Vladimir Jakovlevich Kachalov (27 July 1890 – 4 August 1941) 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 ...

lieutenant general. He fought in the Imperial Russian Army during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

before going over to 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 ...

in the subsequent

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He was a recipient of 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 t ...

and the

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisa ...

. He was promoted to

Komdiv (russian: комдив) is the abbreviation to Commanding officer of the Division (russian: командир дивизии, komandir divizii; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR in the period from 1935 to 1940. It ...

in 1936,

Komkor (russian: комкор) is the abbreviation for Corps commander (russian: командир корпуса, komandir korpusa; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR in the period from 1935 to 1940. It was also the d ...

in 1938, and then

Komandarm 2nd rank 2nd rank (russian: Командарм 2-го ранга) is the abbreviation to Commanding officer of the Army 2nd class (russian: Командующий армией 2-го ранга, Komanduyushchiy armiyey 2-go ranga; ), and was a military ...

in 1939. He was killed in action at

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 ...

by artillery fire.

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 ...

, unaware of his death because of an inaccurate report of the events by

Lev Mekhlis Lev Zakharovich Mekhlis (russian: Лев Заха́рович Ме́хлис; January 13, 1889 – February 13, 1953) was a Soviet politician and a prominent officer in the Red Army from 1937 to 1940. As a senior political commissar, he became ...

, stated in Order No. 270 that Kachalov surrendered and defected to the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

; he was subsequently sentenced to death ''in absentia''. It was not until 1953 that an investigation established the circumstances of Kachalov's death and cleared his name.

Bibliography

* * * * ''Жуков Г. К.'' «Воспоминания и размышления» В 2 т. — М.: Олма-Пресс, 2002. * ''Лукин М. Ф.'' "Мы не сдаёмся, товарищ генерал!" // Огонёк. 1964. №52. С. 16.

Sources

Т. Сидорова. Трагедия генерала Качалова.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kachalov, Vlad 1890 births 1941 deaths Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Soviet lieutenant generals Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Frunze Military Academy alumni