Vasily Nikolaevich Gordov (; 12 December 1896 – 24 August 1950) was a
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 ...
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 ...
and
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 ...
. Gordov commanded the
Stalingrad Front between July and September 1942.
Early life
Gordov was born on 30 December 1896 in the village of
Matveyevka Matveyevka (russian: Матвеевка) is the name of several rural localities in Russia.
Altai Krai
As of 2010, one rural locality in Altai Krai bears this name:
* Matveyevka, Altai Krai, a '' selo'' in Tumanovsky Selsoviet of Soloneshensky Di ...
in
Ufa Governorate
Ufa Governorate (russian: Уфи́мская губе́рния, ba, Өфө губернаһы, ''Öfö gubernahı'') was a governorate of the Russian Empire with its capital in the city Ufa. It was created in 1865 by separation from Orenburg Go ...
. He was the son of
peasants
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
. Gordov joined 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 ...
in 1915 and was promoted to junior sergeant. He enlisted in the
Red Guard
Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard le ...
in 1917, joining 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 ...
in 1918. Gordov ended 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 ...
as the commander of the 53rd Rifle Regiment, fighting in the campaign against
Nestor Makhno
Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, The surname "Makhno" ( uk, Махно́) was itself a corruption of Nestor's father's surname "Mikhnenko" ( uk, Міхненко). ( 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ("Father Makhno"),; According to ...
, for which he 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 ...
.
Between 1925 and 1926, Gordov served as an advisor in the
Mongolian People's Army
The Mongolian People's Army ( Mongolian: ''Монголын Ардын Арми''), also known as the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army ( Mongolian: ''Монгол Ардын Хувьсгалт Цэрэг'') or the Mongolian Red Army ( Mong ...
. In 1932, he graduated from
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 ...
and then became the chief of staff of the
Moscow Red Banner Infantry School in 1933. He was the Chief of Staff of the
18th Rifle Division from May 1935 to 1937. In July 1937, Gordov became the commander of the
67th Rifle Division
The 67th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army.
The 20th Rifle Division (territorial defence) was formed from militia brigades in the Leningrad Military District in 1923. On May 21, 1936, it was named the 67th Rifle Division. In ...
. In July 1939, he became the Chief of Staff of the
Kalinin Military District
Kalinin may refer to:
*Mikhail Kalinin (1875–1946), Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet functionary
* Kalinin (surname)
Places
*Kalinin, former name of Noramarg, Armenia
*Kalinin, former name of Tashir, Armenia
*Kalinin, former name of Burunqo ...
.
Winter War and World War II
Gordov fought in the
Winter 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 ...
as the
7th Army chief of staff, but was removed from command after alleged failures. He was shifted to the
Baltic Military District
The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet armed forces in the Baltic states, formed briefly before the Operation Barbarossa, German invasion during the World War II. After end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added ...
, where he became its Chief of Staff. 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 ...
in June 1940, he was the Chief of Staff of the
21st Army after
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 was then its commander from October 1941, fighting in the
Battle of Smolensk and the
Battle of Kiev. In May 1942, the 21st Army took part in
Timoshenko's disastrous
Kharkov counteroffensive, but escaped the subsequent encirclement by the German
6th Army. In late June, the 21st Army took part in the
Voronezh battle, with a portion of the army encircled by General
Hermann Hoth's 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 ...
. During the regrouping of surviving Red Army forces, the remnants of the old
Southwest Front, including the battered 21st Army, were grouped in the
Stalingrad Front. Timoshenko was recalled to Moscow, and General Gordov installed as the commander of the Stalingrad Front on 23 July 1942.
Battle for Stalingrad
General Gordov directed the withdrawal of the battered survivors of the Kharkov battle behind the line of the Chir River to regroup and receive reinforcements. On 5 August 1942, the Stalingrad Front was split to defend a shortened Pavlovsk-Volga River line-ironically not covering Stalingrad proper despite the name of the Front. The German 6th Army attacked Red Army forces west of the Don River before Gordov could fully organize the defenses, and by 15 August the Stalingrad Front units were largely pushed across the Don River, with the loss of some 43,000 dead, wounded and prisoners, 270 tanks and 600 artillery pieces in the
Battle of Kalach
The Battle of Kalach) and English-language historiography. The Soviet history of World War II (История второй мировой войны 1939–1945 в двенадцати томах) considers the battles at Kalach to have been ...
. As the disaster was unfolding, General
Andrey Yeryomenko
, birth_date =
, death_date =
, image = Маршал Советского Союза Герой Советского Союза Андрей Иванович Ерёменко (cropped).jpg
, image_size =
, caption = Y ...
(sometimes spelled Eremenko) arrived to take command over a reconstituted South-East Front, with Gordov relegated as Yeryomenko's deputy commander.
Later life
In 1947, Gordov had a conversation with his former Chief of Staff,
Filipp Rybalchenko, in which they made remarks somewhat critical of Stalin's policies. This conversation was sent to Stalin and Gordov was arrested,
along with
Grigory Kulik
Grigory Ivanovich Kulik ( ua, Григорій Іванович Кулик; russian: Григо́рий Ива́нович Кули́к, Grigóriy Ivánovich Kulík; 9 November 1890 – 24 August 1950), a Soviet military commander and Marshal ...
and Rybalchenko on charges of attempting to commit terrorist acts against the Soviet government. He was sentenced to death under
Article 58
Article 58 of the Russian SFSR Penal Code was put in force on 25 February 1927 to arrest those suspected of counter-revolutionary activities. It was revised several times. In particular, its Article 58-1 was updated by the listed sub-articles and ...
on 24 August 1950 and executed that day in
Lefortovo Prison.
He was posthumously rehabilitated on 11 April 1956 and his name appears on a memorial.
Awards and Decorations
;Soviet Union
;Czechoslovakia
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordov, Vasiliy
1896 births
1950 deaths
People from Tatarstan
People from Menzelinsky Uyezd
Bolsheviks
Second convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Soviet colonel generals
Frunze Military Academy alumni
Russian military personnel of World War I
Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War
Soviet military personnel of the Winter 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
Recipients of the Order of the Red Star
Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross
Recipients of the Military Order of the White Lion
People executed for treason against the Soviet Union
20th-century executions for treason
Soviet rehabilitations