Vasily Chuikov

Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в) (February 12, 1900 - March 18, 1982) was a lieutenant general in the Soviet Red Army during World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945), who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Early life and career

Born into a peasant family in Moscow province, he joined the Red Army during the Russian Revolution of 1917 and later attended the Frunze Military Academy. Chuikov commanded the 4th Army in the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, and during the Russo-Finnish War of 1940. He was then sent to China as an advisor to Chiang Kai-shek. In May 1942 the USSR recalled their military advisor, according to Chuikov's memoirs this was due to Nationalist China claiming the USSR was providing military aid as part of an attempt to draw the USSR into the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Second World War

On returning to Moscow, Chuikov was placed in command of the 64th Army, on the West bank of the Don river. The 64th Army took part in the fighting withdrawal to Stalingrad, and shortly before the Battle of Stalingrad itself began, Chuikov was made commanding general of the more important 62nd Army, which was to hold Stalingrad itself, with the 64th on its Southern flank.

It was at Stalingrad that Chuikov developed the important tactic of “hugging the enemy,” by which under-armed Soviet soldiers kept the German army so close to them as to minimize the superior firepower enjoyed by the Wehrmacht. Chuikov had witnessed firsthand the Blitzkrieg tactics the Nazis had used to sweep across the Russian steppe, so he used the Germans' carpet-bombing of the city to draw panzer units into the rubble and chaos where their progress was impeded. Here they could be destroyed with Molotov cocktails and Russian artillery operating at close range. This tactic also rendered the German Luftwaffe ineffective, since Stuka dive-bombers could not attack Red Army positions without firing upon their own forces.^[1][2]

After the victory at Stalingrad, the 62nd was redesignated as the Soviet 8th Guards Army. Chuikov then commanded the 8th Guards as part of 1st Belorussian Front and led its advance through Poland, finally heading the Soviet offensive which conquered Berlin in April/May 1945.

Chuikov's advance through Poland was characterized by massive advances across difficult terrain (on several occasions, the 8th Guards Army advanced over 40 miles in a single day). On May 1, 1945, Chuikov, who commanded his army operating in central Berlin, was the first Allied officer to learn about Adolf Hitler's suicide, being informed by Hans Krebs who came to Chuikov's headquarters under a white flag. He accepted the surrender of Berlin's forces from General Helmuth Weidling.

Chuikov appeared in the documentary film Berlin (1945), directed by Yuli Raizman.

Later life

After the war ended Chuikov stayed in Germany, later serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany from 1949 until 1953, when he was made the Commanding General of the Kiev Military District. While serving at that post, on March 11, 1955 he was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union. From 1960 to 1964 he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Army's Ground Forces. He also served as the Chief of the Civil Defense from 1961 until his retirement in 1972. From 1961 until his death, he was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

He was a major consultant for the design of the Stalingrad battle memorial on Mamayev Kurgan, and was buried there after his death at the age of 82.

Memoirs in translation

• The Beginning of the Road: The Story of the Battle for Stalingrad, London, 1963.^[3]

In popular culture

Dana Kramer-Rolls' novel, Home is the Hunter, has Star Trek character Pavel Chekov refer to Chuikov as his ancestor (although 'Vasily' is spelled as 'Vassily').

See also

• German–Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk

References

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

1. ^ Craig, William (1973). Enemy at the Gates: the Battle for Stalingrad. New York: Penguin Books (ISBN 0-14-200000-0 & ISBN 1-56852-368-8).^{:90, 91}
2. ^ Beevor, Antony (1998). Stalingrad. New York: Viking (ISBN 0-14-024985-0).^{:128, 129}
3. ^ Keegan, John. The Battle for History: Re-fighting World War Two (Barbara Frum lecture series), Vintage Canada, Toronto, 1995. Republished by Vintage Books, New York, 1996.^:121

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Vasily Chuikov

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vasily Chuikov

• (Russian) Memoirs by Vasili Chuikov: Сражение века Battle of the Century - Describes his experiences during the Battle of Stalingrad.
• (Russian) Memoirs by Vasili Chuikov: Конец третьего рейха The End of the Third Reich - Describes his experiences during the last months of the war, ending with the Battle of Berlin.
• (Russian) Biography on the website dedicated to the Heroes of the Soviet Union/Russia.

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