Commander of the Southwestern Front. Southwestern Front (Civil War)

At the same time, the Military Council of the Southwestern Front considered a plan of action for the troops in the spring and summer of 1942. Marshal of the Soviet Union S. K. Timoshenko, N. S. Khrushchev, General I. Kh. Bagramyan believed that our troops in the south in able to defeat the opposing enemy grouping, liberate Kharkov and thereby create conditions for the expulsion of the invaders from the Donbass. After the conference, which has already been discussed, we, the army commanders, were also imbued with the same conviction.

Looking ahead a little, I will list the forces that participated in the Kharkov offensive operation.

To break through the enemy defenses in sectors with a total length of 91 km, 22 rifle divisions were assigned, supported by 2860 guns and mortars, 560 tanks. This meant that a rifle division had about 4 km of breakthrough area and that for every km we had 31 guns and mortars, as well as 6 tanks of direct infantry support.

In addition, two tank corps, three cavalry divisions and a motorized rifle brigade were to be introduced into the gap. Finally, two more rifle divisions - the 277th and 343rd, as well as the 2nd cavalry corps and three separate tank battalions (32 tanks each) remained in the reserve of the commander of the Southwestern Front.

The southern front was not assigned tasks for active operations. It was supposed to organize a solid defense and ensure the offensive operations of the Southwestern Front, as well as allocate from its composition to reinforce the latter three rifle divisions, five tank brigades, fourteen artillery regiments of the RGK and 233 aircraft.

The task of the advancing troops was to inflict a bilateral strike on the enemy in converging directions from the areas north and south of Kharkov, followed by the formation of strike groups west of the city. It was envisaged that at the first, three-day stage, we would break through the enemy's defenses to a depth of 20-30 km, destroy the nearest reserves and ensure the introduction of mobile groups into the breakthrough. At the second stage, the duration of which should not exceed three or four days, it was necessary to destroy the operational reserves and complete the encirclement of the enemy grouping. At the same time, part of this grouping in the area of ​​​​the cities of Chuguev, Balakliya was planned to be cut off and destroyed by the forces of the 38th Army and the right flank of the 6th Army.

The main blow was dealt by the 6th Army on a 26-kilometer front. Eight rifle divisions and four tank brigades, supported by 14 artillery regiments of the RGK, were supposed to break through the defenses and ensure the entry of two tank corps, which constituted a mobile group, into the gap. In the future, the army, in cooperation with the mobile group, was to develop a strike on Kharkov from the south towards the troops of the 28th Army in order to encircle the entire enemy grouping (see the diagram on page 143).

To the left of the 6th Army was the offensive zone of General Bobkin's army group, which consisted of two rifle divisions and one tank brigade. This group was entrusted with the task of breaking through the defenses and ensuring the entry of the 6th cavalry corps into the breakthrough. The latter, by the end of the fifth day of the operation, was supposed to capture Krasnograd and provide the troops of the 6th Army from counterattacks from the west.

The second blow was delivered on a 15-kilometer front by the 28th Army with the forces of six rifle divisions and four tank brigades, supported by nine artillery regiments of the RGK. She was supposed to break through the enemy defenses and by the end of the third day to ensure the entry into the breakthrough of the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps and a motorized rifle brigade. These two formations, in turn, were to bypass Kharkov from the north and connect to the west of the city with the tank corps of the 6th Army.

The offensive of the 28th Army against possible enemy counterattacks was provided from the north and northwest by the 21st Army, from the south and southwest by the 38th. The first of them was tasked with breaking through the enemy defenses in a 14-kilometer section. By the end of the third day of the offensive, the troops of both armies were to gain a foothold on the achieved lines and reliably ensure the maneuver of the formations surrounding Kharkov.

The 38th Army then included the 81st, 124th, 199th, 226th, 300th and 304th rifle divisions, the 13th, 36th and 133rd tank brigades. It was reinforced with six RGK artillery regiments and six engineer battalions. Four rifle divisions and all three tank brigades participated in breaking through the enemy defenses. We were to strike at the 26-kilometer sector Dragunovka, Bolshaya Babka. By the end of the third day, the Lebedinka-Zarozhnoye-Pyatnitskoye line had to be captured. In the future, with the development of the offensive on Rogan, Ternovaya and with the release of the strike group in the Vvedenka, Chuguev area, the troops of the 38th Army, together with three reinforced regiments of the 6th Army, were to complete the encirclement, defeat the enemy’s Chuguev grouping and prepare for an attack on Kharkov from the east .

Having become acquainted with these data on the composition of the forces and means involved in the offensive, I experienced a feeling of great joy. For the first time since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, I had to participate in an offensive operation in which we outnumbered the enemy in manpower, artillery and tanks, and were not inferior to him in aviation. For example, never before have there been so many tanks in direct infantry support on our front. 560 is it a joke? And we had not only that, but also in the second echelon two tank corps (269 tanks), designed to develop the offensive after breaking through the enemy’s tactical defense zone. Yes, in the reserve of the front - about a hundred tanks alone.

In a word, a great force was indeed concentrated in the hands of the Military Council of the Southwestern Front. This is evidenced by the data above.

Sources and literature.

Southwestern Front - operational-strategic association of the Soviet armed forces during the Great Patriotic War, operated in 1941-1943; It was created on June 22, 1941 on the basis of the Kyiv Military District as part of the 5th, 6th, 12th, 26th armies. Subsequently, it included the 3rd, 9th, 13th, 21st, 28th, 37th, 38th, 40th, 57th, 61st armies, 8th air army. The command of the front was taken by Colonel-General M.P. Kirponos. Members of the military council were corps commissar N.N. Vashugin (shot himself on June 30, 1941), divisional commissar E.P. Rykov (until August 1941), secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Ukraine M.A. Burmistenko (since August 1941). The front headquarters was headed by Lieutenant General M.A. Purkaev, who was replaced in July 1941 by Major General V.I. Tupikov.

During the border battles of 1941, the troops of the Southwestern Front repulsed the attacks of the German Army Group South, tried to go on the counteroffensive in a tank battle near Dubno-Lutsk-Brody. In mid-July, the Southwestern Front stopped the enemy near Kyiv (Kyiv operation), and in the second half of July - early August, in cooperation with the Southern Front, thwarted his attempt to defeat the Soviet troops in Right-Bank Ukraine. However, in September 1941, as a result of a deep breakthrough of German troops into the Left-Bank Ukraine, the troops of the Southwestern Front were surrounded and defeated. More than 500 thousand Soviet soldiers were taken prisoner. The front commander, Colonel General Kirponos, the chief of staff of the front, Major General Tupikov, and a member of the military council of the front, Burmistenko, died while trying to get out of the encirclement.

In September-November 1941, the remnants of the forces of the Southwestern Front withdrew to the line east of Kursk, Kharkov, Izyum. In September 1941, Marshal S.K. became the new commander of the Southwestern Front. Timoshenko, a member of the military council - N.S. Khrushchev, Chief of Staff - Major General A.P. Pokrovsky, who was replaced in October by Major General P.I. Bodin (since November 1941 - lieutenant general). In the autumn of 1941, the Southwestern Front participated in the Donbass defensive operation. From December 1941 to April 1942, Lieutenant General F.Ya. Kostenko, then Marshal S.K. again became the commander of the front. Timoshenko. In December 1941, during the Battle of Moscow, the Southwestern Front, with the forces of its right wing, carried out the Yelets offensive operation, and in January 1942, together with the troops of the Southern Front, the Barvenkovo-Lozovsky offensive operation and, advancing 100 km, captured the bridgehead on the right bank of the Seversky Donets. In April 1942, Lieutenant General I.Kh. Bagramyan.

During the Battle of Kharkov, which began at the end of May 1942, the troops of the Southwestern Front tried to capture Kharkov, but were surrounded and suffered heavy losses. In June 1941, the chief of staff of the front, I.Kh. Bagramyan was removed from his post and replaced by Lieutenant General P.I. Bodin. The defeat near Kharkov opened the road to Stalingrad for the German troops. On July 12, 1942, the Southwestern Front was disbanded. The 9th, 28th, 29th, 57th armies operating in it were transferred to the Southern Front, and the 21st Army and the 8th Air Army were transferred to the Stalingrad Front, created on the basis of the Southwestern Front.

On October 25, 1942, the Southwestern Front of the second formation was created at the junction of the Don Front and the Voronezh Front. It included the 21st Army, the 63rd Army (later the 1st Guards and 3rd Guards), the 5th Tank Army, and the 17th Air Army. Subsequently, the front also included the 5th shock army, 6th, 12th, 46th, 57th, 62nd (8th guards) armies, 3rd tank army, 2nd air army. The command of the front was taken by a lieutenant general (from December 1942 - colonel general, from February 1943 - army general). The troops of the Southwestern Front took part in the Battle of Stalingrad, surrounded by a group of German troops near Stalingrad (Operation Uranus), the Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh offensive operation of 1943, the Srednedonskaya offensive operation of 1942, the Voroshilovgrad offensive operation of 1943, the Donbass offensive operation of 1943 of the year, the Kharkov defensive operation of 1943. On March 27, 1943, Colonel-General R.Ya. became the new commander of the front. Malinovsky (from April 1943 - army general). After the Battle of Kursk, the troops of the Southwestern Front took part in the battle for the Dnieper, liberated the city of Zaporozhye, and captured a number of bridgeheads on the Dnieper. On October 20, 1943, the Southwestern Front was renamed the Third Ukrainian Front.

Born in 1901 in Mstislavl, Mogilev province, Russian.
From 07/11/40 - Chief of Staff of Artillery of the 4th MK
From 03/27/41 - commander of the 209th cap.
Captured in August-September 1941
From 10/9/41 - released from captivity by the Germans in a group of civilian prisoners.
From 1.11.41 - a laborer at the Kiev-Passenger station, was a member of an underground organization.
From 2.04.43 - private, then chief of staff in a partisan detachment (hereinafter - partisan unit of the Kyiv region named after Khrushchev)
From 12/18/43 - assistant to the head of the Penza Artillery School for material and technical support
From 03/17/45 - Deputy Commander for Combat Unit of the 2nd Pope of the OM RGK

229th Corps Artillery Regiment - Major or Lieutenant Colonel Vinarsky Feodosy Yakovlevich

Born in 1900 in the city of Letichev, Kamenetz-Podolsk region, Ukrainian
From ??.12.39 - commander of the division of cadets of the 2nd Kyiv Artillery School
From 07/31/40 - commander of the 229th cap (since 02/19/43 renamed the 69th guards cap)
From 03/29/43 (or ??.02.43) - ID of the Deputy Commander of the 47th Army for Artillery
From 2.07.43 - Deputy Commander of the 53rd Army (for artillery)
From 2.11.43 (or ??.10.43) - commander of the 47th training regiment of the artillery officer reserve
From 01/31/44 - Deputy Commander and Commander of Artillery of the 99th Guards Rifle Division
From 07/30/44 (or ??.06.44) - commander of the 1247th pope
From 11/24/44 - Deputy Commander and Commander of Artillery of the 273rd Rifle Division
С??.04.45 - Deputy Commander and Commander of Artillery of the 309th Rifle Division

41st Rifle Division
102nd Rifle Regiment - Lieutenant Colonel Chumarin Gatta Garifulovich

Born in 1905 in the village of Bolshie Tarkhany, Tetyushsky district of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Tatar.
From 02/19/38 - commander of the 121st joint venture of the 25th division
From 02/08/40 - commander of the 102nd joint venture of the 41st division
At the beginning of the war, he was surrounded, from which he left for the 12th Army on 07/15/1941 without insignia, weapons and documents, as a result of which he gave an explanatory note in the intelligence department of the 12th Army.
There is no information about the further fate, he went missing in 1941.

One of the episodes of the first days of the war is connected with the 102nd Rifle Regiment (as well as the 244th Rifle Regiment of the same division) with the crossing of the state border allegedly taking place during the counterattack on June 22-23, 1941:

Our attack was swift and so unexpected for the enemy that he faltered and ran. We walked about eight kilometers without rest, chasing the retreating and not noticing how we crossed the border. Between Lyubycha-Krulevskaya and Makhnuv the whole earth was dug up by the funnels of our shells. We saw a lot of abandoned mortars, trucks - stunned German soldiers fled in a panic. With us in the battle were the commander of the regiment Gatta Garifovich Chumarin and the battalion commissar Vasily Grigorievich Katsaev. They announced that the regiment was already three kilometers deep into enemy territory, and ordered to dig in: "We are not invaders."
"In a soldier's overcoat"

As far as I understand, the fact that the regiments crossed the state border was not confirmed. Nevertheless, the actions of the 102nd and 244th joint ventures of the 41st SD in the first days of the war at the junction of the 24th and 262nd Infantry Divisions were really successful and are a rare example for the summer of 1941. and successful actions of the Red Army against a qualitatively and quantitatively superior enemy. Confirmation of this can be found in German documents:

19:30 Late in the afternoon, as a result of a strong counterattack, the enemy northwest of Rava-Ruska on the left flank of the 262nd Infantry Division breaks through to the line of the Ruda Zhuravska, Lyubycha Krulevska road. At this point, the Russians were stopped.
20:00 Aggravation of the crisis on the left flank of the IV Army Corps. The Corps gathers strength to parry it.
ZhBD of the 17th Army, records dated 06/22/41

The command of the German 17th Army was so impressed by this local counterattack that, in addition to deploying the reserve 296th Infantry Division in this direction, they prepared, if necessary, to bring the 97th Light Division into battle and even asked the command of the army group about the possibility of using in this direction of the 13th Panzer Division. This was the result of the actions of units of only two rifle regiments (albeit supported by strong artillery), to the success of which - albeit local and very short-term - the commander of the 102nd joint venture, lieutenant colonel Chumarin and (IO) the commander of the 244th joint venture, Captain Kolyadko, contributed. Both were appointed to their positions on the same day - February 8, 1940 - and both died in the first months of the war.

139th Rifle Regiment - Major or Lieutenant Colonel Korkin Nikolai Petrovich

Born in 1906 in the village of Cheremushkino, Zalesovsky district, Altai Territory, Russian.
From 11/15/37 - ID of the battalion commander of the 183rd joint venture of the 61st divisional division of the PriVO
From 28.98.37 - student of the Frunze VA
From 12/11/39 - commander of the 139th joint venture of the 41st division
From 9.09.41 - ID of the commander of the 372nd SD of the Siberian Military District and the VolkhF
From 01/18/42 - removed from office and enlisted in the reserve of the Armed Forces of the 59th Army
From 02/20/42 - ID of the commander of the 23rd brigade (probably the date is wrong)
From 23 (25?). 02.42 - commander of the 191st division
From 05/12/42 - removed from office and enlisted in the reserve of the Armed Forces of the VolkhF (?)
From 07/09/42 - ID of the commander of the 24th brigade
From 10/31/42 - approved in office
From 1.06.43 - student of the Voroshilov VA
From 04/19/44 - at the disposal of the GUK NPO
From 04/25/44 - at the disposal of the Armed Forces of the 1st UV
From 3.05.44 - Commander ID of the 316th Rifle Division of the 1st UV
From 08/31/44 - removed from office and enlisted in the reserve of the Armed Forces of the 38th Army
From 11/11/44 - ID of the commander of the 25th Guards Rifle Division of the 2nd UV
From 12/31/44 - removed from office and enlisted in the reserve of the 2nd UV
From 01/25/45 - Deputy Commander of the 133rd Rifle Division of the 2nd UV

244th Rifle Regiment - Major Yechenok Boris Fedorovich (acting captain Alexander Timofeevich Kolyadko)

Belarusian
From 16.02.40 - commander of the battalion of cadets of the Slavuta Infantry School.
From 2.09.40 - commander of the 244th joint venture of the 41st division
On 06/22/41 he was on a business trip, apparently, with the outbreak of war he was able to return to the regiment.
From 9.10.41 - commander of the 475th joint venture of the 53rd divisional division of the Polar Division.
10/26/41 died in battle near the village of Klimovka.

On 06/22/1941, the duties of the regiment commander were performed by the deputy regiment commander, Captain Kolyadko ().

Born in 1912 in the village of Balabino, Zaporozhye district, Dnepropetrovsk region, Ukrainian.
From 02/08/40 - assistant commander of the 139th joint venture of the 41st rifle division for combat unit
From 10/21/40 - deputy commander of the 139th joint venture of the 41st division.
Went missing in September 1941.

132nd Light Artillery Regiment - Major Nikulin Vladimir Mikhailovich

Born in 1907 in Maryina Roshcha, Moscow, Russian.
From 03/28/39 - commander of the 41st Ap.
From 15.02.40 - commander of the 132nd paws of the 41st division
Killed in 1941

249th Howitzer Artillery Regiment - Lieutenant Colonel Puchev Konstantin Vasilyevich

Born in 1905 in the village of Shirokoe, Tatishchevsky District, Saratov Region, Russian.
From 5.12.38 - assistant to the head of the Sumy Artillery School for training and combat
From 03/28/39 - Commander of the 249th Gap of the 41st Rifle Division
Went missing in December 1941.

97th Rifle Division
69th Infantry Regiment - Lieutenant Colonel Suleiman Khabibulovich Albikov

Born in 1898 in the Staro-Kulatinsky district of the Kuibyshev region, Tatar.
From 09/04/39 - head of the intelligence department of the headquarters of the 34th sk
From 05/09/40 - commander of the 69th joint venture of the 97th division
From 01/26/42 - commander of the 120th brigade
From 8.10.42 - commander of the 50th brigade
From 06/17/43 - Deputy Commander of the 1st Guards Rifle Division
From 04/10/44 - departed for Voroshilov Air Force Academy
From 03/31/45 - at the disposal of the Armed Forces of the 1st BelF

136th Rifle Regiment - Lieutenant Colonel Fedor Andreevich Verevkin

Born in 1895 in the village of Belenkoe, Dnepropetrovsk region, Ukrainian.
From 04/26/40 - commander of the 95th Orb of the 62nd Rifle Division
From 2.09.40 - commander of the 136th joint venture of the 97th division
5.08.41 - seriously wounded, being treated in the hospital
From ??.10.41 - Chief of Staff of the 199th Rifle Division
C??.02.42 - ID of the deputy commander of the 199th division
From 03/18/42 - ID of the commander of the 199th division
08.42 - head of the garrison in Stalingrad
С??.09.42 - commander of the 10th reserve brigade
From 01/26/44 - commander of the 169th division

233rd Rifle Regiment - Lieutenant Colonel Mikhailov Dmitry Vasilyevich

Ukrainian
From 10/21/40 - Deputy Commander of the 791st Rifle Regiment of the 135th Rifle Division
From 12/12/40 - commander of the 233rd joint venture of the 97th division
From 07/08/41 - in captivity
Released on April 25, 1945, restored to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

41st Light Artillery Regiment - Major Sidorchuk Ivan Klimentievich

Born in 1907 in Zhytomyr, Ukrainian.
From 01/24/40 - commander of the 22nd reserve ap in Omsk
From 08/27/40 - commander of the 41st paws of the 97th division
From 03/24/42 - Chief of Artillery of the 393rd Rifle Division
From ??.05.42 - in captivity
From?

98th Howitzer Artillery Regiment - Major Rybin Matvei Grigorievich

Born in 1898, Russian.
From 03/27/41 - commander of the 665th paws of the Orvo
From 05/09/41 - commander of the 98th gap of the 97th division
From 02/10/42 - division commander of the 51st ap RGK
From 09/30/42 - division commander of the 817th ap 293rd division
Died 01/10/43

159th Rifle Division
491st Rifle Regiment - Lieutenant Colonel Agronsky Ruvim Moiseevich

Born in 1899 in Nikolaev, a Jew.
From 06/06/40 - assistant commander of the 743rd joint venture of the 131st division
From 07/11/40 - commander of the 491st joint venture of the 159th division
Probably, in the summer of 1941, he served as commander of the 159th division
In August 1941 he went missing.

558th Rifle Regiment - Major Gvatua Shilo Nesterovich

Born in 1908 in the village of Abastumani, Zugdidi region of the Georgian SSR, Georgian.
From 06/20/40 - assistant commander of the 406th joint venture of the 124th rifle division
From 07/29/40 - commander of the 558th joint venture of the 159th division
Killed in battle on June 26, 1941 near Rava-Russkaya.

631st Rifle Regiment - Colonel Ivan Ivanovich Vishnevsky

Russian
From ??.07.38 - commander of the 111th joint venture of the 37th division
From 07/11/40 - commander of the 631st joint venture of the 159th division
Captured on 06/26/41 near Rava-Russkaya.
04/26/45 was liberated by American troops, was tested in the 32nd reserve joint venture of the 12th reserve division of the South Ural Military District

597th Light Artillery Regiment - Major Cherneta Grigory Inatievich

Born in 1906 in the village of Tsirkuny, Kharkov region, Ukrainian.
From 04/11/40 - head of tactics of the Korostensky KUNS of the air defense reserve
From 07/11/40 - commander of the 597th paws of the 159th division
From??.09.41 - student of the Academy of the General Staff
From ??.11.41 - Chief of Artillery of the 360th Rifle Division Kalf
From 8.12.41 - at the disposal of the chief of artillery of the PriVO
C??.??.42 - head of artillery of the 48th brigade
From 11/14/42 - ID of the deputy commander and chief of artillery of the 215th division
From 08/25/43 - at the disposal of the Moscow Military District
From 09/08/43 - commander of artillery of the 72nd sk
С??.??.44 - deputy commander and commander of artillery of the 44th sk

723rd Howitzer Artillery Regiment - Lieutenant Colonel Banifatyev Arkady Vasilyevich

Born in 1899 in the village of Zakharovka, Livensky district, Oryol province, Great Russian.
From 11/23/40 - Chief of Staff of the 159th Rifle Division
From 03/27/41 - Commander of the 723rd Gap of the 159th Rifle Division
Captured in September 1941, upon release he was sentenced to 10 years in labor camp with a loss of rights for 5 years.

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RSFSR Included in Type Dislocation

southwestern strategic direction

Participation in commanders Notable commanders

See list.

Southwestern Front- operational-strategic association of the Red Army during the civil war. Formed on January 10, 1920 by directive of the Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army on the basis of the Southern Front. On December 5, 1920, by the directive of the Commander-in-Chief, the Front Office was merged with the Office of the Kyiv Military District, under whose jurisdiction all the troops of the front were transferred.

Compound

The composition of the Southwestern Front included:

• 12th Army (January 10 - August 13, 1920; September 27 - December 25, 1920),
• 13th Army (January 10 - September 21, 1920),
• 14th Army
• 1st Cavalry Army (April 17 - August 14, 1920),
• 2nd Cavalry Army (July 16 - September 25, 1920),
• 6th Army (September 8-26, 1920),
• Ukrainian Labor Army (January 30 - September 25, 1920)
• Gomel UR (February 25 - March 17, 1920).

In the operational subordination of the front were the forces of the Black and Azov Seas. From May 19 to June 13, 1920, the Fastovskaya group of troops under the command of I. E. Yakir (44th and 45th rifle divisions and the 3rd detachment of the Dnieper flotilla) operated as part of the front.

fighting

Then the troops of the front acted in two strategic directions - the western one, against Poland, and the Crimean one, against Wrangel's army. In April-May 1920, fighting with the advancing Polish troops, they left Mozyr, Ovruch, Korosten, Kyiv and retreated to the left bank of the Dnieper. In May - June, they launched a counteroffensive and successfully carried out the Kyiv operation, after which they continued to pursue the enemy in the strip from Polesie to the Dniester. Then, during the Novograd-Volyn and Rovno operations (June - July), the troops of the front defeated the Polish troops and reached the approaches to Lublin and Lvov, but could not capture Lvov and in August 1920 were forced to retreat. Also, the troops of the front fought against the armed detachments of S. N. Bulak-Balakhovich, Petlyura, B. V. Savinkov. On October 18, after the conclusion of a truce with Poland, the combat operations of the front were stopped and the troops were withdrawn to the state border.

In the Crimean direction, under the pressure of Wrangel's army in June - July, the troops of the front retreated to the right bank of the Dnieper, fought defensive battles at the line of Kherson, Nikopol, B. Tokmak, Berdyansk. In August, they went on the offensive and occupied the Kakhovka bridgehead. In September, the enemy was able, having pressed the troops of the left wing of the 13th Army, to take Aleksandrovsk, Orekhov, Art. Sinelnikovo, creating a threat to Donbass. In September 1920, the Crimean sector of the Southwestern Front was separated into an independent Southern Front (2nd formation).

Command staff

• I. V. Stalin (January 10 - August 17, 1920),
• R. I. Berzin (January 10 - December 31, 1920),
• L. P. Serebryakov (January 11 - February 5, 1920),
• M. K. Vladimirov (January 11 - June 19, 1920)‚
• H. G. Rakovsky (February 15 - October 9, 1920),
• S. I. Gusev (September 3 - October 15, 1920),
• S. I. Aralov (November 21 - December 31, 1920).

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Notes

Literature

• Civil war and military intervention in the USSR. Encyclopedia. M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1983.
• c. 213-354

An excerpt characterizing the Southwestern Front (Civil War)

The Count frowned.
- Un conseil d "ami, mon cher. Decampez et au plutot, c" est tout ce que je vous dis. A bon entendeur salut! Farewell, my dear. Oh, yes, he shouted to him from the door, is it true that the countess fell into the clutches of des saints peres de la Societe de Jesus? [Friendly advice. Get out soon, I'll tell you what. Blessed is he who knows how to obey!... the holy fathers of the Society of Jesus?]
Pierre did not answer and, frowning and angry, as he had never been seen, went out from Rostopchin.

By the time he got home, it was already getting dark. About eight different people visited him that evening. The secretary of the committee, the colonel of his battalion, the manager, the butler and various petitioners. Everyone had business before Pierre that he had to resolve. Pierre did not understand anything, was not interested in these matters, and gave only such answers to all questions that would free him from these people. Finally, left alone, he opened and read his wife's letter.
“They are soldiers on the battery, Prince Andrei is killed ... an old man ... Simplicity is obedience to God. You have to suffer… the meaning of everything… you have to match… your wife is getting married… You have to forget and understand…” And he went to the bed, without undressing, fell on it and immediately fell asleep.
When he woke up the next day in the morning, the butler came to report that a specially sent police official had come from Count Rostopchin to find out if Count Bezukhov had left or was leaving.
About ten different people dealing with Pierre were waiting for him in the living room. Pierre hastily dressed, and, instead of going to those who were waiting for him, he went to the back porch and from there went out through the gate.
From then until the end of the Moscow ruin, none of the Bezukhov households, despite all the searches, saw Pierre again and did not know where he was.

The Rostovs remained in the city until September 1, that is, until the eve of the enemy's entry into Moscow.
After Petya entered the regiment of Obolensky's Cossacks and left for Belaya Tserkov, where this regiment was being formed, fear came over the countess. The thought that both of her sons are at war, that both of them have left under her wing, that today or tomorrow each of them, and maybe both together, like the three sons of one of her acquaintances, can be killed, for the first once now, this summer, came to her mind with cruel clarity. She tried to get Nikolai to her, she wanted to go to Petya herself, to find him somewhere in Petersburg, but both turned out to be impossible. Petya could not be returned otherwise than together with the regiment or by transfer to another active regiment. Nikolai was somewhere in the army, and after his last letter, in which he described in detail his meeting with Princess Marya, he did not give a rumor about himself. The countess did not sleep at night, and when she fell asleep, she saw her murdered sons in a dream. After many councils and negotiations, the count finally came up with a means to calm the countess. He transferred Petya from the Obolensky regiment to the Bezukhov regiment, which was being formed near Moscow. Although Petya remained in military service, but with this transfer, the countess had the consolation to see at least one son under her wing and hoped to arrange her Petya so that she would no longer let him out and always enroll in such places of service where he could not get in any way. into battle. While Nicolas alone was in danger, it seemed to the countess (and she even repented of this) that she loved her elder more than all the other children; but when the younger one, a naughty fellow who had studied badly, broke everything in the house and bored everyone with Petya, this snub-nosed Petya, with his merry black eyes, fresh blush and slightly piercing down on his cheeks, got there, to these big, terrible, cruel men who there they fight something and find something joyful in it - then it seemed to the mother that she loved him more, much more than all her children. The closer the time approached when the expected Petya was supposed to return to Moscow, the more the countess's anxiety increased. She already thought that she would never wait for this happiness. The presence of not only Sonya, but also her beloved Natasha, even her husband, irritated the countess. “What do I care about them, I don’t need anyone but Petya!” she thought.
In the last days of August, the Rostovs received a second letter from Nikolai. He wrote from the Voronezh province, where he was sent for horses. This letter did not reassure the countess. Knowing one son was out of danger, she became even more worried about Petya.
Despite the fact that already on the 20th of August almost all the Rostovs' acquaintances left Moscow, despite the fact that everyone persuaded the countess to leave as soon as possible, she did not want to hear anything about leaving until her treasure returned, adored Petya. Petya arrived on August 28. The painfully passionate tenderness with which his mother greeted him did not please the sixteen-year-old officer. Despite the fact that his mother hid from him her intention not to let him out now from under her wing, Petya understood her intentions and, instinctively afraid that he would not become soft with his mother, not get offended (as he thought with himself), he coldly treated with her, avoided her, and during his stay in Moscow exclusively kept the company of Natasha, for whom he always had a special, almost loving, brotherly tenderness.
Due to the count's usual carelessness, on August 28 nothing was yet ready for departure, and the carts expected from the Ryazan and Moscow villages to lift all the property from the house did not arrive until the 30th.

The names of the famous marshals and generals who became the direct blacksmiths of the Great Victory are known to many. Zhukov, Rokossovsky, Konev, Malinovsky ... There is hardly anyone in Russia who is not familiar with these names. The merits of these and many other Soviet military leaders have been repeatedly described in historical and memoir literature. Much less fortunate in this regard were those Soviet military leaders (as well as ordinary officers and soldiers) who fell in the first days, weeks and months of the war, never knowing the joy of victory over the Nazis. But we all owe them as much as we owe to those who reached Berlin. After all, it was these people, the real heroes and patriots of their homeland, who fought to the last, trying to hold back the onslaught of the enemy, superior in armament and technical equipment, on the borders of the Soviet country. In this article, we will talk about one of these heroes.

The Kyiv Special Military District in the period preceding the start of the Great Patriotic War was considered by the supreme command as one of the country's key military districts. The Kyiv military district was created on May 17, 1935, as a result of the division of the Ukrainian military district into the Kyiv and Kharkov military districts. In 1938, it was decided to transform the Kyiv Military District into the Kyiv Special Military District (hereinafter - KOVO). In the western direction, its role was decisive, since it covered the strategically important territory of the Ukrainian SSR. By 1941, it covered the Kyiv, Vinnitsa, Zhytomyr, Kamenetz-Podolsk, Stanislav, Ternopil, Chernivtsi, Rivne, Volyn, Lvov and Drohobych regions of the Ukrainian SSR.

The district was border, and this determined its strategic importance for the defense of the Soviet state. The largest grouping of Soviet troops in the western direction was stationed on the territory of the district. Naturally, a person worthy and trusted by Moscow should have commanded such an important district. Since the formation of the Kyiv Special Military District, the post of commander has been occupied by such famous Soviet commanders as the commander of the 2nd rank Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (in 1938-1940) and General of the Army Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (1940-1941).
On February 28, 1941, Georgy Zhukov, who became the winner of two major military games that practiced the offensive of the Soviet troops in the western direction and, accordingly, the defense in the western direction, was nominated by Joseph Stalin to the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army. The question arose of who would replace Georgy Konstantinovich as commander of the Kyiv Special Military District. It was supposed to be no less worthy and talented military leader. Ultimately, Stalin chose Lieutenant General Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos. Forty-nine-year-old Lieutenant General Kirponos, before being appointed commander of the Kyiv Special Military District, commanded the Leningrad Military District. He was a military leader with great combat experience, who received the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the Soviet-Finnish war.

From peasant son to red commander

Like many Soviet military leaders, Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos was, as they say, a man of the people. He was born on January 22 (January 9 according to the old style), 1892 in the town of Vertievka, Nezhinsky district, Chernigov province, into a poor peasant family. His education was reduced in adolescence to a year of parochial and three years of zemstvo school. Since the family did not have much money, they had to stop studying and, like many peers from the village, go to work. Since 1909, Kirponos worked as a watchman, a forester in the forestries of the Chernihiv province. In 1911, he married the daughter of a saddler, Olimpiada Polyakova (later he divorced her in 1919, leaving two daughters for himself, and in the same 1919 married Sofya Piotrovskaya). When the First World War began, Mikhail Kirponos was already 22 years old.

In 1915, the young man was called up for military service. He graduated from instructor courses at the Oranienbaum officer rifle school, after which he was assigned to the 216th reserve infantry regiment stationed in Kozlov (now the city of Michurinsk in the Tambov region). In 1917, Kirponos changed his military specialty - he graduated from a military paramedic school, and in August of the same year he was sent to the Romanian front as part of the 258th Olgopol Infantry Regiment. Twenty-five-year-old Mikhail Kirponos becomes chairman of the soldiers' regimental committee, in November of the same year - chairman of the soldiers' council of the 26th Army Corps.

Apparently, during these years, young Kirponos not only sympathized with the revolutionary movement, but also tried to take an active part in it. So, he organized fraternization with Austro-Hungarian soldiers, for which he was arrested and in February 1918 demobilized from the Russian army. Then he became a member of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Returning to his homeland, where German and Austro-Hungarian troops were in charge, Mikhail Kirponos joined the partisan struggle and created a small detachment that fought both against the Germans and Austrians, and against the troops of the Central Rada. Having joined the Red Army in August 1918, Kirponos almost immediately (the next month of September), as an experienced military man, was appointed company commander in the 1st Soviet Ukrainian Rifle Division. The division, by the way, was commanded by the legendary division commander Nikolai Shchors.

In the Red Army, Kirponos' career went rapidly - in December, two months before that, having commanded a company, he became a battalion commander, and then - chief of staff and commander of the 22nd Ukrainian Rifle Regiment as part of the 44th Rifle Division. In this capacity, the regiment commander Kirponos took part in the battles for the capture of Berdichev, Zhytomyr and Kyiv. In July 1919, a new appointment came - as assistant head of the divisional school of red foremen (red commanders) of the same 44th rifle division. Here begins the temporary decline of Kirponos, apparently due to his lack of military education. So, in May 1920, he became assistant to the head of the economic team of the 2nd Kyiv school of red foremen, and in June 1921, a year later, he became the head of the economic department, then - assistant commissar of the same school. In 1922, Kirponos graduated from the 2nd Kyiv school of red foremen, thus receiving a military education without interrupting his service at school.

After receiving a military education, Kirponos continued to serve for a year at the Kharkov School of Red Starshina (October 1922 - September 1923), where he served as assistant chief for political affairs. Then followed study at the Military Academy of the Red Army. M.V. Frunze, which Kirponos graduated in 1927 and was assigned as a battalion commander to the 130th Bogunsky Rifle Regiment. However, already in December 1928, he again returned to the system of military educational institutions - this time as an assistant chief - the head of the educational unit of the Kharkov Military School of Red Petty Officers. VTsIK. April 1929 to March 1934 Kirponos served in the 51st Perekop Rifle Division - first, until January 1931, as an assistant, and then as division chief of staff.
In March 1934, Mikhail Kirponos was appointed head and military commissar of the Tatar-Bashkir United Military School named after. Central Executive Committee of the Tatar ASSR. Kirponos led this military educational institution for more than five years - from March 1934 to December 1939. During this time, the school has undergone several renames - in December 1935 it was renamed the Tatar-Bashkir Military Infantry School named after the Central Executive Committee of the Tatar ASSR, in April 1936 - the Kazan Infantry School named after. Central Executive Committee of the Tatar ASSR, in March 1937 - to the Kazan Infantry Military School. Central Executive Committee of the Tatar ASSR and, finally, in March 1939 - to the Kazan Infantry School. Supreme Soviet of the Tatar ASSR. Since March 1937, the military school became an all-Union one and young people from all the Union republics of the USSR were able to enter it. During the five years that Kirponos led the Kazan School, many worthy commanders received training and were released into the troops, some of them were awarded high awards, including the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Kirponos himself rose in ranks during the leadership of the school and college. On October 26, 1935, he was awarded the rank of brigade commander, and four years later, on November 4, 1939, the rank of division commander.

The cadets of the school remembered Kirponos as an excellent commander and educator - military pedagogical activity was his real vocation. In addition, Kirponos, being the head of the school, was also engaged in administrative and economic work - after all, at that time the organization of the normal supply of the school also seemed to be quite difficult and, at the same time, a very necessary thing. Party and political activity remained the most important for Kirponos - since the end of the First World War, when he was elected chairman of the regimental soldier's committee, Kirponos was actively involved in social activities. A convinced communist, he took an active part in all party meetings of the school and college. Naturally, in the spirit of the times, he had to participate in the denunciation of "enemies of the people." At the same time, it should be noted that Kirponos always, as they say, "knew the measure" - where were the real opposition to the Soviet course, and where were accidentally suspected people. For some cadets, commanders and teachers of the school, he played the role of an intercessor. The fact that Kirponos was an active communist and unreserved supporter of Stalinist policies, of course, also played a role in his subsequent meteoric military career. Especially when you consider that in the late 1930s. many commanders of the Red Army were repressed and their positions had to be replaced by someone.

Soviet-Finnish war and promotion

Meanwhile, the military-political situation on the Soviet borders deteriorated significantly. In the northwestern direction, the Soviet Union came into conflict with Finland. On November 28, 1939, the Non-Aggression Pact was denounced, and on November 30, 1939, Soviet troops stationed on the Soviet-Finnish border were ordered to go on the offensive. The official reason for the start of hostilities was the shelling of Soviet territory from the territory of Finland. An impressive Soviet group of troops was concentrated against Finland, consisting of the 7th, 8th, 9th and 14th armies. From the first days of the beginning of the war, the need for competent and talented commanders began to be felt, in connection with which the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR turned to the practice of transferring top commanders from other military formations and military educational institutions to the active army. In December 1939, division commander Mikhail Kirponos, who at that time was head of the Kazan Infantry School, received a new appointment - commander of the 70th rifle division, which was part of the 7th army of the Red Army. Thus, the head of the school, who actually had no real experience in commanding military formations, except for a short time in the Civil War, was given high confidence and, as it were, opened up opportunities for further career advancement in the event of successful command of the entrusted rifle division.

The Seventh Army was concentrated on the Karelian Isthmus. By November 1939, it included, in addition to the army headquarters, the 19th and 50th rifle corps and in their composition the 24th, 43rd, 49th, 70th, 90th, 123rd , 138th, 142nd and 150th rifle divisions, three tank brigades, six RGK artillery regiments, three RGK high-capacity artillery battalions. The army air force included the 1st and 68th light bomber, 16th high-speed bomber and 59th fighter aviation brigades, consisting of 12 aviation regiments and 644 aircraft.

The 70th Rifle Division, which was to be commanded by Divisional Commander Kirponos, was part of the 19th Rifle Corps of the 7th Army and included three rifle regiments (68th, 252nd and 329th regiments), two artillery regiments (221 th light artillery regiment and 227th howitzer artillery regiment), 361st tank battalion, 204th chemical tank battalion. In February 1940, the 28th tank regiment on the T-26 was included in the division. November 30, 1939 the division entered the territory of Finland. Kirponos, who took over the division on December 25, 1939, replaced its previous commander, Colonel Fedor Aleksandrovich Prokhorov. To the credit of the latter, we can say that he prepared his fighters perfectly and the division was considered one of the best in the army. Under the command of Kirponos, on February 11, 1940, she began participating in the breakthrough of the famous "Mannerheim Line". From February 11 to February 14, division units occupied part of the field fortifications of the Karhul region, on February 17 they participated in the "battle for the islands", on February 21-23 - in the capture of the island of Liisaari (Northern Berezovy). On February 26, the division was transferred from the 19th Rifle Corps to the 10th Rifle Corps. Its fighters managed to occupy part of the Koivisto (Kiperort) peninsula, Pukinsaari (Goat) and Hannukkalansaari (Maisky) islands.

On February 29, the division was transferred to the 28th Rifle Corps, in which it participated in the battles for the city of Trongzund (Vysotsk), then for the island of Ravansaari (Maly Vysotsky). The most famous feat of the division was the crossing at night on the ice of the Vyborg Bay. Having made a six-day raid behind enemy lines, in March 1940 the division occupied a bridgehead on the northern coast of the bay and took control of the Vyborg-Khamina road. This throw of the division played a crucial role in the assault on Vyborg, which could not but be ignored by the higher command. The division was awarded the Order of Lenin, and the 252nd Rifle and 227th Howitzer Artillery Regiments were awarded the Orders of the Red Banner. On March 21, 1940, the division commander Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union and received the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.

The successful command of the 70th Rifle Division, which showed its prowess and combat skills in the Soviet-Finnish war, became the “finest hour” of division commander Kirponos, literally and figuratively. It was from that time that his rapid, but, unfortunately, short-lived, ascent through the steps of the command posts of the Red Army began. Prior to that, Kirponos led a military school for five years, and within four years he rose only one rank. But the feat of the 70th Infantry Division contributed to the fact that the divisional commander was noticed. In April 1940, a month after crossing the Vyborg Bay, Mikhail Kirponos was appointed commander of the 49th Rifle Corps, which was part of the Kyiv Special Military District. However, already in June of the same year, two months after his appointment as corps commander, Kirponos was waiting for the next colossal promotion - he was appointed commander of the Leningrad Military District. On June 4, 1940, Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos was awarded the military rank of "lieutenant general" (in connection with the introduction of general ranks in the Red Army).

Kyiv Special Military District

However, Mikhail Kirponos also did not stay long in the post of commander of the Leningrad Military District. Already in February 1941, less than a year after his appointment to the LVO, Kirponos was appointed commander of the Kyiv Special Military District. On February 22, 1941, Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos was awarded the next military rank of Colonel General. The appointment to the Kyiv Special Military District shows that the high command trusted Mikhail Kirponos and, apparently, it was after his successful leadership of units of the 70th Infantry Division during the Soviet-Finnish War that they saw him as a promising commander capable of well preparing the troops of a strategically important districts and effectively command them.

Apparently, Stalin, appointing Kirponos as commander of the most important military district in the defense system of the western direction, hoped that Kirponos would be able to prepare the district for the coming war, without arousing suspicion from the enemy. After all, Kirponos during the years of the Civil War had a wealth of experience in participating in the partisan movement - first commanding his own rebel detachment, and then serving in the Shchors division. The command of a partisan formation requires that creativity of thinking, versatility, and the ability to make decisions independently, which the commanders of regular army units sometimes lack. Moreover, Kirponos had to combine not only military and political leadership, but also the functions of an administrator and a supplier. In general, it should be noted that there was no mistake in choosing Kirponos for the post of commander of the district - the colonel-general really corresponded to the hopes placed on him in his personal and professional qualities. Although, nevertheless, the new commander had one drawback - too little experience in commanding active combat units.

In fact, if you do not take into account the time of participation in the Civil War in the Shchors division, and later in the Soviet-Finnish war, most of Mikhail Petrovich's military service fell on military pedagogical activities - he held various positions in military educational institutions. Army General Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov also drew attention to this shortcoming, from whom Kirponos took command of the Kyiv Special Military District: “I was glad that the Kyiv Special Military District went to such a worthy commander. Of course, he, like many others, did not yet have the necessary knowledge and experience to lead such a large border district, but life experience, diligence and natural intelligence guaranteed that a first-class commander of the troops would develop from Mikhail Petrovich ”(Quoted by: Meretskov K. A. In the service of the people, St. Petersburg, 2003). That is, despite the lack of experience, Zhukov, nevertheless, recognized a promising commander in Kirponos and was convinced that the colonel-general would be able to fully reveal his military talent, delving into the nuances of commanding the district.
Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan, who at that time served as the head of the operations department - deputy chief of staff of the Kyiv Special Military District with the rank of colonel, recalls the appointment of Kirponos as commander of the district: “Shortly after his arrival, the new commander walked around the headquarters. Apparently, he wanted to quickly get acquainted with the state of affairs, with people. He also visited us, in the operations department. His lean, fine figure was tightly fitted by a carefully pressed tunic. A golden star of the Hero gleamed on his chest. Pale, clean-shaven face with almost no wrinkles. Black eyebrows hung over large blue eyes. Dark, thick hair carefully parted. Only a slight gray hair at the temples and deep folds at the corners of the lips betrayed that this youthful man was already under fifty ”(Quoted from: Bagramyan I.Kh. This is how the war began. M., 1971).

Commander Kirponos paid much attention to the issues of combat training of troops. Understanding perfectly well that Germany is the most likely enemy of the Soviet Union, the command of the Red Army paid great attention to the preparation of military units and formations of the Kyiv Special Military District. First of all, the task was to work out actions in the event of an enemy tank attack. On the other hand, emphasis was placed on improving the training of their own tank units. So, the commander of the district, Colonel-General Kirponos, was the most frequent guest in the mechanized corps, where he tested the ability of the crews to control tanks, and tank units - to act harmoniously in battle.

In addition to combat training, the construction and equipping of fortifications in the border areas remained the most important area of ​​activity for the troops of the Kyiv Special Military District. However, despite all the efforts of the commander, the district experienced a lot of problems that were typical for the entire Red Army in the pre-war period. First of all, we are talking about weak armament and a shortage of personnel in units and formations. According to the memoirs of I.Kh. Bagramyan, only in the Kiev Special Military District there were not enough 30 thousand military personnel. And this is despite the fact that military schools were transferred from a three-year to a two-year period of study, junior lieutenant courses were created for the accelerated training of command personnel. As for the provision of troops with weapons and equipment, there was a lack of communications and special equipment, vehicles everywhere. It was not possible to make up for all this overnight - the country's national economy was already working at its limit.

War

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany and its satellites attacked the Soviet Union. Among the first to receive their blow were the military units and formations that were part of the Kyiv Special Military District. On the day the war began, the Kyiv Special Military District was transformed into the Southwestern Front. Colonel General Mikhail Kirponos was appointed commander of the Southwestern Front. The troops of the Southwestern Front numbered 957 thousand soldiers and officers. The district was armed with 12.6 thousand artillery pieces and mortars, 4783 tanks and 1759 aircraft. Hitler's Army Group "South" was concentrated against the Southwestern Front, numbering 730 thousand soldiers and officers, 9.7 thousand artillery pieces and mortars, 799 tanks and 772 aircraft. That is, at first glance, the Soviet troops had a significant superiority not only in manpower, but also in weapons. However, in reality the situation looked different. Firstly, almost immediately after the start of the war, Army Group South received reinforcements from 19 divisions, and Hungarian, Romanian, Italian and Slovak troops also joined it. The southwestern front did not receive reinforcements in such quantities, and the state of its technical fleet, although at first glance superior to the German one in terms of the number of tanks, aircraft and artillery pieces, left much to be desired. Secondly, only a few Soviet divisions were stationed in close proximity to the border, while the enemy hit Army Group South with the entire “fist” at once, securing a numerical superiority over the Soviet troops in the border area and leveling the capabilities of the troops of the Southwestern Front by more late stages of hostilities, since they entered the hostilities one by one and, accordingly, could not use their advantages in a larger number of personnel.

On June 22, 1941, the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief ordered Colonel General Kirponos to ensure the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops with the forces of the 5th and 6th armies and take Lublin. In itself, this task seemed difficult, but Kirponos had no choice but to try to complete it. Opposite points of view emerged in the front command. Corps Commissar Nikolai Nikolaevich Vashugin, a member of the Front's Military Council, advocated the immediate execution of the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Headquarters on a counteroffensive. The opposite position was held by the chief of staff of the front, Lieutenant-General Maxim Alekseevich Purkaev. He understood that the troops of the front simply would not have time to concentrate to deliver a retaliatory strike and proposed to organize a defense, holding back the enemy for as long as possible in order to create fortified areas in the inner territories of the district.

Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos came up with a slightly different idea - he proposed to strike at the base of the German grouping directed at Kyiv with the forces of three mechanized corps and rifle divisions of the 5th and 6th armies. The task of the counterattack would be the complete destruction of the enemy's vanguard and the maximum containment of the 1st Panzer Army, commanded by General Ewald von Kleist (the tank army included five Wehrmacht panzer divisions). However, the offensive strike of the Soviet troops was unsuccessful. Interaction between mechanized corps was not established. Organizational miscalculations led to the depletion of the resource part of the old armored vehicles, which were mainly equipped with mechanized corps of the front. Finally, the 34th Panzer Division was surrounded and was able to break through to its own, only having lost all its tanks. Speaking about the causes of organizational miscalculations, P.V. Burkin draws attention to the lack of practical experience of General Kirponos in leading large military formations. After all, in fact, before becoming commander of the district, he commanded only a rifle division, which, moreover, did not have tank units in its composition. Accordingly, Kirponos had no experience in organizing the interaction of mechanized units (See: Burkin P.V. General Kirponos: the experience of historical and anthropological research).

However, to a certain extent, the troops of the Southwestern Front still managed to significantly impede the enemy's advance towards Kyiv. Although the counteroffensive plan failed, the Soviet troops stopped the Wehrmacht units 20 km away. west of Kyiv. This forced the Nazis to change their offensive tactics. The command of the Wehrmacht temporarily refused to storm Kyiv and sent all its forces to the left flank of the front. The enemy pushed the 6th and 12th Soviet armies to the south of Ukraine, gradually cutting them off from the main forces of the Southwestern Front. In the Tarashchi region, a retaliatory offensive by the 26th Army was conceived, but in the end it was suppressed by the enemy. The Wehrmacht pushed back the 26th Army to the northeast, after which the position of the Southwestern Front worsened even more. Enemy formations came close to Kyiv. The High Command demanded the immediate retention of the capital of Soviet Ukraine. On August 8, Kirponos organized a counterattack on enemy positions, throwing all the forces at his disposal - the 175th, 147th rifle divisions that participated in the defense of Kyiv, the reserve 206th and 284th divisions, the 2nd and 6th airborne brigades. On August 9, the 5th Airborne Brigade and the Kiev People's Militia entered the battle. As a result, the Wehrmacht began a gradual retreat from Kyiv. By August 16, the enemy was driven back to their original positions by the heroic efforts of the Soviet troops. The defense of Kyiv played a crucial role in the first stage of the Great Patriotic War, significantly slowing down the advance of the enemy troops deep into Soviet territory and forcing the Nazi command to change the trajectory of the movement of the main forces of the Wehrmacht. Thus, for a whole month, which was of great importance in the conditions of the war, the Nazi offensive towards Moscow was delayed.

Since the Nazi troops were redirected from Moscow to the south, the main task was to retreat from Kyiv. Kirponos himself, and marshals Budyonny and Shaposhnikov insisted on this. However, Stalin did not give permission for the withdrawal of troops. As a result, by September 14, the 5th, 21st, 26th and 37th armies were surrounded. Tens of thousands of Soviet servicemen died in encirclement or when trying to break through it. The troops of the Southwestern Front were divided and surrounded by the enemy. September 20 to the farm Dryukovshchina, which is 15 km. southwest of Lokhvitsa, the headquarters of the Southwestern Front and the 5th Army approached with escort forces. Here they were attacked by units of the Nazi 3rd Panzer Division. The artillery commander of the 5th Army, Major General Sotensky, and officers of his headquarters were taken prisoner. The total strength of the headquarters column at this point was about a thousand people, including approximately 800 commanders - generals and staff officers, as well as a commandant's company.

The column withdrew to the Shumeikovo grove. The column included the commander of the front, General Kirponos, the chief of staff of the front, Tupikov, members of the Military Council of the front, Burmistenko and Rykov, the commander of the 5th Army, Potapov, and other top commanders of the front. Parts of the Wehrmacht attacked the Shumeikovo grove in three directions. The battle lasted five hours. Colonel-General Mikhail Kirponos was wounded in the leg, then fragments of a mine hit him in the chest, which is why he died. The subordinates buried the front commander here, on the territory of the grove. The chief of staff Tupikov, a member of the Military Council Burmistenko, and many other commanders also died in the battle. The commander of the 5th Army, General Potapov, was taken prisoner.

In December 1943, the remains of Colonel General Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos, Hero of the Soviet Union, were reburied in Kyiv in the Botanical Garden. A.V. Fomin, and in 1957 - moved to the Park of Eternal Glory. General Kirponos did not fully manage to reveal his, of course, present military talent. He died at the very beginning of the war, catching its most tragic moments - the retreat of Soviet troops, the occupation of a huge part of the territory of Soviet Ukraine. Nevertheless, we can say with confidence that General Kirponos made a colossal contribution to the defense of the country from the aggression of Nazi Germany. Detaining German troops near Kyiv, he delayed the attack on Moscow, making it possible to consolidate the forces of the Red Army in the defense of the Soviet capital. Despite all those mistakes and miscalculations in the leadership of the troops, which many modern historians pay attention to, General Kirponos honorably walked his path as a Soviet soldier and died on the battlefield, in battle, without surrendering to the enemy. It remains only to bring to the end of the article the words from the memoirs of Marshal of the Soviet Union Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko about Colonel General Kirponos: good and bright memory in the hearts of those who knew him ... "(Moskalenko K.S. In the south-western direction. M., 1975).

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