![Vyacheslav Tsvetaev](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Vyacheslav_Tsvetaev.jpg)
Vyacheslav Dmitrievich Tsvetaev (russian: Цветаев, Вячеслав Дмитриевич, 17 January 1893 – 11 August 1950) was a Soviet general 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 ...
.
Biography
He was born into a family of railway workers in
Maloarkhangelsk, Oryol Oblast
Maloarkhangelsk (russian: Малоарха́нгельск) is a town and the administrative center of Maloarkhangelsky District in Oryol Oblast, Russia, located south of Oryol, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
History
Th ...
.
He fought for the Imperial Russian Army in World War I and for the Bolsheviks in the subsequent civil war and in the war against
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
.
He became commander of the
56th Rifle Division between 1922 and 1926.
In November 1926 he was transferred to the
Central Asian Military District
The Red Banner Central Asian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, which existed in 1926–1945 and 1969–1989, with its headquarters at Tashkent (1926–1945) and Almaty (1969–1989). By USSR Order No.304 of 4 ...
as commander of the 3rd Turkestan Rifle Division. In 1927 he graduated from 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 ...
. In November 1929 he was appointed commander of the 2nd Turkestan Rifle Division. For five years he participated in battles with the
Basmachi movement
The Basmachi movement (russian: Басмачество, ''Basmachestvo'', derived from Uzbek: "Basmachi" meaning "bandits") was an uprising against Russian Imperial and Soviet rule by the Muslim peoples of Central Asia.
The movement's roots l ...
in Southern Turkestan. Since 1931 he has been a senior lecturer at the Frunze Military Academy. In February 1937, he was appointed commander of the
57th Rifle Division in the
Ural Military District
The Red Banner Ural Military DistrictHistory of the Ural Military District / Edited by Alexander Egorovsky, Ivan Tutarinov – 1 – Moscow: Voenizdat, Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union, 1970 – 352 Pages ...
.
On 5 July 1938, he was arrested and accused of espionage activities in favor of Germany. He was imprisoned in Chitina prison and tortured. However, he refused to plead
guilty and was released on 9 September 1939 for lack of proof. He was allowed back in the Red Army and became senior lecturer, and since January 1941, head of the Department of General Tactics 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
At the outbreak of the
Great Patriotic 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 ...
, Tsvetaev became a member of the staff of the 7th Army of the Northern Front in Karelia. In the first half of 1942 he was deputy commander of the 4th Army of the Volkhov Front. From July 1942 he was commander of the 10th Reserve Army.
On 6 December 1942 he was appointed deputy commander, and from 26 December 1942 to May 1944 commander of the
5th Shock Army
The 5th Shock Army was a Red Army field army of World War II. The army was formed on 9 December 1942 by redesignating the 10th Reserve Army. The army was formed two times prior to this with neither formation lasting more than a month before bein ...
. Under his command, the army fought at Stalingrad and in Southern Ukraine. From May to September 1944 he was deputy commander of the
1st Belarusian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...
. In September 1944 he was for 2 weeks the commander of the
6th Army and then until the end of the war he was the commander of the
33rd Army in the 1st Belarusian Front. With his army, he distinguished himself in the
Vistula–Oder Offensive and
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– ...
.
For the skilful leadership of his troops, Colonel-General Tsvetaev Vyacheslav Dmitrievich was awarded the title of
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 ...
, with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal.
After the war, in July 1945, V.D. Tsvetaev was appointed deputy commander-in-chief, and from January 1947 commander-in-chief of the
Southern Group of Forces
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
.
Since January 1948 he was the head of 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 ...
.
Vyacheslav Tsvetaev died on August 11, 1950. He was buried in Moscow at the
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 ...
.
Sources
the free dictionaryencyclopedia.mil.ru War heroes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsvetayev, Vyacheslav
1893 births
1950 deaths
Soviet colonel generals
Heroes of the Soviet Union
Russian military personnel of World War I
People of the Russian Civil War
People of the Polish–Soviet War
Soviet military personnel of World War II
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
Frunze Military Academy alumni
Commandants of the Frunze Military Academy