Nikolay Ivanovich Vasilyev (; 27 October 1906–September 1941) was a

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 ...

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

killed 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 ...

. Drafted into the Red Army in the late 1920s, Vasilyev became a junior officer after graduating from a military school and held command and staff positions during the 1930. Just before the beginning of World War II, Vasilyev became a regimental commander and was decorated for his leadership of the unit 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 ...

. After the end of the latter, he became deputy division commander of the 87th Rifle Division, succeeding to command after his division commander was killed in the first days after 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 ...

. Vasilyev was himself killed in the Battle of Kiev.

Early life and prewar service

Vasilyev was born on 27 October 1906 in Zaraysk,

Ryazan Governorate Ryazan Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 to 1929. Its capital was in Ryazan. Administrative division Ryazan Governorate consisted of the follo ...

. Drafted into the

in October 1926, he was sent to study at the VTsIK Combined Military School 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 ...

. After graduation in October 1929, he was sent to the 47th Rifle Regiment of the 16th Rifle Division in 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 ...

. He served with the regiment for nearly ten years, including as a rifle platoon commander, regimental school platoon commander, machine gun company commander, battalion chief of staff, head of the regimental school, and commander of its training battalion. In March 1939 he was transferred to the 46th Rifle Regiment as assistant regimental commander for personnel. In August of that year he was appointed commander of the 461st Rifle Regiment of the 142nd Rifle Division. During the

the regiment and division fought in heavy combat with the

19th Rifle Corps The 19th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. The 1st Pacific Rifle Division was shifted into the 19th Rifle Corps of the Siberian Military District in June 1929 after the 5th Army (RSFSR), 5th Red Banner Army of the RSFSR was disband ...

of the 7th Army on the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

. For his "skillful command of the regiment, courage, and heroism", Vasilyev, then a major, 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 ...

. After the end of the war, in May 1940, he was appointed deputy commander and chief of the infantry of the 87th Rifle Division 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, ...

World War II

At the beginning of

on 22 June 1941, the 87th was part of the 5th Army, which became part of the Southwestern Front (formed from the Kiev Special Military District), based in the area of Vladimir-Volynsky. The division was one of the first struck by the German advance, participating in the border battles. Vasilyev became commander of the division after division commander Major General Filipp Alyabushev was killed after stumbling on a German unit while reconnoitering a highway crossing site on 25 June. From 7 July to 20 August it was directly subordinated to the front command, then joined the 37th Army for the Battle of Kiev. After Kiev fell to the German advance on 19 September, the 87th was encircled with the 37th Army in a pocket around

Boryspil Boryspil (, ) is a city and the administrative center of Boryspil Raion in Kyiv Oblast (region) in northern and central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Boryspil urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population was estimate ...

to the southeast of the city. Vasilyev's 87th Rifle Division and the 4th Railway Protection Division of the NKVD formed the rearguard of the army as it attempted to break out of the pocket and escape to the east. After sappers from the 37th Army and the 4th Division blew up the bridges over the Dnieper, the commander of the NKVD division contacted Vasilyev to coordinate further actions. Early in the morning of 20 September, both units reached the eastern edge of the Darnitsky forest. A reconnaissance by the NKVD troops found that the planned escape route via Boryspil was blocked by German troops, and the fighting devolved into increasingly desperate breakout attempts. During the latter, Vasilyev was killed in action north of Piryatin. He was survived by his wife, Anna Georgievna.

References

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Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasilyev, Nikolay Ivanovich 1906 births 1941 deaths People from Zaraysky District People from Zaraysky Uyezd Soviet colonels Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner