Ivan Pavlovich Kamera (russian: Ива́н Па́влович Каме́ра; 21 January 1952) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

military officer who held several commands as an

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, most notably during the Soviet

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...

Yartsevo Yartsevo (russian: Ярцево) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Yartsevo, Smolensk Oblast, a town in Yartsevsky District of Smolensk Oblast; administratively incorporated as Yartsevskoye Urban Settlement ...

(near

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

) and as artillery chief for the Soviet Union's Western Front (Army Group). Promoted to

colonel-general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a r ...

of the artillery in July 1943, Kamera was subsequently relieved of command following an April 1944 State Defense Committee report harshly critical of both the artillery performance of the Front and of the leadership of its most senior officers.

Biography

An ethnic Belarusian, Kamera was born in 1897."И. П. Камера" ("I. P. Kamera"). "Белорусская ССР, краткая энциклопедия" (''A Short Encyclopedia of the Byelorussian SSR''), Volume 5. Ed. Pjatrus Broǔka. Minsk: Byelorussian Soviet Encyclopedia, 1982. His career as a professional soldier in the

Soviet armed forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

began during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

(1917–1923). Already a member of the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

’

Red Guard Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard le ...

during the revolutionary events of 1917, Kamera joined the

Bolshevik Party " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

and the newly organized

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic in 1918.Parrish, Michael. ''Sacrifice of the Generals: Soviet Senior Officer Losses, 1939-1953''. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004. , . P. 151. A professional military man during the interwar decades in the Soviet Union, Kamera served in the artillery of the Red Army in the Soviet Union's Far East during 1929. He finished a set of army commanders' tactical courses in 1936 and held a series of artillery commands in the Soviet Army's divisions and

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

in the 1930s. He was assigned the army rank of

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

of the artillery following the introduction of the general officer ranks into the Soviet

military ranks Military ranks are a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibi ...

in 1940.

In World War II

Initially the commanding artillery officer of the Red Army's

10th Rifle Corps The 10th Rifle Corps ( Military Unit Number 16058 until June 1956) was an infantry corps of the Red Army, which later became the 10th Army Corps after the Second World War. Interwar period The corps was formed by an order dated 12 July 1922 i ...

during peacetime in 1941, Kamera was assigned to a series of commands in the

's artillery following the June 1941 surprise invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany. As chief commander of the artillery within the 19th Army of the Soviet Union in July 1941, Kamera lost contact with the 19th Army during operations near

, but succeeded in assisting

Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich (Xaverevich) Rokossovsky ( Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский; pl, Konstanty Rokossowski; 21 December 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish officer who bec ...

's improvized

against the advancing forces of Germany's

Army Group Center Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army for ...

at the heights of

Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (russian: Смоле́нская о́бласть, ''Smolenskaya oblast''; informal name — ''Smolenschina'' (russian: Смоле́нщина)) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the city o ...

. The successful counterattack temporarily retook control of the town from the German forces. Subsequently, appointed chief commanding officer of the artillery for the Soviet Union's Western Front in November 1941, Kamera served under Front commanders

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

(1941–1942) and

Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, link=no, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf; – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the ...

(1942–1943). Awarded the rank of

on 5 July 1943, he served under Vasily Sokolovsky (1943–1944) until mid-April 1944just prior to the Front's 1944 reorganization as the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

and

3rd Belorussian Front The 3rd Belorussian Front () was a Front of the Red Army during the Second World War. The 3rd Belorussian Front was created on 24 April 1944 from forces previously assigned to the Western Front. Over 381 days in combat, the 3rd Belorussian Fr ...

s. Rokossovsky, recalling his experience with Kamera during the handling of the artillery at Yartsevo in his later memoirs, described Kamera as a remarkable commander; Soviet Artillery Marshal

Nikolay Voronov Nikolay Nikolayevich Voronov (; - 28 February 1968) was a Soviet military leader, chief marshal of the artillery (1944), and Hero of the Soviet Union (7 May 1965). He was commander of artillery forces of the Red Army from 1941 until 1950. Voro ...

also set down fond recollections, describing Kamera as a demanding commander regarded as a genuine authority by the artillerymen working under him. Kamera also became one of the higher-ranking Soviet Army officers to be decorated for heroism by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, receiving the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, ...

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

on behalf of Commander-in-Chief

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

on 6 January 1944."Valor Awards for Ivan Kamera".
Military Times Hall of Valor. ''

Military Times Sightline Media Group, formerly Gannett Government Media and Army Times Publishing Company, is a United States company that publishes newspapers, magazines, websites, and other publications about the U.S. and other militaries. The company's '' ...

''. 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2009. Kamera was not as positively regarded by other military leadersparticularly as the Western Front failed to make significant advances for multiple months during the Soviet Army's pushback in 1943–1944. A joint report from the State Defense Committee, composed of

Georgy Malenkov Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov ( – 14 January 1988) was a Soviet politician who briefly succeeded Joseph Stalin as the leader of the Soviet Union. However, at the insistence of the rest of the Presidium, he relinquished control over the p ...

, colonel-generals Shcherbakov and

Sergei Shtemenko Sergei Matveevich Shtemenko (russian: Сергей Матвеевич Штеменко; – 23 April 1976) was a Soviet general who served as the Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces' General Staff from 1948 to 1952. Biography Early life Sergei Sht ...

, and lieutenant-generals and , delivered to

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

on 11 April 1944, criticized several generals and specifically faulted the performance of the artillery forces under Kamera's commandrecommending his demotion in rank and replacement as artillery commander by another officer. Sokolovsky, Kamera, and other personnel were promptly relieved of their commands.Borisenko, N. S
"Девятимесячное стояние фронта на р. Проня в 1943-1944 гг. (глава из книги "Освобождение: от Хотимска до Могилева и Бобруйска")"
("The Nine-Month Halt of the Front on the River Pronya in 1943-1944 (Chapter from the Book ''Liberation: From Khotimsk to Mogilev and Bobruysk''"). Mogilev Oblast Executive Committee. 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2009. Kamera was already in poor health at the time, suffering from illness and paralysis that required hospitalization in early 1944. His wartime career was effectively over in such circumstances. Kamera died on 21 January 1952.

Awards and honors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamera, Ivan Pavlovich 1897 births 1952 deaths Bolsheviks Communist Party of the Soviet Union members People of the Russian Civil War People of the Russian Revolution Soviet colonel generals Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Burials at Vvedenskoye Cemetery