Alexey Grigoryevich Rodin (Russian: Алексей Григорьевич Родин; 17 February 1902 – 27 May 1955) was a

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

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 ...

. Born to a peasant family, Rodin was drafted into 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 1920. After fighting 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 ...

, he became an officer and rose to command

50th Rifle Corps The 50th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. It was part of the 23rd Army on 22 June 1941. It took part in the Great Patriotic War. Organization On 22 June 1941, the corps included the following units: * 43rd Rifle Division * 70 ...

Armored and Mechanized forces during the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

. After the end of the war, Rodin became deputy commander of the 24th Tank Division and fought in the

Baltic Operation The Baltic strategic defensive operation () encompassed the operations of the Red Army from 22 June to 9 July 1941 conducted over the territories of the occupied Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in response to the offensive launched by the Wehrm ...

and Leningrad Strategic Defensive. Given command of the 124th Tank Brigade in September 1941, he led the unit during battles around Leningrad and in the

Lyuban Offensive Operation The Battle of Lyuban, Lyuban offensive operation or Battle of the Volkhov (7 January 1942 – 30 April 1942) (Russian: Любанская наступательная операция; German: Schlacht am Wolchow) was a Soviet offensive operatio ...

. From June 1942, Rodin commanded the

26th Tank Corps Sixth is the ordinal form of the number six. * The Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution * A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel * The fraction Music * Sixth interval (music)s: ** major sixth, a musical interval ** minor s ...

and led the unit during

Operation Uranus Operation Uranus () was a Soviet 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis forces in the vicinity of Stalingrad: the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romani ...

. For its actions, the corps became the 1st Guards Tank Corps and Rodin received the title Hero of the Soviet Union. After Stalingrad, he was promoted to command the 2nd Tank Army and led it during

Operation Kutuzov Operation Kutuzov was the first of the two counteroffensives launched by the Red Army as part of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation. It commenced on 12 July 1943, in the Central Russian Upland, against Army Group Center of the German ''Ger ...

and the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 on the Eastern Front of World War II. Being one of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost four million troops at one point and stretched over a front. Ov ...

, but was dismissed due to lack of progress and heavy losses incurred in the army's advance. In September 1943, Rodin became commander of the Western Front (later

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 ...

) Armored and Mechanized Forces, participating in

Operation Suvorov The second Smolensk operation (code naming " Suvorov";Istomin (1975), pp. 20–21 7 August – 2 October 1943) was a Soviet strategic offensive operation conducted by the Red Army as part of the Summer-Autumn Campaign of 1943. Staged almost simu ...

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...

and the East Prussian Offensive. Postwar, he became head of the Directorate of Combat Training of the Armored and Mechanized Forces before retirement in 1954.

Early life

Rodin was born on 17 February 1902 in Zuyevo village in

Tver Governorate Tver Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 until 1929. Its seat was in Tver. The governorate was lo ...

to a peasant family. In April 1920, he was drafted into the

and became a

Red Army man Red Army man () was the lowest military rank in the Red Army of the Soviet Union from 1918 to 1946. On 30 November 1917, after the October Revolution, the Military Revolutionary Committee cancelled all "officer and class ranks". Henceforth, the ...

. Rodin fought in the Russian Civil War on the Southern Front in the

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ) is a historical and geographical region in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and separated fr ...

and in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. He served with the Separate Cavalry Battalion of the 9th Army. In December 1920, the battalion was reorganized into the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the 31st Rifle Division, where Rodin served as a senior clerk. The division took part in the suppression of partisan groups in the Kuban and Caucasus. In February 1921, Rodin became

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the escort unit of the 9th Army's Revolutionary Military Council.

Interwar

After the end of the fighting in August 1922, Rodin became a cadet at the Vladikavkaz Combat Arms Courses. In January 1923 he was enrolled in the Krasnodar Red Army Courses and the Moscow Artillery School in August. In September 1926, Rodin graduated from the Moscow Artillery School. He also joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

in that year. He was sent to the

Ural Military District The Red Banner Ural Military DistrictHistory of the Ural Military District / Edited by Alexander Egorovsky, Ivan Tutarinov – 1 – Moscow: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union, 1970 – 352 Pages – 11,500 ...

, where he became chief of intelligence and communications for the 9th Horse Artillery Battalion. In October 1927, he was transferred to the 45th Artillery Regiment of the

45th Rifle Division The 45th Rifle Division was a Red Army infantry division formed originally during the Russian Civil War that fought in World War II and then served through the Cold War in the Leningrad Military District. The division was originally formed 16 J ...

and became an assistant battery commander. Subsequently, Rodin became chief of supply of the regiment and a battery commander. He commanded a battalion of the 45th Rifle Division motorized detachment from June 1931 before returning to the 45th Artillery Regiment in February 1932 to serve in the same role. In January 1933, he was sent to the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization. He received the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 1936. In 1937, he graduated from the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization and transferred to the tank troops. From December 1937, he was the chief of staff of the 9th Mechanized Brigade. In 1938, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. From August 1939, he was head of the Armored and Mechanized Troops of the 50th Rifle Corps. He fought in the

with the corps. On 23 January, Rodin reportedly prevented a panic in the rear area of the 138th Rifle Division and organized the repulsion of a Finnish counterattack. In July 1940, he was given command of the 5th Tank Regiment of the 3rd Tank Division. In December 1940, he transferred to command the 2nd Light Tank Brigade in the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

. In March 1941, he became deputy commander of the 24th Tank Division.

World War II

The division fought in the

and then the Leningrad Strategic Defensive. Rodin's division defended the Luga defensive line for one month. In September 1941, he became commander of the 124th Tank Brigade. In February 1942, the brigade transferred to the 54th Army at

Volkhov Volkhov () is an industrial types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Volkhovsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the river Volkhov (river), Volkhov east of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersbu ...

and fought in the unsuccessful

. From May, Rodin was the deputy commander of the 54th Army Armored and Mechanized Troops. On 3 May, he was promoted to major general. In June 1942, he became commander of the 26th Tank Corps. The corps fought in

and captured Kalach on 23 November. The corps became the 1st Guards Tank Corps and later received the honorific "Don" for its actions. On 7 February 1943, Rodin was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the

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 ...

for his leadership of the corps. After the end of the Battle of Stalingrad in February, Rodin became commander of the 2nd Tank Army. He received a promotion to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 the battlefield, who was norma ...

on 4 February. During February and March, the army fought in the unsuccessful offensive to capture

Sevsk Sevsk () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Sevsk, Bryansk Oblast, a town in Sevsky District of Bryansk Oblast; ;Rural localities * Sevsk, Kemerovo Oblast, a settlement in Burlakovskaya Rural Territory of Pr ...

and

Smolensk Smolensk 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 cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

. In July, the army fought in

. The army then fought in the Chernigov-Pripyat Offensive during the

during August and September. On 2 August due to the lack of progress and heavy losses Rodin was dismissed as commander of the 2nd Tank Amy and was replaced by Lieutenant General

Semyon Bogdanov Semyon Ilyich Bogdanov (; – 12 March 1960) was a Soviet Marshal of tank forces, and twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he was deputy commander of the 5th Army (1941–1942), commander of the ...

. He was awarded the

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

1st class on 27 August. On 9 September, Rodin became commander of the armored and mechanized forces of the Western Front. He participated in

. In April 1944, the Western Front became the

. During the summer of 1944 he fought in

. Rodin was awarded 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 ...

1st class on 3 July.Order of Suvorov 2nd class award list, available online a
pamyatnaroda.mil.ru
/ref> On 15 July 1944, he was promoted to colonel general. In the spring of 1945, Rodin participated in the East Prussian Offensive.

Postwar

After the end of the war, Rodin continued to serve in the army. From July 1945, he commanded the armored and mechanized forces of the Baranovichi Military District, which was used to reform the Belorussian Military District. Placed at the disposal of the commander of the Armored and Mechanized Forces of the Soviet Ground Forces in December 1946, Rodin became the commander of the

Carpathian Military District The Red Banner Carpathian Military District (, ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Cold War and subsequently of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the early Post-Soviet period. It was established on 3 May 1946 on the ...

Armored and Mechanized Forces in March 1947. In February 1949, he became chief of combat training directorate of the armored and mechanized forces. In 1953, he graduated from higher academic courses at the Military Academy of the General Staff and became a senior professor there. Rodin retired in October 1954 and died on 27 May 1955. He was buried in Moscow at the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Awards and honors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodin, Alexey Grigoryevich 1902 births 1955 deaths People from Ostashkovsky District Soviet colonel generals Heroes of the Soviet Union Soviet military personnel of World War II 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 Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class