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Pavel Zhigarev
Pavel Fyodorovich Zhigarev (Па́вел Фёдорович Жи́гарев; November 6, 1900 – August 2, 1963) was the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) twice (1941–1942, 1949–1957), and also served as the Chief Marshal of Aviation from 1955–1959. Early life and education Zhigarev was born on November 6, 1900, to a poor peasant family in the village of Brikovo, located in present-day Tver Oblast. He attended Cavalry School, graduating in 1922. He then turned to the Air Force, graduating from Military Pilot School in 1927 and the N. E. Zhukovskii Air Force Academy in 1932. Rise to prominence In 1937, Zhigarev became the commander of 52nd Light Bomber Aviation Brigade, his first major command position. From 1937–38, he was also the Deputy Military Attaché to China. Zhigarev then served as the Head of the Directorate for Combat Training of the Air Force in the People's Commissariat of Defence from 1938 to 1939. In 1939 Zhigarev was promoted to the pos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tver Oblast
Tver Oblast (russian: Тверска́я о́бласть, ''Tverskaya oblast'', ), from 1935 to 1990 known as Kalinin Oblast (), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. It was named after Mikhail Kalinin, the Soviet revolutionary. Population: 1,353,392 ( 2010 Census). Tver Oblast is a region of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno. Much of the remaining area is occupied by the Valdai Hills, where the Volga, the Western Dvina, and the Dnieper have their source. Tver Oblast is one of the tourist regions of Russia with a modern tourist infrastructure. There are also many historic towns: Torzhok, Toropets, Zubtsov, Kashin, Vyshny Volochyok, and Kalyazin. The oldest of these is Rzhev, primarily known for the Battles of Rzhev in World War II. Staritsa was the seat of the last appanage principality in Russia. Ostashkov is a major tourist center. Geography Tver Oblast is located in the west of the middle part of the East European Plai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aleksandr Loktionov
Aleksandr Dmitriyevich Loktionov (russian: Александр Дмитриевич Локтионов; ) – 28 October 1941) was a Soviet general. In 1923 he was given command of the 2nd Infantry Division in Belarus, and the next year he became a member of the Minsk City Council. In 1925 he became a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Central Party Committee before continuing his education at the Frunze Military Academy in 1927. At the end of 1930 he became the commanding officer and commissar of the 4th Rifle Corps. From 1933 to 1937, he was assistant commander of the Byelorussian and subsequently Kharkov Air Force Military Districts. From 1937 to 1939, he served as commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Force. In July 1940, after the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, Loktionov was appointed commander of the Special Baltic Military District. In June 1941, he was arrested on fabricated charges of participation in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
10th Air Army
The 10th Air Army was a unit of the Soviet Air Forces during World War II and the Cold War years. World War II The unit was originally formed on Sakhalin Island on August 15, 1942, on the basis of the Air Force of the 25th Army of the Far Eastern Front of the USSR Armed Forces. In August-early September 1945, the 10th Air Army as part of the 2nd Far Eastern Front, participated in the Sungari Offensive Operation, during which it covered the units of the 15th Army, supported the landing of the Amur Flotilla in the city of Fuyuan, then the offensive towards Qiqihar. The efforts of the 18th Corps disrupted the enemy's rail traffic. A number of the Army's formations performed combat missions during the Invasion of South Sakhalin and Invasion of the Kuril Islands. During the period of hostilities, the 10th Air Army carried out about 3297 sorties. On 3 September 1945 it included:Michael Holm29th Air Army/ref> * 18th Mixed Aviation Corps **96th Assault Aviation Division **296th F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Novikov
Alexander Alexandrovich Novikov (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Но́виков; – 3 December 1976) was the chief marshal of aviation for the Soviet Air Force during the Soviet Union's involvement in the Second World War. Lauded as "the man who has piloted the Red Air Force through the dark days into the present limelight", and a "master of tactical air power", he was twice given the title of Hero of the Soviet Union as well as a number of other Soviet decorations. A gifted air force commander and one of the leading men of the Soviet armed forces, Novikov was involved in nearly all exploits of the air force during the war and was at the forefront of developments in command and control and of air combat techniques.''Chief Marshal of Aviation AA. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Hannover
Operation Hannover or Operation Hanover (sources vary) was a German operation in April–June 1942 aimed at eliminating Soviet partisans, airborne troops and encircling Red Army soldiers near Vyazma (Smolensk Oblast). The operation was a complete success for the Germans. Background Soviet partisans had been disrupting the rear of Army Group Center (and the German 4th Army in particular). In January 1942, they were strengthened by Soviet Airborne Troops (the Vyazma airborne desant operation, part of the Battles of Rzhev).Christopher Chant, ''The encyclopedia of codenames of World War II'', Routledge, 1986, Google Print, p. 77 The Soviets hoped that the airborne troops and the partisans would be able to secure territory and disrupt the German logistics long enough for the Soviet offensive to reach them. However, the Red Army offensive involving the 33rd Army and the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps failed to advance far enough and the Germans were able to concentrate on destroying Soviet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4th Airborne Corps (Soviet Union)
The 4th Airborne Corps was an airborne corps of the Red Army in World War II. It fought in the Vyazma airborne operation, an unsuccessful landing during the Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive. History The corps was formed in the spring of 1941 in the Western Special Military District from the personnel of the 214th Airborne Brigade. The corps was commanded by Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov. On 22 June 1941, the corps was stationed in the Western Front's second echelon in Pukhavichy in Minsk Region. On 26 June, the corps was ordered to conduct an air-assault and ground attack with the 20th Mechanized Corps to stop advancing German troops at Slutsk. The corps did not have transport aircraft and instead attacked on foot. The counterattack failed and both corps were broken through. In late June, the 214th Airborne Brigade was redeployed by truck to the area of the road at Glusk to operate in the rear of advancing German troops at Babruysk. The main forces of the corps, the 7th and 8th Airborne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vyazma Airborne Operation
The Vyazma Airborne Operation was a Red Army airborne landing in the rear of German lines during the Battles of Rzhev. It took place from 18 January to 28 February 1942. The objective of the airborne landing was to help troops of the Kalinin Front and Western Front to encircle and destroy Army Group Centre. The airborne operation was unsuccessful and resulted in the loss of most of the troops landed. Battle The Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive began on 8 January 1942 with the aim of encircling Army Group Centre. In the first stages of the operation, the Red Army achieved some successes. As a result of the attacks of the Kalinin and Western Fronts, the German lines were breached in several places. In order to facilitate the advance of the troops, Stavka decided to land troops south of Vyazma with the objective of cutting the Vyazma-Yukhnov highway and the Vyazma-Bryansk railroad. The planned drop zone was guarded by scattered German units. The first group of airborne troops, comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battles Of Rzhev
The Battles of Rzhev (russian: Ржевская битва, Rzhevskaya bitva) were a series of Red Army offensives against the Wehrmacht between January 8, 1942, and March 31, 1943, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The battles took place in the northeast of Smolensk Oblast and the south of Tver Oblast. Due to the high losses suffered by the Soviet Army, the campaign became known by veterans and historians as the "Rzhev Meat Grinder" (russian: link=no, Ржевская мясорубка, Rzhevskaya myasorubka). Overview The major operations that were executed in this area of the front were: # #Rzhev–Vyazma strategic offensive operation (8 January – 20 April 1942) (russian: link=no, Ржевско-Вяземская стратегическая наступательная операция) of the Kalinin Front, Western Front, Bryansk Front, and Northwestern Front #* Sychyovka–Vyazma offensive operation (russian: link=no, Сычёвско-Вяземская нас ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabteilung'' of the Imperial Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 in accordance with the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which banned Germany from having any air force. During the interwar period, German pilots were trained secretly in violation of the treaty at Lipetsk Air Base in the Soviet Union. With the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the ''Luftwaffe''s existence was publicly acknowledged on 26 February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of the Versailles Treaty through German rearmament and conscription would be announced on 16 March. The Condor Legion, a ''Luftwaffe'' detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, provided the force with a valuable testing grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Second World War (book)
''The Second World War'' is a narrative history of World War II by the British historian Antony Beevor. The book starts with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, and covers the entire Second World War ending with the final surrender of Axis forces. Synopsis In the introduction, Beevor discusses Yang Kyoungjong, a Korean soldier forcibly conscripted by the Kwantung Army, then in turn taken prisoner by the Red Army and the Wehrmacht, eventually being captured by American troops. He also discusses the background of the war, including the rise of Nazism in post-World War I Germany, and the formation of alliances with Italy and Japan. Throughout the bulk of the book, Beevor jumps back and forth throughout the different theaters of war. He begins by detailing Germany's invasion of Poland, Germany's alliance with the Soviet Union, and the invasion of France. Interspersed are chapters focusing on the Second Sino-Japanese War along with others building up a description of global ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Axis And Soviet Air Operations During Operation Barbarossa
Axis and Soviet air operations during Operation Barbarossa took place over a six-month period, 22 June – December, 1941. Aviation played a critical role in the fighting on the Eastern Front during this period, in the battles to gain and maintain air superiority or air supremacy, to offer close air support to armies on battlefield, interdicting enemy supply lines, while supplying friendly forces. The Axis air forces were generally better equipped, trained and experienced in executing military tactics and operations. This superiority increased because of the Great Purge in the 1930s and mass expansion of Soviet air forces, which did severe damage to organisational structures. On the opening day, Axis counter-air operations succeeded in destroying 2,000 Soviet aircraft, and gaining air superiority. The success of the strike enabled the Axis to support their armies in highly successful encirclement battles in July to September 1941. Its transport fleet helped fly in vital supplie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
