Gorbatov Alexander Vasilyevich

Gorbatov Alexander Vasilyevich - Soviet military commander, army General (1955), Hero of the Soviet Union (04/10/1945). Alexander Vasilyevich was born into a large peasant family, in which his father, Vasily Alekseevich, and mother, Ksenia Akakievna, raised five sons and five daughters. Everyone in the family worked, but, despite this, they lived poorly. In 1899, Alexander Gorbatov went to school in a nearby village, studied with passion, arithmetic was especially good for him. The education of rural schoolchildren in those days was usually limited to three winters. In the spring of 1902, he graduated with a certificate of commendation. Then he helped his father on the farm, did seasonal peasant work and worked at a shoe factory in Shuya.

The military biography of Alexander Gorbatov began in October 1912. He was called up for service, sent to the city of Orel and enlisted in the 17th Chernigov Hussar Regiment. Actively participated in the First World War - fought in Poland and the Carpathians. He was wounded in battles and promoted to the rank of senior non-commissioned officer for military valor, awarded two St. George crosses (3rd and 4th art.), and two St. George medals with the inscription: "For bravery" (3rd and 4th art.). The February revolution of 1917 found Gorbatov fighting on the Stokhod River. In the same year, he was elected a member of the regimental and divisional soldiers' committees. In March 1918, Alexander Vasilyevich was demobilized and returned to his native lands in the Vladimir province, where he was elected a member of the military executive committee and the military commissariat of the Semenovskaya volost of the Shuisky district. But peaceful life and activity did not last long. In August 1919 , Alexander Gorbatov voluntarily joined the Red Army as a private

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was in dire need of specialists, and the command noticed a brave and initiative fighter who had valuable combat experience. During the Civil War, his military career grew rapidly. In October 1919, Gorbatov, a Red Army soldier of the 2nd Kiev Fortress Infantry Regiment, became a platoon commander of a separate cavalry squadron of the 60th Infantry Division, and then a squadron commander of the 100th cavalry regiment of the same division. In February 1920, he was wounded in a battle with the Poles, but in May he returned to service, and in July he was appointed commander of the 2nd Donno-Kuban Cavalry Regiment of the 25th Infantry Division. Since August 1920, A.V. Gorbatov commanded a separate Bashkir cavalry brigade. He fought against the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, General A.I. Denikin, and the Ukrainian troops of Simon Petlyura. In 1920, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and a gold watch for his military distinctions.

After the end of the Civil War, A.V. Gorbatov remained in service in the Red Army. From March 1921, he was the commander of a separate 15th cavalry squadron of the troops of the All-Russian Emergency Commission, and from November 1921 to October 1925, he commanded the cavalry regiments of the 2nd Cavalry Division. In 1928, he was appointed commander of a cavalry brigade in the 3rd Cavalry Division, and in February 1933 - commander and military commissar of the 4th Turkmen Mountain Cavalry Division. While serving in the Turkmen SSR, Alexander Vasilyevich met his future wife, Nina Alexandrovna Veselova, who remained his faithful combat friend until the end of his life.

In 1926 Gorbatov graduated from the cavalry command courses, and in 1930 – advanced training courses for higher command staff in Moscow. When personal military ranks were introduced into the Red Army on November 26, 1935, he was awarded the military rank of brigade commander. Since April 1936 - commander and military commissar of the 2nd Cavalry Division of the 7th Cavalry Corps in the Kiev Military District. In August 1936, for the excellent combat and political training of the regiment, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star.

The further military fate of A.V. Gorbatov was very difficult. In July 1937, Gorbatov was dismissed from his post on charges of "communication with the enemies of the people" and sent to the Command and Commanding Staff of the Red Army and expelled from the ranks of the party. After a short period of forced inactivity in May 1938, he was reinstated in the party and appointed assistant commander of the 6th Cavalry Corps, but in September 1938 he was again dismissed from the Red Army and arrested. During the investigation in the NKVD prison, he was subjected to sophisticated torture, but he did not plead guilty and did not slander anyone. On May 8, 1939, he was convicted of "counter-revolutionary crimes" under Article 58 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR for 15 years of imprisonment and 5 years of loss of rights. He served his sentence in the Kolyma camp until March 5, 1941, when he was released thanks to the intercession of S.M. Budyonny and the perseverance of his wife Nina Alexandrovna, who appealed to all possible instances with a request to review her husband's case. After being restored to the army and treated in sanatoriums in June of the same year, Alexander Vasilyevich was appointed deputy commander of the 25th Rifle Corps of the Kharkiv Military District, where he had to meet the beginning of the war.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Gorbatov's corps was part of the 19th army, which conducted defensive battles in the Vitebsk direction. The Soviet troops retreated, but in the battles at Yartsevo, Alexander Vasilyevich managed to form and lead a combat-ready formation from separate scattered and demoralized military units, which held the city for four days. A month after the start of the war, Alexander Vasilyevich was slightly wounded in the leg and after treatment in the hospital, since September 1941, was at the disposal of the Main Personnel Department of the NGO. He returned to service in early October as the commander of the 226th Infantry Division and personally led the battalions that carried out daring night raids to defeat the German garrisons in the occupied territory. For military successes during these battles in the autumn and winter of 1941, Brigade Commander Gorbatov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and on December 27 he was awarded the rank of Major General.

In his military activities, Alexander Vasilyevich never avoided personal responsibility, showed reasonable initiative and took care of preserving the combat capability of troops and the lives of subordinates. Possessing a sharp and straightforward character, Gorbatov said at one of the meetings that it was stupid to throw Soviet regiments into a frontal attack on the Germans if there was no objective need for this. In October 1942, Alexander Vasilyevich was appointed deputy commander of the 24th Army. At the first stage of the Battle of Stalingrad, formations and units of the A.V. army Gorbatov conducted persistent fighting on the north-western approaches to Stalingrad against the left flank of the 6th German field and the right wing of the 4th Tank armies. With the beginning of the Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad, the 24th Army was part of the Don Front. Acting together with the 21st and 65th armies, Gorbatov's units reliably blocked the encircled troops of Field Marshal F. Paulus from the western direction. For his commanding qualities and significant contribution to the defeat of the Stalingrad enemy group on February 8, 1943, Alexander Vasilyevich was awarded the commander's Order of Kutuzov 2nd degree. On April 19, 1943, he was appointed commander of the 20th Guards Rifle Corps of the 4th Guards Army, located in the reserve of the VGK Headquarters, and on April 28, 1943, he was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General.

Throughout the Great Patriotic War, A.V. Gorbatov's generalship was characterized by the following features: the ability to quickly navigate in a difficult situation, use decisive and sudden forms of maneuver, timely transfer the main efforts of the troops to a favorable direction.

In June 1943, Alexander Vasilyevich was appointed commander of the 3rd Army. In preparation for the Oryol strategic offensive operation, reporting on the state of affairs in the entrusted troops to the representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, the commander expressed to him a special opinion – to appoint an independent area for the army to break through in order to hit the enemy's flank to go to his rear and help the neighboring 63rd army to complete the task. At first, G.K. Zhukov was indignant, but after thinking about it, he accepted the offer. The correctness of Gorbatov's calculations was confirmed by the successful combat actions of the units of the 3rd and 63rd armies, which defeated the 35th German Army Corps and by the morning of August 5, 1943, with minimal losses, completely liberated Orel from the invaders. In Moscow, in honor of the liberation of Orel and Belgorod, they gave the first victory salute in the Great Patriotic War. For this success, Alexander Vasilyevich was awarded the Order of Suvorov of the 2nd degree in August 1943, and following the results of the entire Battle of Kursk in September 1943, he was also awarded the Order of Suvorov of the 1st degree.

Colonel-General A.V. Gorbatov (second from left) is the commandant of Berlin. Summer of 1945

Organizational talent, creative approach to decision-making for the operation and the ability to comprehensively and deeply assess the situation were inherent in A.V. Gorbatov throughout the war. From August 1943 to February 1944, the 3rd Army took an active part in the liberation of Eastern Belarus and Left-Bank Ukraine during the Bryansk and Chernihiv-Pripyat offensive operations. In October 1943, when the 3rd Army reached the Sozh River, the commander asked the commander of the Belorussian Front, General K.K. Rokossovsky, to expand the offensive line by 15 km. Gorbatov had previously carefully studied the terrain conditions and determined that there were good approaches to the river and a ford in this area, which made it possible to capture a large bridgehead on its western bank with less human and material losses. K.K. Rokossovsky was surprised, but he granted the request. The actions of Gorbatov's army turned out to be successful, the combat mission was completed.

The combat experience accumulated over the years of the war, the ability to foresee the development of events on the battlefield and to ensure superiority in forces and means at the right time in the direction of the main strike were especially clearly manifested in Alexander Vasilyevich during the preparation and conduct of the Belarusian offensive operation. In January 1944, the situation on the left wing of the Belorussian Front, in the Rogachev area, in the area of responsibility of the 3rd Army, became seriously complicated. The successful development of the army's offensive could be ensured after the reinforcement of its troops, but the higher command did not have free forces and means. After a comprehensive assessment of the situation, A. Gorbatov drew attention to the fact that after persistent fighting, the troops of the 63rd Army did not achieve significant success on the left bank of the Dnieper. Gorbatov's bold and audacious proposal to unite the forces, means and offensive lines of the 3rd and 63rd armies under his command surprised even the front commander K.K. Rokossovsky, who knew how to act outside the box. As a result of the discussion of A.V. Gorbatov's plan with the Chief of Staff of the front, General M.S. Malinin, the commander agreed. After regrouping and strengthening the advancing units during the three-day offensive, the troops under Gorbatov's leadership expanded the bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper and captured Rogachev. Despite the categorical order of the commander, who personally arrived at the army command post, to advance further to Bobruisk, A.V. Gorbatov went on the defensive after the number of army losses increased by a third in one day. "I understood what it meant not to fulfill a combat order and, left alone, I thought about what to do. I decided: instead of killing the army, to put my head under the blow...", after Alexander Vasilyevich wrote in his memoirs. Recalling this case, K.K. Rokossovsky in the book "Soldier's duty" writes: "The act of Alexander Vasilyevich only elevated him in my eyes. I was convinced that this is a really solid, thoughtful military commander, who is rooting for the assigned task with his soul."

Later, during Operation Bagration, shock units and formations of the army of A.V. Gorbatov broke through enemy positions between the upper reaches of the Berezina and Sluch and, defeating German troops, liberated the cities of Osipovichi, Columns and Mir. By the end of August, the 3rd Army reached the border with East Prussia and, during active hostilities, took part in the defeat of German units in the bend of the Neman and in the Grodno region. In less than two months, Gorbatov's army fought more than 400 km, captured a large number of captured weapons and captured over 27 thousand German soldiers and officers.

Almost always, the commander remained true to his principle: "The ability to fight is not to kill the enemy as much as possible, but to capture as much as possible. Then their own will be intact." At the height of the offensive battles, on June 29, 1944, Gorbatov was awarded the rank of colonel-General, and for outstanding military achievements and military achievements in June of the same year he was awarded the Order of Lenin, in July – the Order of Kutuzov 1st degree, and in November - the Order of the Red Banner. A high assessment of the commanding and commanding qualities of A.V. Gorbatov was expressed by G.K. Zhukov: "... we can say that Gorbatov could have successfully coped with the command of the front, but for his directness, for the sharpness of his judgments, the top leadership did not like him. Especially against him was Beria, who absolutely undeservedly kept him in prison for several years."

During the East Prussian offensive, which began on January 13, 1945, Gorbatov's troops took an important defensive stronghold – Melzak.

In the Battle for Berlin, Colonel-General Gorbatov's army as part of the 1st Belorussian Front successfully broke through three deeply echeloned and reliably fortified defensive lines of German troops in the central direction. As a result of this battle, units of the 9th German Army were completely defeated. On April 10, 1945, Colonel-General Gorbatov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Gold Star Medal and the Order of Lenin for his skilful leadership of the 3rd Army during the breakthrough of enemy defenses in East Prussia.

The end of the war and the announcement of the surrender of the Berlin garrison found Alexander Vasilyevich in Brandenburg, and his advanced units on the Elbe. In total, during the war years, the legendary commander was mentioned 16 times in the commendation orders of the Supreme Commander. In August 1945, the 3rd Army was disbanded, and its headquarters was sent to form the headquarters of the Minsk Military District.

In the biography of A.V. Gorbatov there was an episode when independence and courage in making a decision, the desire to help colleagues in a difficult situation led him to a serious incident. While on the territory of Poland, Gorbatov learned from a subordinate officer about the acute shortage of fastening timber for the restoration of mines destroyed by the Germans in the Donbass. Having decided to take full responsibility for himself, Alexander Vasilyevich allowed to cut down and send about 50 thousand cubic meters of forest to the miners. A troika from Moscow was sent to investigate the incident. After analyzing this case, the chairman of the Moscow Commission reported the violations to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and when he found out that Gorbatov, without hiding anything, himself reported the details of the case, the legendary phrase sounded: "Yes, it looks like him. Gorbatov's grave alone will fix it." This was the end of the incident, since I.V. Stalin knew Gorbatov's personal qualities, respected the military merits of the commander and understood that he was not pursuing personal gain.

In June 1945, after the death of Colonel-General N.E. Berzarin, Alexander Vasilyevich was appointed Commandant of Berlin and headed the 5th Shock Army in the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany. In November 1945, simultaneously with his appointment as army commander, he became the head of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany in Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania.

Colonel-General A.V. Gorbatov in his office

From October 1946 Gorbatov commanded the 11th Guards Army of the Baltic Military District, and from March 1950 - a Separate Guards Airborne Army.

In March 1950, Gorbatov unexpectedly received an appointment to the post of commander of the Airborne Troops. The worldly wisdom and military experience of Alexander Vasilyevich manifested themselves from the first days of his new position. He noted with satisfaction the courage and skill of the paratroopers. At the same time, the new commander noted the fact that during the exercises the troops landed only in familiar terrain, as well as the slowness in capturing the area and in the transition to defense. He demanded that henceforth, immediately after landing, without losing a minute, the units should start solving problems.

For him, as in the war, the price of human life was higher than ambitions and departmental interests. For example, he made sure that the Airborne Forces received proven parachutes of the previous series, which, although more expensive in production, were much more reliable. It is symbolic that A.V. Gorbatov, who was called "batey" in the troops, handed over the command of the Airborne Forces to another "bat" - General V.F. Margelov.

In May 1954, A.V. Gorbatov was appointed commander of the Baltic Military District, and in August of the following year he was awarded the rank of army general. Since April 1958, he has been a military inspector – adviser to the group of general inspectors of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR.

The grave of A.V. Gorbatov at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow

The whole life of Alexander Vasilyevich Gorbatov is a convincing example of selfless service to the Motherland. In people's memory, he remained an outstanding military commander who did not suffer a single heavy defeat, a worthy officer and general who did not tarnish the honor of his uniform with an obscene act, a man of principle, honest, courageous, combining professional skills with a constant desire for new knowledge and self-improvement.

The military activity of General A.V. Gorbatov during the Great Patriotic War and his achievements in improving the combat readiness of the Armed Forces of the USSR in the post-war years were highly appreciated by the state. He was awarded three Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, four Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of Suvorov of the 1st degree, the Order of Suvorov of the 2nd degree, the Order of Kutuzov of the 1st degree, the Order of Kutuzov of the 2nd degree, two Orders of the Red Star, medals, the American Legion of Honor.

Army General Alexander Vasilyevich Gorbatov died on December 7, 1973 in Moscow and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. Fig. 7

Streets in many cities of Russia and Belarus are named after him. In 1965, a bronze bust was erected to him in the city of Novosil, Orel region, liberated by army troops under the command of General Gorbatov, and in 1983 - on his name square in the city of Orel. In 2003, a memorial complex was opened in the village of Vyazhi of the Novosilsky district of the Oryol region, part of this complex is the so-called "Gorbatov's Dugout", where the general's KP was located. A feature film "The General" was shot about the famous defender of the Motherland.