Table of contents:
- Seminarians to the military
- Illustrious military leader and trustworthy party member
- Defense of Kiev
- In the battle for Moscow
- A new picture of the world of the Russian general
Video: For what merits Vlasov was called Stalin's favorite general, and where is a monument in his honor today
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The name of General Vlasov became a household name in the USSR and to this day is associated with betrayal and cowardice. In the battle for Moscow in 1941, he became the first red general to force the German divisions to retreat. A peasant son who passed a rapid path from private to commander-in-chief. A long-term member of the CPSU (b), who was considered Stalin's favorite. Having fallen into German captivity in 1942, Vlasov voluntarily joined the enemy regime, intending to overthrow the Soviet leader.
Seminarians to the military
Andrei Andreevich Vlasov was brought up in a peasant family, being the 13th child of his parents. The father connected the future of his son with church ministry, so Andrey was sent to the Nizhny Novgorod seminary to receive a spiritual education. After the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, came to power in Russia, Vlasov, in the conditions of imposed militant atheism, changed course and decided to become an agronomist. After being drafted into the army in 1918, the future hero fought against Wrangel's white troops, headed the reconnaissance troops, and was responsible for the operation to destroy the Makhnovists. At the end of the Civil War, Vlasov received a military education, having finally decided on the work of his life.
Illustrious military leader and trustworthy party member
Before accepting the German side, General Vlasov not only managed to become famous as a successful Soviet military leader, but also was distinguished by his reliability in the highest political circles. In all his party characteristics, Vlasov's special loyalty to Lenin-Stalin and his irreconcilability with the enemies of everything Soviet were emphasized. Some biographers point to Vlasov's involvement in membership in military tribunals; his personality is also associated with participation in the "purges" of 1937-1938. commanders of the Red Army.
On the eve of 1939, Vlasov went to China as a military adviser. His activities were highly appreciated by the Generalissimo of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek, which was awarded the Order of the Golden Dragon awarded to Vlasov. Chan's wife, in turn, awarded him a personalized gold watch. According to the laws of that time, after returning to the USSR, Vlasov was obliged to hand over foreign awards and presents to the state. Some historians believe that this fact sowed hostility towards Stalin's regime in Vlasov.
Defense of Kiev
In 1940, Vlasov took command of the 99th Rifle Division, succeeding in his new post with high results. His subordinates were distinguished by excellent discipline and high-level military training. The Vlasov division has been repeatedly cited as an example as one of the best in the Soviet army. By the beginning of World War II, the division under the command of Vlasov was deployed in the Kiev military district.
During this career period, Vlasov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, an honorary gold watch and the highest Order of Lenin in the Soviet Union, and the capital's press publishes laudatory articles about him. The Vlasov division, among the units in the first days of the war, put up incredible resistance to the Germans. On the recommendation of Khrushchev, General Vlasov was appointed to command the 37th Army, which was ordered to defend Kiev. And Vlasov's army completed the task - the enemy did not manage to take the city with a direct blow to the forehead.
In the course of long battles, his soldiers were surrounded, miraculously breaking through a dense ring. General Vlasov did not give up, fighting to the end. He was seriously injured and ended up in a hospital bed.
In the battle for Moscow
In April 42, Vlasov leads the 2nd Shock Army, which will soon be involved in counter-offensives near Moscow. During the hardest battles, the commander manages to push back the powerful forces of the Wehrmacht and even liberate some settlements. The name of Andrei Vlasov gained fame, in military circles he was already set as an example. After the Kiev operation, the Germans set out to defeat the Russians on the central front, taking Moscow.
The best German generals went to solve this problem, but Hitler's plan was still failed. Among the names associated with the victory of the Red Army near Moscow, Andrei Vlasov was also named. He even gave a detailed interview to the BBC, which unambiguously testified to the serious level of Comrade Stalin's trust in the personality of Vlasov. He was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner and promoted. Vlasov becomes an incredibly popular Soviet military leader. At the front, victorious ditties are beginning to be written about him.
The cannons spoke in a bass voice, The military thunder roared. General Comrade Vlasov asked the Germans pepper!
A new picture of the world of the Russian general
In March 1942, Vlasov was appointed deputy commander of the Volkhov front. He is tasked with lifting the blockade of Leningrad, encircling and destroying the 18th German army. And the Volkhov troops manage to enter the German defense in a deep wedge. But as a result of the delay in the further offensive, the 2nd shock unit finds itself in German encirclement.
Subsequently, Vlasov admitted that during the time spent in the cauldron, he became convinced of the senseless stubbornness of the leader, who, according to the general, was to blame for tens of thousands of deaths. The general had the opportunity to get out of the encirclement by air, but he voluntarily refused, seeing the main enemy of the Russian people in Comrade Stalin.
Up to 20,000 soldiers were surrounded along with the commander. Then even the Germans were amazed at the fighting spirit of the Russian fighters, who preferred to die but not surrender. As a result, almost the entire Vlasov army was killed. And the few who miraculously managed to escape from the cauldron said that the failed operation broke the general. From that moment on, his picture of the world turned upside down, and he set as his goal the creation of a new Russia, free from the Bolsheviks.
In the summer of 1942, he ended up in German captivity, soon offering confidential cooperation to the German command. Having gone over to Hitler's side, Vlasov headed the "Russian Liberation Army", which consisted of Soviet prisoners. But the general's new career turned out to be short-lived, and already in May 1945, within the framework of the agreement on repatriation, Vlasov was extradited to the USSR, where he, along with 9 defector generals, was awaiting execution at the Lubyanka.
Of course, Vlasov was not the only defector. A whole phenomenon has taken shape collaborationism of the inhabitants of the USSR.
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