Vasily Timofeyevich Volsky (russian: Василий Тимофе́евич Во́льский) ( Tula Province,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, 10 March 1897 –

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, 22 February 1946) was a

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

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, ...

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

forces. From 1939–1941, Volsky headed the Soviet Union's Academy of Mechanisation and Motorisation. He then rose to command the 4th Mechanised Corps, which he led at 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 ...

in late 1942. Initially Volsky had concerns over the planned

Operation Uranus Operation Uranus (russian: Опера́ция «Ура́н», Operatsiya "Uran") was the codename of the Soviet Red Army's 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis ...

, going as far as to write

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

a personal letter "as a good communist" warning him that the attack would fail.Beevor, p.250 After a meeting with Stalin, Volsky retracted his letter and the Corps assisted in the encirclement and destruction of the Romanian army commanded by Gebele. During 1943, Volsky commanded the 3rd Guards Tank Corps; in 1944, promoted to

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 ...

, he was appointed the commander of 5th Guards Tank Army, replacing

Pavel Rotmistrov Chief marshal of the armored troops Pavel Alexeyevich Rotmistrov (russian: Павел Алексеевич Ротмистров; 6 July 1901 in Skovorovo – 6 April 1982) was a Soviet military commander of armoured troops in the Red Army dur ...

. Volsky, suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, was hospitalized in March 1945. He died on 22 February 1946 in Moscow.

References

''Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege'' (1999) by

Antony Beevor Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works on the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War. Early life Born in Kensington, Beevor was educated at two ...

Footnotes

Soviet colonel generals Soviet military personnel of World War II 1897 births 1946 deaths Military personnel from Moscow 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 Suvorov, 2nd class Russian military personnel of World War I Imperial Russian Army personnel Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in the Soviet Union {{Russia-mil-bio-stub