RSFSR RSFSR
USSR USSR
Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin(June 16, 1894, Androniki village, Yaroslavl province, Russian Empire - October 17, 1949, Moscow) - Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1944), Hero of the Soviet Union (1965 - posthumously). Knight of the Order of Victory (1945). People's Hero of Yugoslavia (1945), Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1979 - posthumously).
Biography
In the summer of 1918 - military commissar of the Sandyrevsky volost of the Yaroslavl province.
In 1919 he graduated from the staff service school and participated in the civil war, being a junior assistant to the chief of staff of a rifle division for operational work on the Northern and Western fronts. Then he got married, the marriage with Ekaterina Ivanovna lasted a year, leaving behind a daughter, Tatyana (married to Vrublevskaya).
In 1921, he took part in the suppression of the Kronstadt uprising, and then in military operations against the White Finns in Karelia.
He married Tamara Evgenievna Bobyleva in 1923 in Novgorod, who came from a noble family. The son died in infancy.
He graduated from advanced training courses for senior command personnel in 1927 and 1930, and in 1934 from the Frunze Military Academy. Held positions: chief of staff of a rifle division, from June 1934 - chief of staff of a rifle corps, from September 1937 - commander of a rifle division in Ukraine. In July 1938 - August 1941, F.I. Tolbukhin was chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District. In June 1940, with the introduction of general ranks in the Red Army, he was awarded the military rank of major general.
Interwar period
- Chief of Staff of the troops of the Novgorod province (from August 1921)
- Chief of Staff of the 56th Infantry Division (from September 1921)
- head of the operational department of the headquarters of the troops of the Karelian region (from December 1921)
- Chief of Staff (since March 1922)
- Chief of Staff (from June 1922) 56th Infantry Division
- commander (trainee) of the 167th Infantry Regiment (from January 1929)
- Chief of Staff of the 1st Rifle Corps (from November 1930)
- Chief of Staff of the 19th Rifle Corps (from January 1935)
- commander of the 72nd Infantry Division (from October 1937)
- Chief of Staff of the ZakVO (from July 1938)
- With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War - in the same position.
The Great Patriotic War
- August-December 1941: Chief of Staff of the Transcaucasian Front.
- December 1941 - January 1942: Chief of Staff of the Caucasian Front.
- January-March 1942: Chief of Staff of the Crimean Front.
- May-July 1942: Deputy Commander of the Stalingrad Military District;
- July 1942: February: Commander of the 57th Army on the Stalingrad Front;
- February 1943 - March: commander of the 68th Army on the North-Western Front. Participated in the Starorusskaya operation in March 1943.
- January 19, 1943 - awarded the rank of “Lieutenant General”;
- April 28, 1943 - awarded the rank of “Colonel General”;
- September 21, 1943 - awarded the rank of "Army General".
Since March 1943, F.I. Tolbukhin commanded the troops of the Southern (reformed on October 20, 1943 into the 4th Ukrainian Front) and since May 1944 - the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Since September 12, 1944 - Marshal of the Soviet Union. He led army troops in the Battle of Stalingrad, participated in the liberation of Yugoslavia from the Nazi invaders and the defeat of the enemy in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Austria. Since September 1944 - Chairman of the Allied Control Commission in Bulgaria. On July 19, 1945, F.I. Tolbukhin, on behalf of the Soviet government, presented the Order of Victory No. 16 to King Mihai I of Romania.
The largest operations of the fronts under the command of F. I. Tolbukhin
- Mius operation, July - August. The front troops tried to break through the Mius Front, but were unsuccessful and were forced, leaving the occupied bridgehead, to retreat to their original positions. However, having pinned down the enemy troops in heavy battles, they deprived him of the opportunity to transfer reserves from Mius to the area of the Battle of Kursk.
- Donbass operation, August - September 1943. Front troops, together with the Southwestern Front, marched over 300 kilometers to the west in a month and a half of fighting, completely liberating Donbass.
- Melitopol operation, September - November 1943. Front troops broke through the previously prepared defense line along the Molochnaya River, advanced up to 320 kilometers, cut off enemy troops in the Crimea and occupied bridgeheads for its subsequent assault.
- Crimean operation, April - May 1944. Front troops broke into Crimea from the north, together with the Separate Primorsky Army, defeated the enemy’s 17th Army and liberated Crimea.
- Iasi-Kishinev operation, August 1944. The front's troops, together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, defeated Army Group "Southern Ukraine", bringing down the entire southern flank of the Soviet-German front. Romania was withdrawn from the war on the side of Germany and entered the war on the side of the anti-Hitler coalition.
- Bucharest-Arad Operation, September 1944. The remnants of Army Group "Southern Ukraine" were completely destroyed, the territory of Romania was completely liberated with heavy losses for the enemy.
- Belgrade operation, October 1944. Front troops, together with units of the Yugoslav and Bulgarian armies, liberated the eastern regions of Yugoslavia and its capital Belgrade, creating conditions for the complete liberation of the country.
- Apatin-Kaposvar operation, November - December 1944. Front troops crossed the Danube, defeated the 2nd Hungarian Army and created conditions for the encirclement of Budapest.
- Budapest operation, December 1944 - February 1945. The front's troops, together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, with significant losses, surrounded and destroyed the enemy group in Budapest, crushing its significant forces to the west of the city.
- Balaton defensive operation, March 1945. Front troops repulsed the last major Wehrmacht offensive of the war, bleeding its strike force dry.
- Vienna operation, March - April 1945. Front troops, together with troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, defeated Army Group South, completing the liberation of Hungarian territory and liberating most of Austria.
- Graz-Amstetten Offensive Operation, 15 April – 9 May 1945. Western and central Austria were liberated, and the surrender of the opposing German forces was accepted.
Post-war service
After the war, Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin was the commander-in-chief of the Southern Group of Forces on the territory of Romania and Bulgaria, created to counter the likely military actions of Turkey in the Balkans (disbanded in February 1947). Since January 1947 - commander of the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 2nd convocation (1946-1949).
He died on October 17, 1949 in Moscow from diabetes. He was cremated, and the urn with his ashes was buried in the Kremlin wall on Red Square.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 7, 1965, the outstanding military leader Marshal of the Soviet Union Fedor Ivanovich Tolbukhin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Colleagues' ratings
- Marshal of the Soviet Union S.S. Biryuzov:
Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin, according to my ideas at that time, was already elderly, that is, about 50 years old. Tall, corpulent, with large but pleasant facial features, he gave the impression of a very kind person. Subsequently, I had the opportunity to finally become convinced of this, as well as of another very characteristic quality of Tolbukhin - his external equanimity and calmness. I don't remember a single time when he lost his temper. And it is not surprising, therefore, that Fyodor Ivanovich openly expressed his antipathy towards overly ardent people.
- General I.K. Morozov:
From the very beginning of its actions to cover Stalingrad from the south and until the transition to the offensive on November 20, 1942, the 57th Army quietly, hastily, thoughtfully and organizedly conducted defensive and private offensive battles and operations. We called it an army of order and organization and loved its command for its exceptionally attentive and thrifty attitude towards people, towards soldiers, whatever their rank.
- Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky:
During the war years, Tolbukhin's qualities such as impeccable performance of official duty, personal courage, military leadership, and sincere attitude towards his subordinates were especially clearly revealed. I’m not talking about this from hearsay, but from personal communication with him during my stay in his troops at Stalingrad, in the Donbass, in Left Bank Ukraine and in Crimea...
After the war, F.I. Tolbukhin, holding responsible positions and being very ill, continued to successfully fulfill his duties. I will never forget how Fyodor, lying in a hospital bed, literally a few minutes before his death, assured that he would go to work tomorrow.Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky The work of a lifetime. Second edition, expanded. - M: Publishing House of Political Literature, 1975. P.375.
- Army General S. M. Shtemenko:
Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin came to command posts from headquarters work. ...Personally, I remember F.I. Tolbukhin as a very kind person and, perhaps, the most modest of all front commanders. The “staff bone” remained with him throughout his life and sometimes prevailed over the command bone. He always provided his subordinates with the opportunity to exercise broad initiative.
May 18. The hero of the day in the project "100 Great Commanders" is the "forgotten Soviet marshal" Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin
Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich
Battles and victories
If we were looking for a person who symbolizes the dramatic path of the Russian army in the last century, its path “from the double-headed eagle to the red banner”, its best traditions, difficult days and great victories, one of the main personalities would be Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin - son of the Fatherland, hero The First and Second World Wars.
Forgotten Marshal
Outstanding Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously), People's Hero of Yugoslavia, Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (posthumously), holder of the Order of Victory. Unfortunately, one more thing can be added to these titles: “forgotten marshal.”
During the Second World War, the Red Army took/liberated 7 capitals of independent states: Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, Warsaw, Belgrade and Sofia. The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front under the command of Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin liberated three of them - the capitals of Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, participating in the liberation of two more - the capitals of Austria and Hungary. The marshal who died in 1949 is well known to military historians, but for the general public, the marshal who did not have time to leave memoirs, who did not make a career on the post-war laurels of a winner, remains not so well known.
Fyodor Tolbukhin was born into a large peasant family in the village of Androniki, Yaroslavl province, on June 3 (June 16), 1894. In the metric book of the Resurrection Church. Davydkovo, Romanovo-Borisoglebsk district, Yaroslavl province, the date of his baptism and birth coincide, due to which we can claim that the real date of his birth is unknown, and the date of baptism was considered his birthday. The parents of the future marshal were “reserve private Ivan Fedorov(ich) Tolbukhin and his legal wife Anna Grigoriev(n), both of the Orthodox faith,” and his uncle, Alexander Fedorovich Tolbukhin, was his godfather. Fedor graduated from the parochial school in his native village, and after that from the zemstvo school in Davydkovo (now Tolbukhino). In 1907, his father died, leaving his wife with five children. Uncle Alexander helped his brother's family as much as he could. He lived in the capital Petersburg, where he traded in oats and hay. He also took Fedor into his care, helped him move to his city and graduate from a three-year trade school. After graduating from trade school, the future commander began working as an accountant in 1911. However, the desire to learn did not leave F.I. Tolbukhin - in 1912 he passed the exam as an external student for the full course of the St. Petersburg Commercial School. At this time, the peaceful life of F.I. Tolbukhin's life ended, both for subjective reasons, in 1913 the uncle who patronized him died, and his aunt sold her trading business and left for the province, and for objective reasons - the world was on the threshold of the First World War.
Becoming an officer
F.I. Tolbukhin began his military service in 1915 as a volunteer, having completed a training course at the driver school at the Petrograd Automotive Training Company. After a short service as a motorcyclist at the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division of the Northwestern Front, in April-July 1915 he completed an accelerated course at the Oranienbaum officer school and received the rank of ensign. On the fronts of the First World War, the officers who survived the battles and had an education rapidly moved up the ranks. By the fall of 1915, Tolbukhin was temporarily acting as commander of the 11th company of the 2nd Zaamursky regiment of the 1st Zaamursky infantry division, operating as part of the 9th Army on the Southwestern Front. In the summer of 1916, Second Lieutenant Tolbukhin had the opportunity to participate in the famous Brusilovsky breakthrough, which Lieutenant General M.R. Galaktionov, in his preface to Brusilov’s memoirs, published in 1946, called him “the forerunner of the remarkable breakthroughs carried out by the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War.” For the personal courage shown in battles and the responsible fulfillment of assigned combat missions in the Tsarist-Russian army, Tolbukhin also managed to receive the rank of lieutenant and was awarded the Orders of St. Anne and St. Stanislav.
The war machine required new soldiers, and on January 28, 1917, Lieutenant F.I. Tolbukhin was sent to form the 13th regiment of the 4th Zaamur Infantry Division, where the young officer was caught up in the February Revolution. As a battalion commander, in June 1917, Tolbukhin took part in the last offensive of Russia during the First World War, which brought defeat to the Russian army, and the young officer - the rank of staff captain and severe concussion. After the October Revolution in December 1917, Tolbukhin took two months of sick leave, and in March 1918 he was completely demobilized, returning to his native Yaroslavl region.
There was no place for the peaceful profession of accountant in war-ravaged Russia, and F.I. Tolbukhin got a job in the network of commissariats for military affairs created, according to the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars, heading the volost military registration and enlistment office, which was responsible for the registration, training and conscription of those liable for military service. In 1919 he graduated from the staff service school. While working as a staff member of the 56th Infantry Division, Tolbukhin also had to take part in the Civil War. First, he fought in the region of Belarus on the Polish Front, receiving in August 1920 the Order of the Red Banner “for distinction in battles against the enemies of the socialist Fatherland,” and the second (and last) combat episode of the Civil War for him was the fight against the White Finns for Soviet Karelia. For his dedicated work as head of the operational department of the Karelian district headquarters, F.I. Tolbukhin was also awarded a diploma, a badge “Honest Warrior of the Karelian Front” and valuable gifts. During the period of peaceful construction of the army, F.I. Tolbukhin slowly continued his advancement through the ranks - in 1926 he graduated from the Higher Academic Courses at the Military Academy. Frunze, in 1930 - Advanced training courses for commanding personnel, and in 1934 - Operations Faculty of the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze. After a decade as chief of staff of a rifle division, in November 1930 he became chief of staff of a rifle corps. In 1938, brigade commander Tolbukhin became chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District. From then until his death, the fate of F.I. Tolbukhin was closely intertwined with the southern borders of our Motherland.
The chief of staff of the front, commanded by F.I. Tolbukhin, and later the commander of the 37th Army as part of the same front, S.S. Biryuzov wrote:Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin, according to my ideas at that time, was already elderly, that is, about 50 years old. Tall, corpulent, with large but pleasant facial features, he gave the impression of a very kind person. Subsequently, I had the opportunity to finally become convinced of this, as well as of another very characteristic quality of Tolbukhin - his external equanimity and calmness. I don't remember a single time when he lost his temper. And it is not surprising, therefore, that Fyodor Ivanovich openly expressed his antipathy towards overly ardent people.
Southern borders during the Great Patriotic War
With the outbreak of World War II, the USSR began to prepare for active defense on all sections of its long borders. According to the memoirs of S. M. Shtemenko, who then served on the General Staff, “... the autumn of 1940 and winter of 1941 had to be spent on a thorough study and military-geographical description of the Middle Eastern theater. In March, we began to develop command and staff exercises in the Transcaucasian and Central Asian military districts, scheduled for May... The front was commanded by the deputy commander of the district's troops, Lieutenant General P.I. Batov. The duties of the front chief of staff were performed by Major General F.I. Tolbukhin."
The results of these exercises were used the following year during the joint Anglo-Soviet operation to occupy Iran from August 25, 1941 to September 17, 1941. On the Soviet side, the general leadership of the operation was carried out by Lieutenant General D.T. Kozlov - commander of the Transcaucasian Front, chief of staff was F.I. Tolbukhin. The operation included the 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th combined arms armies of the Trans-Front, and the 53rd combined arms army from the Central Asian Military District and the Caspian Military Flotilla were also assigned to the front during the operation. While the 45th and 46th armies covered the borders with Turkey, and the 44th and 53rd armies covered the Soviet-Iranian border. The first blow was delivered by the 47th Army, the success of which was developed by the 44th and 53rd Armies. On the British side, the following took part in the invasion: 1st Tank Brigade, 3 Infantry Divisions and 1 Infantry Brigade. The Iranians were able to oppose the allies with 3 divisions in the north and 2 in the south. The ships of the Caspian Flotilla supported the troops operating along the coast, and on August 26 they carried out an amphibious operation, during which 2,500 people from the 105th Mountain Rifle Regiment were landed near the village of Khevi south of the city of Astara.
Despite convenient defensive positions, Iranian troops offered little resistance. Soon after the start of the entry of allied troops into Iran, there was a change in the cabinet of ministers of the Iranian government. The new prime minister of Iran ordered an end to resistance, and the next day this order was approved by the Iranian parliament. Already on August 29, 1941, the Iranian armed forces laid down their arms before the British, and on August 30 - before the Red Army. On September 8, 1941, an agreement was signed that determined the location of allied forces in Iran. The agreement came into force on September 9, 1941. In fact, Iran was divided into two occupation zones, the British one in the south, and the Soviet one in the north. Tehran has lost political and economic control over the country. During the Second World War, the USSR actively used the received food supplies and oil fields, as well as the emerging Soviet-British border to receive supplies under Lend-Lease.
This operation was carried out with surgical precision, in the first days of war fever, when in the west the Germans were uncontrollably rushing forward... And here, in the territory of Transcaucasia, the military machine worked uninterruptedly, the units framed in peacetime clearly deployed, were adequately staffed and impeccably carried out combat missions. In a matter of hours, the USSR, together with Britain, was able to divide and occupy a vast state, and to do this close to a far from friendly Turkey. The success of this lightning-fast and precise work of the military mechanism of the Transcaucasian Front was to a large extent ensured by the talent and work of the chief of staff F.I. Tolbukhin.
Subsequently, F.I. Tolbukhin remained in the position of chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Front, which was transformed into the Caucasian Front in December 1941, and in January-March the Crimean Front was separated from the Caucasian Front. Front troops, in cooperation with the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov Flotilla, from December 25, 1941 to January 2, 1942, carried out a major landing operation with the aim of capturing the Kerch Peninsula and creating conditions for the liberation of Crimea. The plan of the operation provided for the simultaneous landing of troops in the areas of Kerch and Feodosia, encircling and destroying the enemy group. Tolbukhin made a great contribution to the planning, organization and support of this complex operation, to the implementation of interaction with the forces of the fleet and aviation, and to the control of troops during the operation. By the end of January 2, 1942, the troops of the Caucasian Front cleared the Kerch Peninsula of the enemy. This made it possible to divert part of the enemy forces from Sevastopol, prevent the invasion of fascist German troops into the Caucasus through the Taman Peninsula, and capture an important operational bridgehead in the Crimea. According to one of the leading military theorists of modern Russia, Army General M.A. Gareev, “due to the lack of firmness of the front commander D.T. Kozlov, arbitrariness and incompetent intervention of the Supreme Command Headquarters representative L.Z. Mehlis, the command and control of the front troops was disorganized. Mekhlis, criticizing the command and headquarters of the front, turned to Stalin with a request to send one of the generals like Hindenburg to Crimea, not realizing that Hindenburg or Zhukov, having arrived at this front, would first of all demand the removal of all kinds of mekhlis. Tolbukhin’s attempts to impart at least some planning and organization to the work of the front command and staff led to a worsening of relations with the wayward Mehlis. As a result, Tolbukhin was removed from office in March 1942 and appointed deputy commander of the Stalingrad Military District. As one would expect, the violation of unity of command and a number of other operational errors led the troops of the Crimean Front to a terrible disaster in May 1942.”
From May 1942 to February 1943, F. I. Tolbukhin participated in the Stalingrad epic - in the spring of 1942 as deputy commander of the troops of the Stalingrad Military District, and from July 1942 as commander of the 57th Army, which stopped in the southern on the approaches to Stalingrad, the 4th Tank Army of the Wehrmacht, turned by the Germans from the Caucasus to the Stalingrad direction. Providing deep operational formation of troops with high anti-tank resistance, F.I. Tolbukhin strove, despite the acute lack of forces and means, to have strong reserves in depth, equipped with anti-tank weapons, in order to quickly eliminate possible enemy breakthroughs. After the most difficult defensive battles, the army's forces were preserved, and with the start of the general counteroffensive near Stalingrad, the 57th Army successfully completed the tasks of encircling, dismembering and destroying the enemy group. The ability to critically evaluate one’s own decisions and actions, analyze the experience gained, and the desire to improve one’s art of leadership and the combat skills of subordinate commanders did not fail Tolbukhin this time either. I.V. Stalin highly appreciated the talents of the experienced military leader: in January 1943 F.I. Tolbukhin was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, and by September of the same year he had already become an army general.
The best description of the commander are the words said about him by his former subordinates many years after his death. The commander of the 444th Infantry Division, which fought as part of the 57th Army, which was under the command of F.I. Tolbukhin, General I.K. Morozov wrote:From the very beginning of its actions to cover Stalingrad from the south and until the transition to the offensive on November 20, 1942, the 57th Army conducted defensive and private offensive battles and operations without noise, haste, in a thoughtful and organized manner. We called it an army of order and organization and loved its command for its exceptionally attentive and thrifty attitude towards people, towards soldiers, whatever their rank.
Since March 1943, F.I. Tolbukhin took command of the troops of the Southern Front (transformed from October 1943 into the 4th Ukrainian Front, from May 1944 into the 3rd Ukrainian Front). At this post, on September 12, 1944, Tolbukhin received a marshal's star. Under his command, the front troops, independently or in military cooperation, carried out a number of offensive operations. Only in the first of them (Miusskaya in July - August 1943) it was not possible to break through the front, but at the same time an auxiliary task was solved - to tie up enemy troops in the Mius area and pull them away from the Kursk Battle area. In August - September 1943, during the Donbass operation, front troops, together with the Southwestern Front, broke through 300 kilometers deep into enemy defenses, completely liberating Donbass. In September-November 1943, in the Melitopol operation, front troops broke through the German defense line along the Molochnaya River, marched 320 kilometers and cut off enemy troops in the Crimea. In April - May 1944, during the Crimean operation, front troops broke into Crimea from the north, together with the Separate Primorsky Army, defeated the enemy's 17th Army and liberated Crimea. In August 1944, during the brilliant Iasi-Kishinev operation, front troops, together with troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, defeated Army Group “Southern Ukraine”, effectively eliminating for some time the southern flank of the Soviet-German front. The development of this operation in September 1944 was the Bucharest-Arad operation, during which the remnants of the Army Group “Southern Ukraine” were completely destroyed. As a result of these two lightning operations, combining strategic art with diplomatic maneuver, Romania and Bulgaria went over to the side of the anti-Hitler coalition.
Conditions also arose for the liberation of the eastern part of Yugoslavia and its capital Belgrade, which was carried out in October 1944 by the forces of the 3rd Ukrainian Front together with units of the Yugoslav and Bulgarian armies. During the Apatin-Kaposvar operation in November - December 1944, troops under the command of Tolbukhin crossed the Danube in battle, defeated units of the German, Hungarian and Croatian armies opposing them and reached the Pannonian Plain, creating conditions for the encirclement of Budapest. During the next two operations - Budapest (December 1944 - February 1945) and Balaton - the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, blocked the enemy group in Budapest, repelled the last major offensive of the Wehrmacht in World War II and took the capital Germany's last European ally is the city of Budapest. Finally, during the Vienna operation in March-April 1945, again in cooperation with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, they defeated the German Army Group South, liberating the territory of Hungary and the eastern regions of Austria from the Nazis. In Vienna, the brilliant military career of commander F.I. Tolbukhin was completed.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War on June 15, 1945, from the formations and units of the Soviet Army that were at that time on the territory of Bulgaria and Romania, on the basis of the control of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, the directorate of the Southern Group of Forces was formed, which was also headed by Tolbukhin, who remained at this post until January 1947. He combined this position with the position of chairman of the Allied Control Commissions in Bulgaria and Romania.
In the days when the Fulton speech was being prepared and delivered, when British and American troops were concentrated in Greece and Turkey, and yesterday’s allies were choosing targets on the territory of the USSR suitable for nuclear strikes, F.I. Another, final task awaited Tolbukhin on the southern borders of the Soviet Empire, built contrary to the plans of Nazi Europe. The discussion was about the possible repulsion of provocations from the Turkish and Greek military, behind whom stood the troops of England and the United States. During the counter-offensive, it was planned to strike in the direction of Istanbul (Constantinople), the Dardanelles, Komotini and Thessaloniki.
The Cold War and the danger of nuclear fire constrained the plans of the military in post-war Europe, and military operations left its open spaces for a long time. In January 1947, F.I. Tolbukhin left his post and left for his homeland, and in February 1947, the Southern Group of Forces was disbanded. Tolbukhin was appointed commander of the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District. In 1946 - 1949 was elected deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In 1949, the marshal’s vitality left him, and on October 17, 1949, Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin died, his ashes were buried in the Kremlin wall on Red Square. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 7, 1965, F. I. Tolbukhin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The city of Dobrich in Bulgaria until 1991 bore the name Tolbukhin.
Assessing Tolbukhin as a hero and commander, it is necessary to quote the words of Marshal A. M. Vasilevsky:During the war years, Tolbukhin's qualities such as impeccable performance of official duty, personal courage, leadership talent, and sincere attitude towards his subordinates were especially clearly revealed... After the war, F.I. Tolbukhin, holding responsible positions and being very ill, continued to successfully fulfill his duties. I will never forget how Fyodor, lying in a hospital bed, literally a few minutes before his death, assured that he would go to work tomorrow.
This was a marshal who fought not only for victory, but also for the lives of his soldiers. In sleepless staff work, in accurately calculating and assessing enemy forces, and in preparing his own troops, Tolbukhin did not spare himself. He was literally passionate about his work, which is why he passed away in the first post-war years, having lived only 55 years. Under his command, the troops of our country marched from the trenches of Stalingrad to the far borders of Europe, liberating Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria from Nazi oppression. Not a single commander of World War II went through so many European countries in just six months of war with victorious troops, except for the former St. Petersburg accountant, peasant son and Russian officer - Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin.
B.A. Slutsky, who served under the command of F.I. Tolbukhin, as part of the 57th Army, and later the 37th Army, poetically sharp in his memoirs, described the commander even more clearly:
Leading regiments is not a profession
Tolbukhin considered it to be an exact science,
Western meaning with eastern insight
Having soldered, he took it with skill, not with numbers.
He felt sorry for the soldiers and told us to take care.
I searched for minds and disdained loudmouths,
And a smart bossy speech
spread out like a net in front of us.
In ranks, in illnesses, in wounds and in years,
with a cheerful bang over a gloomy forehead,
he thought for a long time, thought, thought, thought,
until he orders: to do so.
I loved order, I didn’t like rush jobs,
considered death and wounds a flaw,
and took all the capitals - whatever they ordered,
liberated all - that they ordered - countries
Timofeev A.Yu., Ph.D., University of Belgrade (Serbia)
Literature
Morozov I.K. The regiments fought like guards. Notes from the division commander. Volgograd, 1962
Biryuzov S.S. Harsh years, 1941-1945. M., 1966
Kuznetsov P.G. Marshal Tolbukhin. 1894-1949. M., 1966
Shtemenko S.M. General Staff during the war, M., 1981
People's Heroes of Jugoslavia, Belgrade-Titograd-Jubiana, 1982
Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary. T.2., M., 1988
Khrapchenkov V.K. Soldier of the Fatherland in marshal's uniform. Yaroslavl, 2005
Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin was born on June 4 (16), 1894 in the village of Androniki, Yaroslavl province, into the peasant family of Ivan Fedorovich and Anna Grigorievna Tolbukhin. The family was large: four sons and three daughters. In order to feed the family, the father of the family and older brother Alexander worked almost all the time in St. Petersburg.
The first 20 years of Fedor’s life did not foretell a brilliant military career for him. In his native village, he graduated from a parish school, and then began to study in the village of Davydkovo at the zemstvo school. When he was 13 years old, his father died, and Fyodor was forced to go to his older brother in St. Petersburg. Here he was assigned to a trade school. In the winter he studied, and in the summer he did internships at the State Bank and the Mutual Credit Society. Three years later, trade school was completed and working life began. From January 1911, Fyodor Tolbukhin worked as an accountant at the Mariinsky Partnership of Klochkov and Co. and continued to study, and a year later he passed exams for the full course of the St. Petersburg Commercial School.
In August 1914, the First World War began, which completely changed the life of F.I. Tolbukhin. In December 1914, Fedor was drafted into the army and, after studying at the driver's school at the Petrograd Automotive Training Company, began serving as an ordinary motorcyclist at the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division on the North-Western Front. In July 1915, he graduated from the accelerated course of the Oranienbaum officer school, was promoted to ensign and sent first as a junior officer of the company of the 22nd marching reserve regiment, then successively appointed to the positions of company and battalion commander of the 2nd and 13th border Zaamur infantry regiments 1st Zaamur Infantry Division of the Southwestern Front. In May 1916 he became a second lieutenant, and 4 months later - a lieutenant. In battles with Austro-German troops, as well as participating in the Brusilov breakthrough, the young officer showed “courage, management and good willpower,” attracting the attention of the command. For military distinctions he was awarded the Orders of St. Stanislav and St. Anne.
On January 28, 1917, by order of the 2nd Zaamur Infantry Regiment, Lieutenant F.I. Tolbukhin, along with other officers, was sent to form the 13th regiment of the 4th Zaamur Infantry Division. In the regiment he took command of the battalion. The soldiers, who treated their commander with trust and respect, elected Fyodor Ivanovich as a member of the regimental committee, in which he served as secretary.
In the summer of 1917, he took part in the June offensive and was shell-shocked in battle. In September 1917, Fyodor Tolbukhin was promoted to staff captain and sent to Omsk to the 37th reserve Siberian regiment. When he arrived in Siberia, Soviet power had already been established there. In December 1917 F.I. Tolbukhin was given leave due to illness and went home to the Yaroslavl province, where at the beginning of 1918 he was demobilized and continued his career as a timekeeper of the 7th military road detachment.
From August 1918, he was appointed military leader of the Sandyrevsky, and from January 1919, of the Shagotsky volost military commissariats. His responsibilities included organizing military training for reservists. After the announcement of the mobilization of former officers F.I. Tolbukhin enlisted in the Red Army.
In June 1919, Tolbukhin submitted a request to be sent to the active army and was sent to the headquarters of the Western Front. In Smolensk he was enrolled as a student at the staff service school at the headquarters of the Western Front. Capable, diligent and quite literate, with an inquisitive, creative mind F.I. Tolbukhin successfully completed a 4-month training course and in December 1919 was appointed junior assistant, and from June 20, 1920, he temporarily served as senior assistant to the chief of staff for the operational unit of the 56th Infantry Division of the 7th Army.
As part of the division, Fedor Ivanovich took part in the Soviet-Polish war. During 37 days of continuous offensive, the formation fought about 370 km and reached the approaches to the Novo-Georgievsk Fortress. The Polish capital was located 30 km southeast. When they had to retreat under attacks from Polish troops, the division found itself “cut” into two parts. At this critical moment F.I. Tolbukhin, with a dozen mounted orderlies, broke through to the rearguard in a daring raid and at night, having made a successful maneuver, connected with the main forces of the division.
For these battles F.I. Tolbukhin was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. However, in the last battles F.I. Tolbukhin did not participate: at the end of September he was called to army headquarters to be sent to study at the Academy of the General Staff of the Red Army.
The division command saw him off warmly and awarded him a silver watch with the inscription: “To an honest warrior of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army for his valor during the August battles against Poland in 1920.” His certification sent to the academy stated that during his service at the division headquarters he showed himself to be very good. He honestly and conscientiously fulfilled the duties assigned to him, working not out of fear, but conscientiously. Hardworking, never considers time. Politically, he is a completely reliable comrade.
But he didn’t have to study at the academy. He was late for the start of classes a whole month. He returned to the headquarters of the 3rd Army on October 12, the day the armistice with Poland was concluded. And a week later, fighting on the Soviet-Polish flank stopped completely.
At the end of the Soviet-Polish War, Fyodor Ivanovich was appointed assistant to the head of the operational department, and from November 1920 - head of the operational department of the operational department of the headquarters of the 3rd Army of the Western Front.
In December 1920, Fyodor Ivanovich was appointed chief of staff of the 56th Infantry Division of the Petrograd Military District (since 1924 - Leningrad Military District). The headquarters service in this division F.I. Tolbukhin spent almost ten years, with breaks, studying in 1927 and 1930 at advanced training courses for senior command personnel. Units of this division had to guard the Soviet-Estonian border, participate in the suppression of the Antonov uprising in the Tambov region and the liquidation of other gangs. Then F.I. Tolbukhin organized the actions of the troops of the Petrograd fortified area in the fight against the White Finnish detachments.
In October 1921, armed Finnish troops invaded Karelia. Units of the Red Army took part in repelling the attack, including the training brigade of the 56th Moscow Rifle Division. F.I. Tolbukhin was appointed head of the operational department of the headquarters of the Karelian region. By February 17, 1922, the territory of Karelia was cleared of invaders. With the end of hostilities, the headquarters and administration of the Karelian region were disbanded. Fyodor Ivanovich returned to his former position as chief of staff of the 56th Moscow Rifle Division. The command of the Karelian region noted the skillful leadership of F.I. Tolbukhin in the order and gave him a certificate that said: “For the dedicated work, valor and heroism you showed in the fight against banditry in Karelia, for the fact that you, through personal labor and energy, put the activities of the operational management at the proper height, which contributed to the successful implementation tasks facing the army, the command rewards you with a silver watch and a leather suit.”
Peaceful years for F.I. Tolbukhin's years of development into a major military leader. From February to September 1929, in order to gain command experience, Fyodor Ivanovich commanded the 167th Infantry Regiment in his own division. Only after this internship in November 1930, he was appointed chief of staff of the 1st Rifle Corps, which was stationed in Novgorod, then, in 1934, he graduated from the operational department of the Military Academy of the Red Army. M.V. Frunze, temporarily served as commander of the 1st Rifle Corps. The most fruitful and memorable were for F.I. Tolbukhin studied at the Faculty of Operations, since these years coincided with the rearmament of the Red Army and the emergence of new views on the nature of the future war, methods of conducting operations and combat.
In January 1935 F.I. Tolbukhin was appointed chief of staff of the 19th Rifle Corps, located in Leningrad, and in September 1937, commander of the 72nd Rifle Division of the Kyiv Military District. He had been waiting for this appointment to an independent service area for several years, dreaming of combat work. However, Fyodor Ivanovich did not have to command the division for long. In July 1938, he was appointed chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District. During this period, F.I. Tolbukhin was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the medal “XX Years of the Red Army”.
Despite his enormous experience, work in the Transcaucasian Military District required F.I. Tolbukhin of great tension. He had to explore a vast mountainous region and a range of new responsibilities that he had never encountered before. First of all, he decided to visit the troops, get acquainted with their quartering and training base, personally inspect the areas adjacent to the Iranian and Turkish border, prepare a district operational headquarters game and a field trip. Commander of the troops of the district corps commander (later general of the army) I.V. Tyulenev agreed with F.I. Tolbukhin. The trip turned out to be very useful. After her F.I. Tolbukhin plunged headlong into current affairs. For success in combat training at the end of 1938, Fedor Ivanovich was awarded the rank of division commander.
In the context of the growing threat of war, F.I. Tolbukhin intensified efforts to unite the departments and departments of the district headquarters. He traveled to all militarily important areas and border areas, several times checked the passability of roads and inaccessible hiking trails, and thoroughly studied mountain passes and local material resources. He paid a lot of attention to the organization of command and control of troops.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, anti-Soviet activity intensified on the southern borders with Turkey and Iran. The Transcaucasian Military District was put on full combat readiness.
The Soviet government decided to send troops to the northern regions of Iran. Thanks to the skillful work of the district headquarters, headed by F.I. Tolbukhin, complete secrecy of the ongoing activities was ensured. The carefully prepared operation was carried out unexpectedly for the neighboring side, quickly and without significant losses.
Meanwhile, events on the Soviet-German front were developing unsuccessfully for the Red Army. In the fall of 1941, fighting broke out on the approaches to Rostov-on-Don and in the Crimea. Under these conditions, the Transcaucasian Military District was renamed the Transcaucasian Front.
During intense fighting in the south of the country, the headquarters of the Transcaucasian Front, headed by F.I. Tolbukhin, together with the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, prepared a plan for the landing operation, which later received the name Kerch-Feodosia. The plan was to seize the Kerch Peninsula with attacks northeast and southwest of Kerch, and then develop an offensive in a westerly direction with the aim of liberating Crimea. Headquarters approved the operation plan. On December 3, the regrouping of troops and the concentration of the 51st and 44th armies in the areas designated for them began. On December 12, front-line control was divided into two echelons. F.I. Tolbukhin remained in Tbilisi and headed the 2nd echelon of headquarters. The Military Council entrusted him with the tasks of maintaining communications and material support for troops located in Iran, and defending the eastern coast of the Black Sea from enemy landings.
At the end of January 1942 F.I. Tolbukhin transferred the troops located in the Transcaucasian republics and Iran to the new headquarters and in early February arrived in Kerch and headed the headquarters of the Crimean Front.
In the command and control of the front troops, a dual power was created in the person of the front command headed by Lieutenant General D.T. Kozlov and the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Army Commissar 1st Rank L.3. Mehlis with a group of General Staff officers. The troops of the Crimean Front were unable to liberate Crimea and release Sevastopol. A representative of Headquarters laid the blame for the failures on the front command. On March 10, 1942, Fyodor Ivanovich was relieved of his post as chief of staff of the front and recalled to Moscow.
After a meeting with the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal of the Soviet Union B.M. Shaposhnikov F.I. Tolbukhin was appointed to the post of deputy commander of the Stalingrad Military District, and at the end of July became commander of the 57th Army of the newly created Stalingrad Front. Interacting with the 64th Army, formations of F.I. Tolbukhin in heavy, bloody battles stopped the enemy’s advance towards the Volga in their direction.
Having resumed the offensive and failing to break the resistance of the troops of the 64th Army, the 4th Panzer Army of General G. Hoth on August 20 attacked the formations of the 57th Army with its main forces. During the 7-day defensive battle, Fyodor Ivanovich’s military leadership talent was clearly demonstrated. Timely revealing the plans of the German command, he skillfully maneuvered his reserves, promptly moving them to the directions of the enemy's main attacks. As a result, Hoth's tanks never managed to break through to the high bank of the Volga near Krasnoarmeysk.
In these and subsequent battles F.I. Tolbukhin impressed subordinate commanders and staff officers with his organization, calmness, precision of decisions made, and high staff culture. He always sought to strike a sudden blow against the enemy. This is what happened during the capture on the night of September 29 of the defile between lakes Sarpa, Tsatsa and Barmantsak.
In the counteroffensive that unfolded on November 19, the 57th Army played a decisive role. Having broken through the enemy's defenses, it united on November 23 in the area of the Sovetsky farm with the troops of the Southwestern Front. Subsequently, the army took an active part in the liquidation of the 6th German Army of F. Paulus.
Military leadership activity of F.I. Tolbukhin in the Battle of Stalingrad was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree, and was awarded the next military rank of “lieutenant general.”
After the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, in March 1943, F.I. Tolbukhin was appointed commander of the troops of the Southern Front, and on April 28 he was awarded the rank of “Colonel General”. But the first operation in the new position was unsuccessful. Distracting and pinning down enemy forces from the Kursk area, the Southern Front tried to break through the enemy’s defenses on the Mius River from July 17 to August 2, but was unable to do so. The lesson did not go unnoticed. Half a month later, Tolbukhin’s troops crushed the enemy defenses on this river, largely predetermining the success of the Donbass strategic offensive operation, which lasted from August 13 to September 22, 1943. For the successful actions of the troops, Fyodor Ivanovich was promoted to army general. So in just 9 months F.I. Tolbukhin received three general ranks.
This was followed by a number of other successful offensive operations. As a result of the Melitopol offensive operation (September 26 - November 5, 1943), the Southern (from October 20, 4th Ukrainian) front blocked the enemy in the Crimea and reached the Dnieper in its lower reaches. During the Crimean operation (April 8 - May 12, 1944), troops under the command of F.I. Tolbukhin, having broken through the enemy’s defenses on the Crimean isthmuses, rushed to Sevastopol and liberated the city on May 9. Three days later, the remnants of the enemy troops were defeated at Cape Chersonesos. For the liberation of Crimea F.I. Tolbukhin was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree, for the second time.
After the end of the Crimean operation, Fedor Ivanovich was appointed commander of the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. From this time on, a new stage in F.I.’s military leadership began. Tolbukhin, associated with the liberation mission of the Red Army in the countries of South-Eastern Europe.
The troops of the 3rd and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts, having defeated Army Group “Southern Ukraine” during the Iasi-Kishinev operation from August 20 to 29, 1944, cleared the way for the liberation of Romania and Bulgaria. For skillful execution of the operation by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated September 12, 1944, F.I. Tolbukhin was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
Commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin. 1944
On September 28, the 3rd Ukrainian Front, in cooperation with the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and with the participation of troops of the Bulgarian Fatherland Front, began the Belgrade operation. After the liberation of the capital of Yugoslavia, the front troops were regrouped in the area south of Budapest and on December 20, together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, they joined the Budapest operation. Advance of troops F.I. Tolbukhin led to the encirclement of the enemy in the area of the Hungarian capital, which was taken on February 13, 1945.
Trying to delay the advance of the front forces towards Vienna, the German command launched its last major counteroffensive of the war on March 6 in the area of Lake Balaton. During the 9-day Balaton defensive operation, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front not only repelled the enemy offensive, but also managed to preserve forces to resume the offensive. On March 16, they moved forward and, interacting with the 2nd Ukrainian Front, captured the western regions of Hungary, and on April 13 they liberated Vienna. The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front celebrated Victory Day in the foothills of the Alps, where they reached as a result of the Graz-Amstett offensive operation.
Moscow saluted 36 times during the Great Patriotic War to the troops commanded by F.I. Tolbukhin. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 26, 1945, Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin “for the skillful fulfillment of the tasks of the Supreme High Command in directing large-scale combat operations, as a result of which outstanding successes were achieved in the defeat of the Nazi troops,” was awarded the Order “ Victory".
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, F.I. Tolbukhin commanded the Southern Group of Forces. Fyodor Ivanovich traveled to Bucharest and Sofia to participate in meetings of the Allied Control Commission, visited troops, supervised the military-theoretical training of officers and generals of his headquarters, commanders of armies and their headquarters, dealt with issues of everyday life and material support.
In January 1947, he was appointed commander of the Transcaucasian Military District. But intense long-term combat activity undermined the marshal’s health. Fyodor Ivanovich died on October 17, 1949 at the fifty-sixth year of his life. His ashes rest in the Kremlin wall.
By the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of October 20, 1949 on perpetuating the memory of Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin, it was decided to build a monument to him in the city of Moscow.
Monument to Marshal Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin
on Samotyochny Square in Moscow. Sculptor Lev Kerbel
The People's Republic of Bulgaria decided to rename the city of Dobrich to the city of Tolbukhin and install a bust of the marshal on the boulevard named after F.I. Tolbukhin in Sofia.
In the early 1990s. The Bulgarian authorities dismantled the monument to the marshal, which was transported and installed in the town of Tutaev, Yaroslavl region. The village of Davydkovo, Yaroslavl region, was renamed the village of Tolbukhino.
On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Victory, Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
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TOLBUKHIN Fedor Ivanovich(June 4(16), 1894, Androniki village, now Yaroslavl district, Yaroslavl region - October 17, 1949, Moscow) - commander of the troops of the Southern, 4th and 3rd Ukrainian fronts, Hero of the Soviet Union (1965, posthumously), Marshal of the Soviet Union (1944).
Born into a peasant family. Russian. He graduated from school in the village of Davydkovo (now Tolbukhino). After graduating from school, he moved to St. Petersburg and was assigned by relatives to a commercial school.
In 1914 he was drafted into the Russian Imperial Army. In 1915 he graduated from the ensign school in the city of Oranienbaum (now the city of Lomonosov, administrative subordination of St. Petersburg). Since 1915, he was a participant in the First World War on the Southwestern Front, a company and battalion commander. Awarded the military orders: St. Anne and St. Stanislav. In 1917 - secretary and chairman of the regimental soldiers' committee. The last military rank in the Russian Imperial Army is staff captain.
In August 1918, F.I. Tolbukhin voluntarily joined the Red Army. First he served as the military leader of the Sandyrevsky and Shagotsky volost military commissariats in the Yaroslavl province, then he fought on the Western Front as an assistant chief and chief of staff of the 56th Moscow Rifle Division, and head of the operational department of the headquarters of the Karelian Front troops. In 1919 he graduated from the staff service school. In 1921, he participated in the suppression of the Kronstadt uprising (in Soviet historiography - a rebellion).
From August 1921 - chief of staff of the troops of the Nizhny Novgorod province, from September 1921 - chief of staff of the 56th rifle division. Since December 1921 - head of the operational department of the headquarters of the troops of the Karelian Front. From March 1922 - again chief of staff of the 56th Infantry Division. Since January 1929 - commander of the 167th Infantry Regiment.
In 1927 and 1930 he completed advanced training courses for senior command personnel. Since November 1930 - chief of staff of the 1st Rifle Corps. In 1934 he graduated from the Military Academy of the Red Army named after M. V. Frunze. Since January 1935 - chief of staff of the 19th Rifle Corps. From October 1937 he commanded the 72nd Infantry Division. Since July 1938 - Chief of Staff of the Transcaucasian Military District. Member of the CPSU(b) since 1938.
During the Great Patriotic War, Major General F.I. Tolbukhin, chief of staff of the Transcaucasian (08/23/1941 - 12/30/1941), Caucasian (12/30/1941 - 01/28/1942) and Crimean (01/28/1942 - 03/10/1942) fronts, deputy commander of the troops of the Stalingrad Military District (May - July 1942), commander of the 57th Army (07/27/1942 - 02/15/1943) and the 68th Army (02/15/1943 - 03/13/1943). From March 13, 1943, F.I. Tolbukhin commanded the troops of the Southern (from October 20, 1943 - the 4th Ukrainian Front) and from May 16, 1944 - the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
Tolbukhin’s abilities as a military leader are evidenced by the operations brilliantly carried out (in whole or in part) by the Southern, 3rd and 4th Ukrainian fronts, which he commanded: Donbass, Melitopol, Nikopol-Krivoy Rog, Crimean, Yassy-Kishinev, Belgrade, Budapest, Balaton , Vienna. Tolbukhin showed himself to be an outstanding strategist.
After the Victory, despite a serious illness, he continued to serve in the Soviet Army. Since June 15, 1945 - Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Group of Forces (Romania and Bulgaria). Since January 1947 - Commander of the Transcaucasian Military District.
Died on October 17, 1949 in Moscow. His ashes are buried on Red Square in the Kremlin wall.
U Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 7, 1965 to the Marshal of the Soviet Union Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Military ranks: brigade commander (11/28/1935), division commander (07/15/1938), major general (06/4/1940), lieutenant general (01/19/1943), colonel general (04/28/1943), army general (09/21/1943 ), Marshal of the Soviet Union (09/12/1944).
He was awarded the highest military order “Victory” (04/26/1945), two Orders of Lenin (03/19/1944, 02/21/1945), three Orders of the Red Banner (10/18/1943, 11/3/1944), two Orders of Suvorov 1st degree (01/28/1944). 1943, 05/16/1944), Order of Kutuzov 1st degree (09/17/1943), Order of the Red Star (02/22/1938), medals.
People's Hero of Yugoslavia (05/31/1945). Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1979). Knight of foreign orders and medals: Order of Bravery (People's Republic of Bulgaria), Grand Cross of the Order of the Republic (Hungary), Order of Hungarian Freedom (Hungary), Order of the Legion of Honor Grand Officer (France), medals. Honorary citizen of the cities of Sofia (1946), Belgrade (1947), Dobrits (Bulgaria, 1946), Vratsa (Bulgaria).
In 1960, a monument to F.I. Tolbukhin was erected in Moscow on Samotechny Boulevard. In Yaroslavl, an avenue was named after Marshal in 1952, and a monument was erected in 1972. The bust-monument, dismantled by the Bulgarian authorities in Sofia in the early 1990s, was installed in the city of Tutaev, Yaroslavl region. There, behind the bust in the Alley of Heroes, there is a memorial sign with the name of the marshal. In 1995, the bust was installed in Donetsk. In the native village of F.I. Tolbukhin Androniki and near the school building in the village of Tobukhino, bust monuments to the commander were erected, and a museum named after him was opened. The city of Dobrich in Bulgaria in 1949-1990 was called Tolbukhin. In Moscow, a memorial plaque was installed on the building of the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze.
#commander #military leader #history
(06/16/1894—10/17/1949) - Marshal of the Soviet Union (1944)
Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin was born on June 16, 1894 in the village of Androniki, Yaroslavl province, into a peasant family. The family had many children, so Fyodor’s father and his older brother Alexander spent almost all their time working in St. Petersburg. Fedor graduated from a rural parochial school, and then from a zemstvo school.
When he was 13 years old, his father died. The elder brother takes Fyodor to his home in St. Petersburg. Here he was assigned to a trade school. Having successfully completed it at the end of 1910, Fedor began his career as an accountant. Work was combined with study. This allowed him to take the exam for the full course at the St. Petersburg Commercial School as an external student in 1912.
In 1914, Russia entered the First World War, and in December 1914, Fyodor Tolbukhin was drafted into the army. He ended up on the Northwestern Front as a private motorcyclist at the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division. After completing the accelerated course at Oranienbaum Officer School in July 1915, he was promoted to warrant officer and sent to the Southwestern Front, to the 2nd Trans-Amur Border Regiment of the 1st Zaamur Infantry Division. Tolbukhin commanded first a platoon, then a company and, finally, a battalion of this regiment. During the war, he rose to the rank of staff captain and was awarded the Orders of St. Stanislav and St. Anne.
Tolbukhin enjoyed great confidence and respect from the soldiers, and after February 1917 he was elected a member of the regimental committee, in which he served as secretary.
In September 1917, Tolbukhin was sent to the 37th reserve Siberian regiment. In December 1917, he was given a two-month leave due to illness and went home, where he was demobilized in March 1918.
In October 1918, after the mobilization of the former was announced, Tolbukhin was enlisted in the Red Army. He served in the military registration and enlistment office for more than six months, but in June 1919 he submitted a request to be sent to the active army.
He was sent to the headquarters of the Western Front. In Smolensk he was enrolled as a student at the staff service school at the headquarters of the Western Front. He was then appointed assistant chief of staff for operations of the newly formed 56th Infantry Division. He fought on the Western Front against the White Guards and took part in the Soviet-Polish War. For personal courage in battles at the Novogeorgievskaya fortress, located 30 kilometers from Warsaw, Tolbukhin was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
After the end of the civil war, Fyodor Ivanovich became chief of staff of the 56th Infantry Division of the Petrograd Military District.
In 1926-1927 and 1929-1930, Tolbukhin attended advanced training courses for senior command personnel. In 1934 he graduated from the operational department of the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze.
From February to September 1929, in order to gain command experience, Fedor Ivanovich commanded the 167th Infantry Regiment in his own division. Only after this internship he was appointed chief of staff of the 1st Rifle Corps, which was stationed in Novgorod, then chief of staff of the 19th Rifle Corps, located in Leningrad.
In September 1937, Tolbukhin was appointed commander of the 72nd Infantry Division of the Kyiv Military District. Already in June of next year he was transferred to the position of chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District. Under his leadership, the work of the headquarters changed greatly. Now internal staff training was combined with field trips to the troops, and the territorial formations of the district were transferred to personnel units. Tolbukhin personally checked all the militarily important border areas, the condition of the roads, studied mountain passes and inaccessible paths. Tolbukhin paid great attention to the organization of command and control of troops. For successes in combat training, at the end of 1938, Fedor Ivanovich was awarded the rank of division commander, and in June 1941, the rank of major general.
In the first months of the Great Patriotic War, Major General Tolbukhin was appointed chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Front. When the Soviet government decided to send troops into the northern regions of Iran, thanks to the skillful work of the headquarters headed by Tolbukhin, complete secrecy of the ongoing activities was ensured. The carefully prepared operation was carried out unexpectedly for the neighboring side and without significant losses.
The German armies rapidly advanced across Soviet territory, and already in the fall of 1941, battles broke out on the approaches to Rostov and in the Crimea. At the end of the year, the Kerch-Feodosia landing operation was planned by the military council of the front. Her plan included the landing of the main landing forces directly in the port of Feodosia directly from warships. The operation plan was developed under the leadership of Tolbukhin, and the operation itself took place from December 25, 1941 to January 2, 1942 and ended in complete success.
At the end of January 1942, the 51st Army, which crossed from Crimea to the Taman Peninsula, was transferred to the Transcaucasian Front.
In July 1942, Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin was appointed to the post of commander of the 57th Army of the Stalingrad Front. His army played an important role in the Battle of Stalingrad. During the defensive period of the battle, the 57th Army was deployed between the Don and Volga rivers, blocking the Germans’ approaches to the city in the southwestern direction. Interacting with the 64th Army, against which the main enemy forces were directed, Tolbukhin’s formations stopped the advance of German units in the Abganerovo, Plodovitoe, and Tingut areas.
In August 1942, the 4th German Panzer Army of General Hoth, resuming the offensive, launched the main attack on Tolbukhin's 57th Army. For over three months, the army formations fought heavy defensive battles, during which the leadership talent of the army commander was most fully demonstrated. Tolbukhin was able to timely predict the enemy's plan; he skillfully maneuvered his reserves, moving them in time to the directions of the main attacks. Tolbukhin impressed subordinate commanders and staff with his organization, calmness, confidence in decisions made, and high staff culture. He always sought to strike a sudden blow against the enemy. In defensive battles, the Germans suffered significant damage, and all their attempts to break through to the city failed.
At the second stage of the battle for Stalingrad, Tolbukhin’s army became part of the strike group of troops of the Stalingrad Front.
In the counteroffensive that unfolded on November 19, the 57th Army played a decisive role. Having broken through the enemy's defenses, it united on November 23 in the area of the Sovetsky farm with the troops of the Southwestern Front. Subsequently, having become part of the Don Front in January 1943, the army took an active part in the liquidation of the 6th German field army of Field Marshal Paulus.
For Stalingrad, Tolbukhin was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree, and he was awarded the next rank of lieutenant general.
After the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, in March 1943, Tolbukhin was appointed commander of the troops of the Southern Front, and on April 28 he was awarded the rank of colonel general.
Tolbukhin's first operation as a front commander was an operation to break through enemy defenses on the Mius River. The Germans declared the Mius as Germany's inviolable border in the east. Its defense began to be created back in 1941 and continued to be improved all this time. By the summer of 1943, the defense reached a depth of 40-50 kilometers and consisted of three stripes on which mine and wire barriers, powerful pillboxes and bunkers were located.
Distracting and pinning down enemy forces from the Kursk area, the troops of the Southern Front under the command of Tolbukhin tried to break through the German defenses on the Mius River from July 17 to August 2, but were never able to do so.
Having carefully analyzed the actions of the troops when breaking through the defense, Tolbukhin again began an offensive operation half a month later.
According to the new plan, the main blow to the German defense was delivered in the center of the zone by the forces of the 2nd Guards and 5th Shock Armies. To develop success after breaking through the defense, a cavalry-mechanized group was introduced into the battle, consisting of the 4th mechanized and 4th guards cavalry corps. In the direction of the main attack, it was planned to increase the fire density to 200 guns and mortars per kilometer of front. Subsequently, the troops of the Southern Front, in close cooperation with the troops of the Southwestern Front, eliminate German units in the south of Donbass and develop an offensive towards Melitopol, in the direction of the Crimea and the lower reaches of the Dnieper.
The Donbass offensive operation of the Soviet troops began on August 13 with powerful artillery preparation. By September 22, 1943, it was a complete success. Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin was promoted to army general for the successful actions of the troops. This was the third general rank he received in less than a year.
This was followed by a number of other successful offensive operations. As a result of the Melitopol offensive operation (September 26 - November 5, 1943), the Southern Front, which was renamed the 4th Ukrainian Front on October 20, blocked the enemy in the Crimea and reached the Dnieper in its lower reaches. The troops of the 51st Army, in cooperation with the 28th Army, managed to capture the southern part of Melitopol by October 13, and by October 23 the entire city was taken. On October 26, German troops were forced to begin a general retreat. During this operation, the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front completely destroyed 8 enemy divisions, and another 12 divisions suffered heavy losses. Northern Tavria was almost completely cleared of the enemy and the German group in Crimea was blocked from land. For the Melitopol operation, Tolbukhin was awarded the Order of Lenin.
In the winter (January 30 - February 29) 1944, troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front, in cooperation with the 3rd Ukrainian Front, liquidated the German bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper, in the Nikopol area. During this operation, important industrial centers of southern Ukraine - Krivoy Rog and Nikopol - were liberated.
On April 8, 1944, the Crimean operation began. To carry it out, the 2nd Guards Army was transferred to the Crimean region and large forces of artillery and armored forces were concentrated. The troops had to break through the enemy's long-term defenses, the depth of which was 35-40 kilometers. The operation was planned to be carried out by the forces of the 4th Ukrainian Front, the Separate Primorsky Army with the assistance of the Black Sea Fleet. The plan provided for simultaneous attacks from the north and east in the general direction of Kerch. For five days before the start of the operation, artillery carried out heavy shelling of enemy fortifications, and the start of the attack was preceded by two hours of artillery and air preparation. The main role in the operation was assigned to the 4th Ukrainian Front.
After bloody battles, the 51st Army, advancing from the Sivash bridgehead, managed to break through the enemy’s defenses on April 10. Tolbukhin immediately introduced the 19th Tank Corps into the breakthrough, which the next day occupied Dzhankoy, an important strategic point of German defense. Fearing encirclement, the German command withdraws troops to the south of Crimea and from the Kerch Peninsula, where the Primorsky Army was advancing. Troops under the command of Tolbukhin, having broken through the defenses of the 11th German Army on the Crimean isthmuses, rushed to Sevastopol and liberated the city on May 9. It took Soviet troops just over a month to defeat two German armies, and by May 12, the entire Crimea was liberated from German units. The Germans lost up to 100 thousand people killed and captured and all military equipment in Crimea.
After the end of the Crimean operation, Fedor Ivanovich was appointed commander of the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, which he commanded until the very end of the war.
One of the most striking operations carried out by front troops under the command of Tolbukhin was the Yassko-Kishinev operation (August 20-29, 1944). When developing the operation plan, Tolbukhin proposed delivering the main blow from the Kitskansky bridgehead south of the city of Bendery. With the successful development of the offensive, this was the shortest route to join the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In addition, the Germans would hardly have been able to imagine that the Soviet command would launch an offensive from such a tiny bridgehead (only 18 kilometers).
According to Tolbukhin's plan, the main forces of the front were to concentrate on the bridgehead, creating a decisive superiority over the enemy troops. Then a powerful blow broke through the German defense, and the enemy group was “torn” into two parts. Mechanized formations were introduced into the breakthrough and, moving forward, interacted with units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front.
On the first day of the operation, the troops of the strike group broke through the main line of enemy defense and penetrated 12 kilometers into enemy positions. The next day, Soviet troops “split” the 6th German and 3rd Romanian armies and advanced up to 30 kilometers in depth. On the third day, Tolbukhin's troops linked up with units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, thereby completing the encirclement of German troops in the Chisinau region. Having encircled and destroyed the German army group “Southern Ukraine” - 22 German divisions and Romanian units - during the Iasi-Kishinev operation, Soviet troops cleared the way to the Balkans.
For skillfully carrying out the operation, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated September 12, 1944, Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
The troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front reached the border with Bulgaria, and already on September 5, the Supreme High Command Headquarters approved the plan for the Bulgarian operation proposed by the front headquarters. Three days later, Soviet units entered Bulgarian soil, and in ten days the entire territory of the country was liberated from German troops. Tolbukhin was awarded the highest order of Bulgaria “For Bravery”.
On September 28, the 3rd Ukrainian Front, together with the Bulgarian army, began the Belgrade operation. It began with a sudden attack by troops on the enemy’s border fortifications, which were broken through almost immediately. Then, having overcome the East Serbian mountains, the troops reached the Morava River. On October 10, the 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front crossed the river and continued its advance towards Belgrade. The capital of Yugoslavia was liberated by joint actions of Soviet and Yugoslav troops. The liberation of Belgrade influenced the further course of the war. German units began to quickly leave other parts of the country and even Greece, fearing being cut off from German territory.
After the liberation of Belgrade, Tolbukhin’s troops were regrouped in the area south of Budapest and on December 20, together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, they joined the Budapest operation. The offensive of Tolbukhin's troops led to the encirclement of the enemy in the area of the Hungarian capital, which was taken on February 13, 1945. The capture of Budapest opened the way for Tolbukhin's troops to Vienna and the southern regions of Germany.
To contain the rapid advance of the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, the German command launched another major counteroffensive in the area of Lake Balaton. For this purpose, the 6th SS Panzer Army was transferred to this area from Belgium and France. The enemy concentrated 31 divisions (including 11 tank divisions), 1 motorized brigade and 4 assault gun brigades against the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. German troops were supported from the air by 850 aircraft.
Tolbukhin's troops, by order of Headquarters, went on the defensive with the goal of exhausting the enemy with preliminary battles and inflicting as much damage as possible on him. The defense was built in two echelons and occupied a depth of 25-30 kilometers. During the nine-day Balaton defensive operation (from March 6 to 15), the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front not only repelled the enemy offensive, but also managed to retain forces for a counter-offensive on German units located on Austrian territory. So the 9th and 4th Guards armies were not even involved in the Balaton operation, and it was they who were to become the strike force in the upcoming offensive.
On March 16, they moved forward and, interacting with the 2nd Ukrainian Front, captured the western regions of Hungary. After a small regrouping of forces, the troops moved to Vienna and already occupied the capital of Austria on April 13. During the battles for the Austrian capital and on its outskirts, Soviet troops defeated 11 tank divisions, destroyed or captured about 1,500 tanks and self-propelled guns, and captured more than 130 thousand soldiers and the enemy. The combat path of the 3rd Ukrainian Front ended in the foothills of the Alps.
On April 26, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Fedor Ivanovich Tolbukhin was awarded the highest military order “Victory”.
After the end of the war, Marshal Tolbukhin commanded the Southern Group of Soviet Forces. At the same time, he served as chairman of the Union Control Commission in Bulgaria and Romania.
In January 1947, he was appointed commander of the Transcaucasian Military District. However, intense activity and the past war undermined the marshal's health.
Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin died on October 17, 1949 at the fifty-sixth year of his life. His ashes were buried on Red Square in the Kremlin wall.
On May 7, 1965, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany, Marshal of the Soviet Union Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Yu.N. Lubchenkov. 100 Great Generals of World War II
