated hetman V. Gonsevsky in the battle of Verki, taking him prisoner. This was the first time after 1500 when a Russian governor captured the hetman. In 1660, at the head of an army sent under Mogilev, besieged by the Polish-Lithuanian troops, he won a strategic victory over the enemy on the Basya River near the village of Gubarevo, forcing hetmans P. Sapieha and S. Czarnetsky to retreat from the city. Thanks to the actions of Dolgorukov, the "front line" in Belarus along the Dnieper was preserved until the end of the war of 1654-1667. In 1670, he led an army sent to fight against the Cossacks of Stenka Razin, in the shortest possible time suppressed the Cossack rebellion, which later led to the Don Cossacks swearing allegiance to the tsar and the transformation of the Cossacks from robbers into "sovereign servants".

Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich

To a person to whom this name does not say anything - there is no need to explain and it is useless. To the one to whom it says something - and so everything is clear.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. The youngest front commander. Counts,. that of the army general - but before his death (February 18, 1945) he received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Liberated three of the six capitals captured by the Nazis Union republics: Kyiv, Minsk. Vilnius. Decided the fate of Keniksberg.
One of the few who pushed back the Germans on June 23, 1941.
He held the front in Valdai. largely determined the fate of the reflection German offensive to Leningrad. He kept Voronezh. Freed Kursk.
He successfully advanced until the summer of 1943. Having formed the top of the Kursk Bulge with his army. Liberated the Left Bank of Ukraine. Take Kyiv. Repelled Manstein's counterattack. Liberated Western Ukraine.
Carried out the operation Bagration. Surrounded and captured by his offensive in the summer of 1944, the Germans then humiliatedly marched through the streets of Moscow. Belarus. Lithuania. Neman. East Prussia.

Pozharsky Dmitry Mikhailovich

In 1612, the most difficult time for Russia, he headed the Russian militia and liberated the capital from the hands of the conquerors.
Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky (November 1, 1578 - April 30, 1642) - Russian national hero, military and political figure, head of the Second People's Militia, which liberated Moscow from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders. With his name and with the name of Kuzma Minin, the exit of the country from the Time of Troubles, which is currently celebrated in Russia on November 4, is closely connected.
After Mikhail Fedorovich was elected to the Russian throne, D. M. Pozharsky plays a leading role in royal court as a talented military leader and statesman. Despite the victory of the people's militia and the election of the tsar, the war in Russia still continued. In 1615-1616. Pozharsky, at the direction of the tsar, was sent at the head of a large army to fight against the detachments of the Polish colonel Lisovsky, who besieged the city of Bryansk and took Karachev. After the fight with Lisovsky, the tsar instructed Pozharsky in the spring of 1616 to collect the fifth money from the merchants to the treasury, since the wars did not stop, and the treasury was depleted. In 1617, the tsar instructed Pozharsky to conduct diplomatic negotiations with the English ambassador John Merik, appointing Pozharsky as governor of Kolomensky. In the same year, the Polish prince Vladislav came to the Moscow state. The inhabitants of Kaluga and neighboring cities turned to the tsar with a request to send them D. M. Pozharsky to protect them from the Poles. The tsar fulfilled the request of the people of Kaluga and ordered Pozharsky on October 18, 1617 to protect Kaluga and the surrounding cities with all available measures. Prince Pozharsky fulfilled the tsar's order with honor. Having successfully defended Kaluga, Pozharsky received an order from the tsar to go to the aid of Mozhaisk, namely, to the city of Borovsk, and began to disturb the troops of Prince Vladislav with flying detachments, inflicting significant damage on them. However, at the same time, Pozharsky fell seriously ill and, at the behest of the tsar, returned to Moscow. Pozharsky, barely recovering from his illness, took an active part in the defense of the capital from the troops of Vladislav, for which Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich rewarded him with new estates and estates.

Alekseev Mikhail Vasilievich

One of the most talented Russian generals of the First World War. Hero of the Battle of Galicia 1914, savior Northwestern Front from the encirclement in 1915, chief of staff under Emperor Nicholas I.

General of Infantry (1914), Adjutant General (1916). Active participant in the White movement in the Civil War. One of the organizers of the Volunteer Army.

Ivan III Vasilievich

He united the Russian lands around Moscow, threw off the hated Tatar-Mongol yoke.

Peter I the Great

Emperor of All Russia (1721-1725), before that, Tsar of All Russia. He won the Great Northern War (1700-1721). This victory finally opened Free access to the Baltic Sea. Under his rule, Russia (the Russian Empire) became a Great Power.

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

A person who combines the totality of knowledge of a naturalist, scientist and great strategist.

Vladimir Svyatoslavich

981 - the conquest of Cherven and Przemysl. 983 - the conquest of the Yatvags. 984 - the conquest of the natives. 985 - successful campaigns against the Bulgars, the taxation of the Khazar Khaganate. 988 - the conquest of the Taman Peninsula. 991 - the subjugation of the White Croats. 992 - successfully defended Cherven Rus in the war against Poland. in addition, the saint is equal to the apostles.

Stessel Anatoly Mikhailovich

Commandant of Port Arthur during his heroic defense. The unprecedented ratio of losses of Russian and Japanese troops before the surrender of the fortress is 1:10.

Field Marshal Ivan Gudovich

The assault on the Turkish fortress of Anapa on June 22, 1791. In terms of complexity and importance, it is only inferior to the assault on Izmail by A.V. Suvorov.
A 7,000-strong Russian detachment stormed Anapa, which was defended by a 25,000-strong Turkish garrison. At the same time, shortly after the start of the assault, 8,000 mounted mountaineers and Turks attacked the Russian detachment from the mountains, who attacked the Russian camp, but could not break into it, were repulsed in a fierce battle and pursued by Russian cavalry.
The fierce battle for the fortress lasted over 5 hours. Of the Anapa garrison, about 8,000 people died, 13,532 defenders were taken prisoner, led by the commandant and Sheikh Mansur. A small part (about 150 people) escaped on ships. Almost all artillery was captured or destroyed (83 cannons and 12 mortars), 130 banners were taken. To the nearby fortress of Sudzhuk-Kale (on the site of modern Novorossiysk), Gudovich sent a separate detachment from Anapa, but when he approached, the garrison burned the fortress and fled to the mountains, leaving 25 guns.
The losses of the Russian detachment were very high - 23 officers and 1,215 privates were killed, 71 officers and 2,401 privates were wounded (in " Military Encyclopedia» Sytin, slightly lower data are indicated - 940 killed and 1995 wounded). Gudovich was awarded the Order of St. George 2nd degree, all officers of his detachment were awarded, for lower ranks a special medal was established. Konstantin

Dokhturov Dmitry Sergeevich

Defense of Smolensk.
Command of the left flank on the Borodino field after the wounding of Bagration.
Tarutino battle.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Skopin-Shuisky Mikhail Vasilievich

During his short military career, he practically did not know failures, both in battles with the troops of I. Boltnikov, and with the Polish-Liovo and "Tushino" troops. The ability to build a combat-ready army practically "from scratch", train, use Swedish mercenaries on the spot and during the time, select successful Russian command personnel for liberation and protection vast territory of the Russian northwestern region and the liberation of central Russia, a persistent and systematic offensive, skillful tactics in the fight against the magnificent Polish-Lithuanian cavalry, undoubted personal courage - these are the qualities that, despite the obscurity of his deeds, give him the right to be called the Great Commander of Russia.

Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich

During the outbreak of the war with England and France, he actually commanded the Black Sea Fleet, until his heroic death he was immediate supervisor P.S. Nakhimov and V.I. Istomin. After the landing of the Anglo-French troops in Evpatoria and the defeat of the Russian troops on the Alma, Kornilov received an order from the commander-in-chief in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, to flood the ships of the fleet in the roadstead in order to use sailors to defend Sevastopol from land.

Platov Matvei Ivanovich

Ataman of the Great Don Army (since 1801), cavalry general (1809), who took part in all the wars of the Russian Empire in the late 18th - early 19th centuries.
In 1771 he distinguished himself in the attack and capture of the Perekop line and Kinburn. From 1772 he began to command a Cossack regiment. 2nd Turkish war distinguished himself during the assault on Ochakov and Ishmael. Participated in the battle of Preussisch-Eylau.
During the Patriotic War of 1812, he first commanded all the Cossack regiments on the border, and then, covering the retreat of the army, defeated the enemy near the town of Mir and Romanovo. In the battle near the village of Semlevo, Platov's army defeated the French and captured a colonel from the army of Marshal Murat. During the retreat of the French army, Platov, pursuing her, defeated her at Gorodnya, the Kolotsk Monastery, Gzhatsk, Tsarevo-Zaimishcha, near Dukhovshchina and while crossing the Vop River. For merit he was elevated to the dignity of a count. In November, Platov occupied Smolensk from battle and defeated the troops of Marshal Ney near Dubrovna. At the beginning of January 1813 he entered the borders of Prussia and overlaid Danzig; in September, he received command of a special corps, with which he participated in the battle of Leipzig and, pursuing the enemy, captured about 15 thousand people. In 1814 he fought at the head of his regiments in the capture of Nemur, at Arcy-sur-Aube, Cezanne, Villeneuve. He was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

Paskevich Ivan Fyodorovich

Hero of Borodin, Leipzig, Paris (division commander)
As commander in chief, he won 4 companies (Russian-Persian 1826-1828, Russian-Turkish 1828-1829, Polish 1830-1831, Hungarian 1849).
Knight of the Order of St. George 1st class - for the capture of Warsaw (according to the statute, the order was awarded either for saving the fatherland or for taking the enemy capital).
Field Marshal.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

He was the Supreme Commander during the Great Patriotic War, in which our country won, and made all strategic decisions.

Belov Pavel Alekseevich

He led the cavalry corps during the Second World War. It proved to be excellent during the Battle of Moscow, especially in defensive battles near Tula. He especially distinguished himself in the Rzhev-Vyazemsky operation, where he left the encirclement after 5 months of stubborn fighting.

Stalin (Dzhugashvili) Joseph Vissarionovich

Comrade Stalin, in addition to the atomic and missile projects, together with General of the Army Alexei Innokentevich Antonov, participated in the development and implementation of almost all significant operations of the Soviet troops in the Second World War, brilliantly organized the work of the rear, even in the first hard years war.

Rurikovich Svyatoslav Igorevich

Great commander Old Russian period. The first Kyiv prince known to us, having a Slavic name. The last pagan ruler of the Old Russian state. Glorified Russia as great military power in the campaigns of 965-971. Karamzin called him "Alexander (Macedonian) of our ancient history." Prince freed Slavic tribes from vassal dependence on the Khazars, having defeated the Khazar Khaganate in 965. According to the Tale of Bygone Years in 970, during the Russian-Byzantine war, Svyatoslav managed to win the battle of Arcadiopolis, having 10,000 soldiers under his command, against 100,000 Greeks. But at the same time, Svyatoslav led the life of a simple warrior: “On campaigns, he didn’t carry carts or cauldrons with him, he didn’t cook meat, but, thinly slicing horse meat, or beast, or beef and roasting it on coals, he ate like that; he didn’t have a tent , but slept, spreading a sweatshirt with a saddle in their heads - the same were all the rest of his warriors... And sent to other lands [envoys, as a rule, before declaring war] with the words: "I'm going to you!" (According to PVL)

Golenishchev-Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich

(1745-1813).
1. GREAT Russian commander, he was an example for his soldiers. Appreciated every soldier. "M. I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov is not only the liberator of the Fatherland, he is the only one who outplayed the hitherto invincible french emperor, turning the "great army" into a crowd of ragamuffins, saving, thanks to his military genius, the lives of many Russian soldiers.
2. Mikhail Illarionovich, being a highly educated person who knew several foreign languages, dexterous, refined, able to inspire society with the gift of words, an entertaining story, served Russia as an excellent diplomat - ambassador to Turkey.
3. M. I. Kutuzov - the first who became full cavalier the highest military order of St. George the Victorious of four degrees.
The life of Mikhail Illarionovich is an example of service to the fatherland, attitude towards soldiers, spiritual strength for the Russian military leaders of our time and, of course, for the younger generation - the future military.

Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky Pyotr Alexandrovich

Slashchev Yakov Alexandrovich

Kuznetsov Nikolai Gerasimovich

He made a great contribution to the strengthening of the fleet before the war; conducted a number of major exercises, became the initiator of the opening of new maritime schools and maritime special schools (later Nakhimov schools). On the eve of Germany's sudden attack on the USSR, he took effective measures to increase the combat readiness of the fleets, and on the night of June 22 he gave the order to bring them to full combat readiness, which made it possible to avoid the loss of ships and naval aviation.

The personal contribution of A. A. Brusilov manifested itself in many successful operations of the Russian army during the First World War - the Battle of Galicia in 1914, the Battle of the Carpathians in 1914/15, the Lutsk and Czartoryi operations in 1915 and, of course, in the Offensive of the South-Western Front in 1916 city ​​(the famous Brusilovsky breakthrough).

Generals of Ancient Russia

Since ancient times. Vladimir Monomakh (fought with the Polovtsy), his sons Mstislav the Great (campaigns against Chud and Lithuania) and Yaropolk (campaigns against the Don), Vsevood the Big Nest (campaigns against the Volga Bulgaria), Mstislav Udatny (battle on Lipitsa), Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (defeated knights of the Order of the Sword), Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Vladimir the Brave (the second hero of the Mamaev battle) ...

Generals of Ancient Russia

... Ivan III (capture of Novgorod, Kazan), Vasily III(capture of Smolensk), Ivan IV the Terrible (capture of Kazan, Livonian campaigns), M.I. Vorotynsky (battle of Molodi with Devlet Giray), Tsar V.I. Shuisky (battle of Dobrynichy, capture of Tula), M.V. Skopin-Shuisky (liberation of Moscow from False Dmitry II), F.I. Sheremetev (liberation of the Volga region from False Dmitry II), F.I. Mstislavsky (many different campaigns, rebuffing Kazy-Girey), There were many generals in the Time of Troubles.

Alexander Stepanovich Antonov

Antonov Alexander Stepanovich (1888-1922). Member of the Tambov uprising. Born in Moscow, spent his childhood in the city of Kirsanov, Tambov province, studied in Tambov, in a real school, from where he was expelled for distributing revolutionary SR literature. After being expelled from a real school, he entered the Tambov car repair shops as a carpenter's apprentice. At the age of 16, he joined the Socialist Revolutionary Party, participated in the expropriations during the revolution of 1905. He took part in the robbery of a mail car in which money was transported. Arrested and sentenced to 20 years hard labor. He served his sentence in Tambov, Moscow and the Vladimir Central. Released by the Provisional Government in 1917, returned to Tambov. The first chief of the provincial police. AT Soviet time, in 1918, remained in his post, later the chief of police in Kirsanov, where he was transferred on his own initiative in March 1918. After being transferred to Kirsanov, he left the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, created a partisan squad and opposed the Soviet regime. Chief of the Main Operational Headquarters of the 2nd Insurgent Army of the United partisan army Tambov region. Killed in unequal battle with the Chekists, together with his brother Dmitry, in the village of Nizhny Shibryai, Borisoglebsky district, June 24, 1922

Curriculum vitae from the appendix to the book: Sennikov B. Tambov uprising 1918-1921 and depeasantization of Russia 1929-1933 . Series "Library of Russian Studies". Issue 9. - M .: Sowing, 2004.

A.S. Antonov is a student of the Tambov Real School.

Antonov Alexander Stepanovich (1889, Moscow - 1922, village of Nizhny Shibryai, Tambov province) - leader of a peasant uprising in Tambov province. in 1920 - 1921. Antonov was the third child in a poor family of a retired sergeant major and dressmaker. In the 90s. the family moved to the city of Kirsanov, Tambov province. In 1905 Antonov was supposed to graduate from the Kirsanovskoye mountains. three-year school where they studied Russian. language, arithmetic with geometry and the law of God, but, being a smart person, for some reason he studied poorly and it is not known whether he completed the course. In 1905 - 1907 he became close to the Socialist-Revolutionaries, participated in expropriations and already at the beginning. 1908 was wanted by the police. At st. Inzhavino seized the cash register, which became known to the authorities, and then arrived in Saratov, where he agreed to kill Lieutenant General A.G. Sandetsky, who was sentenced to death by the Socialist-Revolutionaries for the brutal suppression of the peasants of the Volga region during the roar. He informed the police about the impending attack. E.F. Azef , and in February 1909 Antonov was arrested. He appeared before the Provisional Military Court in Tambov and was sentenced to hang, but P.A. Stolypin commuted the death sentence to hard labor "without term". After two failed attempts escape Antonov in 1910 was sent to the Shlisselburg fortress. He was amnestied in March 1917 after the February Revolution, returned to Tambov and from April. began to work ml. Assistant Chief of the Mountains police, and then the head of the Kirsanov district police. With only a hundred policemen, he managed to noticeably moderate crime on the territory of 6 thousand square meters. km with 350 thousand inhabitants, to disarm several echelons of the Czechoslovak Expeditionary Force, heading east, for which Antonov was awarded a Mauser. The Communists tried to put the Bolsheviks in leadership positions, getting rid of representatives of other parties. The Chekists fabricated evidence of an impending counter-revolutionary rebellion of the Socialist-Revolutionaries. In July 1918, when Antonov was away, his assistants were captured and shot. Upon learning of what had happened, Antonov went to Samara, where he was going to fight the Bolsheviks in the People's Army of the Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly (Komuch), but the latter moved to Ufa, then to Yekaterinburg and was dispersed A. V. Kolchak . After 3 months of aimless walking around the Volga region engulfed in civil war, Antonov secretly returned to Kirsanovsky district, but on the eve of his return, spontaneous peasant uprisings began, caused by the robbery of food detachments and the arbitrariness of local authorities. Local communists declared Antonov the leader of the rebels and sentenced him to death in absentia. At the end of 1918 - early. 1919 Antonov assembled a combat squad, consisting of 10-15 people, and cracked down on the communists who wanted to carry out the death sentence. Along with terror, he carried out expropriations, and by the summer of 1919 Antonov had 150 well-trained and equipped people. Aug 21 peasants with Kamenka defeated the food detachment. They were supported by Antonov. Thus began "Antonovism", - according to Antonov's biographer, "the last peasant war in Russia". By 1920, Antonov, having overcome partisanship, created about 20 rebel regiments organized into two armies (about 50 thousand people). In a leaflet, Antonov wrote: "I devoted my whole life to the fight against usurpers of people's power and will fight with them to the end. Power was not wrested from the hands of the tsarist executioners in order to pass it into the hands of a handful of communist executioners. Power must be transferred to the people ... "In February 1921, the uprising reached its climax, but after the abolition of the surplus appraisal hated by the peasants, it began to decline. By the summer they began to take hostages and shoot them if the peasants did not issue weapons and Antonovites. As always, in the civil war of cruelty were on both sides.To defeat Antonov, troops were used under the command M.N. Tukhachevsky . A large role in the defeat of Antonov belonged to V.A. Antonov-Ovseenko . By the summer of 1921 the uprising was liquidated. Antonov was hunted down by security officers and died in a shootout.

Used materials of the book: Shikman A.P. Figures of national history. Biographical guide. Moscow, 1997

Literature:

Samoshkip V.V. Alexander Stepanovich Antonov // Questions of history. 1994. No. 2.

Sennikov B. Tambov uprising 1918-1921 and depeasantization of Russia 1929-1933. Series "Library of Russian Studies". Issue 9. - M.: Posev, 2004. - 176 p. 22 ill. ISBN 5-85824-152-2

Persons:

Averyanov P.E. (?-1921). Lieutenant of the Russian army. Member of World War I and the White movement in the South of Russia. Commander of the Semyonovsky Regiment of the United Partisan Army of the Tambov Territory. Since March 1921 - Chief of the General Staff of the Army under the Commander-in-Chief I.M. Kuznetsov. Killed in July 1921

Agapkin Vasily Ivanovich (1884-1964). Author of the march "Farewell of the Slav" (Tambov, 1912). Headquarters trumpeter of the 7th Dragoon Tambov Regiment. Colonel. Served in the Soviet Army, November 7, 1941 conducted the orchestra on Red Square during the parade. The march, composed by Agapkin, is the anthem of Tambov.

Antonov Alexander Stepanovich (1889-1919). Anarchist. An employee of the Cheka, a participant in the suppression of the Tambov uprising. Since 1905 - an anarchist. He was brought to trial by the gendarme department in 1908, sentenced to hard labor. Before the revolution - a teacher in the city of Syzran. In 1918-1919. - served in the county Cheka, was killed by rebels in 1919. He was buried at home, in the village of Rzhaksa, Tambov province. The grave and monument have survived to our time. Often the biography of Antonov the anarchist is confused and mixed with the biography of the active participant in the Tambov uprising A.S. Antonova.

Antonov Dmitry Stepanovich(1893-1922). Member of the Tambov uprising. Brother of Alexander Stepanovich.

Antonov (German) Mikhail Davydovich (1893-1944). From the townspeople. He graduated from a four-year city school, a typographical worker by profession. Member of World War I. In 1917 he headed a detachment of the Red Army in Belarus. Member of the RSDLP (b) since 1917. In 1918-1921. - at work in the bodies of the Cheka in Petrograd and Smolensk, in special departments of the Red Army on the Southern and Western fronts. In 1921 - Chairman of the Tambov Provincial Cheka and the GPU. Member of the Tambov provincial executive committee and provincial committee of the RCP (b).

Belyaev Ya.F. (?-1921). Officer of the Russian army. Member of World War I, the White movement in the South of Russia and the Tambov uprising. Commander of the Tambov partisan regiment of the 1st rebel army. Killed in 1921

Boguslavsky Alexander V. (? -1921). Colonel of the Russian Army, Knight of St. George. Member of the Tambov uprising. Born into a landowner's family. In 1918 he served in the military commander's office of Tambov, later he left the city, possibly hiding in connection with participation in the June anti-Soviet speech. In November 1920 - June 1921 - commander of the 1st rebel army, later chief of staff of the United Army of the Tambov Territory. Killed in action in the summer of 1921.

Virta (Karelsky) Nikolai Evgenievich (1906-1976). Writer. A native of the village of Bolshaya Lazovka, Tambov province. He studied at the Tambov real school. Author of the novel "Loneliness" (1935) about peasant uprising in the Tambov region, the novel "Evening Bells" (1951) and other works.

Gubarev Ivan Arkhipovich. Captain of the Russian army. Member of the White movement in the South of Russia. During the Tambov uprising, the chief of the main operational headquarters of the 1st rebel army, later the commander of the 1st army.

Erofeev Vasily Trofimovich(1884-?), associate of Antonov.

Kolesnikov Ivan Sergeevich (? -1921). From the peasants of the Voronezh province. Member of World War I, sergeant major. Served and deserted from the Red Army. In 1920-1921. commander of an insurgent detachment operating in the Voronezh province and in the Donbass. From January to July 1921 he acted in the ranks of the Tambov rebels. Commander of the Cavalry Mobile Army of the Rebels. Killed in action in the summer of 1921.

Kuznetsov Ivan Makarovich Captain of the Russian army. Member of World War I, the White movement in the South of Russia and the Tambov uprising. Commander of the Volche-Karachaevsky partisan regiment. After the death of the Commander-in-Chief of the United Partisan Army P.M. Tokmakova in March 1921 was nominated for the post of Commander-in-Chief.

Matarykin P.I. Don Cossack, cornet. Member of the Tambov uprising. He made his way from the retreating parts of the white armies to join the rebels with a detachment of Cossacks. Chief of Staff of the Rebel Cavalry Army.

Mitrofanovich. The captain of the Russian army. Member of the Tambov uprising. Commander of the 2nd Insurgent Army of the United Partisan Army of the Tambov Territory.

Pluzhnikov Grigory Naumovich (about 1887-1921). Eser-maximalist. One of the leaders of the Left SR STK. Born into a peasant family. Until 1909 he lived in the village of Kamenka, engaged in agriculture. In 1909 he was arrested with a group of fellow villagers for participating in agrarian terror. He served his sentence in the Tambov prison and in Olonets province. One of the organizers of the uprising of the peasants of the villages of Kamenka and Khitrovo of the Tambov district in August 1920. In the autumn of 1920 - in the summer of 1921 - the actual head of the provincial committee of the Socialist Revolutionary Committee of the STK. In the summer of 1921 he died under unclear circumstances.

Selyansky V.F. (?-1921?). Wahmister Commander of the Pakhotno-Ugolsky Regiment of the United Partisan Army of the Tambov Territory. Presumably died in 1921.

Tokmakov Petr Mikhailovich(? -1921), Commander-in-Chief of the United Partisan Army of the Tambov Territory.

Tyukov F.P. (?-1921?). Captain of the Russian army. Member of the Tambov uprising. Chief of Staff of the 1st Insurgent Army of the United Partisan Army of the Tambov Territory. Replaced I.A. Gubareva. Presumably died in 1921.

Shamov S.A.(?-1921?). Officer of the Russian army. Member of World War I, the White movement in the South of Russia and the Tambov uprising. Commander of the Savalsky partisan regiment of the United Partisan Army of the Tambov Territory. Presumably died in 1921.

Shatrov Ilya Alexandrovich(1879-1952). Military conductor, major. Member of the Russo-Japanese War. Author of the famous waltz "On the Hills of Manchuria" (1906). He was buried in Tambov, at the Holy Cross Cemetery.

Shengyaping(?-1921). Member of the Tambov uprising. Came from peasants. Commander of the Bityugovsky regiment. Head of the Tambov partisan republic. Commander of the Bityug Partisan Regiment of the United Partisan Army of the Tambov Territory. He died in battle in 1921 (he shot himself, not wanting to be captured after a horse was killed under him).

P.D. Ektov (?-1937). The captain of the Russian army. He came from Tambov peasants. Wartime officer. Worked at the headquarters of the 2nd rebel army. During the suppression of the uprising, he went over to the side of the Soviet authorities. Shot in 1937 in Tambov.

After Antonov's recovery, he was transferred to the Guards Jaeger Reserve Regiment, where he was elected assistant regimental adjutant. On August 27, a meeting was held in the regiment about the Kornilov rebellion. The resolution of the meeting stated: "The regiment is waiting for the order to march to protect the revolution from an attack on it by treason." At the capital's enterprises, the formation of Red Guard detachments began. Antonov was engaged in organizational issues of the formation of consolidated units, providing them with weapons and uniforms. On August 28, these units took up defenses around Petrograd. Alexey Antonov, as part of one of the consolidated detachments, was engaged in the construction of defensive structures in the Pulkovo Heights area. By August 31, the rebellion was crushed.

Civil War

During the interwar period

After the end of hostilities in the Crimea, the 15th Order of the Red Banner Inza-Sivash division was transferred to the so-called. "labor status": in the spring of 1921, Antonov's 45th brigade was engaged in a sowing campaign in southern Ukraine. In 1922, the division was located in the city of Nikolaev. At this time, Antonov began to prepare for admission to military academy- he was one of the few commanders of this level without a military education. However, even then, his abilities were especially noted by the commander of the 15th division, Raudmets, and the commander of the Ukrainian military district, Yakir. However, Antonov entered the Frunze Academy in Moscow only in 1928. This was preceded by his first marriage to Maria Temok, as well as joining the CPSU (b).

Antonov was enrolled in the main (command) faculty of the academy. According to fellow students, he had enviable perseverance and perseverance in his studies. He especially liked staff work, often went to the troops for an internship. He successfully mastered the French language and acquired the qualification of a military translator. In March 1931, Alexei Antonov graduated from the academy and returned to Ukraine again - to the post of chief of staff of the 46th Infantry Division in Korosten. At the new place, Antonov was actively working with the command staff of the division, often conducted command and staff exercises, and participated in the development of district exercises. Already in the autumn of 1932, he was again sent to the Frunze Academy - to the newly created operational faculty. In May 1933 he graduated with honors, in the final attestation by the head of the faculty, Georgy Isserson, it was noted: "An excellent operational staff worker, ready to work in higher headquarters."

After graduating from the operational faculty, Antonov remained in his previous position for another year and a half, from October 1934 to August 1935 he served as chief of staff of the Mogilev-Yampolsky fortified area. In the fall of 1935, Alexei Antonov was appointed head of the operations department of the headquarters of the Kharkov Military District. In this position, Antonov was involved in the organization of major exercises and maneuvers using various, including the latest types and types of troops: tank, aviation. On September 12-17, 1935, grandiose tactical exercises were held in Ukraine with the involvement of all branches of the armed forces, 65 thousand people and 3 thousand military vehicles, Alexei Antonov also took part in their development. During the exercises, for the first time, many new theoretical provisions of the Soviet operational school were worked out in practice, including the theory of deep operation. For the carefully prepared and successfully conducted exercises, Antonov received the gratitude of the People's Commissar of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union Voroshilov.

In October, the front headquarters began preparations for the Rostov defensive operation. On October 12-13, a regrouping of forces was carried out, and the 9th Army took up defensive positions along the Mius River. The regrouping made it possible to prevent the Germans from forcing the river on the move, with a counterattack by the 9th Army, the 1st Panzer Army of von Kleist was thrown back 10-15 kilometers to the west. Despite the fact that with the arrival of new forces on October 17, German units crossed the Mius, the threat to Rostov-on-Don noticeably weakened: near Taganrog, the losses of the German army amounted to 35 thousand soldiers and officers. Von Kleist abandoned the original plan to capture Rostov from two sides, and on November 5 his army moved towards Rostov, intending to take the city with a direct blow from the north. By mid-November, when the German units were on the outskirts of the city, the headquarters of the Southern Front, under the leadership of Antonov, was already planning a Soviet counterattack. The work of General Antonov in this direction was highly appreciated by Marshal Timoshenko, as well as by the General Staff.

The counteroffensive near Rostov by the forces of the 9th, 18th, 37th and 56th armies began on November 17, 1941. The blow was delivered in the western and south-western direction in the rear of the 1st Panzer Army. On the night of November 28, Rostov-on-Don was liberated, by December 2, German units were driven back beyond the Mius, where the front stabilized. About this operation, one of the first successful offensives of the Red Army in the war, Antonov wrote an article that remained unpublished. On December 13, for a successful operation, Alexei Antonov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and on December 27, he was awarded the title of Lieutenant General. In the early days of January 1942, Antonov and his staff were preparing the Barvenkovo-Lozovskaya operation. The offensive of the Soviet troops southeast of Kharkov continued on January 18-31 and was also crowned with success.

At the General Staff

Six months before the appointment of Antonov, due to insufficiently well-organized work, the heads of the Operational Directorate were replaced 7 times. Lieutenant General Aleksey Antonov was appointed Chief of the Operational Directorate of the General Staff. The head of this department was supposed to report daily to Supreme High Command Headquarters, however, at first, Antonov was practically not involved in working with the Headquarters, and Stalin had only once. According to Alexander Vasilevsky, Antonov several times asked the Chief of the General Staff, who was then at the Stalingrad Front, to do everything possible to return him to the front. Instead, Vasilevsky regular report in Moscow, he again described Antonov as an exceptionally valuable employee for the General Staff and the Headquarters and asked him to be allowed to work directly related to the maintenance of the Headquarters in operational terms. To this, Stalin replied: “Judging by your characteristics, Antonov at the front will be much more useful than in our clerical affairs.”

In early January, Antonov was sent to the Bryansk Front to the location of the 18th separate rifle corps as a representative of the Headquarters. Here Antonov coordinated the actions of the formations of the front in the Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh operation, which ended victoriously on January 27, as well as in the Voronezh-Kastornensk operation (January 24 - February 17). Antonov worked at the front until the end of March 1943, and his activities received appreciated both the Chief of the General Staff and Stalin. After returning to Moscow and the first report at Headquarters, Antonov subsequently began to visit Stalin several times a day. In his position, Antonov did a lot to optimize the work of the Directorate: for example, only under him in the Directorate and throughout the General Staff was a single universal system conditional topographic signs of working maps. A rigid work schedule was established. So, Antonov was supposed to be on duty 17-18 hours a day, time was allotted for rest from 5-6 in the morning until noon. According to the memoirs of deputy Antonov Shtemenko, “who knows the situation thoroughly, he nevertheless prepared for each report at Headquarters for 2-3 hours. Antonov was tactful with subordinates, never raised his voice, however, he was stingy with encouragement, almost never wrote down, but at the same time he remembered everything. In connection with the ever-increasing load on the General Staff, by order of Antonov, the Main Organizational Directorate was created in its structure, as well as the Directorate for the Use of War Experience. A corps of officers-representatives of the General Staff was created under the command of the Operational Directorate.

Battle of Kursk

The main direction of Antonov's work as head of the Operations Directorate and deputy chief of the General Staff was strategic planning. Starting from the spring-summer campaign of 1943, Antonov took part in the development of all important campaigns and strategic operations of the Armed Forces. The first of these was the Kursk operation. Active preparations for its implementation began in April, which was actively planned by the General Staff. During this period, General of the Army Antonov (this title was awarded to him on April 4, 1943) worked especially closely with Vasilevsky and Zhukov. collective mind a general plan was developed for the entire operation: to oppose the planned German offensive on the Kursk Bulge with a defense in depth, bleed the German troops in defensive battles, then go on a counteroffensive and defeat them with the forces of five fronts. The preparation of the operation was not without overlap: after two unconfirmed intelligence warnings about the start of the German offensive on May 10-12 and May 20, Nikita Khrushchev, a member of the military council of the Voronezh Front, took this as a German refusal to attack and asked Stalin to give the order to launch a preemptive strike. Stalin was inclined to agree with him, and Zhukov, Antonov and Vasilevsky "cost some effort to convince him not to do this." They also disagreed with Khrushchev about determining the direction of the main attack in the counteroffensive; Stalin also had to be convinced of the correctness of the strike in the direction of Kharkov-Poltava-Kiev. In the midst of the preparations for the Battle of Kursk, Antonov, due to excessive workload, was relieved of his post as chief of the Operations Directorate and focused on leading the General Staff. Sergei Shtemenko took his place.

Winter campaign 1943/44

Preparations for the third winter military campaign began at the General Staff in November 1943. The outlined plans implied the deployment of offensive operations not in one or two main directions, but on a broad front from the Baltic to the Black Sea with the use of troops of all fronts, all types and branches of troops, in coastal areas - with the use of the Navy. The main attention was paid to the flanks of the Soviet-German front: on the left, it was planned to liberate the right-bank Ukraine, Crimea and reach the border of the USSR; on the right - the defeat of the Army Group "North", the lifting of the blockade of Leningrad, the beginning of the liberation of the Baltic states. The details of the plan were worked out at the General Staff by Zhukov, Antonov and Vasilevsky.

The offensive of the Soviet troops began on December 24, 1943: the Dnieper-Carpathian operation was launched by the forces of five fronts, on January 14 - the Leningrad-Novgorod operation. The campaign continued until May 1944, during which all the main goals of the command were achieved, on March 26, Soviet troops reached the 85-kilometer section of the Prut River to the Soviet-Romanian border, and the liberation of Europe began.

Summer-autumn campaign of 1944

Under the direct supervision of Alexei Antonov, the development of the 1944 summer campaign was carried out at the General Staff. In its course, it was supposed to completely liberate the occupied territories of the USSR. Antonov reported to Stalin about the essence of the summer campaign at the end of April, and on May 1 he signed the corresponding approval order. The direction of the main attack - Belarusian - Antonov personally worked out, laying the foundations for the decisive offensive of the campaign - Operation Bagration. One of the primary tasks in its preparation was to misinform the enemy about the planned direction of the main attack. On May 3, Antonov sent an order to the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, General of the Army Malinovsky, “to show behind the right flank of the front the concentration of eight to nine rifle divisions, reinforced with tanks and artillery ... Show the movement and location of individual groups of people, vehicles, tanks, guns and equipment in the area.” The period for carrying out operational camouflage was set from June 5 to June 15. A similar order was given to the 3rd Baltic Front by Colonel General Maslennikov.

In addition to Antonov, only four people were involved in the direct development of the plan for the Belarusian operation: Zhukov, Vasilevsky, the head of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff and one of his deputies. Substantive correspondence, negotiations by telephone or telegraph were strictly prohibited. The development of the operation "Bagration" lasted several weeks, on May 20, her plan was signed by Antonov. At Headquarters, the plan was discussed on May 22 and 23 with the participation of Zhukov, Vasilevsky, Bagramyan, Rokossovsky, and members of the General Staff headed by Antonov. The purpose of the operation was to cover two flank strikes and destroy the Minsk grouping of the enemy of Army Group Center. The offensive lasted 2 months: from June 24 to August 29 and ended with the complete defeat of Army Group Center.

Yalta Conference

Alexei Antonov in Yalta (standing, fourth from right)

In connection with the opening of the second front in Europe on June 6, 1944, it became necessary to coordinate the strategic plans of the allies. For these purposes, by order No. 0318 of September 23, 1944, the Directorate of External Relations was created in the General Staff under the command of Major General Slavin. Since that day, relations with allies have become one of the key areas of activity for Alexei Antonov. It was necessary to systematically inform the allies about the situation on the Soviet-German front, to coordinate the objects of bombing attacks, to determine the timing of actions and the direction of the efforts of troops and fleets. Antonov began to meet frequently with the heads of the US and British military missions in Moscow. Preparations began for a new conference of allies in Yalta to settle the issues of coordinating the actions of the troops.

The Yalta Conference opened on February 4, 1945 at the Livadia Palace. On its first day, Antonov delivered a detailed report on the situation on the Soviet-German front and on the plans of the Soviet command. It is interesting that it was here that Antonov publicized information disputed by a number of researchers that the start of the Vistula-Oder operation was postponed from January 20 to January 12 by Stalin's personal order at the request of Winston Churchill. In conclusion, Antonov answered a number of questions from the heads of delegations. During the work of the meeting of the headquarters of the allied troops, it was decided to entrust the work of coordinating the actions of the troops to the General Staff of the Red Army and the heads of the allied military missions in Moscow. Also, at the conference, the issue of the timing of the start of Soviet-Japanese War. Right in Yalta, Antonov and his assistants had to calculate and determine what forces, from where and in what time frame would need to be transferred to the Far East to defeat the Kwantung Army. According to the results of the calculations, a period of two to three months after the surrender of Germany was determined. It is interesting that these calculations turned out to be so accurate that only minor changes were made to them during the direct preparation of the Far Eastern campaign.

At the head of the General Staff

After the war

Alexei Antonov in a dress tunic

In 1954, General Antonov returned to Moscow again. In April 1954, he was appointed 1st Deputy Chief of the General Staff (Marshal of the Soviet Union Sokolovsky) and, at the same time, a member of the collegium of the USSR Ministry of Defense. On May 14, 1955, the Warsaw Pact was signed. United Headquarters armed forces countries of the Department of Internal Affairs is located in Moscow, headed by Antonov. He was entrusted with the main work of adjusting the control apparatus of the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, organizing the training of troops in joint operations. Antonov personally participated in many exercises of the troops of the allied countries. Antonov served in this position until the end of his days.

Commander of the Ukrainian Military District I. E. Yakir about Antonov (from attestation, city):

Deputy Commander of the North Caucasian Front R. Ya. Malinovsky about Antonov (city):

Member of the Military Council of the North Caucasian Front S. M. Larin about Antonov (city):

It can be said without exaggeration that Alexei Innokent'evich was an exceptional person. His distinguishing features were, first of all, high erudition, general and especially military culture, which manifested itself in the breadth and depth of the approach to all issues of work, in speech, behavior, and attitude towards people. In six years of joint work at the General Staff, I have never had to see him “lost his temper”, flared up, scolded someone. He possessed a surprisingly even, balanced character, which, however, had nothing in common with mildness. Antonov's poise and sincerity were combined with a rare firmness and perseverance, I would say, even with a certain dryness in official matters. He did not tolerate superficiality, haste, imperfections and formalism. He was stingy with encouragement, and only people who think, enterprising, accurate and impeccable in their work could deserve them. He valued time very much and planned it carefully. Apparently, therefore, his speech was distinguished by conciseness and clarity of thought. An enemy of long and frequent meetings, he held them only in exceptional cases and always briefly. Some even called him a pedant in deeds and behavior. But this judgment was reckless: it was about something else, and we, who worked with him, well understood and were grateful to A.I. Antonov for his principled consistent exactingness, absolutely necessary in military service, and even in the days of a difficult war. It happens that a person at work is one, and at home another. I repeatedly had to visit Antonov in the family. At home, he was a pleasant conversationalist and hospitable host. His wife, Maria Dmitrievna, was a match for him, and in her character and attitude towards people she was even somewhat similar to him. No wonder they say that when a husband and wife live long and well, they become similar to each other. All this can be attributed to the Antonov family.

This cultured and educated man made a very favorable impression. Antonov was very close to Stalin, who reckoned with his opinion, had obvious sympathy and trust in him, spent long hours together with him, discussing the situation on the fronts and planning future operations. Antonov kept himself simple, without arrogance and ambition. He was always modestly dressed - a protective tunic, breeches, boots, and only the general's shoulder straps betrayed his high position in the army.

Family

Was married twice. The first marriage was to Maria Dmitrievna Antonova (she died in 1955). Her death, as well as hard work, greatly crippled the general's health, he quickly turned gray. In 1956 he married a second time - to the People's Artist of the USSR, the famous ballerina Olga Lepeshinskaya. Didn't have children.

Fluent in French. He was fond of theater, volleyball, rowing, skiing.

Awards

Application for the title of Hero

A petition was even sent to the President of Belarus to award Antonov the title of "Hero of the Republic of Belarus (posthumously)", however, in this case, too, a refusal was received.

The image of the general on the screen

Memory

Named after the commander:

For more than a hundred years, the wooden house-museum where the general was born stood, but its proximity to the city market ruined it. Unknown people burned it, now there is some kind of commercial enterprise there.

• St. Petersburg (Leningrad) Higher Military Topographic Command Red Banner Order of the Red Star School.

Notes

1. Army General Alexei Antonov

The Antonov family was an ordinary family of a battery commander with a small income. In 1915, Alexei entered St. Petersburg University, but soon, due to financial difficulties, he was forced to interrupt his studies and go to work at a factory.

In December 1942, by order of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Alexei Innokent'evich was appointed First Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Chief of the Operational Directorate. Since that time, active work has begun

A. I. Antonov in this supreme governing body of the Red Army.

milestone in the life of Alexei Innokent'evich was the Belarusian operation. In the course of its preparation and holding, his outstanding organizational skills and strategic talents were fully revealed. On May 20, 1944, the general submitted a plan for this operation, which received the code name "Bagration", for consideration by the Headquarters. Huge work was carried out on the covert concentration of troops and military equipment, measures to disinform the enemy. The offensive that had begun came as a complete surprise to the Nazi troops.

The commanders of the troops who came to Headquarters, before going to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, went to A.I. Antonov and consulted with him on their plans and all issues of preparing military operations. Representatives of the Headquarters, sending their reports to I.V. Stalin, they certainly addressed a copy of them to “Comrade Antonov”, knowing that the general would take everything necessary on these reports accurately and on time.

In the autumn of 1953, in the Transcaucasian Military District, under the leadership of the Army General

A.I. Antonov, major maneuvers were carried out, in which the personnel showed exceptional physical endurance, moral endurance and military skill.

While in this post, Alexei Innokentievich devoted much time to developing issues of an operational, organizational and military-scientific nature, carrying out measures to technical equipment troops, their combat and operational training.

AT short term the control apparatus for the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries was established, training of troops in joint operations in modern war. The indefatigable Chief of Staff of the Joint Armed Forces personally participated in many exercises of the troops of the allied countries, helping our friends and sharing his invaluable experience with them.

Aleksey Innokent'evich loved his family and deeply respected the memory of his father and mother. Reading, theatre, chess, photography, skiing, rowing, volleyball, walking in the woods and traveling were his favorite pastimes.

Being careful, knowing the price of time, he demanded the same from others. He loved direct, open people, above all he valued their independence, devotion to their work. He was always outraged by rudeness, dishonesty, lies, disrespect for human dignity. Brief, but at the same time capacious and high assessment of A.I. Antonov was given by Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov: "Aleksey Innokentyevich was an extremely competent military man, a man of great culture and charm."

Army General

Born on September 15 (28), 1896 in the city of Grodno, in the family of an officer of the 26th artillery brigade. Father - Innokenty Alekseevich (d. 1908). Mother - Teresa Ksaveryevna (d. 1915).

The Antonov family was an ordinary family of a battery commander with a small income. In 1915, Alexei entered St. Petersburg University, but soon, due to financial difficulties, he was forced to interrupt his studies and go to work at a factory. In 1916, Alexei Antonov was drafted into the army and sent to the Pavlovsk Military School. At the end of the course of study, the newly made warrant officer is appointed to the Life Guards Jaeger Regiment.

Taking part in the battles on the fields of the First World War, the young officer A.Antonov was wounded and awarded the Order of St. Anna IV degree with the inscription "For Courage". After recovery, the soldiers elect him assistant regimental adjutant.

In May 1918, ensign Antonov was transferred to the reserve. He studied at the evening courses of the Forestry Institute, worked in the food committee of Petrograd, and in April 1919 he was drafted into the Red Army. From that moment on, Alexei Innokentyevich devoted his whole life to serving the Motherland in the ranks of its Armed Forces.

He began his service as assistant chief of staff of the 1st Moscow Workers' Division, which fought on the Southern Front. After heavy fighting in June 1919, the remnants of this division were transferred to the 15th Inza Rifle Division. A.I.Antonov served in this division until August 1928, holding various staff positions. For active participation in crossing the Sivash, he was awarded the Honorary Weapon of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, and in 1923 he was awarded a Certificate of Honor.

In 1928, the young commander entered the Academy named after M.V. Frunze, after which he was appointed chief of staff of the 46th Infantry Division in the city of Korosten. In 1933, he graduated from the operational department of the same academy and again left for his previous position. In October 1934 A.I. Antonov became chief of staff of the Mogilev-Yampolsky fortified area, and in August 1935 - chief of the operational department of the headquarters of the Kharkov military district.

In October 1936, the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army was opened. Among the first students of this educational institution were A.M. Vasilevsky, L.A. Govorov, I.Kh. Bagramyan, N.F. Vatutin and A.I. Antonov.

After graduating from the academy in 1937, Alexei Innokent'evich was appointed chief of staff of the Moscow Military District.

At the end of 1938, A.I. Antonov was appointed senior lecturer, and after some time - deputy head of the department of general tactics of the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze. In February 1940, he was awarded the academic title of associate professor, and in June of the same year - military rank major general. In March 1941, A.I.Antonov was appointed to the post of deputy chief of staff of the Kiev Special Military District.

The Great Patriotic War began. In August 1941, Major General A.I. Antonov was appointed Chief of Staff of the Southern Front. By this time, the troops of the front were engaged in tense defensive battles. During these battles, the headquarters of the Southern Front prepared and carried out the Rostov offensive operation in November, as a result of which the 1st German tank army was defeated. Rostov-on-Don was liberated, and the enemy was thrown back from this city by 60-80 kilometers. For successful actions in the Rostov operation, A.I. Antonov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, he was awarded the military rank of lieutenant general.

From July 1942, Alexei Innokent'evich consistently headed the headquarters of the North Caucasian Front, the Black Sea Group of Forces and the Transcaucasian Front. The troops of these fronts, having shown exceptional stamina, stopped the enemy, preventing him from seizing the Black Sea coast and breaking through into the Transcaucasus. For the flexible and skillful leadership of the troops, Lieutenant-General A.I. Antonov was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner.

In December 1942, by order of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Alexei Innokent'evich was appointed First Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Chief of the Operational Directorate. Since that time, A. I. Antonov began active work in this supreme governing body of the Red Army.

Work in the General Staff is complex and multifaceted. Its functions included the collection and processing of operational-strategic information about the situation on the fronts, the preparation of operational calculations and proposals for the use of the Armed Forces, the direct development of plans for military campaigns and strategic operations in theaters of military operations. Based on the decisions of the Headquarters and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the General Staff prepared directives for the commanders of the fronts, fleets and services of the Armed Forces and their headquarters, prepared orders of the People's Commissar of Defense, supervised their execution, monitored the preparation of strategic reserves and their correct use.

The General Staff was also entrusted with the task of generalizing the advanced combat experience of formations, formations and units. The General Staff developed the most important provisions in the field military theory, prepared proposals and applications for the production of military equipment and weapons. He was also responsible for coordinating the fighting partisan formations with units of the Red Army.

In January 1943, General A.I. Antonov, as a representative of the Headquarters, was sent to the Bryansk, and then to the Voronezh and Central fronts. The Voronezh-Kastornenskaya operation, during which Alexei Innokent'evich coordinated the actions of the troops, was successfully completed. The cities of Voronezh and Kursk were liberated. On the recommendation of A.M. Vasilevsky, Lieutenant-General A.I. Antonov was awarded the Order of Suvorov, I degree.

At the end of this business trip, Alexei Innokent'evich began to visit Headquarters several times a day. He carefully analyzed the information coming from the fronts, heard many generals and officers, agreed on the most important questions with the command of the fronts and reported proposals to the Supreme Commander.

In April 1943, A.I. Antonov was awarded the military rank of Colonel General, and in May he was relieved of his duties as Chief of the Operations Directorate, remaining First Deputy Chief of the General Staff.

First big strategic operation, in the planning of which A.I. Antonov was directly involved, was the Battle of Kursk. For the organization and preparation of this battle, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, I degree. The Soviet Supreme High Command decided to oppose the defense in depth, insurmountable defense, to bleed the German troops, and then complete their rout with a counteroffensive. As a result, the Red Army inflicted such a defeat on the enemy, from which Nazi Germany could no longer recover. A solid foundation was created for carrying out extensive offensive operations on the entire front in order to completely drive the enemy out of Soviet territory.

For the brilliantly planned and successfully carried out operation on the Kursk Bulge in August 1943, A.I. Antonov was awarded the military rank of army general. An important milestone in the life of Alexei Innokentevich was the Belarusian operation. In the course of its preparation and holding, his outstanding organizational skills and strategic talents were fully revealed. On May 20, 1944, the general submitted a plan for this operation, which received the code name "Bagration", for consideration by the Headquarters. Huge work was carried out on the covert concentration of troops and military equipment, measures to disinform the enemy. The offensive that had begun came as a complete surprise to the Nazi troops.

As a result of powerful blows from four fronts, Soviet troops defeated Army Group Center, liberated Belarus, part of Lithuania and Latvia, entered Poland and approached the borders of East Prussia, advancing 550-600 kilometers and expanding the offensive front by more than 1000 kilometers. For the organization and conduct of this operation, Alexei Innokent'evich was again awarded the Order of Suvorov, I degree.

The Belarusian operation further strengthened business relations between A.I. Antonova with the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. It was during this period that I.V. More and more frequently, Stalin entrusted Aleksei Innokent'evich with responsible tasks and listened attentively to him, especially on operational matters. Much more often, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief began to turn to him on numerous problems of relations with the allies. The famous aircraft designer A.S. Yakovlev wrote: “Antonov was very close to Stalin, who considered his opinion, had obvious sympathy and trust in him, spent long hours with him, discussed the situation on the fronts and planned future operations.”

The commanders of the troops who came to Headquarters, before going to the Supreme Commander, went to A.I. Antonov and consulted with him on their plans and all issues of preparing military operations. Representatives of the Headquarters, sending their reports to I.V. Stalin, they certainly addressed a copy of them to “Comrade Antonov”, knowing that the general would take everything necessary on these reports accurately and on time.

In the second half of 1944, it became clear that it was A. I. Antonov who would be entrusted with leading a group of Soviet military experts at the upcoming conference of the heads of the three governments. The Crimean Conference began its work on February 4, 1945 with a discussion of military issues. The heads of government of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain reviewed the situation on the European fronts. A report on the situation on the Soviet-German front was made by General of the Army A.I. Antonov. During the negotiations, he was entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating the actions of the Allied strategic aviation.

In February 1945, Alexei Innokentevich was awarded the Order of Lenin. Presenting him for this award, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky wrote: “Army General Antonov A.I., being the First Deputy of the beginning. The General Staff, in fact, from the spring of 1943 bears the brunt of the work of the beginning. The General Staff at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and copes with it completely. Superbly manages everything Central office NPO”.

After the death of I.D. Chernyakhovsky, A.M. was appointed commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. Vasilevsky, and A.I. Antonov became Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army. At the same time, he was included in the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.

A map of Berlin and the surrounding areas appeared on Alexei Innokentevich's desk in the summer of 1944, during the Belarusian operation. And on April 1, 1945, his report on the general plan of the Berlin operation was heard at Headquarters. For ten days, Soviet troops surrounded the Berlin enemy grouping and joined the Allied troops on the Elbe River.

On May 8, 1945, Germany signed an act of unconditional surrender, and a few days later, Soviet troops defeated the grouping of the Nazi army in Czechoslovakia. On June 4, 1945, “for the skillful fulfillment of the tasks of the Supreme High Command in conducting large-scale military operations,” General of the Army A.I. Antonov was awarded the highest military order "Victory".

In early June 1945, the General Staff under the leadership of A.I. Antonova together with A.M. Vasilevsky completed the development of a plan for a war with Japan. On the Potsdam conference the general informed the military representatives of the United States and Great Britain about this. August 7 I.V. Stalin and A.I. Antonov signed an order to start hostilities against Japan on the morning of August 9.

In the difficult conditions of this theater of war, the Red Army dealt a crushing blow to the Japanese armed forces. Soviet troops completely liberated Manchuria, the Liaodong Peninsula, North Korea, southern part Sakhalin Islands and the Kuril Islands.

Immediately after the end of the war in Europe, the General Staff began to develop a plan for the demobilization of older soldiers from the army and navy and their speedy return home and involvement in the reconstruction of the country. During 1945, all fronts and many armies, corps and separate units were disbanded, the number of military educational institutions was reduced.

In March 1946, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky again assumed the post of Chief of the General Staff, and General of the Army A.I. Antonov became his first deputy. It was he who was entrusted with all responsibility for the implementation of the Law on Demobilization and a number of other organizational measures. During 1945 - 1948 more than 8 million people were demobilized, the regular troops were organized into military districts.

At the end of 1948, the general was appointed first deputy, and since 1950 - commander of the Transcaucasian Military District. Now the life and activities of the troops were based not on battles and battles, but on combat training in peacetime conditions. It was necessary to deal with the issues of training commanders and headquarters of the tactical and operational level, to study new military equipment and weapons.

In the autumn of 1953, in the Transcaucasian Military District, under the leadership of General of the Army A.I. Antonov, major maneuvers were carried out, in which the personnel showed exceptional physical endurance, moral endurance and military skill.

In 1949 it was created military-political bloc NATO. The so-called Cold War began. In response, on May 14, 1955, the Soviet Union and its allies signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Military Assistance in Warsaw.

A year before the establishment of the Warsaw Pact, Army General A.I. Antonov was again appointed First Deputy Chief of the General Staff and a member of the Collegium of the USSR Ministry of Defense. And with the signing of the Treaty, he was elected Secretary General of the Political Consultative Committee and appointed Chief of Staff of the Joint Armed Forces.

While in this post, Alexei Innokent'evich spent a lot of time working out issues of an operational, organizational and military-scientific nature, carrying out measures for the technical equipment of the troops, their combat and operational training. In a short time, the control apparatus for the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries was established, and the training of troops in joint operations in modern warfare was organized. The indefatigable Chief of Staff of the Joint Armed Forces personally participated in many exercises of the troops of the allied countries, helping our friends and sharing his invaluable experience with them.

Since 1946, for 16 years, A.I. Antonov was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He often met with his voters, sensitive to their requests, suggestions and requests.

Aleksey Innokent'evich loved his family and deeply respected the memory of his father and mother. Reading, theatre, chess, photography, skiing, rowing, volleyball, walking in the woods and traveling were his favorite pastimes. Being careful, knowing the price of time, he demanded the same from others. He loved direct, open people, above all he valued their independence, devotion to their work. He was always outraged by rudeness, dishonesty, lies, disrespect for human dignity. Brief, but at the same time capacious and high assessment of A.I. Antonov was given by Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov: "Aleksey Innokentyevich was an extremely competent military man, a man of great culture and charm."

Alexei Innokentyevich died in the service in the prime of his life, at the age of 65. It happened on June 18, 1962. He was buried in Red Square in Moscow.

On the building of the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze and on the house in which he was born, in Grodno, there are memorial plaques. Streets in Moscow and at home are named after him. The name of the outstanding military leader was given to the Leningrad Higher Military Topographic Command School and Secondary School No. 11 in Grodno.

The grateful Motherland highly appreciated one of its best sons. A.I. Antonov was awarded the Order of Victory, three Orders of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of Suvorov 1st Class, Orders of Kutuzov 1st Class, Orders of the Patriotic War 1st Class, fourteen foreign orders and many medals.

During the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet army demonstrated incredible courage. The way our soldiers fought against the fascist invaders went down in world history as an example of heroism, awareness of the absolute value of one's life only in the context of its exceptional usefulness at a particular moment of danger to one's homeland. However, in addition to the heroism of the soldiers, the whole military campaign was also marked by talented strategic decisions coming from the military leaders. Such professional strategists, of course, included Aleksey Innokentevich Antonov, whose brief biography is set out in this article.

Hereditary military

The future General Alexei Antonov was born in Belarus on September 15, 1896 in a military family, which probably predetermined his fate. His father, Innokenty Alekseevich, was an officer, served in the artillery with the rank of captain. Ksaveryevna kept house and raised children - the eldest daughter Lyudmila and son Alexei. She was a Pole by origin, her father was exiled to Siberia for participating in the gentry of 1863-65. The grandfather of Alexei Innokentyevich was also an officer, originally from Siberia, who graduated from the Alexander Military School. My father wanted to study at the Academy of the General Staff, but he was denied admission due to the fact that his wife Teresa was a Catholic. He did not want to force his wife to change her faith to the Orthodox, and therefore went with his family to Belarusian city Grodno to serve in the artillery brigade. The future General Antonov, thanks to the origin of his mother, spoke not only Russian, but also Polish.

First years of study

When the boy was eight years old, the family moved to Ukraine, where his father received a transfer to the post of battery commander. Here he began his studies at the gymnasium. Antonov Alexei Innokentyevich, whose biography was probably determined by the military past of his father and grandfather, initially did not show any predisposition to a military career. He was an extremely sickly, shy and nervous boy. Seeing this, Antonov Sr. came to terms with the idea that his son would not follow in his footsteps. He began to actively engage with his son, his physical and intellectual development. Antonov Jr. tempered himself, learned to play chess, ride a horse, later his father instilled in him an interest in photography. In addition, when the son became older, he began to take him to field camps for the summer.

Alexei was twelve when his father died unexpectedly. The family lived on a military pension, the mother worked part-time with lessons. The Antonov family moved to Petersburg. A year later, my mother also dies. At the age of 19, the future General Antonov graduates from the St. Petersburg gymnasium and passes tests at the university. His choice fell on the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. However, he will not be able to study there. Lack of livelihood forces the young man to go to work at the factory.

The beginning of the military career

In connection with Russia's participation in World War I, Antonov was called up for service at the age of 20. In December 1916, he studied as an external student at the Pavlovsk Military School. AT active army he was promoted to the rank of ensign. Quite quickly, literally at the beginning of next year, the future General Antonov, whose biography had already entered the military rails, received a baptism of fire, was wounded in the head and sent to the hospital. Then he received his first award -

After being wounded, he was sent to the reserve regiment. In August 1917 he took part in the suppression of the Kornilov rebellion. He was responsible for the formation of consolidated units and providing them with weapons. In May 1918, his military career seemed to have ended: he retired from the reserve and entered the Petrograd Forest Institute for training. But civilian life did not last long - as soon as the Civil War began, he entered the Red Army.

Participation in the Civil War

The future General Antonov in April 1919 entered the disposal of the Southern Front and was sent to perform the duties of assistant chief of staff of the division near Lugansk. In addition, he trained new recruits. As a result of the fighting and the loss of Lugansk, which was occupied by Denikin's units, Antonov began to temporarily replace the post of chief of staff. In the second half of 1920, as a result of fierce battles with the Wrangel formations, Antonov's division managed to recapture the territories of Ukraine north of the Crimea.

During the battles for Sevastopol, the future General Alexei Innokentevich Antonov met the front commander Mikhail Frunze. A few years later, based on the results of past hostilities, he received an award: a Certificate of Honor and an Honorary Weapon of the Revolutionary Military Council.

After the Civil

After the hostilities ended and the Bolsheviks finally gained the upper hand, the future General Antonov and his division switched to a labor position and took up field work in southern Ukraine. He decided to continue his military education, starting to prepare for admission to the Academy. Although he was at that time among those few who, having risen to command, remained without the appropriate education, many of his colleagues noted outstanding abilities. Meanwhile, he began his studies at the Frunze Academy only six years later, in 1928, after he joined the Communist Party and his first marriage.

He studied at the command faculty, learned French and became a military translator. According to the testimonies of his classmates, he showed serious zeal in his studies, paid special attention to staff work, and repeatedly underwent internships in the troops. After graduating in 1931, he returned to Ukraine and headed the headquarters in Korosten. A year later, a new department was opened at the Academy - for operational work, which the future General Antonov Alexei Innokentievich graduated with honors.

staff work

In 1935, he received the post of operative chief of staff of the Kharkov military district. His duties included, in particular, practicing maneuvers and organizing large-scale military exercises. Tank and aviation branches of the troops were also involved in the maneuvers. In 1935, the largest tactical exercises were held in Ukraine, in which more than sixty thousand people and more than three thousand military equipment took part. It was here that many new achievements in operational work were practiced, for which Antonov, in particular, was awarded the People's Commissar of Defense.

In 1936, Antonov was invited as a student to the new Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army. However, he studied there for only a year, after which he was sent to the Moscow Military District, where he headed the headquarters. In 1938 he moved to teaching and research activities at the Frunze Academy. In particular, he studied the basic tactical methods of the German troops and the expansion of the use of tank units. This was the topic of his scientific work, with reports he repeatedly spoke to the military leadership. In February 1940, he received the title of "docent", and a little later he was awarded the military rank of "major general".

German attack

A few months before the war, the future general of the army Antonov - a biography and a whim of fate led him to the very thick - headed the headquarters of the Kiev military district. By and large, he was preparing the personnel for a likely strike, but the units were completed according to the rules of peacetime - by 65%. As soon as the war began, he became chief of staff of the Kiev Special Military District. Within a fairly short time - four days - he managed to carry out the draft in ten subordinate areas by 90%, the technicians - by more than 80%. In addition, the evacuation of the civilian population was also in his area of ​​​​responsibility. Already in August, the future General of the Army Alexei Innokentevich Antonov was engaged in the formation of the headquarters of the Southern Front, which he himself headed.

For a long time, an extremely difficult situation developed on the Southwestern Front. The experience, which accumulated quite quickly in the first months of the war, was summarized and systematized by Antonov. Based on the results of the recommendations on the conduct of combat, camouflage, reconnaissance, etc., he sent to the military headquarters. He was preparing a counterattack in the Rostov direction in November, for which he received the Order of the Red Banner and a promotion in the rank - "lieutenant general".

In November 1943 he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army. Later, he took part in the development of the Battle of Kursk, where he worked closely with Alexander Vasilevsky. During the operation, he was wounded twice. In the same composition, the third winter military campaign was developed - the cleansing of Ukraine and Crimea from the Nazis, the withdrawal of enemy troops outside the country's borders, as well as the liberation in the northern direction and the lifting of the blockade from Leningrad. summer campaign The 44-year-old was also developed directly by Antonov, the general of the army of the USSR, about which he personally reported to Stalin in April.

Participation in the Yalta Conference

The second front, despite all the promises, was opened only in June 1944. In this regard, another direction in the work appeared - the coordination of the actions of the allies. This became the responsibility of Antonov, who met regularly with US and British officials. In February 1945, Antonov, an army general, took part in the famous meeting of the leaders anti-Hitler coalition in Yalta - he read a detailed report on the state of affairs on the battlefields. He was later appointed Chief of the General Staff. As historians note, he was in Stalin's Kremlin office more than anyone else in the military leadership - more than 280 times.

Antonov Alexei Innokentyevich, whose exploits were more than obvious, personally developed a plan to capture Berlin, later he was assigned the highest military award - It is worth noting that he was the only recipient of the 14 who received the order not with the rank of marshal.

At the end of the war

General Alexei Antonov after the end of the war, the first thing he did was demobilize and disband the troops. Then in 1946 he was elected a deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. From 1948 to 1954 he served in the Transcaucasus, then returned to Moscow, where he began working as the first deputy chief of the general staff, and also joined the board of the Ministry of Defense. In 1955, he headed the Warsaw Pact Organization. He died in Moscow at the age of 66. The General's ashes are buried in