Aleksei Innokentievich Antonov (russian: Алексей Иннокентьевич Антонов; 9 September 1896 – 16 June 1962) was a
General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
of the
Soviet Army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
, awarded the
Order of Victory
The Order of Victory (russian: Орден «Победа», translit=Orden "Pobeda") was the highest military decoration awarded for World War II service in the Soviet Union, and one of the rarest orders in the world. The order was awarded only ...
for his efforts in
World War II
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. From 1945 to 1946 he was
Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union.
Career
Born in
Grodno
Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...
in a family of
Kryashen ethnicity as the son of an artillery officer of 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 ...
, Antonov graduated from
Frunze Military Academy in 1921 and joined the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
during the
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
. He became an instructor at Frunze Military Academy in 1938.
In 1941, Antonov became chief of staff for the Soviet
Southwestern Front and
Southern Front. In December 1942, he became Deputy Chief General Staff of the combined Soviet forces and Head of the Operations Directorate, a pivotal role within the
Stavka
The ''Stavka'' (Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine.
In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff ...
. In fact, A. I. Antonov was effective leader of the Soviet General Staff since chief of staff
A. M. Vasilevsky was usually absent due to his frequent frontline missions as Stavka representative. As a result, Stavka relieved Antonov of his position in Operational Directorate, so that Antonov could fully concentrate in the leadership in the General Staff. In February 1945, Vasilevsky was appointed as the commander of 3rd Belarusian Front, and Antonov finally became the formal leader of Soviet General Staff. In spite of his key role in the Red Army's ultimate victory, he was never named a
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union.
The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...
.
Richard Overy
Richard James Overy (born 23 December 1947) is a British historian who has published on the history of World War II and Nazi Germany. In 2007, as ''The Times'' editor of ''Complete History of the World'', he chose the 50 key dates of world his ...
writes of him at this time:
Vasilevsky came to rely on one subordinate above all others: the chief of operations, General Aleksei Antonov. ..On December 11 942
Year 942 ( CMXLII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – The Hungarians invade Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and besiege the fortress ...
the forty-six-year-old Antonov stepped into the role which was more directly exposed to Stalin's inquisitive leadership than any other. Antonov rose to the challenge. Instead of rushing off to report to Stalin when he arrived in Moscow, he spent the first week familiarizing himself thoroughly with the General Staff and the state of the front. Only when he was fully primed did he go to see his commander. The two men developed the most effective working relationship of the war. Antonov displayed a calm intelligence married to a massive energy and exceptional industry. According to his deputy, General Sergei Shtemenko
Sergei Matveevich Shtemenko (russian: Сергей Матвеевич Штеменко; – 23 April 1976) was a Soviet general who served as the Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces' General Staff from 1948 to 1952.
Biography Early life
Sergei Sht ...
, Antonov never lost his temper or allowed circumstances to get the better of him. He was firm, caustic, slow to praise and a tough taskmaster, but the rigorous regimen that he imposed on his staff won their respect. Above all he was adept at manipulating Stalin. He did not sugar-coat his reports. He was prepared to stand up to Stalin with what his deputy regarded as a 'brave outspokenness'. So skilled was he at providing the evening situation reports concisely and accurately that even Zhukov bowed to his capability and allowed Antonov to present them in his place. The trust that Stalin came to place in Antonov was reflected in his survivability. He retained his office until February 1945, when he was made chief of staff in Vasilevsky's place.
By 1944, Antonov was Chief Spokesman and was present at the
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 ...
,
Yalta
Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Cri ...
and
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...
Conferences. At the Yalta Conference, he briefed the Western Allies on co-ordinating military actions, and by stressing how the Allies could aid Soviets through bombing lines of communications contributed to the
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
raid.
After the war, Antonov became Deputy Commander-in-Chief and then Commander-in-Chief of the
Transcaucasus 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 ...
. In 1955, he became Chief of Staff of the Combined Forces of the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
. He held this post until his death in 1962.
Antonov died on 16 June 1962 in Moscow, and his ashes interred in the
Kremlin Wall Necropolis
The Kremlin Wall Necropolis was the national cemetery for the Soviet Union. Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolshevik individuals who died during the Moscow Bolshevik Uprising were buried in ma ...
.
Family
In 1956, Antonov married ballerina
Olga Lepeshinskaya. It was his second marriage.
[Z. Sambuu. ''From Herdsman to Statesman'' (2010) p. 102]
References
Sources
*
*S. M. Shtemenko. ''The Soviet General Staff''. Progress Publisher, Moskva.
Further reading
*S. Bialer ed., ''Stalin's Generals'' (New York 1969)
*H. Salisbury ed., ''Marshal Zhukov's Greatest Battles'' (London 1969)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonov, Aleksei Innokentievich
1896 births
1962 deaths
People from Grodno
People from Grodnensky Uyezd
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Army generals (Soviet Union)
Russian military personnel of World War I
Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War
Soviet military personnel of World War II
Frunze Military Academy alumni
Recipients of the Order of Victory
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
Recipients of the Virtuti Militari (1943–1989)
Warsaw Treaty Organization people
Frunze Military Academy faculty
Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class