Koschevoi general. Soviet commander Pyotr Kirillovich Koshevoy
Born in the city of Alexandria, Kherson province, into a peasant family. In 1920 he joined the Red Army. Member of the Civil War, Red Army soldier. In 1927 he graduated from the cavalry school and served in command and staff posts. After graduating from the Academy in 1939. Frunze, before the Great Patriotic War, he served as chief of staff of a division with the rank of colonel.
In the Great Patriotic War Koshevoy (until September 1943 commander rifle division, and then the rifle corps) showed himself as an enterprising and strong-willed commander. He performed a number of outstanding military operations, distinguished himself, in particular, during the assault on Sapun Mountain near Sevastopol and the capture of Koenigsberg (for these battles he received the title of Hero Soviet Union). He graduated from the war with the rank of lieutenant general. At the Victory Parade he commanded a combined regiment of the Third Belorussian Front.
After the war, Koshevoy held a number of important command posts and was highly regarded as a commander and military administrator (according to his grandson, writer P. G. Palamarchuk, “his colleague Marshal Bagramyan called him military number one at that time”), although he did not pursue a career and positions in the Ministry of Defense and was proud that he had never served in Moscow. He was the commander of the army (1946-1955), the first deputy commander-in-chief of the Group Soviet troops in Germany (1955-1957), commander of the Siberian Military District (1957-1960), Kyiv Military District (1960-1965).
The highest position held by Koshevoy was Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (1965-1969). During this time, he did a lot to strengthen the combat capability of the Group, which "should have been ready to reach Gibraltar in three days." On April 15, 1968, Army General Koshevoy was awarded (together with P.F. Batitsky) the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
As the head of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Koshevoy took part in organizing and entering Czechoslovakia on August 20, 1968, units of the 20th Guards Army from the Group, which, in accordance with the plans of Operation Danube, established control over the main objects of the capital of Czechoslovakia, the city of Prague.
However, already in October 1969, Koshevoy was removed from the post of Commander-in-Chief and replaced by V. G. Kulikov. From that time until the end of his life, he held the honorary position, traditional for retired marshals, of "General Inspector of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense."
P.K. Koshevoy was the first to die at large and in the rank of Marshals of the Soviet Union, who were not buried at Kremlin wall, and at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
By order of the USSR Ministry of Defense dated April 9, 1977, the name of Pyotr Kirillovich was assigned to the Omsk Higher Tank Engineering Order of the Red Star School. Memorial plaque in memory of P.K. Koshevoy was installed in Novosibirsk on the building where the headquarters of the Siberian Military District was located.
Awards
- Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (05/16/1944, 04/09/1945)
- five orders of Lenin (12/17/1941, 05/16/1944, 04/30/1945, 12/09/1964, 02/22/1968)
- order October revolution (04.12.1974)
- three orders of the Red Banner (11/03/1944, 11/15/1950, 02/21/1969)
- Order of Suvorov, 2nd class (03/31/1943)
- two Order of Kutuzov 2nd degree (09/17/1943, 07/04/1944)
- Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st degree (05/05/1945)
- medals
- foreign awards.
In the year of the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazi invaders, I would like to gratefully honor the memory of those who took part in the battles of the Great Patriotic War. Many lives were laid down for the liberation of the territories that are now part of Ukraine. The lives of soldiers, the lives of civilians.
Now in Kyiv on the Alley of Glory, by decision of the government, bronze busts are being erected twice to the Heroes of the Soviet Union, whose fate is connected with Ukraine. We do not know if there is a “small gap” in that bronze formation for Peter Koshevoy, but we must remember this man.
Military leader, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, holder of five Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, 3 Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st Class, the Order of Suvorov 2nd Class, two Orders of Kutuzov 2nd Class, many medals and foreign awards. A native of Ukraine, who passed life path from a simple peasant boy to a Marshal of the Soviet Union, Pyotr Kirillovich Koshevoy was born on December 8 (21), 1904 in the city of Alexandria (now in the Kirovograd region) into a peasant family.
15-year-old (!) Peter joined the young Red Army as a private, and in 1920 he graduated from the military elementary school. Then he served in the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the 8th Cavalry Division of the Red Cossacks. In those years, he happened to take part in the battles "against the White Poles" and Petlyura's troops on Southwestern Front. Later fought with the Ukrainian rebels. In 1923 he successfully completed the Crimean cavalry courses, after which until August 1924 he served as foreman of the cavalry squadron of the 3rd cavalry regiment of the 1st cavalry division of the Red Cossacks of the Ukrainian military district. In 1927, Koshevoy graduated from the Cavalry School named after. S. M. Budyonny. He continued to serve in the cavalry, commanded a platoon in the Moscow Military District. After graduating from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze served as chief of staff of the 15th Cavalry Division in the Trans-Baikal Military District. From February 1940, he became commander of the 65th Infantry Division there.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, division commander Koshevoy took part in fierce, difficult battles near the city of Tikhvin near Leningrad. There was a moment when, after long seemingly hopeless battles, there was a glimmer of hope. P. Koshevoy wrote in his memoirs: “The commander often stopped, peering into the buildings scorched by the fire of the battle, into the broken German equipment, thinking about something ... On the road lay the corpse of a fascist soldier face up. A bullet-riddled belt buckle with the inscription "Gott mit uns" gleamed dully on his belly. Meretskov spoke: “Well, Comrade Koshevoy, now the enemy is retreating. I think that we have helped not only Leningrad, but also the capital. And the turn is taking place not only here. It is taking place on all fronts. The Nazis are still strong. , but fascists can be beaten... There is no doubt about that." Pursuing the enemy, we were approaching the Volkhov River. It is difficult to convey in words the enormous upsurge that then engulfed the troops. Despite extreme fatigue, the commanders and fighters acted swiftly and energetically. We were pleased with the reports of the Soviet Information Bureau, which spoke of the successes of the Soviet troops near Tikhvin. But even greater enthusiasm was caused by an emergency message about the failure of the German plan to encircle and capture Moscow. General Meretskov, as it turned out, was right: we helped the capital.”
Map of the Tikhvin operation
In the summer of 1942, Koshevoy was appointed commander of the 24th Guards Rifle Division, which was part of the 8th Army, under the command of Lieutenant General F. N. Starikov. The division was located in the Volkhov region, participated in the offensive, which lifted the blockade from Leningrad. It is known that Hitler then personally demanded from Field Marshal Erich von Manstein "immediate intervention in the situation on the Volkhov front in order to avoid disaster." In the "strategic hysteria" enemy attacks did not stop - Manstein's troops without a break, for many days in a row, conducted offensive operations, trying to push the front line. “And a little later, on the positions, the soldiers fought off the enemy, not sending a single bullet past the target,” recalled P. Koshevoy. Now, with even greater clarity, we have seen what is guards division. People have become especially fit and focused. Even the wounded stood in the trenches, not wanting to leave their comrades.”
I. M. Bovkun, P. K. Koshevoy, S. I. Khramtsov (from left to right). Volkhov front. June 1942
On October 15, 1942, the 24th Infantry Division was sent to the village of Rasskazovo, Tambov Region. Now she was part of the 2nd Guards Army, commanded by Major General Ya. G. Kreizer. The composition of the division was able to rest a bit and undergo retraining, and at the end of 1942 it was sent "through a snowstorm and a blizzard" near Stalingrad ... The division collided with enemy tank formations near the Verkhne-Kumsky farm. In the battles for the farms of Generalovsky and Novoaksaysky, she defeated two Romanian divisions - the 2nd infantry and the 17th tank. And during the liberation of the city of Kotelnikovo, our troops captured numerous enemy warehouses with provisions, medicines and supplies for the 6th Army, which participated in Battle of Stalingrad under the command of Field Marshal Paulus.
February 2, 1943 Stalingrad was liberated. The division advanced with fighting further. Semikarakorsk, Novocherkassk, Matveev Kurgan were liberated. P. Koshevoy wrote: “On the Mius River, the troops of the front encountered a solid positional defense of the Nazi troops. Here and on the Molochnaya River we fought throughout the first half and the next three months of 1943. We did not have to break the back of the main forces of the Nazi Wehrmacht, as the Soviet troops did near Kursk. From day to day we hammered out a solid defense, shattered it and firmly held large enemy forces here, preventing the fascist German command from releasing reserves for use in the decisive, western direction. Every morning we looked forward to news from Kursk, Orel and Kharkov, we knew that the main events of the war were taking place there. . Your tasks, like everyone else soviet soldiers, performed according to conscience and duty, believed that our turn would come to be in the forefront of the attackers.
In 1944, after being in the reserve, P. Koshevoy's division became part of the 51st Army and was sent for further fighting to the Crimea, on the southern shore of Lake Sivash. Together with the 19th Panzer Corps, she managed to completely destroy German defense on the Turkish shaft and fortify in the area of Armyansk. This made it possible to develop a breakthrough in the direction of Dzhankoy, Simferopol and Sevastopol. In April, an active offensive began. “The most important knot of enemy resistance - Karanka - was completely eliminated,” P. Koshevoy wrote in his memoirs. - We reached the Ass-Naiman line, and the height of 30.3 was already looming ahead, where the last position of the enemy defense passed. Scouts reported that the 33rd infantry regiment 10th Infantry Division of the Romanians and the 70th Infantry Regiment of the 111th Infantry Division of the Germans. We took 550 prisoners, 11 of them officers. The enemy left many corpses on the battlefield. A lot of weapons were captured, especially artillery."
Sapun Mountain was taken with difficulty, from which the liberation of "the legendary Sevastopol, the city of Russian sailors" began. The hero city was liberated exactly one year before the end of the war - on May 9, 1944. Over the years, the military leader Koshevoy found heartfelt and figurative words to convey the personal and general mood of that period: “... I left my last observation post in the Crimea in the morning May 10. Went to the top of Malakhov Kurgan to look into last time on the ruined heroic city. Its ruins were still smoking. Only in the area of Cape Chersonesos were heard volleys and the noise of battle ... Almonds were wounded by fragments and bullets. Pieces of torn, already darkened metal dug into the bark. Juice, like blood, flowed in thick drops, leaving an uneven, winding trail along the trunk. There was no strength to bloom, but the almonds had already overcome death and were now greedily reaching for the sun with chopped, but unkilled branches. So, we thought then, and Sevastopol itself will find a new, even more beautiful youth and life ... "
Then the troops under the command of Peter Koshevoy liberated Belarus, stormed Koenigsberg, fought in East Prussia. Until the end.
After the Victory, P. Koshevoy remained in the ranks, in 1948 he graduated from the Higher Courses at the Military Academy General Staff. He held the post of commander of the Siberian and Kyiv military districts, was the commander-in-chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, was a member of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. April 15, 1968 Peter Koshevoy was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
The feats of arms of Peter Koshevoy are still remembered in different parts of our great Fatherland. A bronze bust was erected in the marshal's hometown, a street and a square bear his name.
His name was given to the Omsk Higher Tank Engineering Order of the Red Star School (now the Omsk Tank Engineering Institute).
On Marshal Koshevoy Street in Volgodonsk
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union P.K. Busts were erected for Koshevoy in Omsk, Alexandria, and Volgodonsk. And in Dzhankoy, one of the streets bears the name of Marshal P.K. Koshevoy.
Biography
Pyotr Kirillovich Koshevoy was born on December 8 (according to the new style - 21) December 1904 in the city of Alexandria (now the Kirovograd region of Ukraine). Ukrainian by nationality.
The Great Patriotic War
In November 1941, the Koshevoy division was transferred to the active army, to the Volkhov Front, where it took part in. In July 1942, Koshevoy was appointed commander of the 24th Guards Rifle Division, and in August 1943 he became commander of the 63rd Rifle Corps. Corps Koshevoy especially distinguished himself during the liberation of the Crimea. April 8-10, 1944, he broke through enemy defense and entered the operating room. On April 11, 1944, parts of the corps liberated the city of Dzhankoy, on April 18, 1944 they crossed the Chernaya River and reached the approaches to. During the offensive, they liberated Simferopol, Bakhchisaray, Balaklava, Karasu-Bazar and more than 200 settlements. The culmination of the Crimean battles was the assault on Sapun Mountain, in which Koshevoy's corps took an active part. The enemy suffered huge losses- more than 6 thousand soldiers and officers killed and more than 8 thousand prisoners, a lot of equipment, horses, military equipment. For the skillful command of the corps, Koshevoy was awarded the title.
In May 1944, Koshevoy was appointed commander of the 71st Rifle Corps of the 31st Army, at the same time he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. Under his command, this formation successfully operated during the liberation, including during the assault on Insterburg, Königsberg and Pillau. For the difference in those battles, Koshevoy was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the second time.
Post-war career
After the war he continued to serve in Soviet army. He participated in, commanded a consolidated regiment of the 3rd Belorussian Front on it. In July 1946, Koshevoy was appointed commander of the 6th guards army Baltic military district. In 1948 he graduated from the Higher Academic Courses at the Higher Military Academy named after K. E. Voroshilov (now the Military Academy of the General Staff Armed Forces Russian Federation), after which he commanded the 5th Army, stationed in the Primorsky and Far Eastern military districts. In 1954-195 he commanded the 11th Guards Army of the Baltic Military District. On May 31, 1954, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel General. In July 1955, Koshevoy was sent to the post of First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.
He returned to the USSR in 1957. He commanded the Siberian, then the Kyiv military district. April 13, 1964 he was awarded the rank of General of the Army. From January 1965 to October 1969, Koshevoy again served in the GDR, was commander-in-chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. April 15, 1968 he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
In 1961-1971, Koshevoy was elected as a candidate member of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and was also a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 6th and 7th convocations.
In October 1969, Koshevoy was transferred to the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He died on August 30, 1976, and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow (site No. 7). He became the first Marshal of the Soviet Union who was not buried near the Kremlin wall (not counting the repressed).
Born in the city of Alexandria, Kherson province, into a peasant family. In 1920 he joined the Red Army. Member of the Civil War, Red Army soldier. In 1927 he graduated from the cavalry school and served in command and staff posts. After graduating from the Academy in 1939. Frunze, before the Great Patriotic War, he served as chief of staff of a division with the rank of colonel.
In the Great Patriotic War, Koshevoy (until September 1943 the commander of a rifle division, and then a rifle corps) showed himself as an enterprising and strong-willed commander. He performed a number of outstanding military operations, distinguished himself, in particular, during the assault on Sapun Mountain near Sevastopol and the capture of Koenigsberg (for these battles he received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union). He graduated from the war with the rank of lieutenant general. At the Victory Parade he commanded a combined regiment of the Third Belorussian Front.
After the war, Koshevoy held a number of important command posts and was highly regarded as a commander and military administrator (according to his grandson, writer P. G. Palamarchuk, “his colleague Marshal Bagramyan called him military number one at that time”), although he did not pursue a career and positions in the Ministry of Defense and was proud that he had never served in Moscow. He was an Army Commander (1946-1955), First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (1955-1957), Commander of the Siberian Military District (1957-1960), Kyiv Military District (1960-1965).
The highest position held by Koshevoy was Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (1965-1969). During this time, he did a lot to strengthen the combat capability of the Group, which "should have been ready to reach Gibraltar in three days." On April 15, 1968, Army General Koshevoy was awarded (together with P.F. Batitsky) the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
As the head of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, Koshevoy took part in organizing and entering Czechoslovakia on August 20, 1968, units of the 20th Guards Army from the Group, which, in accordance with the plans of Operation Danube, established control over the main objects of the capital of Czechoslovakia, the city of Prague.
However, already in October 1969, Koshevoy was removed from the post of Commander-in-Chief and replaced by V. G. Kulikov. From that time until the end of his life, he held the honorary position, traditional for retired marshals, of "General Inspector of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense."
P.K. Koshevoy was the first to die at large and with the rank of Marshals of the Soviet Union, who were buried not at the Kremlin wall, but at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.
By order of the USSR Ministry of Defense dated April 9, 1977, the name of Pyotr Kirillovich was assigned to the Omsk Higher Tank Engineering Order of the Red Star School. Memorial plaque in memory of P.K. Koshevoy was installed in Novosibirsk on the building where the headquarters of the Siberian Military District was located.
Awards
- Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (05/16/1944, 04/09/1945)
- five orders of Lenin (12/17/1941, 05/16/1944, 04/30/1945, 12/09/1964, 02/22/1968)
- Order of the October Revolution (04.12.1974)
- three orders of the Red Banner (11/03/1944, 11/15/1950, 02/21/1969)
- Order of Suvorov, 2nd class (03/31/1943)
- two Order of Kutuzov 2nd degree (09/17/1943, 07/04/1944)
- Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st degree (05/05/1945)
- medals
- foreign awards.
To Oshevoy Pyotr Kirillovich - commander of the 63rd Rifle Corps (51st Army, 4th Ukrainian Front), Major General; Commander of the 36th Guards Rifle Corps (11th Guards Army, 3rd Belorussian Front), Lieutenant General.
Born on December 8 (21), 1904 in the city of Alexandria, Kherson province, now Kirovograd region (Ukraine). Ukrainian.
In the Red Army since February 1920. Participant civil war: in February 1920-August 1922 - a Red Army soldier of the 2nd cavalry regiment of the 8th cavalry division of the Red Cossacks. Participated in battles against the White Poles and Petliurists on the Southwestern Front, then fought with the rebels in Ukraine.
In 1923 he graduated from the Crimean cavalry courses named after the Crimean Central Executive Committee. From October 1923 to August 1924 he was the foreman of the cavalry squadron of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the Red Cossacks of the 1st Cavalry Division of the Red Cossacks of the Ukrainian Military District.
In 1927 he graduated from the Ukrainian Cavalry School named after S.M. Budyonny. He continued to serve in the cavalry, in September 1927 he commanded a platoon in the 61st Cavalry Regiment of the Special Cavalry Brigade in the Moscow Military District. Since November 1931, he was on assignment at the headquarters of the Moscow Military District, then served as an assistant commander of a machine-gun squadron and a platoon commander of a mechanized division in the United military school named after the All-Russian Central Executive Committee in Moscow.
In 1932 he graduated from the armored advanced training courses for the officers of the Red Army in Leningrad. Since September 1932 - head of the regimental school of the 61st cavalry regiment of the Special Cavalry Division in the Moscow Military District. Since May 1935 - assistant chief of the 1st part of the headquarters of this division, since October 1935 - chief of staff of the 61st cavalry regiment in the same place.
In 1939 he graduated military academy named after M.V. Frunze. From January 1939 - Chief of Staff of the 15th Cavalry Division (in the Trans-Baikal Military District), from February 1940 - Commander of the 65th Infantry Division (in the Trans-Baikal Military District).
Member of the Great Patriotic War since November 1941 as commander of the 65th Infantry Division, which was redeployed to the Volkhov Front. The division under his command took part in the Tikhvin operation. From July 1942 - commander of the 24th Guards Rifle Division (Volkhov, Stalingrad and Southern Fronts). From August 1943 he commanded the 63rd rifle corps. As part of the 51st Army of the South and the 44th and 51st armies of the 4th Ukrainian fronts the corps under his command participated in the liberation of Donbass and Crimea. He especially distinguished himself in April-May 1944 during the liberation of the cities of Dzhankoy, Simferopol and during the assault on Sapun Mountain on the outskirts of Sevastopol.
For good leadership military formations during the liberation of the Crimea and the personal courage and heroism shown at the same time by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 16, 1944 to Major General Koshevoi Petr Kirillovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the medal " Golden Star"(No. 3598).
Since May 1944 - commander of the 71st Rifle Corps (31st Army, 3rd Belorussian Front), whose soldiers distinguished themselves during the liberation of Belarus and the Baltic states. From January 1945 he commanded the 36th Guards Rifle Corps in the 11th Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front. Corps troops distinguished themselves in the East Prussian operation and during the assault on the cities of Insterburg, Königsberg and Pillau.
For the skillful leadership of military units during the assault on Königsberg and the personal courage and heroism shown at the same time, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 19, 1945, the lieutenant general was awarded the second Gold Star medal (No. 43/2).
After the war he continued to command this corps. From July 1946 to March 1947 he commanded the 6th Guards Army (in the Baltic Military District). In 1948 he graduated from the Higher Academic Courses at the Higher Military Academy named after K.E. Voroshilov. From April 1948 he commanded the 5th Army in the Primorsky and Far Eastern military districts. From June 1954 - Commander of the 11th Guards Army of the Baltic Military District. Since July 1955 - 1st Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. In July 1957-April 1960 - Commander of the Siberian Military District, in April 1960-January 1965 - Commander of the Kyiv Military District. In January 1965-October 1969 - Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. Since October 1969 - General Inspector of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense.
Lived in the hero city of Moscow. Died August 30, 1976. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow (plot 7).
Colonel (02/29/1940);
major general (10/1/1942);
lieutenant general (05/17/1944);
colonel general (05/31/1954);
army general (04/13/1964);
Marshal of the Soviet Union (04/15/1968).He was awarded 5 Orders of Lenin (12/17/1941, 04/16/1944, 04/30/1945, 12/9/1964, 02/22/1968), the Order of the October Revolution (12/4/1974), 3 Orders of the Red Banner (11/3/1944, 11/15/1950, 21/02. 1969), orders of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st class (05/05/1945), Suvorov 2nd class (03/31/1943), 2 orders of Kutuzov 2nd class (09/17/1943, 07/04/1944), medals, foreign awards.
Candidate member of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1961-1971. Member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1962-1970.
A bronze bust is installed in the city of Alexandria. There is also a square and a street named after him. In 1976, the name of the commander was given to Omsk tank school(now - Omsk Tank Engineering Institute named after Marshal of the Soviet Union P.K. Koshevoy). There is a bust on the school grounds.
Compositions:
During the war years. M., 1978.