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 ...

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