Vasily Vasilyevich Glagolev (russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Глаго́лев; 21 February 1896 – 21 September 1947) was a

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 ...

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 ...

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 commander of the

Soviet airborne The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno- desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed be ...

(VDV). After initially serving in 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 ...

during

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 ...

, Glagolev joined the

in 1918. He rose to command the 42nd Cavalry Division on the

Crimean Front The Crimean Front ( uk, Кри́мський фронт, Krýms’kyj front) was one of the Red Army fronts of World War II, which existed from January-May 1942. Composition It was commanded throughout its existence by Dmitr Timofeyevich K ...

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 ...

, going on to command the 73rd and 176th Rifle Divisions as well as the 10th Guards Rifle Corps. Glagolev briefly became the commander of the 9th Army in February 1943 before being transferred to command of the 46th Army, which he would lead until May 1944. He became the 31st Army's commander and led it during the Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive. In January 1945, Glagolev commanded the

9th Guards Army The 9th Guards Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II, which fought in the Vienna Offensive and the Prague Offensive at the end of the war. The army was formed in January 1945 and included airborne divisions converted into infantr ...

, composed of Soviet airborne divisions converted into infantry. In April 1946, he became the commander of the Soviet airborne forces and died on in 1947 during exercises.

Early life

Vasily Glagolev was born on 21 February 1896 in

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 ...

. His father was a physician but died when Glagolev was still young. He graduated from elementary school and a technical school in Kaluga. In March 1916, he joined the

. He became a senior intelligence non-commissioned officer and gunner in the 1st Siberian Artillery Brigade of the 10th Army on the Western Front. In February 1918, Glagolev was demobilized, after which he worked as a laborer. In August 1918, Glagolev joined the

. He fought in the 1st Cavalry Regiment and 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the Kaluga-Moscow Rifle Division. From May 1919, Glagolev fought against elements of the

Ural Cossacks The Ural Cossack Host was a cossack host formed from the Ural Cossacks – those Eurasian cossacks settled by the Ural River. Their alternative name, Yaik Cossacks, comes from the old name of the river. They were also known by the names: *Rus ...

and the

Orenburg Cossacks The Orenburg Cossack Host (russian: Оренбургское казачье войско) was a part of the Cossack population in pre-revolutionary Russia, located in the Orenburg province (today's Orenburg Oblast, part of the Chelyabinsk Obl ...

, but soon became sick and returned to Kaluga for treatment. From October 1919 to March 1920, he served in the 140th Internal Security Battalion, but was ill again. In June 1920, he became a sergeant in the 1st Reserve Cavalry Regiment and 68th Cavalry Regiment of the 12th Cavalry Division, fighting in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

Interwar

In 1921, Glagolev graduated from the 3rd Baku Command Courses. Between 1921 and 1924, he was a platoon commander, deputy squadron commander and intelligence chief of the 68th Cavalry Regiment of the 12th Cavalry Division. He commanded a squadron in the same regiment and later transferred to the 68th Cavalry Regiment. Glagolev commanded a squadron of the 2nd Separate Cavalry Brigade from December 1924. In 1925, Glagolev 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 ...

. In 1926, he graduated from the

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as t ...

cavalry commanders refresher course. In June 1931, he became the head of cavalry tactics and the Novocherkassk cavalry commanders refresher course. In January 1934, Glagolev became the commander and commissar of the 76th Cavalry Regiment. In July 1937, he became the divisional chief of staff. In August 1939, he commanded the 157th Rifle Division and 42nd Cavalry Division. In 1941, Glagolev graduated from the higher academic courses at 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 ...

World War II

In January 1942, the 42nd Cavalry Division was transferred to the

. Glagolev became the commander of the 73rd Rifle Division in February 1942, which he led during the Battle of Voronezh. In July, the division was encircled near

Millerovo Millerovo (russian: Миллерово) is the name of several inhabited localities in Rostov Oblast, Russia. ;Urban localities *Millerovo, Millerovsky District, Rostov Oblast, a town in Millerovsky District Millerovsky District (russian: Ми́ ...

but broke out in August while suffering heavy losses. After the division's disbandment in September, Glagolev became the commander of the 176th Rifle Division in October. He led the division during the Nalckik-Ordzhonikidze Defensive Operation during the

Battle of the Caucasus The Battle of the Caucasus is a name given to a series of Axis and Soviet operations in the Caucasus area on the Eastern Front of World War II. On 25 July 1942, German troops captured Rostov-on-Don, Russia, opening the Caucasus region of t ...

. In November, he became the commander of the 10th Guards Rifle Corps, which Glagolev led until February 1943. For his leadership in the Caucasus, Glagolev was awarded the

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

on 13 December 1942. On 27 January 1943, Glagolev was 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 ...

and in February became the commander of the 9th Army. In March, he was transferred to command the 46th Army, which he led during the Donbass Strategic Offensive. In September, the army fought in the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 in Ukraine on the Eastern Front of World War II. One of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost 4,000,000 troops at a time stretched on a front. Over four ...

. Between 25 and 29 September, the 46th Army crossed the

Dnieper } 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 ...

, seizing a bridgehead near the village of Aula in

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ( uk, Дніпропетро́вська о́бласть, translit=Dnipropetrovska oblast), also referred to as Dnipropetrovshchyna ( uk, Дніпропетро́вщина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, obla ...

. After holding the bridgehead against German counterattacks, the army, as part of the offensive, captured

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

. For his leadership during the Battle of the Dnieper, Glagolev was awarded the title

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 1 November. He continued to lead the army during the Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive of January 1944, the Bereznegovatoye–Snigirevka Offensive in March and the

Odessa Offensive Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern sho ...

. In May 1944, Glagolev was transferred to command the 31st Army. He led the army during

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп� ...

and its Vitebsk–Orsha and Minsk Offensives. In October, the army fought in the

Gumbinnen Operation The Gumbinnen Operation,Glantz, ''Failures of Historiography'' also known as the Goldap Operation (or Goldap-Gumbinnen Operation, russian: Гумбиннен-Гольдапская наступательная операция), was a Soviet of ...

. In January 1945, Glagolev became the commander of the

, composed of airborne divisions converted to infantry. The army advanced into

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

as part of the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev O ...

and then the

3rd Ukrainian Front The 3rd Ukrainian Front (Russian: Третий Украинский фронт) was a Front of the Red Army during World War II. It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southwester ...

. It fought in the Balaton Offensive,

Vienna Offensive The Vienna offensive was an offensive launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to capture Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945. After several days of street-to-street fi ...

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 ...

Postwar

After the end of World War II, Glagolev continued to command the 9th Guards Army, now part of the

Central Group of Forces The Central Group of Forces (Russian: Центральная группа войск) was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and tr ...

. In April 1946, he became the commander of the

and served as a deputy at the 2nd congress 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 ...

in the same year. Glagolev died on 21 September 1947 during exercises and was buried in

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 ...

Honors and awards

Glagolev received the following honors and awards.

Soviet

Foreign

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glagolev, Vasily 1896 births 1947 deaths People from Kaluga People from Kaluzhsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1947–1951 Soviet colonel generals Commanders of the Soviet Airborne Forces Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Commanders of the Virtuti Militari Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery