Andrei Lavrentyevich Getman (; uk, Андрі́й Лавре́нтійович Ге́тьман, Andriy Lavretiyovych Hetman; 5 October (22 September OS) 1903 – 8 April 1987) was a Soviet military commander,

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 ...

(13 April 1964) and

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 ...

(May 7, 1965). After joining the Red Army in 1924, Getman graduated from the Red Commanders School in 1927 and the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army in 1937. Sent to postings in the

Transbaikal Military District The Transbaikal Military District (russian: Забайкальский военный округ) was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on May 17, 1935 and included the ...

, he fought at the

Battle of Lake Khasan The Battle of Lake Khasan (29 July – 11 August 1938), also known as the Changkufeng Incident (russian: Хасанские бои, Chinese and Japanese: ; Chinese pinyin: ; Japanese romaji: ) in China and Japan, was an attempted military incurs ...

and the

Battle of Khalkhin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (russian: Бои на Халхин-Голе; mn, Халхын голын байлдаан) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Ja ...

. 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 ...

, Getman was sent west to command the

112th Tank Division Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...

in the defense of Moscow. In April 1942, he became the commander of the 6th Tank Corps, which was converted into the

11th Guards Tank Corps 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

for its actions in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...

. Getman became the deputy commander of the

1st Guards Tank Army The 1st Guards Tank Army () is a tank Field army, army of the Russian Ground Forces. The army traces its heritage back to the 1st Tank Army, formed twice in July 1942 and in January 1943 and converted into the 1st Guards Tank Army in January 1 ...

in August 1944. After the war, he was commander of armored tank and mechanized troops of the

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the Soviet Union. It was disbanded by being redesignated as a Grou ...

and was chief of staff and deputy chief of armored tank and mechanized troops. From 1958 to 1964 he was commander of the troops of the

Carpathian Military District The Red Banner Carpathian Military District (, ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Cold War and subsequently of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the early Post-Soviet period. It was established on 3 May 1946 on the ...

. Beginning in June 1964 he was chairman of the Central Committee of the All-Union Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army, Air Force, and Navy. He was deputy to the fifth through seventh convocations of the

Supreme Soviet of the USSR The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

and became a candidate member of the

Central Committee of the CPSU The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee direct ...

in 1961. He was awarded four

Orders 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 ...

, six

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

, 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 ...

Second Class, the Order of Bodgan Khmel’nitskii Second Class, the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

, and several foreign orders.

Early life

Andrei Getman was born on 5 October 1903 in Klepaly village of

Kursk Governorate Kursk Governorate ( rus, Ку́рская губе́рния, r=Kúrskaya gubérniya) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, located in European Russia. It existed from 1796 to 1928; its seat was in the city o ...

to a peasant family. After graduating from a rural school, he worked as a laborer in a sugar factory and at the

Vorozhba Vorozhba (, ) is a city in Bilopillia Raion, Sumy Oblast, 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 north ...

railway station.

Military service

Prewar

In October 1924, Getman was drafted into 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 ...

. In 1927, he graduated from the Red Commanders school (VUTSIK), after which he became a platoon commander in the 130th Rifle Regiment of the

44th Rifle Division The 44th ''Kievskaya'' of the Red Banner Rifle Division of Nikolay Shchors, or ''44th Kievskaya'' for short, was an elite military formation of the Soviet Union. Created during the beginnings of the Russian Civil War. It was destroyed during the W ...

during September. In the same year, he joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

. He was promoted to become a company commander in the same regiment. In May 1929, Getman became the assistant to the chief of the first department of staff of the division and the head of the

Zhitomir 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 administrative ...

House of the Red Army. In March 1930, he became the commander of courses at the Red Commanders School. Between October 1931 and February 1933, Getman was the chief of the regimental school of the Krivoy Rog Rifle Regiment of the Krivoy Rog Territorial Rifle Division. Getman was sent to study at the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army in February 1933. He was promoted to

Senior lieutenant Senior lieutenant is a military grade between a lieutenant and a captain, often used by countries from the former Eastern Bloc. It is comparable to first lieutenant. Finland ( sv, premiärlöjtnant) is a Finnish military rank above ( sv, löjt ...

in 1935. In 1937, he graduated from the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army with the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In June 1937, he became the head of the 5th staff department for the 7th Mechanized Corps of the

. In February 1938, Getman became the acting commander and chief of staff of the 31st Mechanized Brigade after being promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. In August, he led the brigade during the

. During the summer of 1939, he fought in the

Battle of Khalkin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (russian: Бои на Халхин-Голе; mn, Халхын голын байлдаан) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Jap ...

. During battles for Remizov hill, he reportedly showed skilled leadership ability. In September 1939, Getman became the assistant commander of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade and was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on 8 October 1940. He was transferred to command the 45th Separate Light Tank Brigade, being promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

on 9 December. On 11 March 1941, he was appointed to the command of the 27th Tank Division. Getman became chief of staff for the 30th Mechanized Corps on 26 March.

World War II

In September, Getman was appointed commander of the

, which had arrived from the Transbaikal to fight in defense of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The division distinguished itself during the battle of Moscow and the defeat of German troops near

Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains *Tula Point India *Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the pr ...

. Elements of the division were active in the area of

Serpukhov Serpukhov ( rus, Серпухов, p=ˈsʲɛrpʊxəf) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Oka and the Nara Rivers, south from Moscow ( from Moscow Ring Road) on the Moscow—Simferopol highway. The Moscow— T ...

with the

49th Army "Thank God for Mississippi" is an adage used in the United States, particularly in the South, that is generally used when discussing rankings of U.S. states. Since the U.S. state of Mississippi commonly ranks at or near the bottom of such rankings ...

and were then assigned to

Pavel Belov Pavel Alexeyevich Belov (Russian: Павел Алексеевич Белов; 18 February 1897 – 3 December 1963) was a Soviet Army, Soviet Army colonel Colonel general, general and a Hero of the Soviet Union. He was nicknamed the "Fox" by the ...

's group and fought in the defense of

Kashira Kashira (russian: Каши́ра) is a town and the administrative center of Kashirsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River south of Moscow. Population: History It was first mentioned in 1356 as the village of Koshira ...

. The division was sent to Kashira, where they fought in conjunction with Belov's

1st Guards Rifle Corps The 1st Guards Special Rifle Corps (Russian: 1-й особый гвардейский стрелковый корпус ''1-ĭ osobyĭ gvardyeĭskiĭ strelkovyĭ korpus'') was a hastily formed Red Army blocking formation active briefly in 1941, d ...

during the counterattack against

Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who, after the war, became a successful memoirist. An early pioneer and advocate of the " blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in t ...

's units. The division was then transferred to support the 50th Army, where German troops had almost surrounded Tula. The division counterattacked the German tank units and linked up with the 999th Rifle Regiment of the 258th Rifle Division, opening up the Tula-Moscow highway. Getman pushed his division forward and defeated German units at the Revyakino station on 7 December, opening the Moscow-Tula railway. On 8 December, the division was officially transferred to the 50th Army and helped capture

Yasnaya Polyana Yasnaya Polyana ( rus, Я́сная Поля́на, p=ˈjasnəjə pɐˈlʲanə, literally: "Bright Glade") is a writer's house museum, the former home of the writer Leo Tolstoy. Bartlett, p. 25 It is southwest of Tula, Russia, and from Mosco ...

. The division became part of 50th Army's mobile group under the command of Vasily Popov. The 112th fought in the raid on

Kaluga Kaluga ( rus, Калу́га, p=kɐˈɫuɡə), a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast in Russia, stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: Kaluga's most famous resident, the space travel pioneer Konstantin Tsiol ...

and helped capture the city on 30 December. Getman became the commander of the

6th Tank Corps 06 may refer to: * 6 (number) * The month of June, commonly referred to as 06 * The years 1906 and 2006, both commonly referred to as '06 * Lynk & Co 06, a Chinese subcompact SUV * ''Sonic '06'', a 2006 game of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series * O- ...

in April 1942. On 30 May, he was promoted to 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 ...

. During the summer, the corps fought in the Battle of Rzhev. He led the corps during the

in July 1943. Getman was promoted to

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 ...

on 21 August. For its actions at Kursk, the corps became the

in October 1943. Getman led the guards brigade during the Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive, the

Korsun-Shevchenkovsky Offensive Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi ( uk, Ко́рсунь-Шевче́нківський, ; pl, Korsuń Szewczenkowski; russian: Корсунь-Шевченковский) is a small city located in Cherkasy Raion of Cherkasy Oblast (province) in central ...

, the Proskurov-Chernivtsi Offensive and the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive. In August 1944, he was promoted to deputy commander of the

. In the position, Getman participated in the Vistula–Oder Offensive, the East Pomeranian Offensive and the

Berlin Offensive The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major Offensive (military), offensives of the European theatre of World War II. ...

Postwar

In July 1945, Getman became the deputy commander of the

Urals Military District The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

's armored and mechanized forces. A year later, he became the commander of the Urals Military District armored and mechanized forces. Getman transferred in November to command armored and mechanized forces subordinated to the

. In January 1949, he became the chief of staff and deputy commander of Soviet Army armored and mechanized forces. On 3 August 1953, he was promoted to

Colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

. In April 1956, Getman became the commander of the Separate Mechanized Army, which in June 1957 became the 1st Separate Combined Arms Army. He was transferred to command the

in April 1958. In the same year, he became a deputy of the

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

at its 5th convocation, and continued to serve as a deputy until after the 8th convocation in 1974. Getman became a candidate member of the

CPSU Central Committee The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee direct ...

in 1961. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 13 April 1964. In June, Getman became the chairman of the

DOSAAF DOSAAF (russian: ДОСААФ), full name ''Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy'' (russian: Добровольное общество содействия армии, авиации и флоту), was a parami ...

central committee. On 7 May 1965, Getman was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and 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 ...

on the 20th anniversary of the end of World War II. He developed DOSAAF physical fitness conscript standards and implemented them in 1966. In January 1972, Getman became an inspector with the

Group of Inspectors General The Group of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (), colloquially known as the paradise group, was a body of the Soviet Ministry of Defense established in 1958. A sinecure position for semi-retired senior officers, th ...

of the Ministry of Defense, which meant that he was retired from active duty. He lived in Moscow and died on 8 April 1987. Getman was buried in the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...

Personal life

Getman married Olga Ivanovna, who died in 1972 and worked as a doctor. He had a daughter, Elvina, born in 1932. Getman's son Anatoly was born in 1938 and died in 1967.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Getman, Andrei 1903 births 1987 deaths People from Sumy Oblast People from Putivlsky Uyezd Ukrainian people in the Russian Empire Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union candidate members Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Sixth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Eighth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Army generals (Soviet Union) Heroes of the Soviet Union Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Soviet Union), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery