Sergey Semyonovich Biryuzov (; 21 August 1904 – 19 October 1964) was a

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (, ) was the second-highest military rank of the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin wore the uniform and insignia of Marshal after World War II. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in ...

and Chief of the General Staff.

Early life and prewar service

Biryuzov was born in Skopin, in the

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 ...

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 ...

, in a working-class family of

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

ethnicity. He joined 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 ...

in September 1922, studying at the 48th

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 ...

Infantry and Machine Gun and the 10th

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...

Courses 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 ...

before transferring to the VTsIK Combined Military School in Moscow in October 1923. After graduating from the latter, Biryuzov returned to the North Caucasus Military District in September 1926 to command a platoon of the 65th Rifle Regiment of the 22nd Rifle Division. In the same year he became a member of 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 ...

. From December 1929 he served as commander of an airfield company of the 36th Aircraft Fleet in the district. After completing studies at the Military Faculty of the Moscow Zootechnical Institute between June 1930 and February 1931, Biryuzov served with the 3rd Rifle Regiment of the Moscow Proletarian Rifle Division, rising from company commander to chief of staff of the training battalion to rifle battalion commander during his service with the regiment. Entering 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 ...

in June 1934, Biryuzov became chief of staff of the 30th Rifle Division following his graduation in October 1937. He was acting division commander until February 1938 and in April of that year became chief of the operations department Kharkov Military District staff. Biryuzov held this position until August 1939, when he became the commanding officer of the 132nd Rifle Division.

World War II

Biryuzov commanded this unit for the next three years, a rarity among

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

generals, especially during

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 ...

–as Soviet generals rarely held command positions for longer than a few months at most. Biryuzov's division was a part of Southwestern and

Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front () was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the World War II, Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it fi ...

s. Biryuzov was a fine division commander, often leading his division personally into battle. Within the first year 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 ...

(June 1941), Biryuzov had been wounded five times, two times rather severely. In April 1942, he was made the Chief of Staff of the 48th Army, which was a part of Bryansk Front. He commanded this unit until November 1942, when he was made the Chief of Staff of the 2nd Guards Army. He was in this position until April 1943, helping to lead this unit during

Operation Saturn Operation Little Saturn () was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The suc ...

, when 2nd Guards Army helped crush the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

6th Army after the Germans had been surrounded during 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, ...

. In April 1943, he was made the Chief of Staff of the Southern Front, where he was a valuable aide to the Southern Front commander,

Fyodor Tolbukhin Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin (; 16 June 1894 – 17 October 1949) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is regarded as one of the finest Soviet generals of World War II. Born into a peasant family i ...

. On October 20, 1943, Southern Front was renamed 4th Ukrainian Front. Biryuzov remained the Chief of Staff until May 1944 when he was transferred to 3rd Ukrainian Front, along with Tolbukhin. In October 1944, Biryuzov was transferred to command the 37th Army, which was a part of 3rd Ukrainian Front. He held this position through the end of the war, until May 1945. In these command positions, Biriuzov helped plan and carry out the expulsion of all German forces from

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, and then helped plan and carry out the liberation of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

Cold War

After these commands, Biryuzov was made the Head of the Soviet Military Mission in Bulgaria, a position he held until May 1946, when he became deputy commander-in-chief of the Ground Forces for combat training. Between June 1947 and April 1953, he commanded the Primorsky Military District, then became first deputy commander-in-chief of the

Far Eastern Military District The Far Eastern Military District () was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific Fleet and part of the Siberian Military District to form the new Eastern Military District. Histo ...

when the Primorsky Military District was merged into the latter. Two months later, Biryuzov was sent west to become commander-in-chief of the Central Group of Forces. He assumed a series of senior positions in the

Soviet Air Defense Forces The Soviet Air Defence Forces (; ) was the air defence branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Formed in 1941, it continued being a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces after 1991 until it was merged into the Russian Air Force, Air Force in 1998 ...

beginning in May 1954 when he became first deputy commander-in-chief of the forces. On March 11, 1955, Biryuzov was given the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Between April 1955 and April 1962, Biryuzov was the Commander in Chief of the

. After nearly a year as Commander in Chief of the Strategic Missile Force, he was made the Chief of the General Staff in March 1963.

Death

On October 19, 1964, Biryuzov and 32 others were killed when their

Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world's principal airliners for several decades and wa ...

crashed against Mount

Avala Avala ( sr-cyr, Авала, ) is a List of mountains in Serbia, mountain in Serbia, overlooking Belgrade. It is situated in the south-eastern corner of the city and provides a great panoramic view of Belgrade, Vojvodina and Šumadija, as the sur ...

near

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. The urn containing his ashes is buried in

the Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...

Awards

His awards include:Герои страны
/ref> ;Soviet Union ;Foreign

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biryuzov, Sergei 1904 births 1964 deaths People from Skopin People from Skopinsky Uyezd Candidates of the Central Committee of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Committee of the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Second convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Fourth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Fifth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Sixth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1951–1955 Marshals of the Soviet Union Soviet military personnel of World War II Russian people of World War II Frunze Military Academy alumni Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Soviet Union), 1st class Recipients of the Order of the People's Hero Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1964 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Serbia Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Yugoslavia Burials at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis