Grigory Stelmakh (1900 – 31 December 1942) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

military commander. He held a prominent role in the defeat of German

blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air su ...

(

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 ...

) and in the Soviet victory in the

battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

Before World War II

Stelmakh was born in

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Southern Ukraine, the Administrative centre, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides U ...

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 ...

into a Jewish family. Like most of his generation, he was captivated by the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

's promise of a better society. In 1919, Stelmakh volunteered to 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 ...

. He fought in the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

, was admitted to the school for infantry commanders (1921), and stayed in the army. In 1926 he graduated from 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 ...

. His rise was rapid: chief of staff of rifle division (1926–1931), Chief of Staff of the Soviet forces in Far East, known as the

Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army The Special Far Eastern Army, later the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army ( rus, links=no, Осо́бая Краснознамённая Дальневосто́чная а́рмия (ОКДВА), Osóbaya Krasnoznamonnaya Dal'nevostóchnaya árm ...

(OKDVA) (1932–1935), commander of the 12th Rifle division (1935–1938). Stelmakh was arrested and imprisoned (1938–1940). He was exonerated, released and promoted to

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 ...

. Due to the Red Army's need to prepare a new generation of senior commanders, Stelmakh, among other skilled Red Army officers, was sent to teach as a senior instructor in the Frunze Military Academy (1940–1941).

Battle of Tikhvin

Steelmakh fought the German "

" in the north. He joined the battle of

Tikhvin Tikhvin (russian: Ти́хвин; Veps: ) is a town and the administrative center of Tikhvinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on both banks of the Tikhvinka River in the east of the oblast, east of St. Petersburg. Tikhvin i ...

as the Chief of Staff of the 4th Field Army. In the midst of the battle

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, a ...

ordered the Commander of the 4th Field Army

Kirill Meretskov Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov (russian: Кири́лл Афана́сьевич Мерецко́в; – 30 December 1968) was a Soviet military commander. Having joined the Communist Party in 1917, he served in the Red Army from 1920. During th ...

and Stelmakh to organize a new

Volkhov Front The Volkhov Front (russian: Волховский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group ...

. Stelmakh became the Front's Chief of Staff. By December 30, 1941 Meretskov and Stelmakh expelled Leeb's troops back to positions from which they began their Tikhvin offense. After Tikhvin, Stelmakh served as Chief of Staff of Volkhov Group of Forces and the

Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front (russian: Ленинградский фронт) was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front The Karelian Front ...

Battle of Stalingrad

In October 1942, whilst the

was preparing for counter-offensive in the

, Stelmakh was appointed Chief of Staff of the new Southwestern Front commanded by

Nikolai Vatutin Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin (russian: Никола́й Фёдорович Вату́тин; 16 December 1901 – 15 April 1944) was a Soviet military commander during World War II. Vatutin was responsible for many Red Army operations in Ukraine ...

. Stelmakh was among major planners and commanders of the battle. Vatutin and Stelmakh planned

Operation Saturn Operation Little Saturn was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The success of Operation Uranus, launch ...

to expand the Soviet offense westward to defeat German forces east of

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

. They intended, acting together with Rokossovsky, to trap German armies retreating from the Caucasus. After the war, military analysts assessed this plan as realistic and claimed that its execution could have speeded up Germany's downfall. Stavka considered Vatutin and Stelmakh's proposal too daring, and ordered the Southwestern Front to limit the scope of the offence to defeating the German relief effort. Stelmakh planned

Operation Little Saturn Operation Little Saturn was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The success of Operation Uranus, launch ...

. While

Rodion Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (russian: Родио́н Я́ковлевич Малино́вский, ukr, Родіо́н Я́кович Малино́вський ; – 31 March 1967) was a Soviet military commander. He was Marshal of the Sovi ...

Soviet Second Guards Army The 2nd Guards Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army that fought in World War II, most notably at Battle of Stalingrad, Stalingrad. History The 2nd Guards Army was formed according to the order of the Staff of the Supreme High Co ...

defeated major German relief forces, Vatutin and Stelmakh, with the support of units from the

Voronezh Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

, surrounded the Italian 8th Army, reinforced by German and other Axis divisions. The Red Army killed almost 21,000 enemy troops and took more than 64,000 prisoners. Stelmakh was killed in December 1942, on the front line when his troops were capturing a stronghold in Kalach-on-Don.

Before World War II

Battle of Tikhvin

Battle of Stalingrad

Further reading