Georgiy Fedorovich Zakharov (; 23 April 1897 – 26 January 1957) was a Soviet general who served in World War I, the Russian Civil War, and World War II.

Early life

Zakharov was born on April 23, 1897, in the village of Shilov,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(now in the

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

region), and began military service in 1915.

Early career

Zakharov participated in 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 ...

with the rank of second

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, having completed training at a school for ensigns in 1916. In October 1917, he was elected a regimental commander. During 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 ...

, from August 1919 he became a company commander in 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 ...

, and was in combat on the Eastern Front. Zakharov continued his training throughout the 1920s, including the officer training courses known as '' Vystrel'' (1923). He also took a teaching assignment 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 1933, and underwent further training at the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1939. From 1939–1941 Zakharov served as Chief of Staff of the Ural Military District.

World War II service

During the first days of

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 ...

, Zakharov was serving as

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the 22nd Army, which saw action against the German invasion,

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, in the environs of

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

, Velikie Luki and Nevel. From August 1941, Zakharov was Chief of Staff and, during October- November, the commander of the

Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front () was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the World War II, Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it fi ...

, which covered the

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

- Tula and L'vov -

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

axes. From December 1941, Zakharov was deputy Commander of the Western Front, which participated in the counterattack on the approaches to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...

. From April 1942, Zakharov was Chief of Staff of the North Caucasian Strategic Direction; from May, the commander of the North Caucasian Front, and; from August, the chief of staff of the Stalingrad Front. From October 1942, Zakharov was the deputy commander of the Stalingrad Front, where he successfully exercised leadership of the armies on the Front's left wing during the Soviet counterattack. During January 1943, Zakharov was appointed Deputy Commander of the Southern Front, while from February he was commander of the 51st Army. From July 1943, Zakharov commanded the 2nd Guards Army, which performed outstandingly during the penetration of the German defences on the

Mius The Mius (; ) is a river in Eastern Europe that flows through Ukraine and Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Миус

and Molochnaya rivers. Under his leadership, the 2nd Guards Army broke through powerful fortified positions on the

Perekop Isthmus The Isthmus of Perekop, literally Isthmus of the Trench (; transliteration: ''Perekops'kyi pereshyiok''; ; transliteration: ''Perekopskiy peresheek,'' , ; ; transliteration: ''Taphros''), is the narrow, wide strip of land that connects the Cr ...

during April 1944 and participated in the liberation of

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. During 1944, Zakharov was given the responsibility of commanding the

2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front (, ''Vtoroi Belorusskiy front'', also romanized "Byelorussian SSR, Byelorussian"), was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. I ...

during the major strategic offensive,

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 ...

. The Front's performance during this operation was criticised as inadequate, and from November Zakharov was effectively demoted to command of the 4th Guards Army, which was employed in forcing crossings of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and participated in the envelopment of German forces in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

during the

Battle of Budapest The siege of Budapest or battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet and Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the broader Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budapes ...

. In April 1945, Zakharov was appointed Deputy Commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front.

Cold War service

After the war, Zakharov commanded the troops of the Southern-Ural (1945–46) and Eastern Siberian (1947–50) military districts, and was the commander of Vystrel courses (1950–53). From September 1954, he was the Deputy Department Chief of combat training of ground forces.

Decorations

Zakharov was awarded 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 ...

, with four Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of Suvorov 1st Class, 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, Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st Class, Order of Suvorov 2nd Class, and numerous

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zakharov 1897 births 1957 deaths Russian military personnel of World War I Army generals (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 Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Soviet Union), 1st class