Andrey Yeryomenko

Andrey Ivanovich Yeryomenko or Yeremenko or Eremenko (Russian: Андре́й Ива́нович Ерёменко; Ukrainian: Андрій Іванович Єрьоменко) (October 14 [O.S. October 2] 1892 - November 19, 1970) was a Soviet general during World War II, Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Military career

Draft and early service

Born in Markovka in the province of Kharkov in Ukraine to a peasant family, Yeryomenko was drafted into the Imperial Army in 1913, serving on the Southwest and Romanian Fronts during World War I. He joined the Red Army in 1918, where he served in the legendary Budyonny Cavalry (First Cavalry Army). He attended the Leningrad Cavalry School and then the Frunze Military Academy, graduating in 1935.

World War II

In 1940, Yeryomenko was placed in command of the 6th Cavalry Corps, which was responsible for invading Eastern Poland following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The operation was characterized by poor organization and command. Yeryomenko had to request an emergency airlift of fuel so as to continue his advance. Afterwards, he held a number of commands, ending up in control of the Transbaikal Military District, the post he held when Operation Barbarossa began in June 1941.

Eight days after the invasion began, Yeryomenko was recalled to Moscow, where he was made the Acting Commander of the Soviet Western Front, two days after its original commander, General of the Army Dmitri Pavlov, was executed for incompetence. Yeryomenko was thrust into a very precarious position. Ironically, during a political purge, Stalin had executed the most experienced army officers just prior to the German invasion. Stalin did not expect Hitler to invade the Soviet Union until 1942 at the earliest. The Nazi Blitzkrieg approach to warfare quickly dominated the Western Front, but Yeryomenko motivated the remaining troops, and halted the German offensive just outside of Smolensk. During this vicious defensive Battle of Smolensk, Yeryomenko was wounded. Because of his injuries, he was transferred to the newly created Bryansk Front. In August 1941, Yeryomenko was ordered to launch an offensive along the Bryansk Front, despite the obvious superiority of the German forces. The offensive failed to accomplish its objective despite a valiant effort.

In October the Germans launched Operation Typhoon, which was an offensive aimed at capturing Moscow. Yeryomenko's forces were pushed back, but eventually a number of counterattacks were able to halt the German push. On October 13, Yeryomenko was once again wounded, this time severely. He was evacuated to a military hospital in Moscow, where he spent several weeks recovering. In January 1942, Yeryomenko was appointed commander of the 4th Shock Army, part of the North-Western Front. During the Soviet Winter Counteroffensive, Yeryomenko was again wounded; this time on January 20, when German planes bombed his headquarters. Yeryomenko refused to evacuate to a hospital until the battle surrounding him finished.

Stalin gave Yeryomenko the command of the Southeastern Front, on August 1, 1942,^[2] where he proceeded to launch vicious counterattacks against the German offensive into the Caucasus, Fall Blau. Yeryomenko and Commissar Nikita Khrushchev planned the defense of Stalingrad. When his subordinate, Gen. Lopatin, doubted his ability to defend Stalingrad, Yeryomenko replaced him with lieutenant general Vasily Chuikov as 62nd Army commander on September 11, 1942.^[3] On September 28, the Southeastern Front was renamed the Stalingrad Front. During Operation Uranus, November 1942, Yeryomenko's forces helped surround the German 6th Army, which was eventually destroyed or captured in the Battle of Stalingrad. After German General Erich von Manstein attempted to counterattack the Soviet forces and break through the line to relieve the surrounded Germans. Yeryomenko's successfully repelled the attack.

On January 1, 1943, the Stalingrad Front was renamed Southern Front. After the end of the winter offensive, in March 1943, Yeryomenko was transferred north to the Kalinin Front, which remained relatively quiet until September, when Yeryomenko launched a small, but successful offensive. In December, Yeryomenko was once again sent south, this time to take command of the Separate Coastal Army, which was put together to retake Crimea, which was accomplished with assistance from Fyodor Tolbukhin's 4th Ukrainian Front. In April, Yeryomenko once again was sent north, to command the 2nd Baltic Front. During the summer campaign, 2nd Baltic was very successful in crushing German opposition, and was able to capture Riga, helping to bottle up some 30 German divisions in Latvia. On March 26, 1945, Yeryomenko was transferred to the command of the 4th Ukrainian Front, the unit he controlled until the end of the war. Fourth Ukrainian was positioned in Eastern Hungary. Yeryomenko's subsequent offensive helped capture the rest of Hungary, and paved the way for the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. His army occupated many cities and towns in Czechoslovakia, most notably Ostrava. Today, many streets in the Czech Republic bear his name.

After the war

After the war, Yeryomenko had three major commands: between 1945–1946, he was the Commander in Chief of the Carpathian Military District, from 1946-1952 he was the Commander in Chief of the Western Siberian Military District, and from 1953-1958 he was the Commander in Chief of the North Caucasus Military District. On March 11, 1955, Yeryomenko, along with five other noteworthy commanders, was given the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. He was made Inspector General for the Ministry of Defense in 1958, a largely ceremonial role that allowed him to retire that same year.

He died November 19, 1970. The urn containing his ashes is buried in the Kremlin.

Commands ^[4]

References