Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

of Armoured Troops Mikhail Yefimovich Katukov (russian: Михаи́л Ефи́мович Катуко́в – 8 June 1976) served as a commander of armored troops in 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 ...

during and following

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He is viewed as one of the most talented

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, ...

armor commanders. Mikhail Katukov holds the honor of the first major victory of the Soviet armored forces, the victory from October 4 to October 11, 1941 at Mtsensk over the 3rd and 4th tank divisions, which were part of the

Guderian Guderian is a German surname. Other spellings are '' Guderjahn'' and '' Guderjan''. It is present in Greater Poland and Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European ...

's Panzergruppe 2 in 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 ...

. His other notable command during the

German-Soviet War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

were that of

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 ...

, which he commanded during 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. ...

(1943), the Proskurov-Chernovtsy Operation (1944), the Lvov-Sandomierz Operation (1944), the Vistula Oder Operation (1945), and the

Battle of Berlin 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 offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

(1945). He commanded 1st Guards Tank Brigade during the

(1941), and 3rd Mechanised Corps

David Glantz David M. Glantz (born January 11, 1942) is an American military historian known for his books on the Red Army during World War II and as the chief editor of ''The Journal of Slavic Military Studies''. Born in Port Chester, New York, Glantz r ...

, Zhukov's Greatest Defeat – The Red Army's Epic Disaster in Operation Mars 1942, University Press of Kansas, 1998 P140 during

Operation Mars Operation Mars (Russian: Операция «Марс»), also known as the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation (Russian: Вторая Ржевско-Сычёвская наступательная операция), was the codename fo ...

(1942).

Early life

Katukov was born on in the village of Bolshoe Uvarovo in

Kolomensky Uyezd Kolomensky Uyezd (''Коломенский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Moscow Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southeastern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Kolomna. Demographics At ...

Moscow Governorate Moscow Governorate (russian: Московская губерния; pre-reform Russian: ), or the Government of Moscow, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR, which ...

(now in the Ozyory Urban Okrug of

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

) into an impoverished peasant family with five children. From a young age he worked on the local landowner's dairy farm. Katukov graduated from a rural primary school. In 1912, sent to relatives in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, he worked as a messenger boy in a dairy shop, and later in the factories of the city. Katukov participated in 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 ...

in 1917, after which he returned to Bolshoe Uvaravo to take care of his family after his mother's death.

Military career

Katukov enlisted to the Red Army as a private in 1919. He served during 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 ...

, and later served as a tank formation commander before the war. In 1935 he graduated from the Stalin Military Academy and in July 1936 he was promoted to captain. In October 1938 came his first major command as acting commanding officer of the 5th Light Tank Brigade of the 45th Mechanized Corps. He survived the purges.

Second World War

On the onset of the war he took command of the 4th Tank Brigade. In 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 ...

in 1941, it was Katukov's Tank Brigade, then part of the

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 ...

, that checked the advance of

's Panzergruppe 2 near Tula. To honor this achievement it became the

1st Guards Tank Brigade First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

. On November 11, 1941, Order No. 337 of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR appeared, which, in particular, stated: "The 4th Tank Brigade, with brave and skillful combat actions from 04.10.1941. to 11.10.1941., despite the significant numerical superiority of the enemy, inflicted heavy losses on him and fulfilled the tasks assigned to the brigade to cover the concentration of our troops… As a result of the fierce battles of the brigade with the 3rd and 4th tank divisions and the enemy's motorized division, the fascists lost 133 tanks, 49 guns, 8 aircraft, 15 tractors with ammunition, up to an infantry regiment, 6 mortars and other weapons. The losses of the 4th Tank Brigade are calculated in several units." Although a later study of captured German documents showed that the number of German tank losses was significantly overstated in this order, and the losses in the tanks of the 4th Brigade as a result of the seven-day battles were generally comparable to the German ones, but the fact that the German offensive was suspended by smaller forces in the direction of the main strike was of great importance. For these exploits, the 4th Tank Brigade was the first in the Red Army to receive the honorary title of "Guards", the Guards banner and the new military formation became known as the 1st Guards Tank Brigade. Within its ranks from September 1941 fought the most productive Soviet and allied tank ace Dmitry Lavrinenko. Later during

in December 1942, Katukov's command managed a deep penetration into the German lines in

Rzhev Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa (town), Tver Oblast, Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It ...

. In January 1943 he took command of the

, a post he held for the duration of the war. 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. ...

, Katukov's command was one of the two armies that were hardest-hit by the initial German advance on the southern shoulder. Through the use of well-defended and sited strong-points, dug in tanks, and judicious use of counterattacks, Katukov managed to extract a high toll from the German attackers breaking through the defensive system. He commanded his tank army in the Proskurov-Chernovtsy Operation, Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive, the Vistula–Oder Offensive, and the

. Mikhail Katukov was awarded the title of the

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 ...

twice (23 September 1944 and 6 April 1945).

Post-War

Following the war he became commander of the mechanized forces of the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

, and later Inspector General of the Army.

In popular culture

In the 1970 film ''

Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in Franc ...

'', Katukov is portrayed drinking a toast with General Patton to celebrate their armies' mutual victory over Nazi Germany.

Awards and honors

;Soviet Union ;Foreign

References

External links