Georgy Vasilyevich Ivanov (; 25 May 1901 – 25 December 2001) 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 ...

major general 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 ...

. Ivanov 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 6th Guards Rifle Division from late 1944 to 1945. Ivanov fought in

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 ...

at 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 ...

and the Vistula–Oder Offensive.

Early life

Georgy Vasilyevich Ivanov was born on 25 May 1901 in Upornikov in the Khopyorsky Okrug of the

Don Host Oblast Don Host Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Russian Empire which consisted of the territory of the Don Cossacks, coinciding approximately with present-day Rostov Oblast in Russia. Its administrative center was Cherkassk, and later Nov ...

to a peasant family. In 1911, Ivanov's father died of his war wounds from the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

. Ivanov graduated from primary school. In 1919, he joined the Red Army. He served 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 ...

on the

Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

as a private in the 5th Amur Cossack Cavalry Regiment of the

1st Cavalry Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Cavalry Army (), or ''Konarmia'' (Кона́рмия, "Horsearmy"), was a prominent Red Army military formation that served in the Russian Civil War and Polish–Soviet War, Polish-Soviet War. History Formation On 17 Novem ...

. After the regiment was withdrawn to the reserve, he fell ill with

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

and spent two months in the hospital. After recovering, he returned to the front and fought battles near

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...

Interwar

After completing the 10th Novocherkassk Cavalry Command Course between July 1921 and September 1922, Ivanov was posted to the 19th Manych Cavalry Regiment of the 4th Cavalry Division in February 1923, stationed in the

North Caucasus Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces from 1992-2010. Before 1992 it had been part of the Soviet Armed Forces since 1918. In 2010 it became the Southern Military District and lately also included t ...

. There he served as an assistant platoon commander, ''

starshina ( rus, Старшина, p=stərʂɨˈna, a=Ru-старшина.ogg or ) is a senior military rank or designation in the military forces of some Slavs, Slavic states, and a historical military designation. Depending on a country, it had differen ...

'' of the 1st Squadron, and as an acting platoon commander. Transferred to the 20th Salsk Cavalry Regiment of the division in November, Ivanov served with the latter as an acting platoon commander and ''starshina'' of the 2nd Squadron. Sent to study at the Kiev Combined Military School in September 1924, he returned to the 4th Division, now relocated to 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 ...

, to serve a platoon commander in its 21st Don-Stavropol Cavalry Regiment following his graduation in August 1926. In 1927, he 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 ...

. After completing the courses of physical education at the Leningrad Military-Pedagogical School between November 1928 and August 1929, Ivanov returned to his previous position with the 21st Regiment, briefly serving as an acting squadron commander. Placed at the disposal of the 4th Directorate of the Staff of the Red Army in December 1929, Ivanov was sent to Mongolia as an advisor to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of the 17th Cavalry Division of the

Mongolian People's Army The Mongolian People's Army (, ), also known as the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army () or the Mongolian Red Army (), was an institution of the Mongolian People's Party, Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party constituting as the armed forc ...

. Upon his return to the Soviet Union in December 1932, he became a student of the command department of the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization. By now a

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 ...

, Ivanov was appointed commander of the 7th Mechanized Regiment of the 7th Cavalry Division following his graduation from the academy in December 1937. In 1940, he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. After graduation, Ivanov became an officer in the Belorussian Direction of the General Staff.

World War II

On 22 June, the German invasion of the Soviet Union,

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 ...

, began. By 27 June, the Red Army General Staff had almost no reliable information from the Belorussian Special Military District. To clarify the situation, Ivanov flew in an

Ilyushin Il-4 The Ilyushin Il-4 (DB-3F) (; NATO reporting name: Bob) is a Soviet twin-engined long-range bomber and torpedo bomber, widely used by the Soviet Air Force and Soviet Naval Aviation during World War II. Design and development In 1938, the Ilyush ...

escorted by two fighters to meet with front commander Dmitry Pavlov. After flying over two German tank columns, Ivanov's aircraft landed at the headquarters of the 3rd Long-range Bomber Aviation Corps. On 29 July, his aircraft took off in another attempt to find Pavlov's headquarters but was shot down. Ivanov and the crew received shrapnel wounds, and he was evacuated to Moscow for treatment. After leaving the hospital, he taught 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 ...

and participated in the defence of

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 ...

, helping to erect fortifications near

Poklonnaya Hill Poklonnaya Gora (, literally "Bow-Down Hill"; metaphorically "Worshipful Submission Hill"') is, at 171.5 m, one of the highest natural spots in Moscow. Its two summits were separated by the Setun River until one of the summits was razed in 1987. ...

during September. He was evacuated along with the academy to

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. In March 1942, Ivanov became the chief of staff of the

24th Rifle Corps The 24th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army. It was part of the 27th Army and took part in the Great Patriotic War. It appears to have been initially formed in the Kalinin Military District, around what is today Tver, in 1939. In 1940 it wa ...

, part of the 60th Army. He fought in the

during September 1943. For his actions during the battle, Ivanov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 20 September. He then fought in the Battle of Kiev. In January 1944, Ivanov became the chief of staff of the 27th Rifle Corps, part of the 13th Army. On 10 January, he was awarded the

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

2nd class. On 2 September, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Ivanov was promoted to command of the 6th Guards Rifle Division on 3 September. Ivanov led the division during the Vistula–Oder Offensive. On 26 January 1945, the division crossed the

Oder The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through wes ...

near Steinau an der Oder and seized a bridgehead on its left bank. Within three days, the division reportedly repulsed all German counterattacks and expanded the bridgehead, reportedly inflicting heavy losses on German troops. Ivanov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin on 6 April for his leadership in the Vistula-Oder Offensive. The division then fought in the Berlin Offensive, capturing Zahna on 22 April. The division was then transferred to fight in the Prague Offensive. Ivanov ended the war in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He 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 ...

2nd class on 25 May. On 27 June, he was promoted to major general. In the

Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 The 1945 Moscow Victory Parade (), also known as the Parade of Victors (), was a victory parade held by the Soviet Armed Forces (with the Color Guard Company representing the First Polish Army) after the defeat of Nazi Germany. This, the longest ...

, Ivanov commanded a battalion.

Postwar

Postwar, Ivanov continued to command the 6th Guards Rifle Division, which was converted into the 15th Guards Mechanized Division within a year of the end of the war and withdrawn to the

Belorussian Military District The Byelorussian Military District (; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before World War I as the Minsk Military District out of the remnants of the Vilno Military District an ...

. Transferred to serve as a senior lecturer at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy in April 1949, Ivanov transferred to the reserve on 26 January 1950. He lived in Moscow. 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 11 March 1985 on the 40th anniversary of Victory Day. On 4 May 1995, he was awarded the

Order of Zhukov The Order of Zhukov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation. The order is named in honour of Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov (1896–1974). History The Order of Zhukov was established by Presidential Decree 930 of May ...

. Ivanov was awarded the Order of Honour on 19 February 2001 for his work on the "social protection of veterans and military-patriotic education of children". He died on 24 December 2001 and was buried in

Troyekurovskoye Cemetery The Troyekurovo Cemetery (), alternatively known as ''Novo-Kuntsevo Cemetery'' (), is a cemetery in Moscow, Russia. The cemetery is located in the former village of Troyekurovo on the western edge of Moscow, which derives its name from the Troye ...

Personal life

Ivanov married Nina Trifonovna, a medical worker. He had a son, Viktor Ivanov, who became a Soviet Army colonel.

Awards

;Soviet Union ;Russia ;Foreign

References

Citations

Bibliography