Marshal Meretskov - biography, achievements, awards and interesting facts

The article contains the biography and the main victories of the outstanding Soviet commander - Marshal Meretskov Kirill Afanasievich.

In people

The biography of our hero takes its origin in the Russian outback. June 7, 1897 in the family of ordinary Meretskov peasants from the village of Nazarevo, which was in the then Ryazan province, the future great military leader Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich was born. This snub-nosed, gray-eyed strong-hearted, like most of his contemporaries, soon learned the price of a penny and the heavy daily routine of peasant life. There was one outlet - Zemstvo school. The boy eagerly pursued knowledge, but four winters behind the desk imperceptibly passed. The boy was 12 years old, and it was decided to send him to his uncle on his father's side. Ahead was a great world and the prospect of mastering the craft of a locksmith. Back in Moscow, you could continue studying, which was what the inquisitive guy used. The turbulent whirlpool of the new city life was captured by Kirill: he attended evening classes for workers, and sometimes his uncle took him to the theater.

Young years and the formation of Meretskov

In 1915, the young man was released from conscription into the tsarist army, where he himself did not break. And it was not at all in fear. The proletariat was increasingly imbued with revolutionary ideas. Russia waged a serious war with the Kaiser Germany, which the revolutionaries considered unfair. The standard of living has fallen significantly, and the society has been torn apart by numerous contradictions.

Work at a factory that carried out military orders not only freed Marshal Meretskov's future from sending to the front, but also brought him with Lev Karpov, a chemical engineer by profession and a Bolshevik for political views. He also sent him to Sudogdu. There, in the Vladimir province, Cyril and met the abdication of the king from power. Here he did not waste time and created a cell of the RSDLP, and at the end of 1917, when the city needed the creation of self-defense forces, he took up a post in the military department.

The first steps in the military field

Civil war was gaining momentum, removing its abundant and bloody harvest. The turning point in the biography of Meretskov Kirill Afanasievich is sending to Kazan. Violent battles with disciplined units of whites, as well as Czech legionaries tempered the future great commander. In one of the battles, the young commissioner of the detachment, thanks to his example of personal bravery, carried away the fighters and snatched the victory, but was himself seriously wounded. The management drew attention to the prospective commissioner and sent him to officer courses. Three years of training were not serene: he twice got to various sections of the front, where he received several injuries.

After graduation, until 1931, he served in Moscow. He received a transfer to Belarus in 1932. Under the leadership of Jerome Petrovich Uborevich, the future Marshal Meretskov honed his operational and tactical skills. The commander of rank 1 was demanding and outstanding military, and therefore the training in the units was held at the proper level, given the realities of the war of that time. In 1935, the hero of our article is sent to the Far East.

Fiery bullfight over Spain

In 1936, in the colonies of Spain (from Morocco to the Spanish Sahara) a rebellion broke out among the military, who adhered to ultra-right views, extremely dissatisfied with the results of the elections, in which the Popular Front party defeated with a minimal margin. The rioters received all-round assistance from Italy and Germany, while France only shyly turned away, saying that she did not intend to enter Spain's internal conflict. The USSR supported the government against the junta by sending advisers and weapons. Meretskov faced several difficult tasks: to keep Madrid, prepare resistance, establish and coordinate the work of the General Staff.

The tasks were not from the lungs: the local population, although fought violently, but in the war understood little. There was not enough experience, armament. The Spanish patriots did not even want to dig in, considering this the occupation of cowards. Meretskov correctly assessed the importance of the Guadalajara direction on the outskirts of Madrid, but it did not get any easier: there was a serious battle with the Italian corps, formed from the regular military and equipped with armored vehicles.

The brilliant actions of aviation and armored units, as well as the competent coordination of all the branches of the troops, helped to inflict a stunning defeat on the Italians. The government of the USSR Meretskov Kirill Afanasyevich highly appreciated, awarding the Order of Lenin and the Red Banner.

Mannerheim Line

The reasons for the attack of the USSR on the Finnish Democratic Republic are still fiercely controversial among historians. There are usually two reasons: ensuring the security of Leningrad and turning an independent democratic state into a regular Soviet republic. Nevertheless, after the Maynil incident, the Soviet leadership, in an ultimatum form, demanded that the leadership of the neighboring state withdraw the Finnish troops into its territory. Naturally, the Finns could not agree to such humiliating conditions. A war broke out, revealing the weaknesses of the Soviet military machine. On the North-Western Front, Meretskov, KA, was urgently sent to command the 7th Army.

Soviet troops had a threefold advantage in the infantry, fourfold in artillery and absolute in the air, as well as in tanks. Despite this, the losses on the Soviet side were colossal. Affected by bad training, weak supply and illiterate coordination of actions. The Finns bravely defended their country, but the only thing they hoped for was help from the allies, which was minimal.

The Seventh Army was assigned the role of a strike group, which was to open the enemy's defense from the right flank. For the first time with the support of infantry and tanks, the tactics of the fire shaft were used. Such tactics yielded their fruit: the Mannerheim Line fell. Another brilliant victory in the biography of Marshal Meretskov, who not only earned him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but also laid the foundation for future victories in the upcoming war, which was already around the corner.

In the claws of the NKVD

Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov's story is remembered as a brilliant, scrupulous and very cautious strategist, who knows how to think outside the box and adapt quickly to the rapidly changing conditions of the theater of military operations. On the one hand, his career could be envied by any military, and on the other - Marshal Meretskov constantly balanced over the abyss, like most of the military of that period. The worst thing was to get on suspicion in the casemates of the NKVD, which happened with the commander. He was accused of military conspiracy and was isolated for 74 days. Could and shoot, but did not happen: perhaps because of a lack of experienced cadres, and maybe Stalin still believed his "cunning Yaroslavl". There are a lot of versions, but the military never told about it.

The fire trails of war

After returning from opals, Meretskov leads four separate armies. He managed to pretty much patch the enemy's troops. When the Volkhov Front was created, Kirill Afanasyevich was appointed commander. The result of the Sinyavskaya and Lubansk operations was a disaster: huge losses of Soviet troops, the destruction of the second army and the capture of General Vlasov. But the enemy's plans also failed. According to the reminiscences of Vasilevsky AM, who observed the commander of the Volga Front during the most difficult and critical moments, Meretskov was not a slob-shirt, but showed himself as a cautious strategist, demanding from subordinates the solution of combat missions with little blood.

The result of Operation Iskra was the breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad. With the abolition of Volkhovsky, the Karelian front is formed , which began a successful offensive, the result of which was the liberation of the north of Norway. October 26, 1944 Kirill Afanasyevich receives the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Then he is sent to the Far East. When the Kwantuck Army was defeated, Marshal Meretskov used the same blitzkrieg tactics used by German fascist troops in the first months of the war. Air and sea assault forces were widely used. A special merit of Soviet paratroopers is the prevention of the use of bacteriological weapons by Japanese troops.

Postwar years

In the postwar years, he continued to serve in the ranks of the armed forces. He passed away on December 30, 1968. He was buried in the Kremlin wall. About the awards of Marshal Meretskov is worth mentioning separately. Hero of the Soviet Union was repeatedly awarded the Order of the Red Banner and Lenin, had the highest awards of foreign countries, was awarded the Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov, as well as the October Revolution and Victory.

Marshal Meretskov in the hearts of many people will remain a victorious, skillful commander and courageous defender of his native land.