Konstantin Apollonovich Koroteyev (; –4 January 1953) 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 a

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 ...

Early life and World War I

Koroteyev was born on 25 February 1901 in the village of Shcheglovka (now in Bogodukhov) in

Kharkov Governorate Kharkov Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire founded in 1835. It embraced the historical region of Sloboda Ukraine. From 1765 to 1780 and from 1796 to 1835 the governorate was called Sloboda Uk ...

, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, to a working-class family. He graduated from primary school and worked as a laborer at the Shcheglovka mine. Koroteyev volunteered for the

Imperial Russian 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 ...

in August 1916 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 ...

and was sent to the Southwestern Front as a

ryadovoy () in the Army, Airborne troops, and Air Force of the Russian Federation is the designation of a member of the rank group of enlisted personnel. The rank is equivalent to ''matros'' () in the Russian Navy. In the armed forces of the Soviet Uni ...

. He became a grenadier in the 290th Lipetsk Infantry Regiment, serving until the Imperial Army collapsed following the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

in December 1917. Koroteyev returned home and became a laborer at the mine again.

Russian Civil War

In February 1918, Koroteyev joined a

Red Guard The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

detachment formed from Shcheglovka mine workers 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 ...

. After completing its formation, the detachment was reorganized as the 1st

Lugansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administrative center of Luh ...

Battalion, and Koroteyev was elected commander of its 2nd Company. In April, the battalion became part of

Kliment Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov ( ; ), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (; 4 February 1881 – 2 December 1969), was a prominent Soviet Military of the Soviet Union, military officer and politician during the Stalinism, Stalin era (1924–195 ...

2nd Ukrainian Soviet Army The 2nd Ukrainian Soviet Army was a field army of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, which was formed on April 15, 1919, from the units of the ''Group of Forces of the Kharkov Direction''. It was first part of the Ukrainian Front and from ...

, participating in the defense of Lugansk and in battles against German troops on the Southern Front. He then fought in the suppression of a

Don Cossack Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic republic in present-da ...

uprising and the retreat to

Tsaritsyn Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

. In June, the 1st Communist Rifle Division was formed there, and Koroteyev became a platoon commander in its 2nd Communist Regiment. After 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 ...

's retreat from Tsaritsyn, Koroteyev was sent to study at the Saratov Infantry and Machine Gun Courses in September 1919. As part of a cadet detachment, he helped suppress the Sapozhkov Uprising in the Ural steppes before graduating in July 1920. He participated in battles with the

White movement The White movement,. The old spelling was retained by the Whites to differentiate from the Reds. also known as the Whites, was one of the main factions of the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. It was led mainly by the Right-wing politics, right- ...

near

Millerovo Millerovo () is the name of several inhabited localities in Rostov Oblast, Russia. ;Urban localities *Millerovo, Millerovsky District, Rostov Oblast Millerovo (, Ukrainian: Міллерово) is a town and the administrative center of Millero ...

Belaya Kalitva Belaya Kalitva (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Belokalitvinsky District in Rostov Oblast, Russia. Population: History It was founded in 1703. Administrative and municipal status Within ...

and Tsaritsyn (later Stalingrad, now Volgograd).

Interwar period

In July 1920, Koroteyev was appointed a platoon commander in the 4th Reserve Regiment, stationed in

Roslavl Roslavl (, ) is a town and the administrative center of Roslavlsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is a road and rail junction and a market town. Population: History Roslavl was founded as Rostislavl in the 1130s or 1140s. The name is ...

. He was transferred to become a platoon commander in the 4th Rifle Division's 31st Rifle Regiment in January 1921, and in June of the same year transferred to the 11th Rifle Regiment. Koroteyev graduated from the Western Front's courses for midlevel commanders in

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 1924, serving successively as an assistant company commander, company commander, and rifle battalion commander. In October 1926, he graduated from the Vystrel commanders' improvement courses. Koroteyev was appointed chief of staff of the 14th Rifle Regiment in January 1934 before becoming regimental commander in March 1935. He was appointed chief of staff of the

27th Rifle Division The 27th Rifle Division () was a tactical unit in the Red Army of Soviet Russia and then the Soviet Union, active between 1918 and 1945. First formed during the Russian Civil War on November 3, 1918, as part of 5th Red Army. Commanded by Vitov ...

, part of 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 ...

4th Rifle Corps The 4th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army, active from the 1920s. First Formation It was formed during the Russian Civil War as part of the Western Front of the Red Army in May and June 1922. The corps headquarters was stationed in Vitebsk ...

, in July 1937, and became division commander in February 1938. In the same year, 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 ...

. Koroteyev led the 27th Division in the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

in September 1939, during which it advanced into Polish territory annexed to the Soviet Union as western Belorussia. 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 ...

he was a division commander. Koroteyev commanded the left-flank group of the 15th Army of the North-Western Front and led the fighting on the mastery of the islands, Petäjäsaari and Maksimansaari in Lake Ladoga. In March 1940, he was appointed inspector of the infantry of 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 ...

before taking command of the

Kiev Special Military District 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, ...

's 55th Rifle Corps in March 1941, which he commanded at the beginning 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 ...

, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, on 22 June.

World War II

The rout of the 37th Army

From the beginning of the invasion, Koroteyev led the corps in the border battles as part of the Southwestern Front. In July, it fought in fierce fighting in defense of the

Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

line as part of the Southern Front's 18th Army, but was forced to retreat beyond the

Southern Bug The Southern Bug, also called Southern Buh (; ; ; or just ), and sometimes Boh River (; ),

by Axis troops. In August the corps was disbanded, and he was made deputy commander of the 18th Army for the rear.

Southern Front

In October 1941 he was appointed commander of the front's 12th Army, after it failed to hold

Dnepropetrovsk Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

and the defensive line on the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

. Koroteyev led the army in the battles in the Donbass region and Rostov defensive operation. The compounds of the enemy army has suffered heavy losses, but under the pressure numerically superior enemy Donbass had to leave. Successfully operated commander in his first major offensive near Rostov in November - December 1941. He led it in the defense of

Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

and a counteroffensive against German troops during the Battle of Rostov. In March 1942, Koroteyev was made assistant commander of the Southern Font. In August, he took command of the

11th Guards Rifle Corps In music theory, an eleventh is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a fourth. A perfect eleventh spans 17 and the augmented eleventh 18 semitones, or 10 steps in a diatonic scale. Since there are only seven degrees in a diaton ...

, part of the

Transcaucasian Front The Transcaucasus Front (), also translated as Transcaucasian Front, was a front of the Soviet Red Army—a military formation comparable to an army group, not a geographic military front—during the Second World War. The Transcaucasus Front ...

's 9th Army, leading it in the defense of positions in the direction of Ordzhonikidze.

Transcaucasian Front

In early September 1942, Koroteyev was appointed commander of the 9th Army, leading it in the

Battle of the Caucasus The Battle of the Caucasus was a series of Axis and Soviet operations in the Caucasus as part of the Eastern Front of World War II. On 25 July 1942, German troops captured Rostov-on-Don, opening the Caucasus region of the southern Soviet ...

. Under his command, the fall of 1942, the army waged a fierce and bloody battles on the defensive line Malgobek - Mozdok - Elkhotovo, and did not allow the enemy to Grozny and Baku oil. January 1, 1943, the 9th Army Major General Koroteyev went on the offensive, pursuing the "running away" from the Caucasus enemy. In January, the 9th Army liberated Elkhotovo, Cool, Pyatigorsk, Nevinnomyssk and Armavir. Koroteyev brought the 9th Army to the city Slavyansk-on-Kuban. In February, he transferred to command the 18th Army, returning to command of the 9th Army in March. On 13 May 1943, Koroteyev was appointed commander of the 37th Army of the

North Caucasian Front The North Caucasus Front, also translated as North Caucasian Front, was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. The North Caucasus Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. First Creation The ...

, which under his leadership was trying to break the "Blue Line" Hitler's defense on the Taman peninsula.

At the head of the 52nd Army

In July 1943, Koroteyev was appointed commander of the 52nd Army, which he led for the rest of the war. Under his command, the army served as part of the

Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK () or RGK ( comprises reserve military formations and units; the ''Stavka'' ...

, the

Voronezh Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Wartime ...

, the

Steppe Front The Steppe Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War which existed from July to October 1943. History On 9 July 1943, Stavka designated a new Reserve Front in the Voronezh region, that had been effective since 30 April.G ...

(2nd Ukrainian Front from 20 October), and the

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Wartime ...

. He led the army in 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 ...

, the Korsun–Shevchenkovsky Offensive, the

Uman–Botoșani Offensive The Uman–Botoșani offensiveTsouras, p. 244 or Uman–Botoshany offensive () was a part of the Dnieper–Carpathian offensive, carried out by the Red Army in the western Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic against the German 8th Army (Wehrma ...

, the

Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

, the Vistula–Oder Offensive, the Lower Silesian Offensive, the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

, and the Prague Offensive. For his "skilled leadership" of the army in the crossing of 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 ...

during the Vistula–Oder Offensive, Koroteyev was made a

on 6 April 1945. Passing fought over 250 kilometers on the left-bank Ukraine, in November 1943, the 52nd Army crossed the Dnieper near the city of Cherkassy, a foothold. After long heavy fighting December 14, 1943, Army Corps was released this regional center of Ukraine. In January–February 1944, the 9th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front took part in the Korsun-Shevchenko Operation. As a result, the army out in a large area of the city Zvenigorodka Nazi group was in the "pot". In March 1944, the army of General Koroteyev well in Uman-Botoshanskoy operations, participated in the liberation of the city of Uman, March 11, Department of the Army crossed the Southern Bug River, near the village Dzhulinka Vinnitsa region and seized a bridgehead. Then they crossed the Dniester, and passing through the territory of Moldova, in mid-April reached the approaches to the Romanian city of Iasi. August 20, 1944, began the Iasi-Kishinev operation of Soviet troops. Colonel General Koroteyev and his 52nd Army broke through enemy defenses and captured the city of Iasi, and by August 24 came to settlements Khushi - Leovo, where she met with the 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. In the next "pot" in Chisinau were compound 5 and the German army corps! By September 4, 1944, Nazi group was dissolved, part of the army captured 65,000 soldiers and officers, about 1,000 guns, many other military equipments. In September 1944, the 52nd Army was put in reserve rates, and in December - transferred to the 1st Ukrainian Front, and focused on the Sandomierz bridgehead. January 12, 1945, he went on the offensive, taking part in the Vistula-Oder operation. General sent Koroteyev main striking force, with battles overcame the enemy defenses on the River Warta, in the Polish city of Czestochowa, which was released on 17 January 1945. After 2 days, the troops of the 52nd Army approached the city Glogau and the run crossed in the city Oder, capturing a bridgehead on the west bank. In February 1945, the 52nd Army participated in the Lower-Silesian operations. Enemy defenses, the army Koroteyeva to February 24, 1945, went to the line of the river Neisse. As a result, in the fortress city of Breslau (Wroclaw, Poland) was surrounded garrison in 40000 soldiers. He participated in the Berlin operation. In May 1945, K.A.Koroteyev commanded the army in the last offensive of World War II. After Berlin fell in Czechoslovakia powerful group Nazis refused to capitulate. May 6,1945, the 52nd Army went on the offensive, and May 8, its troops had been released Goerlitz, May 9 - Liberec. Only 11 May 1945 the war was over for Colonel General K.A.Koroteyev in Mlada Boleslav (the Czech town north-east of Prague).

Postwar

Postwar, Koroteyev remained in command of the 52nd Army, graduating from Higher Academic Courses at the General Staff Academy in 1947. In the same year he was appointed as a commander of the

Transbaikal Military District The Transbaikal Military District () was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on 17 May 1935 and included the Buryat Republic, Chita Oblast, and Yakutia. Chita was ...

, holding the post until March 1951. He then became assistant commander of 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 ...

. Koroteyev died on 4 January 1953 in

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 ...

. Since 1951 - the assistant commander of the North Caucasus Military District. Since 1950 Konstantin Koroteyev was a deputy of the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...

Awards and decorations

* Hero of the Soviet Union (April 6, 1945) * Three

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 ...

* Four

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 ...

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 ...

1st class * Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 1st class

Early life and World War I

Russian Civil War

Interwar period

World War II

The rout of the 37th Army

Southern Front

Transcaucasian Front

At the head of the 52nd Army

Postwar

Awards and decorations

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading