Ivan Grigorevich Zakharkin (russian: Васи́Иван Григорьевич Захаркин) (January 27, 1889 – October 15, 1944) was a Soviet

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 ra ...

in the

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

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 ...

, commander of the

49th Army "Thank God for Mississippi" is an adage used in the United States, particularly in the South, that is generally used when discussing rankings of U.S. states. Since the U.S. state of Mississippi commonly ranks at or near the bottom of such rankings ...

during the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive ...

Early life

Zakharkin was the son of a poor peasant and was a worker until joining the army in 1910.

World War I

During World War I, Zakharkin was a noncommissioned officer. He managed to graduate from an ensign training school, and advanced to second lieutenant. He was deployed on the South-Western Front as a junior offi r.

The Russian Revolution and Civil War

He volunteered in the Red Army in May 1918 and fought on the southern front against the White Army. There, he debuted as a commander with a battalion and at some point an entire regiment. But later that year, he was wounded and stayed away from the front.

Inter-war period

He graduated from the Military Academy of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army in 1921 and from the Military Political Academy in 1930. From 1937 to 1941, he was chief of staff of the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military D ...

and later became deputy commander. The tombstones of General-Colonel Ivan Zakharkin and VIce-Admiral Gavriil Zhukov in Odessa

World War II

In 1939, he commanded the 10th Army during the

Polish campaign The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

. As of 1941, he was deputy commander of the

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and Byelorussian fronts and he commanded the

of the Soviet Union, playing a key role early on during the

in late 1941. There, he was placed by Zhukov in

Kaluga Kaluga ( rus, Калу́га, p=kɐˈɫuɡə), a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast in Russia, stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: Kaluga's most famous resident, the space travel pioneer Konstantin Tsi ...

as part of the Mozhaisk Defence Line, which contributed greatly in slowing down the German advance toward Moscow. They were able to stop the

XIII Army Corps XIII Army Corps (German: ''XIII. Armeekorps'') was a corps of the German Army during World War II. Made up of several divisions, which varied from time to time, it was formed in Nuremberg on 1 October 1937. Soon after the general mobilisation of ...

near Serphukov and by mid-December, they were able to launch a counteroffensive. During the Soviet counterattack in early 1942, he led his troops in

Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains * Tula Point India * Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the ...

, Kaluga, and

Rzhev Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: Histo ...

. During the Rzhev-Vyazma operation, the 49th Army liberated the city of

Yukhnov Yukhnov (russian: Ю́хнов) is a town and the administrative center of Yukhnovsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Kunava River (Oka's basin) northwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: Histor ...

and by 20 April had reached the Ugra river. In March 1943, the army under the command of Zakharkin participated in the Rzhev-Vyazma offensive (1943), advancing in the direction of the

Spas-Demensk Spas-Demensk (russian: Спас-Де́менскА. М. Прохоров. "Большой энциклопедический словарь". Москва, 1997, p. 1135.) is a town and the administrative center of Spas-Demensky District in ...

. On 18 September 1943 Zakharkin was promoted to colonel general. On 23 March he was appointed commander of the

Odessa Military District The Odesa Military District (russian: Одесский военный округ, ОВО; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operat ...

Notes

References

* * Литвинов А.И. Под Серпуховом // Битва за Москву. М.: "Московский рабочий", 1966. * Антипенко Н.А. На главном направлении. М.: "Наука", 1967. С. 59-82. * Михеенков С.Е. Серпухов. Последний рубеж. М.: "Центрполиграф", 2011. * Михеенков С.Е. Кровавый плацдарм. М.: "Центрполиграф", 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zakharkin, Ivan 1889 births 1944 deaths People from Ryazan Oblast People from Tambov Governorate Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet colonel generals Imperial Russian Army officers Frunze Military Academy alumni Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War People of the Soviet invasion of Poland Soviet military personnel of World War II Russian people of World War II Recipients of the Cross of St. George Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Road incident deaths in the Soviet Union