Markian Mikhaylovich Popov (; 1902–1969) was a Soviet military commander,

Army General Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of general commanding an army in the field, but in coun ...

(26 August 1943), 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 ...

(1965).

Early life

Markian Popov was born in 1902 in Ust-Medvediskaya in the

Don Host Oblast The Province (Oblast) of the Don Cossack Host (, ''Oblast’ Voyska Donskogo'') of Imperial Russia was the official name of the territory of Don Cossacks, coinciding approximately with the present-day Rostov Oblast of Russia. Its site of admini ...

(now

Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Oblast (russian: Волгогра́дская о́бласть, ''Volgogradskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region of Southern Russia. Its administrative center is Volgograd. The populat ...

) in a family of RussianГерои Страны
/ref> ethnicity. His father was a civil servant. Popov joined the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

in 1920 and the

Bolshevik Party " 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 1921.

World War II

During the German–Soviet War at various times he commanded a number of Armies and a number of Fronts. His career was uneven. In June 1941 he was Commander of the

Leningrad Military District The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District ...

, then Northern Front (24 June – 5 September). The Germans advanced with a terrific speed, but then they were halted just before

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. The army group was on 26 August renamed as

Leningrad Front The Leningrad Front (russian: Ленинградский фронт) was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front on August 27, 1941. ...

. Then he participated in Zhukov's counteroffensive before

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 ...

. Zhukov, who co-ordinated several fronts in this Moscow sector, tried to collect able commanders in the area. So for example the 16th Army (

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

) was headed by General Rokossovsky, the 4th Shock Army’s commander was General Yeryomenko, the 5th Army was under General Govorov. On December 18 Popov was appointed Commander of the 61st Army (

Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front (russian: Брянский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first f ...

) and fought well during the counteroffensive. He maintained this position until 28 June 1942. Then he was shifted to the

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...

area. He was Assistant Commander of the Stalingrad Front (under Yeremenko, 13 October – 20 November), then Commander of the 5th Shock Army (8 December – 28 December). On December 26 this army was switched to Vatutin's Southwestern Front. In 1943 firstly he commanded a larger mechanized group, but in February his unit was badly defeated. Then he was appointed Commander of the Bryansk Front (5 June – 10 October 1943), with which he participated in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

. During the battle, the Bryansk Front was very successful in crushing German opposition, and was able to capture

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fe ...

and

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban la ...

in August. He was promoted to

(26 August 1943). After the Battle of Kursk he was sent north, to command the

2nd Baltic Front The 2nd Baltic Front (russian: 2-й Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. History The 2nd Baltic Front was formed on October 20, 1943 as a result of the renaming of the Baltic ...

(20 October 1943 – 23 April 1944). He was demoted 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 ...

(20 April 1944) because of the unsuccessful actions in the Baltic area, but the real reason seems to be his criticism on Nikolai Bulganin, who was Commissar at the front. Until the end of the war he was Chief of Staff of the Leningrad Front.

After the War

After the war, he commanded the Soviet troops in the Lviv Military District until 1946, then the Taurida Military District until 1954. After Stalin's death, he regained his old rank as Army general on 3 August 1953. In 1956–62 he was Chief of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

of the

Soviet Ground Forces uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. On 7 May 1965, he was subsequently honored with the title

for his services during World War II. He died on 22 April 1969 from an accidental fire at home and was buried in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery. He was never given the rank

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...

, although Marshal of Aviation Golovanov and Marshal Vasilevsky considered him very talented.

Awards and Decorations

;Soviet Union ;Foreign

References

page from warheroes.ru in Russian

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popov, Markian Mikhaylovich 1902 births 1969 deaths People from Serafimovichsky District People from Don Host Oblast Bolsheviks Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Second convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Third convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Fourth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Fifth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Sixth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Army generals (Soviet Union) Frunze Military Academy alumni 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 the Red Star Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Recipients of the Military Order of the White Lion Accidental deaths in the Soviet Union