Marshal Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky.

30.9.1895 - 5.12.1977

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich - Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command; commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East, marshal of the Soviet Union.

He was born on September 30, 1895 in the village of Novaya Golchikha today in the Vichugsky district of the Ivanovo region in the family of a psalmist. Russian. Member of the CPSU (b) / CPSU since 1938. In 1897, he moved with his family to the village of Novopokrovskoye today, Kineshma district, Ivanovo region. In 1909 he graduated from the Kineshma Theological School and entered the Kostroma Theological Seminary, a diploma from which allowed him to continue his education in a secular educational institution. Alexander dreamed of becoming an agronomist or surveyor, but the outbreak of the First World War changed his plans. In May 1915, he completed an accelerated course (4 months) at the Alekseevsky Military School in Moscow and, with the rank of ensign, was sent to the Southwestern Front. He commanded a company of the 409th Novokhopyorsky Regiment (103rd Infantry Division, 9th Army), then a battalion. In May 1916 he participated in the famous Brusilov breakthrough. Received the rank of staff captain.

After the October Revolution in December 1917, the soldiers elected him commander of the 409th regiment. At the beginning of 1918, while on vacation in his native lands, he was appointed instructor of general education in the Ugletsky volost (Kineshma district, Kostroma province). In the autumn of 1918, he worked as a teacher in elementary schools in the villages of Verkhovye and Podyakovlevo in the Tula province (today the Oryol region). In April 1919 he was drafted into the Red Army. After passing a month of training in the 4th reserve battalion, he got to the front. In a short time, he went from a platoon instructor (commander commander) to assistant commander of the 429th Infantry Regiment. He fought against gangs on the territory of the Tula and Samara provinces, Denikin's army, Bulak-Balakhovich's detachments, participated in the Polish company. After the war, he commanded the 142nd and 143rd regiments of the 48th Tver Rifle Division, headed the divisional school of junior commanders. In 1927 he graduated from the shooting and tactical courses "Shot". In the autumn of 1930, the regiment under the command of Vasilevsky took first place in the division and received an excellent mark in district maneuvers.

From 1931 he served in the Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army. In 1934-1936. was the head of the combat training department of the Volga Military District. In 1937 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff and was unexpectedly appointed head of the academy's logistics department (the former head, I.I. Trutko, was repressed at that time). In October 1937, a new appointment followed - assistant chief of a department of the General Staff. From May 1940 he was deputy chief of the Operational Directorate of the General Staff.

Member of the Great Patriotic War from the first day. In August 1941, Major General Vasilevsky A.M. was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff - Chief of the Operational Directorate. In June 1942 he was appointed chief of the General Staff, and from October he was simultaneously deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR, was a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. He made a great contribution to the development of Soviet military art, took part in the development and implementation of the plan for an offensive operation near Stalingrad. On behalf of the Headquarters, the Supreme High Command coordinated the actions of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts in the Battle of Kursk. In 1943 he was awarded the military rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. He supervised the planning and conduct of operations to liberate the Donbass, Northern Tavria, the Krivoy Rog-Nikopol operation, the operation to liberate the Crimea, the Belarusian operation.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 2856) Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich was awarded on July 29, 1944 for exemplary performance of the tasks of the Supreme High Command in managing these operations.

From February 1945 he commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front. Led the assault on Koenigsberg.

Back in the autumn of 1944, A.M. Vasilevsky was given the task of calculating the necessary forces and material resources for the war against imperialist Japan. In 1945, under his leadership, a plan was prepared for the Manchurian strategic offensive operation, which was approved by the Headquarters and the State Defense Committee. In July 1945 A.M. Vasilevsky was appointed commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East.

On the eve of the offensive, Marshal Vasilevsky visited the starting positions of the troops, got acquainted with the units, and discussed the situation with the commanders of the armies and corps. At the same time, the deadlines for completing the main tasks were specified and reduced, in particular, access to the Manchurian Plain. At dawn on August 9, the troops of the Trans-Baikal, 1st and 2nd Far Eastern Fronts, the Pacific Fleet, the Amur Military Flotilla and the People's Revolutionary Army of the MPR crossed the border and launched an offensive deep into enemy territory. It took only 24 days for the Soviet and Mongolian troops to defeat the million-strong Kwantung Army in Manchuria.

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich was awarded the second Gold Star medal (No. 78) on September 8, 1945 for his skillful leadership of Soviet troops in the Far East during the war with Japan.

In 1946-1949. was Chief of the General Staff, Deputy and First Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In 1949-1953. was Minister of the Armed Forces (Minister of War) of the USSR, in 1953-1956. - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, in 1956-1957. - Deputy Minister of Defense for military science. Since 1959, he was in the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. At the XIX and XX congresses he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU. He was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 2nd - 4th convocations. He died on December 5, 1977. He was buried on Red Square near the Kremlin wall.

He was awarded 8 Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, 2 Orders of Victory (one of them No. 2), 2 Orders of the Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Red Star, "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 3rd degree , medals, honorary weapons, foreign orders.

A bronze bust was installed in the city of Kineshma, where a memorial plaque was installed on the building of the former religious school. A bust was erected in the city of Vichuga (2005) and a monument in Kaliningrad. Streets in Moscow, Ivanovo, Kineshma, Chelyabinsk, Engels of the Saratov region, Krasnodon of the Voroshilovgrad (Lugansk) region, and a square in Kaliningrad are named after the marshal. A peak in the Pamirs and a variety of lilacs, an ocean tanker and a large anti-submarine ship bear his name. Name A.M. Vasilevsky in 1977-1991. was worn by the Air Defense Military Academy in the city of Kyiv (in 1986-1991 it was called the Air Defense Military Academy of the Ground Forces).

Born in the family of a priest, he successfully graduated first from a parochial school, then from the Kineshma Theological School and the Kostroma Theological Seminary. As a child, he dreamed of becoming an agronomist or a land surveyor, he managed to work as a village teacher for some time, but this was not his vocation. The life plans of Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky were changed by the First World War. Later, the famous Soviet marshal noted that he was grateful to fate for becoming a military man, emphasizing that in this way he found himself in his place in life.

The future marshal was born on September 16, 1895 (old style), but he himself always believed that he was born on September 17 on the same day as his mother. This date of birth is "enshrined" in his memoirs "The Work of a Lifetime", as well as in the dates of the awarding of the post-war commemorative awards that were presented to him on his birthday. Alexander Vasilevsky was born in the village of Novaya Golchikha, Kineshma district (today part of the city of Vichuga, Ivanovo region) in the family of a Russian Orthodox priest. His father, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vasilevsky, was a church choir director and psalmist of the St. Nicholas Church of the same faith, and his mother, Nadezhda Ivanovna Vasilevskaya, was the daughter of a psalmist in the village of Uglets, Kineshma district. The family was large, Alexander was the fourth oldest child.

In 1897, the Vasilevsky family moved to the village of Novopokrovskoye, where the father of the future marshal began to serve as a priest in the newly built stone Ascension Church of the same faith. Later, Alexander will begin his studies at the parochial school at this church. In 1909, he graduated from the Kineshma Theological School and entered the Kostroma Theological Seminary, a diploma from which allowed him to continue his education in secular educational institutions. During the years of study at the seminary, he took part in the all-Russian strike of seminarians, which was a protest against the ban on their admission to institutes and universities. For participation in the strike, he was expelled from Kostroma by the authorities, but later a few months later he returned back after partially satisfying the demands of the seminarians.

Alexander Vasilevsky (in the first row, second from the left) among students of the Kostroma Theological Seminary

His fate was seriously affected by the First World War, which helped him decide on his life path. Before the start of the last class at the seminary, he and several of his classmates, on a wave of patriotic feelings, passed the exams externally, in February 1915 Alexander Vasilevsky entered the Alekseevsky Military School. Here he underwent an accelerated course of study (4 months) and at the end of May 1915, with the rank of ensign, was sent to the front.

From June to September 1915, he managed to visit a number of spare parts, finally finding himself on the South-Western Front, taking up the post of half-company commander of a company of the 409th Novokhopyorsky regiment of the 103rd infantry division of the 9th army. In the spring of 1916 he was appointed commander of a company, which after some time was recognized as one of the best in the entire regiment. At the end of April, he received his first award, the Order of St. Anne, 4th degree, with the inscription "For Bravery", later he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, 3rd degree, with swords and a bow. With his company in May 1916 he took part in the famous Brusilov breakthrough. As a result of heavy losses of officers, he temporarily commanded a battalion in his regiment. For his bravery in battle, he received the rank of staff captain ahead of schedule. Vasilevsky was a brave commander who encouraged the soldiers not only with words, but also with personal courage and courage, often dragging them along during attacks.

The news of the October Revolution caught Vasilevsky near Ajud-Nou in Romania, where he decides to leave military service, in November 1917 he retires to the reserve and returns to his homeland. Until June 1918, he lived with his parents and was engaged in agriculture, from June to August 1918 he worked as a hundred instructor of general education at the Ugletsky volost of the Kineshma district of the Kostroma province. Since September 1918, he worked as a teacher in the elementary schools of the villages of Verkhovye and Podyakovlevo of the Golun volost of the Novosilsky district in the territory of the Tula province.

Alexander Vasilevsky in 1928

Already in April 1919, military service returned to the life of Alexander Vasilevsky, he was drafted into the Red Army and sent to the 4th reserve battalion as a platoon instructor (assistant platoon commander). A month later, he was sent as a commander of a detachment of 100 people to the Stupino volost of the Efremov district of the Tula province to assist in the fight against gangs and the implementation of food requisitions. He took part in the preparation of fortified areas located southwest of Tula, before the onset of the white army of Anton Denikin. In 1920 he was an assistant regiment commander of the 96th Infantry Division of the 15th Army during the Soviet-Polish war. In the 1920s, he participated in the fight against banditry in the Smolensk province, commanded three different regiments of the 48th Tver Rifle Division, headed the divisional school of junior commanders, and was trained in the shooting and tactical courses for improving the command staff of the Red Army "Shot". In June 1928, his 143rd Regiment was highlighted by an inspection team during an exercise. And in the autumn of 1930, the 144th regiment, which, before being appointed commander of Vasilevsky, was considered the least prepared in the 48th division, managed to take first place and received an excellent mark in district maneuvers.

Vasilevsky's successes and his talents were noticed, which probably led to his transfer to staff work, which V.K. Triandafillov informed him about immediately after the completion of the maneuvers. We can say that his career developed successfully and went uphill. This did not interfere with either his origin or service in the tsarist army. True, for quite a long time he was not accepted into the party. For a long time he was a candidate member of the party, being accepted into the ranks of the Communist Party only in 1938, already during his service in the General Staff. In his autobiography, Alexander Vasilevsky wrote that he had lost written and personal contact with his parents since 1924, re-establishing relations with them only in 1940 at the personal suggestion of Stalin.

Since May 1931, Alexander Vasilevsky worked in the Combat Training Department of the Red Army, in 1934-1936 he was the head of the Combat Training Department of the Volga Military District. In 1936, after the introduction of personal military ranks in the Red Army, he was awarded the rank of colonel. In November 1936 he was enrolled in the Military Academy of the General Staff, falling into the first set of students, which consisted of 137 people. He graduated with honors and in 1937 was appointed head of the rear department of the academy. In October 1937, a new appointment followed - the head of the 10th department (operational training of command personnel) of the 1st department of the General Staff. On August 16, 1938, he was awarded the next military rank - brigade commander. By May 1940, Vasilevsky became the first deputy head of the Operations Directorate and was promoted to the rank of divisional commander. He was directly involved in the development of operational plans for the strategic deployment of units of the Red Army in the northern, northwestern and western directions in the event of a war with Germany.

Alexander Vasilevsky was a participant in the Great Patriotic War from the first day, it was the war that revealed the outstanding qualities and skills of the commander. By August 1, 1941, Major General Vasilevsky was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff - Chief of the Operations Directorate. During the Battle of Moscow from October 5 to October 10, 1941, Vasilevsky was part of a group of GKO representatives who ensured the speedy dispatch of retreating and encircled troops to the Mozhaisk defensive line. On October 28, the activities of this operational group were highly appreciated by Stalin, Vasilevsky received an extraordinary rank, becoming a lieutenant general.

From November 29 to December 10, 1941, due to the illness of the Chief of the General Staff Shaposhnikov, Vasilevsky temporarily performed his duties, so the whole burden of preparing a counteroffensive near Moscow fell on his shoulders. In general, he played a huge role in organizing the defense of the capital and planning the subsequent counteroffensive. In the most critical days of the city's defense from October 16 to the end of November, when the General Staff was evacuated from Moscow, Alexander Vasilevsky led the task force in Moscow (the first echelon of the General Staff) to serve the Headquarters. During the war years, especially during the first most difficult time, Vasilevsky literally lived at work. According to the memoirs of his son Igor Vasilevsky, who was 6 years old in 1941, after the outbreak of the war, he did not see his father at home for a very long time. The General Staff worked around the clock, even putting beds in the building.

April 26, 1942 Vasilevsky was awarded the rank of Colonel General. On June 26, he was appointed chief of the General Staff, and from October 14, at the same time, deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR. From July 23 to August 26, Vasilevsky was the Stavka representative on the Stalingrad front. He made a great contribution to the development of Soviet military art, planned and prepared the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops near Stalingrad, and coordinated it. In January 1943, he coordinated the offensive of the Voronezh and Bryansk fronts on the Upper Don.

Member of the Military Council of the 3rd Belorussian Front V. E. Makarov, A. M. Vasilevsky and I. D. Chernyakhovsky interrogate the commander of the 206th Infantry Division Alfons Hitter

On February 16, 1943, Alexander Mikhailovich was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union, his military career reached its peak. The assignment of the new rank was very unusual, as only 29 days earlier he had been promoted to the rank of General of the Army. On behalf of the Headquarters of the Supreme Command, Alexander Vasilevsky coordinated the actions of the Steppe and Voronezh fronts in the Battle of Kursk, led the planning and conduct of operations to liberate the Donbass, as well as operations to liberate right-bank Ukraine and Crimea from Nazi invaders.

On April 10, 1944, on the day of the liberation from the enemy of Odessa, Vasilevsky was awarded the Order of Victory. This was the second order in a row since the establishment of this award. The first owner of the order was Marshal Zhukov, the third - Stalin. The Order "Victory" was considered the main military award of the Soviet Union, they were awarded for the successful conduct of military operations on the scale of one or more fronts, in total 17 Soviet commanders were noted by them and only three received it twice - Zhukov, Vasilevsky and Stalin. After the liberation of Sevastopol in May 1944, Vasilevsky was slightly injured, his staff car was blown up by a mine, fortunately for him everything was limited to a few days of bed rest.

During the Belarusian offensive operation "Bagration" Alexander Vasilevsky coordinated the military operations of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts, from July 10, 1944, the 2nd Baltic front was added to them. The marshal received the second Order of Victory for the development and leadership of the operation to capture Koenigsberg in 1945. Then, at the very end of the Great Patriotic War, he successfully carried out the Zemland operation, in which the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, in cooperation with the Baltic Fleet, were able to defeat the Zemland group of German troops located in East Prussia. By the end of April 25, 1945, the troops of the front captured the fortress city of Pillau.

Before the volleys of the war ended in Europe had died down, Alexander Mikhailovich was already on his way to the Far East. He was involved in the development of a plan for the war with Japan on April 27, 1945, immediately after the end of the East Prussian operation, while rough outlines of the plan were made by him in the fall of 1944. Under his direct supervision, by June 27, 1945, the plan for the Manchurian strategic offensive operation was prepared. And already on July 5, 1945, dressed in the uniform of a colonel-general with documents addressed to Vasiliev, he arrived in Chita, where on July 30 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East. On August 9, 1945, Soviet troops went on the offensive and in just 24 days defeated the millionth Kwantung Army of Japan in Manchuria. For the skillful leadership of the Soviet troops in the Far East during the war with Japan, Vasilevsky was awarded the second Gold Star medal. He received his first medal and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on July 29, 1944 for exemplary performance of the tasks of the Supreme High Command, as his merits in operations to liberate Belarus and the Baltic states were noted.

After the end of the war, Vasilevsky continued to head the General Staff until 1948, and then held key positions in the Ministry of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union (From March 24, 1949 to February 26, 1950 - Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR, then - Minister of War of the USSR until March 16, 1953). At the same time, the fate of the marshal was reflected in the death of Stalin and the subsequent exposure of his personality cult. In the period from March 16, 1953 to March 15, 1956, Vasilevsky was the first deputy minister of defense of the USSR, until he was relieved of his post at his personal request. It is believed that Khrushchev personally sought his resignation. On August 14, 1956, Vasilevsky became Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR for military science, and from December 1957 he retired due to illness with the right to wear a military uniform, the marshal had a heart attack. Retirement allowed him to focus on writing his memoirs, as well as work in veterans' organizations.

The illustrious marshal passed away 40 years ago - on December 5, 1977, not recovering from another heart attack, at that time he was 82 years old. The urn with the ashes of Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was walled up in the Kremlin wall on Red Square. The memory of the marshal was immortalized, streets in many cities of the Russian Federation were named after him, the Military Academy of the Military Air Defense of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Smolensk, as well as the Marshal Vasilevsky Peak and the Marshal Vasilevsky glacier in the Pamirs bear his name.

Based on materials from open sources

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (born September 18 (30), 1895 - death December 5, 1977) - military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1943), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945) During During the Great Patriotic War he was deputy chief, from June 1942 chief of the General Staff.

1942-1944 - was the coordinator of the actions of a number of fronts in major operations. 1945 - Commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, then appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East during the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army. 1946 - Chief of the General Staff. 1949-1953 - Minister of the Armed Forces (Minister of War) of the USSR. 1953-1957 - 1st Deputy and Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. Author of the book "The Work of a Lifetime".

Origin. early years

Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was born in the village of Novaya Golchikha, Kostroma province. His father, Mikhail Alexandrovich, was at first a psalmist, later a priest. Mother - Nadezhda Ivanovna, was engaged in raising eight children.

As the son of a priest, Alexander studied for free at the Kostroma Theological Seminary, dreaming of becoming an agronomist. With the outbreak of the First World War, the future marshal, externally passed the exams for the last class, and went into the army. 1915, September - he graduated from the accelerated courses of the Alekseevsky cadet school and, with the rank of ensign, was sent to the South-Western Front. Vasilevsky ended the war on the Romanian front as a staff captain. The young officer met the fall of the autocracy with enthusiasm, in the hope that the Provisional Government would be able to achieve victory faster than the tsarist one.

Military service (briefly)

1919 - the beginning of service in the Red Army, as an assistant platoon commander in a reserve regiment. During the Civil War, he commanded a battalion, then was appointed assistant regiment commander. Participated in the Soviet-Polish war. 1931 - served in the Combat Training Department of the Red Army. 1940 - appointed Deputy Chief of the Operational Directorate of the General Staff. 1941 - Deputy Chief of the General Staff.

Alexander Mikhailovich participated in the planning of the Moscow operation. 1942 - headed the General Staff and at the same time was Deputy People's Commissar of Defense. Marshal Vasilevsky was an outstanding strategist, he planned a number of successful military operations. In particular, the Stalingrad operation was planned with his active participation. 1943 - was the coordinator of the actions of the Soviet fronts during the Battle of Kursk.

1943 - awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. 1944-1945 - participated in the planning of all major military operations. 1945 - Commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. When the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan, Marshal Vasilevsky was appointed commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East. The powerful Japanese Kwantung Army, the marshal's troops, was defeated in almost one week. 1946 - appointed Chief of the General Staff. 1949-1953 - Minister of the Armed Forces (Minister of War) of the USSR. 1953-1957 - 1st Deputy Minister of Defense.

Last years. Death

1957, November - dismissed and appointed chairman of the Committee of War Veterans. 1959, January - was a member of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

He died on December 5, 1977 in Moscow. The urn with the ashes was buried in the Kremlin wall on Red Square.

Personal life

First wife - Serafima Nikolaevna Voronova. In 1924, she bore him a son, Yuri. Then the Vasilevsky family lived in Tver. 1931 - Vasilevsky was transferred to Moscow, where he met Ekaterina Saburova, his future second wife. He did not tell anyone about their first meeting, because at that time he was still married. Three years later he left the family and married Catherine. A year later, they had a son, who was named Igor.

As you know, the commander's father was a priest. Having become a fighter in the Red Army, and later a red commander, Vasilevsky was forced to break off relations with his family. Over time, he restored them at the suggestion of Stalin.

Order "Victory" - the main military award of the Soviet Union. The order was awarded for the successful conduct of military operations on the scale of one or more fronts. In total, 17 commanders were awarded this award. And only three of them twice: Stalin, Zhukov, Vasilevsky.

Of the 34 months of the war as Chief of the General Staff, he was at the front for 22 months.

The Manchurian operation became the pinnacle of the military art of Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky. In terms of its spatial scope, this kind of strategic operation has not been carried out in the entire history of wars.

At the state dacha of the Vasilevskys in Volynskoye, the hostess, the nanny, the cook, and other servants were employees of the NKVD.

A. M. Vasilevsky was one of the few military leaders of the Second World War who did not know defeat. Both N.F. Vatutin and N.F. Vatutin had failures, but Marshal Vasilevsky did not have any. And the point here is not at all in luck, but in an amazing combination of a brilliant analytical mind and serious practical military training, which the commander possessed.

Marshall was a very modest man. People who were close to him recalled that he was very fond of jokingly introducing himself: “I am the father of that very famous architect Vasilevsky” (his son Igor was actually an architect), but he never spoke about his merits.

The commander's modesty was quite at home with the firmness and decisiveness of his character when it came to the plan of operations. Historians note that he was the only marshal who, during the war years, could dare to object to Stalin and argue with him.

As a military man, Vasilevsky did not like shooting and therefore never took part in hunting, preferring fishing and going for mushrooms, the collection of which was planned and carried out as thoroughly as the development of military operations. In addition, he was very fond of horses and was an excellent rider.

VASILEVSKY ALEXANDER MIKHAILOVICH - OFFICER OF THE RUSSIAN MILITARY SCHOOL

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich (1895-1977) Marshal of the Soviet Union (1943), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945), twice holder of the Order of Victory. Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army A.M. Vasilevsky entered the history of the Great Patriotic War as one of the main developers of the main strategic operations of the Red Army.

He is rightfully considered one of the "Marshals of Victory", he did not suffer a single defeat, did not lose a single
one battle.

Alexander Vasilevsky was born on September 30, 1895 in the village of Novaya Golchikha near Kineshma. In 1909 he graduated from the theological school in Kineshma and entered the theological seminary. With the outbreak of the Russian-German war, he takes external exams for a religious school and volunteers for the army. “In the winter of 1915, Vasilevsky was sent to the Alekseevsky Infantry School, located in Lefortovo” (1) Since September 1915, Vasilevsky was at the front.

Combat suffering began with its hard military labor. Vasilevsky began to command half a company, then a company. He acted as a battalion commander. (2) Vasilevsky's unit became the best in the regiment in terms of training, military discipline, and combat capability. He was promoted to staff captain, which, according to modern military ranks, corresponds (approximately) to the rank of senior lieutenant. "Two more years of war, and all yesterday's ensigns will become our generals!" - so once said the famous general and count, General F.A. Keller - Lieutenant A.M. Vasilevsky.

About himself, Alexander Mikhailovich will write in his memoirs “The Work of All Life” very modestly: “I come from the clergy. But there were tens of thousands of such people in Russia. I was an officer in the tsarist army" (3). Father Alexander Mikhailovich remained in the rank of priest of the Russian Orthodox Church all his life. But the World War abruptly changed his fate. After graduating from a military school in 1915, Vasilevsky was promoted to warrant officer with the prospect of being promoted to second lieutenant after 8 months of military service at the front, and for military distinctions - at any time. For the rest of his life, the simple, clear principles of the military, officer service to Russia, which he took out of the military school, sunk into his mind. These principles, formulated by General Mikhail Ivanovich Dragomirov, became Vasilevsky's imperative. He himself wrote: “I decided to make some theses (of M.I. Dragomirov) a firm rule for the entire period of military service:

"a) Worship the banner,

b) Serve the Fatherland

C) Observe the honor of the uniform,

D) Communicate closely with subordinates,

D) put the service above personal affairs,

E) Do not be afraid of independence,

G) Act purposefully” (4).

In the spring of 1916, the regiment in which Vasilevsky served as part of the 9th Army participated in the Brusilovsky breakthrough. Then he served on the Romanian front. “After the start of revolutionary unrest and the collapse of the army, Vasilevsky retires on vacation and goes home. (5)

After the February Revolution, Vasilevsky was elected to the regimental Council of Soldiers' Deputies. “Shortly after October, Vasilevsky went on vacation,” Marshal Bagramyan wrote, “but, while at home, he received a notification from the regimental soldier’s committee about his election as regiment commander and about the need to return and take office. Since Alexander Mikhailovich failed to get to the Southern Front, where his regiment was located, he put himself at the disposal of the local military committee ”(6).

Vasilevsky began to serve in the Red Army only after forced mobilization in May 1919, and became a commander. During the civil war, he commanded a battalion, and then for some time a rifle regiment on the Western Front, although he was listed as an assistant regiment commander. For 10 years, he alternately commanded all the regiments of the 48th Infantry Division, which was part of the Moscow Military District. In 1926, Vasilevsky completed a year of training at the shooting and tactical courses for the improvement of command staff "Shot" near Moscow. In the 1930s, Vasilevsky was appointed to the Combat Training Directorate of the Red Army, and then headed the combat training department in the Volga Military District. In 1936, Vasilevsky was awarded the military rank of colonel.

The red officer Vasilevsky had perseverance, a phenomenal memory and versatile abilities. Vasilevsky often published articles on topical problems of training and indoctrination of troops in the Military Bulletin magazine. The Military Academy of the General Staff, newly founded in 1936, Vasilevsky graduated a year later and immediately headed the Department of Logistics in the same Academy. But already in October 1937, he was sent to the General Staff to the post of head of the operational training department for senior command personnel. He took part in the leadership of the troops during the battles on Lake Khasan, and at the last stage of the Soviet-Finnish war, A.M. Vasilevsky participated in the development of the military campaign of 1939-1940. 1939-1940. From May 1940, Vasilevsky became deputy chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff. In November 1940, as a military expert, A.M. Vasilevsky traveled to Berlin as part of the USSR delegation headed by V.M. Molotov. In June 1941, A.M. Vasilevsky was awarded the military rank of Major General.

The fateful hour of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War was approaching. “On the first night of June 22, 1941, under the leadership of Vasilevsky, a directive was urgently transmitted to the border military districts that a surprise attack by German troops was possible on June 22-23. The directive demanded that all units be put on alert,” recalled Marshal I.Kh. Bagramyan. !)

On July 30, 1941, B.M. Shaposhnikov became chief of the General Staff, and Vasilevsky was appointed his deputy and head of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff. Vasilevsky took an active part in the development of operational-strategic plans for the defense of the country, and especially in the development of plans for the defense of Moscow and the subsequent counteroffensive. During the battle near Moscow, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky became a lieutenant general, was slightly wounded, and at the most critical moments in the defense of Moscow, he strongly suggested a decision to conduct a counterattack with all the forces of the fronts. On December 1, 1941, the historical order No. 396 was issued on the offensive near Moscow signed “Stavka of the Supreme High Command. I. Stalin, A. Vasilevsky»

Vasilevsky himself highly appreciated the role of the Headquarters: “I must say frankly that despite the difficult, sometimes critical situation in the days of the defense of Moscow, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command showed great restraint and will, retaining the strategic reserves put forward in the Moscow region for the Red Army to launch a decisive counteroffensive” ( 8)

“The General Staff, with the most active participation of A.M. Vasilevsky, developed in the shortest possible time the plans for a whole complex of nine fronts: Demyansk, Toroetsko-Kholmskaya, Rzhev-Vyazemskaya, Barvenkovo-Lozovskaya and Kerchinsky-Feodosiya,” I.Kh. Bagramyan wrote about Vasilevsky in book: Sons of a great people. (9)

Since June 1942, Vasilevsky was appointed to the post of Chief of the General Staff, and since October 1942, at the same time, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. Vasilevsky was directly involved in the planning and development of the most important operations of the Soviet Armed Forces, in solving the main issues of providing the fronts with human resources, material and technical means, in preparing reserves of all types for army operations. During the Battle of Stalingrad 1942-1943. Vasilevsky was one of the authors and executors of the plan for a major offensive operation involving troops from several fronts. He was not only one of the creators of the counteroffensive of the Red Army in the Stalingrad direction, but also directly led the reflection of the counterattack of the army group "South", trying to unblock the army of F. Paulus surrounded near Stalingrad. Then he coordinated the actions of the fronts to eliminate this enemy.

As a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, A.M. Vasilevsky carried out interaction between the Voronezh and Steppe Fronts in the Battle of Kursk in 1943. In the Battle of Kursk, Hitler's best strategist Field Marshal Manstein fought against Vasilevsky. Under his command were the best SS divisions, the largest number of tanks. But the strength of the Red Army, the skill of its commanders and commanders, the heroism of soldiers and officers exceeded the power of the Wehrmacht. Having exhausted and bled the best German units in defensive battles, the Red Army troops launched a counteroffensive without a pause. The final turning point took place during the Great Patriotic War.

In 1943, Vasilevsky was awarded the military rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. For coordinating the actions of the two Ukrainian fronts in 1944, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was awarded the highest military award - the Order of Victory, and for the Belarusian operation Vasilevsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Throughout the war, Vasilevsky repeatedly traveled to the fronts as a representative of the Headquarters, however, Vasilevsky was officially introduced to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command only in February 1945 (he actually joined it from 1941). Then, at the final stage of the war, A.M. Vasilevsky was appointed commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. At the same time, Vasilevsky asked Stalin to release him from the post of Chief of the General Staff, arguing that he would be at the front most of the time. Already on April 9, a red flag was raised over the strongest fortress of Königsberg in East Prussia. Over 90 thousand prisoners of war, thousands of guns and mortars were taken in the city. “In East Prussia, Vasilevsky passed the most difficult military examination with honor and showed his full potential as a large-scale military strategist and excellent organizational qualities,” Marshal Baghramyan (10) pointed out. By the way, it was to Bagramyan at the final stage of the war that Vasilevsky handed over his 3rd Belorussian Front, since he was urgently recalled to Moscow. Vasilevsky was soon to lead the Far Eastern Front.

Since June 1945, Vasilevsky was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Army in the Far East. Under his leadership, a major regrouping of troops was carried out, the Manchurian strategic offensive operation was planned, prepared and carried out to defeat the Japanese 600,000-strong Kwantung Army (August 9 - September 2, 1945). The Far Eastern Theater of Operations (FTE) covered the territory of Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, North Korea and the adjacent Pacific Ocean. The area of ​​the land part of the Far East theater was 1.5 million square meters. km, where 70 million people lived. This territory exceeded the size of the territory of Germany, Italy, France and England combined. The total number of divisions of the Soviet Army concentrated in the East was estimated at 87. and in the shortest possible time to carry out the grandiose Manchurian strategic offensive operation, as well as to return South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to Russia, to liberate Northeast China and North Korea ”(11). During the hostilities, the losses of the Kwantung grouping of the enemy amounted to 720 thousand soldiers and officers, including 640 thousand prisoners. "(13) Truly Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky achieved victory according to Suvorov, not by numbers, but by skill.

The question involuntarily begs, “why, in September 1945, the act of unconditional surrender of Japan on behalf of the USSR was instructed to sign the then unknown General Derevyanko, and not Marshal Vasilevsky?” - the historian Vladimir Uspensky reasonably asks, and answers - “Stalin was dissatisfied with (US President) Truman, with whom he did not agree on the landing of our troops on Hokaido, and intended to emphasize his dissatisfaction with the low level of our government delegation when signing the act. At first it was planned that the delegation would be headed by one of the military, Marshal Vasilevsky or Admiral Kuznetsov. But even this seemed too little after it became known that among the allies who would arrive on the Missouri there would be a certain General Sverdlov, aka Peshkov, the brother of Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov, whom Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin hated more and more . (...) And here - as if on purpose - a Sverdlovsk brother, an international adventurer, a deserter from Russia, somehow "adopted" by our great writer, about which Peshkov-Gorky himself spoke negatively. Rogue!
- A non-authoritative company - Stalin spoke contemptuously about this. “Send an ordinary general there. Competent, to sign beautifully ... "(14)

A.M. Vasilevsky stood out among the military leaders not only for his military leadership, but also for his simple human qualities. So, his colleague General Staff Officer General S.M. Shtemenko wrote: “A distinctive feature of Alexander Mikhailovich has always been trust in his subordinates, deep respect for people, respect for their dignity. He subtly understood how difficult it was to maintain organization and clarity in the critical situation of the beginning of the war, which was unfavorably developing for us, and tried to rally the team, create such a working environment where there would be no pressure from the authorities at all, but only a strong shoulder of an older, more experienced comrade, on which, if necessary, can be leaned on.” (15).

At military councils, which Alexander Mikhailovich often held during the war, the success of a decision largely depended on the installation of the marshal. It was expressed in the following: “... their participants should think first of all not about subordination, but about the benefits of the cause. So express your thoughts boldly and directly, - Vasilevsky demanded, - regardless of the fact that they disagree with the opinion of the senior boss or not. (...) ... As soon as the decisions crystallized during our meeting take the form of an order, they must be carried out not out of fear, but out of conscience, regardless of your initial opinion, ”recalled Vasilevsky’s installation, Army General S.P. Ivanov. (16).

After the war, Vasilevsky from March 1946 again became the chief of the General Staff and almost simultaneously became the 1st Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In 1949-53, A.M. Vasilevsky became the Minister of the Armed Forces (Minister of War) of the USSR., Then he was the 1st Deputy. Minister of Defense of the USSR (1953-56), Deputy Minister of Defense (1956-57). Since 1959, Vasilevsky joined the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Among other awards, Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was awarded two Orders of Victory.

A.M. Vasilevsky died on November 5, 1977. Buried near the Kremlin wall. By decree of the Moscow City Duma dated May 16, 2007, a monument to the famous Marshal and twice Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky will finally be erected in the hero city of Moscow! The year 2007 was declared the "Year of Memory of Marshal of Victory A.M. Vasilevsky". In the special booklet of the federal information and analytical magazine "Senator", completely dedicated to the famous marshal, it is noted: "The erection of a monument in the capital of Russia to one of the legendary commanders of the Great Patriotic War will be a sign of the deepest gratitude of all the people of our country to the front-line soldiers and their glorious commander, Marshal of Victory A.M. Vasilevsky , for heroism and outstanding services to the Fatherland - for a peaceful sky above your head! It is also an eternal reminder to all of us and future generations that “No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten!” (17)

Some thoughts of the outstanding commander Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky may be useful to an officer of the Russian Armed Forces.

1. Lubchenkov Yu.N. One Hundred Great Commanders of the Second World War, Moscow, Veche, 2005. P.46.

2. See: Great Patriotic War. Active army - M.-Zhukovsky, “Kuchkovo field, 2005, p.288.

3. Vasilevsky A.M. - The work of a lifetime. Politlit, M., 1975, p.7.

4. Vasilevsky A.M. - Ibid., p.18.

5. Lubchenkov Yu.N. – Ibid., p.47.

6. Bagramyan.I.Kh. - Sons of a great people. A.M.Vasilevsky. Military Publishing, M., 1984. S.72.

7. Bagramyan.I.Kh. – Ibid., p.45.

8. By: Bagramyan. THEIR. – Ibid., p.48.

9. Bagramyan.I.Kh. – Ibid., p.49.

10. According to: Bagramyan I.Kh. – Ibid., p.77

11. Titarenko M.L., Zimonin V.P. - Victory in the Pacific Ocean.//An attempt on a great victory, M., Algorithm, 2005, p.189.

12. Zimonin V.P. - The last focus of World War II, M., 2002, p.330.

13. See: Classified removed. Losses of the armed forces of the USSR in wars, hostilities and conflicts. Statistical research, M., 1993, p.223.

14. Uspensky V. - Privy adviser to the leader ”, (specify!)

15. Shtemenko - General Staff during the war years - M., 1981, Vol. 1, S. 182.

16. See: Ivanov - S.P. Army headquarters, front-line headquarters M., Military Publishing House, 1990, S. 446.

17. Federal information and analytical magazine "Senator", M., Interpressa. 2007

The Great Patriotic War found Major General Vasilevsky in the General Staff, in the position of Deputy Chief of Operations. Less than two months later, he was appointed Chief of Operations and Deputy Chief of the General Staff. As you know, Shaposhnikov was the Chief of the General Staff.

Together with Shaposhnikov, Vasilevsky participates in meetings of the Headquarters in the Kremlin. And in December 1941, during Shaposhnikov's illness, Vasilevsky acted as chief of the General Staff.

A. M. Vasilevsky played a key role in organizing the defense of Moscow and the counteroffensive, which began at the end of 1941. In these tragic days, when the fate of Moscow was being decided, from October 16 to the end of November, he led the task force to serve the Headquarters. The group's responsibilities included knowing and correctly evaluating events at the front, constantly informing the Headquarters about them, reporting to the Supreme High Command its proposals in connection with changes in the front-line situation, and quickly and accurately developing plans and directives. The task force, as can be seen from this list of duties, was the brain and heart of the grandiose military operation, called the Battle of Moscow.

In April 1942, Vasilevsky was promoted to the rank of Colonel General, and in June of the same year he took the post of Chief of the General Staff.

All the time of the Battle of Stalingrad, Vasilevsky, as a representative of the Headquarters, was in Stalingrad, coordinating the interaction of the fronts. He plays a decisive role in repulsing the Manstein group. In January 1943, Vasilevsky was awarded the rank of General of the Army, he was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree. And in less than a month, which is extremely unusual, he became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.

It was Vasilevsky who came up with the idea of ​​conducting a defensive operation, with a subsequent transition to a counteroffensive during the Battle of Kursk. It was he who convinced Stalin and other representatives of the General Staff to do just that. In the midst of the Battle of Kursk, he coordinated the actions of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts. Vasilevsky personally observed the tank battle near Prokhorovka from the position of his command post.

Vasilevsky planned and directed operations to liberate Donbass, Crimea and southern Ukraine. On the day of the capture of Odessa in April 1944, Vasilevsky was awarded the Order of Victory. He became the second holder of this order. The first was Zhukov.

When Sevastopol was liberated, in early May 1944, Vasilevsky personally drove around the city, and his car came across a mine. Marshal was wounded. The wound was light, but he had to be treated in Moscow for some time.

However, already at the end of May, Marshal Vasilevsky was leaving for the front to command the actions of the 1st Baltic and 3rd Belorussian fronts during Operation Bagration. For the liberation of the Baltic states and Belarus, on July 29, 1944, Vasilevsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

In February 1945, the commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front, Chernyakhovsky, died. Vasilevsky was appointed in his place. In this position, he led the assault on Koenigsberg - an operation that was included in all military textbooks.