Ivan Dmitrievich Burmakov (Russian: Иван Дмитриевич Бурмаков; 11 November 1899 – 16 June 1973) 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 ...

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 ...

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 in 1899 to a Ukrainian peasant family, he joined the Red Army in 1918. He fought 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 ...

and 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 ...

. After graduating from the Red Commanders School, he became an officer. Burmakov rose through the ranks during the interwar period and in August 1942 became commander of the 38th Motor Rifle Brigade and fought in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

. At the end of the battle, his troops captured 6th Army commander

Friedrich Paulus Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) during World War II who is best known for his surrender of the German 6th Army (Wehrmacht), 6th Army during the Battle ...

. For its actions the brigade became the 7th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. Burmakov was sent to the Military Academy of the General Staff and graduated in May 1944. He became commander of the 31st Guards Rifle Division in July 1944. Burmakov led the division in

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

Gumbinnen Operation The Gumbinnen Operation,Glantz, ''Failures of Historiography'' also known as the Goldap Operation (or Goldap-Gumbinnen Operation, ), was a Soviet offensive on the Eastern Front late in 1944, in which forces of the 3rd Belorussian Front attempt ...

, the East Prussian Offensive and the

Battle of Königsberg The Battle of Königsberg, also known as the Königsberg offensive, was one of the last operations of the East Prussian offensive during World War II. In four days of urban warfare, Soviet Union, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3 ...

. For his leadership, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 19 April 1945. Postwar, Burmakov continued to serve in the Soviet Army, leading the 29th and 21st Guards Mechanized Divisions and the 52nd Rifle Corps. After retiring in 1955, he lived in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

and died in 1973.

Early life, Russian Civil War and Polish-Soviet War

Burmakov was born on 11 November 1899 in the village of Pohoriltsi in

Chernigov Governorate Chernigov Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. It was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Little Russia Governorate (1796-1802), Little Russia Governorate and had its capital in Cher ...

to a peasant family. After graduating from high school, he worked in basketry workshops in the villages of Pohoriltsi and Topalevka. In October 1918, Burmakov joined the Red Army. He was a soldier in the 4th Nizhyn Regiment of the 1st Insurgent Division. He fought in battles against the

Ukrainian People's Army The Ukrainian People's Army (), also known as the Ukrainian National Army (UNA) or by the derogatory term Petliurivtsi (, ), was the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1921). They were often quickly reorganized units of the former I ...

. The division was reorganized as the 44th Rifle Division and Burmakov became a machine gunner in its 388th Rifle Regiment. He then fought in battles against the

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

. In 1920, he participated in the

. Around this time, Burmakov 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 ...

Interwar

From April 1921, Burmakov studied at the 2nd Kiev School of Red Commanders. In September 1922 the school was disbanded and students transferred to

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

. In 1924 he graduated from the Kharkov Unified School of Red Commanders. From September, Burmakov was a platoon leader, company commander, chief of staff and battalion commander and finally assistant chief of staff of the

100th Rifle Division The 100th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II, formed twice. In November 1923 in the Belaya Tserkov area of the Ukrainian Military District, the 45th Territorial Rifle Division was establish ...

's 300th Rifle Regiment. In March 1932, he became assistant chief of staff of the 78th Rifle Division at

Tomsk Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...

. From May 1933, Burmakov was chief of staff and then commander of the 18th Separate Rifle Battalion at

Biysk Biysk ( rus, Бийск, p=bʲijsk; , ) is a city in Altai Krai, Russia, located on the Biya River not far from its confluence with the Katun River. It is the second largest city of the krai (after Barnaul, the administrative center of the krai ...

. In November 1934 he became chief of staff of the 213th Rifle Regiment. In November 1937, he became regimental commander and was transferred to lead the 232nd Rifle Regiment. In August 1939, Burmakov became chief of staff of the 102nd Rifle Division at

Kansk Kansk () is a town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on both banks of the Kan River. Population: History and economy Founded in 1628 as a Russian fort, it was transferred to its current location in 1636 and granted town status in 1782. Th ...

. In January 1940, he was the assistant chief of the Kansk Infantry School. Burmakov became deputy head of the

Kemerovo Kemerovo ( rus, Ке́мерово, p=ˈkʲemʲɪrəvə) is an industrial types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Iskitimka River, Iskitimka and Tom ...

Infantry School in November. He graduated from the second year of night courses 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 ...

World War II

In the fall of 1941 Burmakov became acting commander of the Kemerovo Infantry School. From December 1941, he was chief of staff of a newly forming rifle division in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

. In April 1942 he became commander of the 5th Destroyer Brigade at

Alabino Alabino () is a rural locality in the Moscow Oblast of Russia. With a population of over 600 people, it is part of the urban settlement of Selyatino. Until 2006, Alabino was part of the Petrovsky Rural District. One of the main attractions in the ...

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

. In August 1942, Burmakov became commander of the 38th Motor Rifle Brigade, formed from Stalingrad Factory Workers. He fought in the

. In late August, the brigade fought on Stalingrad's southern outskirts. In September, the brigade fought in the Elshanka area and became part of the

62nd Army The 62nd Army () was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. History The Army was formed on 28 May 1942 as the 7th Reserve Army, a part of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. The formation wa ...

. In the final stages of the Battle of Stalingrad, the brigade was part of the 64th Army. The brigade captured 6th Army commander

in the basement of the Univermag department store. In March 1943, the brigade became the 7th Guards Stalingrad Motor Rifle Brigade for its actions. On 1 March Burmakov was promoted to major general. On 1 April, he 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 ...

. In May 1943, Burmakov was sent to study at the Military Academy of the General Staff. In 1944, he graduated from an accelerated course at the school. In May, he was appointed deputy commander of the 16th Guards Rifle Corps of the

11th Guards Army The 11th Guards Army () was a field army of the Red Army, the Soviet Ground Forces, and the Russian Ground Forces, active from 1943 to 1997. History World War II For its prowess in battle, the second formation of the 16th Army was redesignat ...

. In July 1944 he became commander of the 31st Guards Rifle Division of the corps. He led the division during

. On 24 September, he was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

. In October, the division fought in the

. From January 1945, the division fought in the East Prussian Offensive. In April, it fought in the

. On 6 April, the first day of the attack on the city, the division broke through German defenses in the southwest. By the end of the second day, the division reached the

Pregolya River The Pregolya or Pregola (; ; ; ) is a river in the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast exclave. Name A possible ancient name by Ptolemy of the Pregolya River is Chronos (from Germanic *''hrauna'', "stony"), although other theories identify Chronos as a ...

, crossed it and seized a bridgehead. During the battle, the division captured or destroyed 96 guns, 18 tanks and self-propelled guns, and a large amount of German supplies and equipment. On 19 April Burmakov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin for his leadership.

Postwar

After the end of the war, Burmakov continued his military service. In December 1945, the 31st Guards Rifle Division was converted into the 29th Guards Mechanized Division. In January 1948, he became commander of the 21st Guards Mechanized Division at

Ohrdruf Ohrdruf () is a small town in the district of Gotha in the German state of Thuringia. It lies some 30 km southwest of Erfurt at the foot of the northern slope of the Thuringian Forest. The former municipalities Crawinkel, Gräfenhain an ...

and then Halle. In June 1950 he returned to the Military Academy of the General Staff and graduated in 1951. From July 1951, he led the Odessa Infantry School. In January 1954, Burmakov was appointed commander of the

52nd Rifle Corps The 52nd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. It was part of the 24th Army. It took part in the Eastern Front of World War II. Organization * 91st Rifle Division * 119th Rifle Division * 166th Rifle Division The 166th Rifle Divi ...

at Pervomaiske, Mykolaiv Oblast. On 31 May, he was promoted to

. In April 1955, he retired. Burmakov lived and worked in Odessa and died on 16 June 1973. He was buried in the city's Second Christian Cemetery.

Legacy

A street in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad) is named for Burmakov.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burmakov, Ivan 1899 births 1973 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine People from Chernigov Governorate Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Soviet lieutenant generals Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni