Alexander Ivanovitch Ryzhov (; 23 November 1895 – 16 December 1950) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Army General Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

Biography

He was born on 23 November 1895 in the village of Kuryanikha in

Ivanovo Oblast Ivanovo Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It had a population of 927,828 as of the Russian Census (2021), 2021 Russian Census. Its three largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, cities are Ivanovo (the administrat ...

. He studied at

Kineshma Kineshma (), the second-largest town in Ivanovo Oblast in Russia, sprawls for along the Volga River, 335 kilometers north-east of Moscow. Population: Etymology From a substrate Finno-Ugric language (cf. ('kine', < Proto-Finno-Permic ''*kän� ...

and worked at a notary office. He joined the army in 1915 during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He joined the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in 1918 and took part in the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. In 1935, he studied at the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (), was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces ...

. From 1940 to 1941 he commanded the

Rîbnița Rîbnița ( or , , ) or Rybnitsa (; ) is a town in the breakaway state, breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria. According to the 2004 Census in Transnistria, 2004 census, it has a population of 53,648. Rîbnița is situated in the northern half ...

Fortified District in

Odessa Military District The Odessa Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This district consisted of Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldavia and five Oblasts of Ukraine, Ukrainian oblasts of Odesa ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in September 1941, he commanded the 296th Rifle Division. From July 1942 to January 1943, he commanded the 56th Army in the northwestern Caucasus. From January to February 1943 he commanded the 18th Army, and between 6 February and 22 March 1943, the 46th Army. From March to July 1943, he commanded the

47th Army The 47th Army () was a field army of the Red Army during World War II, active from 1941 to 1946. History The 47th Army was formed in late July 1941 in the Transcaucasian Military District as part of the Soviet Union's border defenses with Iran. O ...

. In July 1943 he commanded the 37th Army. In July 1943, he commanded the 4th Tank Army. In March 1944, he commanded the 70th Army. At the head of the 28th Guards Rifle Corps, which he led until April 1949, his troops took the cities of

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

and

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

in July 1944. He died in December 1950 in Moscow, at the head of the

3rd Shock Army The 3rd Shock Army () was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The "Shock" armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces, and were reinforced with more armoured and ar ...

Decorations

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...

Sources

* Герои огненных лет. Книга 6. М.: Московский рабочий, 1983. * Подвиг. 3-е издание, испр. и доп. Ярославль, 1980.
Глава Висла из мемуаров В. И. Чуйкова
* ''Ефимов В.'' Герой Висло-Одерской операции.— В кн.: Подвиг. Рассказы о Героях Сов. Союза. Изд. 2-е. Ярославль, 1972. * ''Борзенко С.'' Герой с Малой земли. — В кн.: Политотдельцы. M. 1967. * (http://www.generals.dk/general/Ryzhov/Aleksandr_Ivanovich/Soviet_Union.html) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryzhov, Alexander 1895 births 1950 deaths Army generals (Soviet Union) Recipients of the Order of Lenin Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Heroes of the Soviet Union