Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

Mikhail Grigoryevich Yefremov (russian: Михаи́л Григо́рьевич Ефре́мов; March 11 1897,

Tarusa Tarusa (russian: Тару́са), also known as Tarussa (), is a town and the administrative center of Tarussky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Oka River, northeast of Kaluga, the administrative center of th ...

Kaluga Governorate Kaluga Governorate (1796–1929) was a List of governorates of the Russian Empire, governorate of the Russian Empire and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR. Its capital was Kaluga. Administrative division Kaluga Go ...

– April 19 1942, Vyazemsky District) was a Soviet military commander. He took part in the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...

, joined the Russian Communist Party (b) in 1919, and became a division commander in 1921. He also became a military advisor to the National Government of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

in 1928. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he commanded the

Central Front The Central Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War formed on July 24, 1941. The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first entity existed for just a month during th ...

in August 1941, and the Soviet 33rd Army from October 1941. "Lt.-Gen. Yefremov decided to personally lead the striking force of his army" when

Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

decided to take

Vyazma Vyazma (russian: Вя́зьма) is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast, and Mozhaysk. Thr ...

in early February 1942. Gen. Belov's Cavalry Corps was able to join them before the Germans cut them off from other advancing Soviet forces. Operating in the German rear next to

Soviet partisans Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ...

, they were supplied by air until April when they were given permission to link up with the main Soviet forces. Most of Gen. Belov's Cavalry Corps made it to the Soviet 10th Army. However, Yefremov decided to take a shorter route which was detected by the Germans. Subsequently, the 33rd army was destroyed and he committed suicide to avoid being taken prisoner by the Germans. "Most of his heroic men fell alongside him." Yefremov was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

. A monument is dedicated to him in Vyazma.

References

1897 births 1942 deaths People from Kaluga Oblast People from Tarussky Uyezd Bolsheviks Communist Party of the Soviet Union members First convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Soviet lieutenant generals Imperial Russian Army officers Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Heroes of the Russian Federation Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Soviet military personnel who committed suicide Suicides in the Soviet Union {{Russia-mil-bio-stub