Ivan Vasilievich Boldin (; in Vysokaya – 20 March 1965 in Kiev) was a senior

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 ...

general and war

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

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 ...

Early military and political career

A son of a landed peasant, Boldin was fortunate enough to attend primary and two years of secondary school before beginning work with his father. In 1914 he moved into the village of Vysokaya where he worked in grain processing and bread making. He was drafted into the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

on 28 July 1914, during

World War I 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 received several months of infantry training before his regiment, the 23rd Rifle Regiment, was deployed to Sarakomysh on the Turkish front. He served for three years on this front against the Turks, taking part in operations around

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

and

Kars Kars ( or ; ; ) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District.� ...

, and also completing his secondary schooling.Glantz, p 46 Following the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

in 1917, Boldin became politically active. He served as an elected member of his regimental and divisional revolutionary committees until he was demobilized in December, when he returned to the Insa Region. After the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

seized power he became active in local and regional politics. From 7 January to 14 March 1918 he was assistant head of the Insa District Executive Committee, then chaired it until 7 January 1919. He joined the Communist Party in June 1918, and attended the

All-Russian Congress of Soviets The All-Russian Congress of Soviets evolved from 1917 to become the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1918 until 1936, effectively. The 1918 Constitution of the Russian SFSR mandated that Congress s ...

in July, representing

Penza Penza (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura (river), Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Russian census, 2010 Census, Penza had ...

. Following this he served in several positions in local administration and in the Party. In October 1919, Boldin restarted his military career by volunteering for service in the

in the ongoing

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. At its height, he served as a company commander fighting Finnish forces on the Karelian peninsula. He then went to Western Front, fighting in defense of

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

against White Russian forces, and later against Polish forces near

Polotsk Polotsk () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

and

Lepel Lyepyel or Lepel (; , ; ; ) is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus, located near Lyepyel Lake on the Vula River. It serves as the administrative center of Lyepyel District. Its population in the 1998 census was 19,400. As of 2024, it has a pop ...

in the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...

. In April 1920, he was promoted to command of a battalion, and in August to a regiment. By December 1921, Boldin had shown enough military potential that he was enrolled in the Vystrel Officer Rifle School, from which he graduated in September 1923.

Between the wars

Boldin was posted to Tula after his graduation, taking command of a rifle regiment that he had to form from scratch. He also got involved in political work by serving in the city's Soviet. In November 1924, he was assigned to form and command the Separate Moscow Rifle Regiment (later 1st Moscow Separate RR) as a training establishment for testing new weaponry. Boldin remained politically active, serving as a member of the Moscow Regional Bolshevik Committee. From November 1925 to October 1926 he attended 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 ...

, while also keeping up his political activity. In a pattern of military and political assignments, Boldin moved up a ladder of increasingly responsible assignments until 1939, and his loyalty was unquestioned during the 1937 purges.

Occupation of Poland, Latvia and Bessarabia

In September 1939, Boldin was chosen to command a Cavalry-Mechanized Group in the Special Western Military District on the border of Poland. This mobile grouping of two cavalry corps, one tank corps, one rifle corps, and a separate tank brigade, formed the mobile lead of Belorussian Front when it invaded eastern Poland on the morning of 17 September. After this short, undistinguished campaign, later in that month Boldin was assigned to head the military delegation which effected the Soviet occupation of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. His next assignment came in October when he was named as commander of the

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 ...

. In June 1940, the ''STAVKA'' formed a Southern Group of Forces with the intention of staging an invasion of Romanian

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

. Gen G.K. Zhukov, commander of

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

, was given overall command of the Group, with Boldin in command of the bulk of the Group's forces, the 9th Army. The invasion was carried out from 28 to 30 June, and Boldin was simultaneously promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.

Great Patriotic War

At the outbreak of

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 ...

, Boldin was the deputy of Gen. Dmitry Pavlov, commander of the Western Military District. Both men saw clear indications of the impending attack, but their warnings to the High Command were ignored. Late on 22 June, Pavlov ordered Boldin by phone to mount a counter-attack against German forces advancing on

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

. Boldin flew in a light aircraft under heavy fire to the command post of 10th Army near Bialystok. In the prevailing chaos it was impossible to carry out any effective attack, and by 27 June the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

and 10th Armies were all encircled west of

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

. Boldin, at the head of a small group, spent the next 45 days fighting for survival behind enemy lines. Finally, on 10 August, leading a total of 1,650 officers and men, his group broke through to Soviet lines near

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 ...

. ''STAVKA'' Order No. 270 praised the feat of Boldin's "division", and he became a popular hero in those dark days. His next assignment was back in the re-formed Western Front, as deputy to his old friend, Gen. I.S. Konev. As

Army Group Center Army Group Centre () was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created during the planning of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the So ...

launched

Operation Typhoon 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 ...

on 2 October, Boldin was assigned to command a Front operational group, once again to mount a counter-attack against advancing German forces. This was little more successful than the first, and soon he and his group was encircled near

Vyazma Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...

. In the course of a successful breakout Boldin was wounded, and spent the next month in hospital and recuperation in Moscow. In late November, he was summoned to a meeting by Marshal B.M. Shaposhnikov, Chief of the Red Army General Staff, and assigned to command 50th Army, currently in Western Front and defending the city of Tula. The previous commander, Mjr. Gen. A.N. Yermakov, had been arrested for dereliction of duty as a result of his actions when the army had been partly encircled at

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

. Boldin later admitted that defending the city against Gen.

Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who later became a successful memoirist. A pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of ...

was a challenging task to undertake. But although Tula was very deeply outflanked by the beginning of December, it never fell. In conjunction with the rebuilt

1st Guards Cavalry Corps 1st Guards Cavalry Zhytomyr Red Banner Corps (Russian: 1-й гвардейский кавалерийский Житомирский Краснознаменный корпус) was a military unit of the Soviet Red Army which was renamed from ...

and 10th Army, 50th went on the offensive and drove Guderian's forces back from the southern approaches to Moscow later that month. Boldin remained continuously in command of 50th Army until February 1945, being promoted to the rank of Colonel-General on 15 July 1944. In spite of his public image as a hero, his superiors saw his military gifts as limited; the 50th Army was usually relatively low in strength and was used in secondary roles. In October 1943, the Army was transferred to Belorussian Front and Boldin came under command of Gen.

K.K. Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky ( 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish general who served as a top commander in the Red Army during World War II and achieved the ranks of Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland. He a ...

. The latter shared the general opinion of Boldin's talents and kept him in limited roles until his army was transferred to

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 ...

in April 1944. Subsequently, in November, Rokossovsky was moved to the latter Front, and again Boldin was under his command. When the East Prussian operation began on 14 January 1945, the 50th Army was sent to keep an eye on the German forces defending along the

Augustów Canal The Augustów Canal (, , ) is a cross-border canal built by the Congress Kingdom of Poland in 19th century in the Augustów Voivodeship (present-day Podlaskie Voivodeship of northeastern Poland and Grodno Region, Grodno Oblast of western Belarus ...

. All but a small rearguard of those slipped away to battle the Front's main forces and it was 48 hours before Boldin noticed, all the while reporting that the full force was still in place. Rokossovsky had seen enough, and in February, just as the army was being transferred to

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 ...

, Boldin was relieved of command, and his chief of staff, Lt. Gen.

Fyodor Ozerov Fyodor Petrovich Ozerov (; 6 February 1899 – 18 November 1971) was a Soviet Army lieutenant general who held field army command during World War II. Early life and Russian Civil War Fyodor Petrovich Ozerov was born on 6 February 1899 in the v ...

, took over for the duration. After two months on the sidelines, Boldin was appointed as deputy commander of the

3rd Ukrainian Front The 3rd Ukrainian Front () was a Front of the Soviet Red Army during World War II. It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southwestern Front. It included 1st Guards Army, 8th Gua ...

in the final weeks of the war.

Later life

Beginning in July 1945, Boldin spent a year in command of an army, this time the 27th. He then got the prestigious assignment of command of the

8th Guards Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th GCAA) was an army of the Soviet Army, as a successor to the 62nd Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being do ...

of the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF), previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG) and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation ...

, which he held until March 1951, likely because of his political reliability. He commanded the Eastern Siberian Military District for two years, and after a short stint in Gorky Military District, he was assigned as First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Kiev Military District until 1958. He was now due for retirement, with a final assignment as Military Consultant to the Defense Ministry Group of General Inspectors.Glantz, pp 52-53 In 1961, he published his memoirs, ''Pages of Life'', and also several articles about the initial days of the war and his role in the defense of Tula in the journal, '' Voenno-istoricheskii Zhurnal''. He died in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

on 28 March 1965.

Early military and political career

Between the wars

Occupation of Poland, Latvia and Bessarabia

Great Patriotic War

Later life

References

Further reading