Alexei Ivanovich Radzievsky, transliterated in several different ways, including Aleksei, Aleksey, Alexey, and Radzievskii, Radzievskiy (born 31 July

old style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

, or 13 August new style, 1911, died 1978), was a professional soldier of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

who fought in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, commanding the

2nd Guards Tank Army The 2nd Guards Tank Army () was a large military formation of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army, now part of the Russian Ground Forces of the Russian Federation. The army was originally formed in early 1943 as the 2nd Tank Army. It was the ...

during the

Lublin–Brest Offensive The Lublin–Brest Offensive (russian: Люблин‐Брестская наступательная операция, 18 July – 2 August 1944) was a part of the Operation Bagration strategic offensive by the Soviet Red Army to clear the Nazi ...

and afterwards. He later rose to the rank of full

Army General Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the General officer#French (Revolutionary) system, French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of genera ...

and was the author of works on military strategy. From 1969 to 1978 Radzievsky was Commandant of the

M. V. 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 ...

and in February 1978 was made a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

, the highest Soviet award.

Life

Born in

Uman Uman ( uk, Умань, ; pl, Humań; yi, אומאַן) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the historical region of the eastern Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River ...

, now in the

Cherkasy region Cherkasy Oblast ( uk, Черка́ська о́бласть, Cherkaska oblast, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna ( uk, Черка́щина, ) is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center ...

of central

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, Radzievsky left school in 1927 to work as a moulder in a silica plant in his home town of Uman. In 1929 he joined the

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 ...

and graduated from the Cavalry School in 1931, going on to command first a platoon, later a squadron. In 1938 he attended the

and in 1941 passed the Military Academy of the General Staff. With the outbreak of hostilities with the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

in July 1941, he joined the newly formed 53rd (4th Guards) Cavalry Division and saw fighting in the Demidov, Dukhovshchina, and the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January ...

, then with the Cavalry Corps fought at the

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

, in the crossing of the Dnieper, and in the liberation of

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, a ...

, and other cities.Радзиевский Алексей Иванович
(in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

) at hrono.ru, accessed 28 December 2012 On 28 February 1944 Radzievsky was appointed

Chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the

with the rank of

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 ...

. 2e Armée de Chars de la Garde
(in French) at ostfront.forumpro.fr, accessed 29 December 2012 In July 1944, during the

, the Army's commanding officer, Lieutenant-General

Semyon Bogdanov Semyon Ilyich Bogdanov (russian: Семён Ильи́ч Богда́нов; – 12 March 1960) was a Soviet Marshal of tank forces, and twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he was deputy commander ...

, was seriously wounded, and Radzievsky took over his command, which he retained until January 1945. His forces took a leading role in the liberation of a string of Polish cities, including

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...

Łuków Łuków is a city in eastern Poland with 30,727 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2005). Since 1999, it has been situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, previously it had belonged to the Siedlce Voivodeship (between 1975–1998). It is the capital of Ł ...

Skierniewice Skierniewice is a city in central Poland with 47,031 inhabitants (2021), situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), previously capital of Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Skierniewice County. The town is situate ...

Lovech Lovech ( bg, Ловеч, Lovech, ) is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast f ...

, and

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

. At the end of July 1944 Radzievsky's 2nd Guards Tank Army routed the German 73rd Infantry Division at

Garwolin Garwolin is a town on the Wilga river in eastern Poland, capital of Garwolin County, situated in the southeast part of the Garwolin plateau in Masovian Voivodeship, 62 km southeast of Warsaw, 100 km northwest of Lublin. As of December ...

, capturing its commander,

Friedrich Franek __NOTOC__ Friedrich Franek (16 July 1891 – 8 April 1976) was an Austrian general in the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Along with Alois Windisch, he was one of only two recipients of both the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cro ...

, and in the next four days the army advanced to the edge of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, with five hundred tanks still operational. However, the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

had begun on 1 August, and the Soviets did not seek to take the Polish capital until January 1945.Robert Forczyk, ''Warsaw 1944: Poland's bid for freedom'' (2009, )
p. 13
/ref> On 2 November 1944 Radzievsky was promoted

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. After the war, Radzievsky's combat experience made him a good soldier for training officers. He served as commanding officer of the Army KA (1945–1947), of the Northern Armed Forces Group (1950–1952), the

Turkestan Military District The Turkestan Military District (russian: Туркестанский военный округ (ТуркВО), ''Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)'') was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with it ...

(1952–1953), the

Odessa Military District The Odesa Military District (russian: Одесский военный округ, ОВО; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operat ...

(1954–1959). From 1959 to 1968 he was first deputy Commandant of the Military Academy of the General Staff, then from 1968 to 1969 commander of the Control Office of Military Studies. His last posting, from July 1969 to February 1978 was as Commandant of the

. Radzievsky was twice awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

and was also appointed as a member of 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 ...

, the

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established du ...

(1st class), the

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 1942 ...

(2nd class), and of many other Soviet and foreign Orders. In 1972 he achieved the rank of

and in 1978 was made a

Publications

*A. I. Radzievsky, ed., ''Akademiya imeni M. V. Frunze: Istoriya voennoi ordena Lenina Krasnoznamennoi ordena Suvorova Akademyi'' ("The Academy Named after M. V. Frunze: History of the Order of Lenin Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Military Academy") (Moscow: Voyenizdat, 1972) *A. I. Radzievsky, ed., ''Taktika v boevykh primerakh (polk)'' ("Tactics by combat example (the regiment)") (Moscow: Voyenisdat, 1974) *A. I. Radzievsky, ed., ''Taktika v boevykh primerakh (diviziia)'' ("Tactics by combat example (the division)") (Moscow: Voyenizdat, 1976) *A. I. Radzievsky, ''Tankovyi udar'' ("Tank strike") (Moscow: Voyenizdat, 1977) *A. I. Radzievsky, ''Proryv'' ("Penetration") (Moscow: Voyenizdat, 1979)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radzievsky, Alexei 1911 births 1978 deaths Army generals (Soviet Union) Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner People from Uman Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Recipients of the Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 2nd class Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Commandants of the Frunze Military Academy