Vasilevsky Alexander: biography and position

It is interesting that Alexander Vasilevsky - Marshal of the Soviet Union and one of the most important commanders of the USSR - in his youth could not imagine that he would make such a dizzying career. His contribution to the long-awaited victory over fascist Germany was truly enormous: he headed the General Staff in the most difficult years for the Soviet state, developing major military operations and coordinating their implementation.

Childhood and youth

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich, according to the metric, was born in 1895, September 16 (old style). However, he always believed that he was born a day later, namely, the holiday of Faith, Hope and Love, celebrated by a new style on September 30, is significant for all Christians. The fact is that on this day his mother was born, whom he loved very much. Maybe that's why he named this date in his memoirs.

Vasilevsky Alexander - a native of the village of Nova Golchikha (Kineshma uyezd). His father, Mikhail Alexandrovich, served as a psalmist at the St. Nicholas Cathedral of the same faith, and his mother - Sokolova Nadezhda Ivanovna - was the daughter of a clergyman from the neighboring village of Uglets. Alexander grew up in a large family, in which eight children were brought up. He was the fourth child.

In 1897, the family moved to the village of Novopokrovskoye, in which the father of Alexander Mikhailovich became a priest of the newly built Ascension Converted Church. The future marshal received his primary education in the parish school, in 1909 he successfully graduated from the religious school in Kineshma, and then entered the Kostroma seminary.

Becoming a student, in the same year he took part in the all-Russian student strike, which opposed the ban on enrolling in institutes and universities. For this protest, he and several of his comrades were deported by authorities from Kostroma. Return to study, he was able only after a few months, when some of the requirements of the seminarians were satisfied.

Choice of profession

According to Vasilevsky himself, the priest's career was uninteresting to him, since he dreamed of working on the ground and wanted to become a land surveyor or agronomist. But the plans changed dramatically when the First World War began.

The slogans of defending the homeland were then seized by most young people, and Vasilevsky Alexander and his comrades were no exception. To graduate from the seminary a year earlier, he and several of his classmates passed the final exams externally, after which they entered the Alekseevo Military School.

During the First World War

Already in May 1915, after an accelerated course lasting only four months, he received the rank of ensign and was sent to the front. This was the beginning of the military biography of Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky, the future marshal of the Soviet Union. First he served in one of the spare parts, and a few months later he was on the Southwestern Front, where he became a half-commander in the Novokhopersky regiment. For good service Vasilevsky soon promoted to the company commander, who was later recognized as the best in the regiment.

In the spring of 1916, together with his soldiers, he participated in the notorious Brusilov breakthrough. Then the Russian army suffered great losses not only among the personal, but also among the officers. Thus, he was appointed commander of the battalion with the rank of captain. Being under Ajud-Nou (Romania), Alexander Vasilevsky learned about the October Revolution that had taken place in Russia. After some hesitation in November 1917, he decides to leave the service for a while and go on vacation.

Civil War

At the end of December of the same year, Vasilevsky received a notice that, on the basis of the then-active principle of electing commanders, he was elected as a soldier of his 409th regiment, which at that time was part of the Romanian front and was under the command of General Shcherbachev. This man was an ardent supporter of the Central Rada, who advocated the independence of Ukraine. In connection with this, the military department of Kineshma advised Vasilevsky not to return to his native regiment any more. Prior to the call-up to the Red Army, he lived in a parental home, engaged in agriculture, and then worked as a teacher for two years in two primary schools in the Novosil district (Tula province).

In the spring of 1919 Vasilevsky Alexander went to the 4th battalion as a platoon instructor, and in a month he was appointed commander of a detachment of a hundred men and sent to the Efremov district (Tula province) to combat banditry and to assist in the implementation of the surplus-appropriation.

In the summer of the same year, he was transferred to Tula, where a new rifle division was being formed. By that time, the Southern Front, along with the troops of General Denikin, was rapidly approaching the city. Vasilevsky was appointed commander of the 5th Infantry Regiment. However, he and his soldiers did not have to engage in battle with Denikin, because the Southern Front did not reach Tula, but stopped at Kromy and Eagle.

War with the White Poles

At the end of 1919, the Tula Division was sent to the Western Front, where the struggle against the interventionists was already going on. Here, Alexander Vasilevsky becomes an assistant to the regiment commander and as a part of the 15th Army shoulder to shoulder with his soldiers bravely fights against the White Poles. In July of the same year, he was transferred back to the regiment, where he once served. After some time Vasilevsky took part in military operations against the Polish army, which unfolded near Belovezhskaya Pushcha.

At this time Alexander Mikhailovich had a conflict with his superiors for the first time. The fact is that the brigade commander O. I. Kalnin ordered him to take command of the already indiscriminately retreated unknown where the regiment. The order was to be executed in a very short time, and, according to Vasilevsky himself, it was simply impossible to do it. As a result of the conflict, he almost fell under the tribunal, but everything was resolved safely, and he was only first demoted and then completely canceled the order of the brigade commander.

Joining the Party

After the end of the civil war, Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich, whose brief biography is presented in this article, took part in the liquidation of the Bulak-Balakhovich detachment, and also fought banditry in the territory of the Smolensk province. For the next ten years, he successfully commanded three regiments at the same time, which are part of the 48th Infantry Division deployed in Tver.

In 1927 he passed the rifle and tactical courses, and one year later one of his regiments distinguished itself in the exercises, which was marked by a specially created for this purpose inspection team. At the district maneuvers in 1930, his soldiers also showed themselves well, getting an excellent rating and taking first place among the numerous contenders

It can be assumed that it was these successes that largely determined his prompt transfer to his headquarters. In connection with the fact that AM Vasilevsky began to occupy higher military posts, his entry into the Communist Party became simply necessary. He applied to the Politburo. He was examined in a short time, and Alexander Mikhailovich became a candidate for party membership. However, in connection with the purges of 1933-1936. He will be accepted into the party only after a few years, in 1938, when he will work in the General Staff.

Important negotiations

In 1937, Vasilevsky received a new appointment - the head of one of the branches of the General Staff. In 1939, he took up another post - deputy chief of the operational department. In this post, he was engaged in the development of the first variant of military operations against Finland, which was later rejected by Stalin himself. Vasilevsky Alexander was one of the representatives of the USSR, who participated in the negotiations, as well as the signing of peace agreements with the Finns. In addition, he was present at the demarcation of the new border between the two countries.

In 1940, as a result of numerous personnel reshuffles in the General Staff and the People's Commissariat of Defense, he becomes deputy head of the Operative Directorate and receives the rank of commander. In April of the same year, he took part in developing a plan for possible military action against Germany. November 9 AM Vasilevsky as part of the Kremlin delegation, headed by Vyacheslav Molotov, makes a trip to Berlin for talks with the German government.

The Beginning of the Great Patriotic War

From the first days of the war, Major-General Vasilevsky took an active part in the management and development of military plans for the protection of our Motherland. As you know, Alexander Mikhailovich was one of the key figures involved in organizing the defense of the capital of the Soviet state and the counteroffensive that followed it.

In October and November 1941, when the military situation outside Moscow was not in our favor and the General Staff was evacuated, Vasilevsky headed an operational group that provided full service to the Stavka. Its main duty was to quickly and objectively evaluate all events taking place at the front, develop strategic directives and plans, strictly monitor their implementation, prepare and then form reserves, and provide troops with everything necessary.

The Battle of Stalingrad

At the beginning of the war AM Vasilevsky had several times replaced the sick Chief of the General Staff Shaposhnikov and engaged in the development of various military operations. In June 1942, he was officially appointed to this position. As representative of the Stavka in the period from July 23 to August 26 was at the front and coordinated the joint actions of various military formations on the defensive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad.

His contribution to the development and improvement of military art at that time was truly enormous. While Zhukov was at war on the Western Front, Vasilevsky successfully completed a counter-offensive at Stalingrad. After that, he was transferred to the south-west, where the Soviet troops reflected the blows of the Manstein group. Unfortunately, in a small article it is impossible to list all the services of Alexander Mikhailovich during the Second World War, and as the history testifies, there were many of them.

Alexander Vasilevsky: personal life

His first wife was Serafima Nikolayevna Voronova. In this marriage he had a son Yuri in 1924. At that time the Vasilevsky family lived in Tver. In 1931, Alexander Mikhailovich transferred to Moscow, where he met with Ekaterina Saburova, his future second wife. He never told anyone about their first meeting, since he was still married at that time. Three years later he left the family and married Catherine, who had already completed stenographic courses. A year later they had a son, who was called Igor.

I must say that the family has always been a significant support for the Soviet commander, especially during the Great Patriotic War. Needless to say, the military biography of Alexander Vasilevsky and the post of Chief of the General Staff presupposed colossal moral and physical loads? In addition, numerous sleepless nights began to affect, since it is known that JV Stalin worked precisely at this time of the day, which he also demanded from his entourage.

Life is like a powder keg

Wife's unconditional love, of course, supported Vasilevsky, but none of those close to the Soviet government could live peacefully. The constant stress of uncertainty, what will happen to him and his family tomorrow, was greatly depressed by the marshal.

One day in 1944, he summoned his youngest son to a conversation, from which it became clear that Alexander Mikhailovich wanted to say goodbye. And this was not a surprise, since the life of all those who were surrounded by Stalin hung in the balance. It is known that in Volyn, at the state dacha of the Vasilevsky family, all the servants, including the hostess's sister, cooks and even a nanny, were NKVD employees.

Peaceful time

After the victory over fascist Germany from March 1946 to November 1948, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky was simultaneously chief of the General Staff and Deputy Minister of the USSR Armed Forces. From 1949 to 1953 he held ministerial positions in the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union.

After the death of Stalin, the career of the marshal moved up and down. In 1953-1956 years. He served as first deputy defense minister, after which he himself asked to release him from his post. In less than five months Vasilevsky was again returned to his former place of work. At the end of 1957, he was sent into retirement for health reasons, and then again returned.

Died Alexander Vasilevsky (photo above) December 5, 1977 Almost all his life and work was entirely directed to serve the Motherland, therefore, according to the tradition in the Soviet Union, he was buried near the wall of the Moscow Kremlin.