Aleksandr Andreyevich Korobkov (; 20 June 1897 – 22 July 1941) was a

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

who commanded the 4th Army in the early stages of the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa).

Early life, World War I, and Russian Civil War

A Russian, Aleksandr Andreyevich Korobkov was born to a peasant family on 20 June 1897 in the city of Petrovsk, Petrovsky Uyezd,

Saratov Governorate Saratov Governorate (russian: link=no, Саратовская губе́рния, ''Saratovskaya guberniya'', Government of Saratov), was an administrative division (a ''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian Socialist Federative Sovie ...

. He served in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

from August 1915 during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, graduating from the

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

School of ''

Praporshchik ( rus, Пра́порщик, 3=ˈprapərɕːɪk, ) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in navies. It is usually equivalent to Warrant ...

''s during the next year. Sent to the Southwestern Front, Korobkov served as a platoon commander and in December 1917 after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

was elected company commander, leaving the Imperial Army when it dissolved in February 1918 with the rank of ''

podporuchik ''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, cs, podporučík, pl, podporucznik, russian: подпору́чик, bg, подпоручик, sk, podporučík) is the most Junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, an ...

''. Later that year, Korobkov began his service in the

and joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

, becoming a platoon and then company commander from September. Wounded in battle, he was sent to study at the General Staff Academy.

Interwar period

Korobkov served as assistant inspector of infantry of the

Volga Military District The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at different ...

and Western Front between January and September 1921. Graduating from the Military Academy of the Red Army (the renamed General Staff Academy) in 1922, he commanded a company in the

North Caucasus Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also included the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla. It comprised the Republic of Adygeya, ...

to gain command experience in 1922 and 1923. Korobkov served as chief of the operations and personnel section of the staff of the 2nd Caucasian Rifle Division from August 1923, and in November of that year became assistant chief of the mobilization department of the district staff. Rising to chief of the department in August 1924, Korobkov took command of the 25th Rifle Regiment of the 9th Don Rifle Division in December of that year. He became political commissar of the regiment as well in June 1926 and in December of that year became military instructor of the

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

Communist University, and transferred to serve as military instructor of the

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...

Communist University in September 1928. After serving as chief of staff of the

95th Rifle Division The 95th Rifle Division (Russian: 95-я стрелковая дивизия 95-y strelkovaya diviziya) was a Red Army Rifle Division during World War II, formed three times. The division was first formed in November 1923 with the 6th Rifle Corps. ...

of the

Ukrainian Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

from January 1931, Korobkov became assistant inspector of rifle and tactical training of the army in November. He completed the Higher Officers' Improvement Course (

KUVNAS The Courses of Improvement for Higher Officers of the Red Army (), also translated as the Course for Perfecting Red Army Command Cadre and commonly known by their Russian acronym KUVNAS, were a training course for senior officers of the Red Army du ...

) at the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

in 1932, and later served as assistant inspector of infantry of the army. When personal military ranks were created, Korobkov became a ''

kombrig (russian: комбриг) is an abbreviation of Commanding officer of the brigade (russian: командир бригады, komandir brigady; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR from 1935 to 1940. It was also the ...

'' on 17 January 1936. From November 1936 he was commander and commissar of the 100th Rifle Division of the

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

. From May 1939 he commanded the

16th Rifle Corps The 16th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army, formed twice. It took part in the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939 and destroyed in the Baltic Operation during Operation Barbarossa. Reformed in 1942, the corps fought through the rest ...

of the

Belorussian Special Military District The Byelorussian Military District (russian: Белорусский военный округ, translit=Belorusskiy Voyenyi Okrug; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World ...

(renamed the Western Special Military District), being promoted to ''

komdiv (russian: комдив) is the abbreviation to Commanding officer of the Division (russian: командир дивизии, komandir divizii; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR in the period from 1935 to 1940. It ...

'' on 25 September. His rank converted to

on 4 June 1940 when the Red Army introduced general officer ranks, Korobkov became commander of the 4th Army of the district in January 1941. He was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

in 1940.

World War II

After

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

began on 22 June, Korobkov's army was destroyed in the

Battle of Białystok–Minsk The Battle of Białystok–Minsk was a German strategic operation conducted by the Wehrmacht's Army Group Centre under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock during the penetration of the Soviet border region in the opening stage of Operation Barbarossa, ...

. On 30 June, "for loss of control of the army troops by the headquarters in critical situations and indecision and inaction," Korobkov was relieved of command. Arrested on 9 July, he was sentenced to death on 22 July for "inaction, negligence and the collapse of command and control," and executed in Moscow the same day, exactly a month after the war began. Korobkov was posthumously rehabilitated in 1957.

Awards and honors

Korobkov was a recipient of the following decorations: *

(1940) *

Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" The Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «XX лет Рабоче-Крестьянской Красной Армии») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Un ...

(1938) * Honorary weapon

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Korobkov, Aleksandr 1897 births 1941 deaths People from Petrovsk People from Petrovsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet major generals Frunze Military Academy alumni Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Executed military leaders Russian people executed by the Soviet Union Soviet rehabilitations