Mikhail Stepanovich Shumilov (; November 17, 1895 – June 28, 1975) was a Soviet Colonel general and commander of the 64th Army during 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 ...

. There he defended the southern outskirts of the city and the bridgehead of Beketovka on the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

for more than six months.

Biography

Shumilov fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and commanded a regiment of 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 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 ...

. In April 1938, he was appointed commander of the

11th Rifle Corps The 11th Rifle Corps () was a corps of the Red Army, formed twice. The 11th was first formed in 1922 in the Petrograd area but soon moved to the Belorussian Military District. After fighting in the Soviet invasion of Poland, the corps moved to Li ...

, stationed in the

Belorussian Military District , image = Soviet Union Belorussian Military District.svg , image_size = 300px , caption = The territory of the Byelorussian Military District in 1991. , dates = 28 November 1918 – 6 May 1992 , country = (1918–1920) (1920–1991) (1922� ...

. He took part in the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

and the

Soviet-Finnish War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

. In July 1940, the 11th Rifle Corps was incorporated into the

Baltic Special Military District Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

. After his corps was destroyed in

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 ...

, Shumilov was relieved of command in August 1941 and put into the reserve. He was recalled in January 1942 and served as Deputy Commanding Officer of the 21st Army until August 1942, when he became commander of the 64th Army, at the start of the

. For about a month his army held back the

4th Panzer Army The 4th Panzer Army (german: 4. Panzerarmee) (operating as Panzer Group 4 (german: 4. Panzergruppe) from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, when it was redesignated as a full army) was a German panzer formation during World War ...

, under the command of

Hermann Hoth Hermann Hoth (12 April 1885 – 25 January 1971) was a German army commander, war criminal, and author. He served as a high-ranking panzer commander in the Wehrmacht during World War II, playing a prominent role in the Battle of France and on t ...

, on the southern approach to Stalingrad, so that industrial enterprises in the north of the city continued to operate. For six months Shumilov's army held the southern part of Stalingrad in fierce battles, playing an outstanding role in the heroic defense of the city along with the

62nd army The 62nd Army (russian: 62-я армия) was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. Formed as the 7th Reserve Army as part of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command in May 1942, the formation was des ...

of General

Vasily Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в; ; – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw he ...

.
On January 31, 1943, Mikhail Shumilov led the interrogation of Field Marshal

Friedrich Paulus Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German field marshal during World War II who is best known for commanding the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). The battle ended ...

, who was captured by the 64th Army near Stalingrad. He remained at the head of his army, which was renamed the

7th Guards Army The 7th Guards Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II and of the Soviet Army during the Cold War. History The 7th Guards Army was formed from the 64th Army on April 16, 1943. 64th Army had originally been formed from 1s ...

in April 1943, until the end of the war.
He participated 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. ...

, forcing the

Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

, the Kirovograd Offensive, the Uman–Botoșani Offensive, the

Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

, the

Battle of Debrecen The Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the ''Debrecen Offensive Operation'', was a battle taking place 6–29 October 1944 on the Eastern Front in Hungary during World War II. The offensive was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainian Front ...

, the Budapest Offensive, the Bratislava–Brno Offensive and the

Prague Offensive The Prague offensive (russian: Пражская стратегическая наступательная операция, Prazhskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya, lit=Prague strategic offensive) was the last major military ...

.
General Shumilov had was involved in the creation of the new Romanian army. By decree of the Presidency of the

Supreme Council 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 ...

of October 26, 1943 for the skilful leadership of military units during the forcing of Dnipro and the personal courage and heroism of the Guard, Colonel-General Mikhail Stepanovich Shumilov was named

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 ...

and 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 ...

. In 1946, he became Commanding Officer of the 13th Army, in 1948 Commander in Chief of the White Sea Military District and in 1949 Commander in Chief of the

Voronezh Military District The Voronezh Military District was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces, which existed in 1945–1946 and 1949–1960, respectively. District headquarters was in Voronezh. The District was formed on July 9, 1945, and incorporated the Voronezh Ob ...

, until 1956 when he retired.

Monuments

File:Г. Катайск - panoramio (8).jpg, Monument to 6 heroes in Kataysk, Kurgan File:Mikhail Shumilov, Mamayev Kurgan.jpg, Memorial plate in Mamayev, Kurgan File:Памятник Шумилову М.С..JPG, Monument in Kurgan File:Shumilov kharkov.JPG, Monument in Kharkiv

Sources

generals.dk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shumilov, Mikhail 1895 births 1975 deaths Russian people of World War II People of the Soviet invasion of Poland Heroes of the Soviet Union Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet colonel generals