Sergey Stepanovich Fomenko (7 October 1902 – 28 October 1991) 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 ...

'' general-leytenant'' who held field army command 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 ...

. A veteran of 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 ...

, Fomenko rose through command and staff positions in the interwar

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 ...

and was deputy 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 ...

when Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Fomenko remained in the

Transbaikal Transbaikal, Trans-Baikal, Transbaikalia ( rus, Забайка́лье, r=Zabaykal'ye, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲjɪ), or Dauria (, ''Dauriya'') is a mountainous region to the east of or "beyond" (trans-) Lake Baikal at the south side of the eastern Si ...

region during the war, commanding the 36th Army. He led an operational group of the army while serving as army deputy commander during the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation or simply the Manchurian Operation () and sometimes Operation August Storm, began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet Union, Soviet invasion of the Emp ...

. Postwar, Fomenko continued to hold senior positions, ending his career as first deputy commander of the

Northern Group of Forces The Northern Group of Armed Forces (; ) was the military formation of the Soviet Army (Russian Ground Forces starting 1992) stationed in Poland from the end of Second World War in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the fa ...

in the late 1950s.

Early life and prewar service

A Ukrainian, Sergey Stepanovich Fomenko was born on 7 October 1902 in the town of

Shpola Shpola ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city located in Zvenyhorodka Raion of Cherkasy Oblast (oblast, province) in central Ukraine. In May 2011, a 14-meter monument was installed on the outskirts of the city, claiming that Shpola is the geogr ...

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire (1796–1917), Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–18; 1918–1921), Ukrainian State (1918), and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–19 ...

. He joined the

in 1918, fighting in the

on the Southern Front in Ukraine against Whites and Ukrainian nationalists as a

Red Army man Red Army man () was the lowest military rank in the Red Army of the Soviet Union from 1918 to 1946. On 30 November 1917, after the October Revolution, the Military Revolutionary Committee cancelled all "officer and class ranks". Henceforth, the ...

. He graduated from the 27th Oryol Infantry and Machine Gun Command Course in 1921, and the Course for Chiefs of Machine Gun Detachments at the Higher Rifle-Tactical School in 1922. Fomenko became a member of the Communist Party in 1924. After the end of the war, Fomenko served as a platoon commander, company commander, chief of a regimental machine gun detachment, assistant battalion commander, chief of a regimental school, and battalion commander at the Odessa Infantry School. In January 1933 he became commander of the 15th Turkestan Mountain Rifle Regiment of the 4th Turkestan Mountain Rifle Division of the

Central Asian Military District The Red Banner Central Asian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, which existed in 1926–1945 and 1969–1989, with its headquarters at Tashkent (1926–1945) and Almaty (1969–1989). By USSR Order No.304 of 4 ...

. In June 1935 he became chief of the special section of the District Central Asian Military School. On 21 July 1937 he took command of the

83rd Mountain Rifle Division 83rd may refer to: *83rd Academy Awards, a ceremony that honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011 *83rd Grey Cup, the 1995 Canadian Football League championship game *83rd meridian east, a line of lon ...

of the Central Asian Military District. He was promoted to the rank of

kombrig () is an abbreviation of Commanding officer of the brigade (), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR from 1935 to 1940. It was also the designation to military personnel appointed to command a brigade sized formation (X ...

on 17 February 1938, and in July of that year appointed deputy commander of the

. Fomenko was promoted to the rank of

komdiv () is the syllabic abbreviation to commanding officer of the division (; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR in the period from 1935 to 1940. It was also the designation to military personnel appointed to command ...

on 4 November 1939 and received the rank of ''general-mayor'' when the Red Army introduced general officer ranks on 4 June 1940. In 1941, he graduated from the Improvement Courses for Higher Command Personnel.

World War II

Fomenko was acting commander of the Transbaikal Military District between 23 and 27 June 1941, and took command of the new 36th Army in July. Fomenko's army prepared reserves for the troops on the Eastern Front, while training to break through fortifications and fight in mountain and taiga conditions. His army was quickly drawn down due to the need for troops on the Eastern Front, being reduced from four rifle divisions to just one division by the end of 1941. At the same time, the army was placed on constant combat readiness to repulse a feared Japanese attack. Fomenko was promoted to the rank of '' general-leytenant'' on 16 October 1943. In January 1944,

Transbaikal Front The Transbaikal Front () was a front formed on September 15, 1941, on the basis of the Transbaikal Military District. Initially, it included the 17th and 36th armies, but in August 1942 the 12th Air Army was added to the front, and, finally, in ...

deputy commander Dmitry Kozlov recommended Fomenko for 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 ...

for his leadership of the army, which was awarded on 25 January. The recommendation read:

He commands the troops of the army confidently and skillfully. During his time in this position from 1941 he has acquired experience and practice. He is a general prepared in operational and tactical aspects. He treats service with interest and desire. He is with the troops a significant amount, concretely leading them and rendering practical assistance. The units and formations of the army in the fall inspections displayed a high level of combat training. He is a strong-willed, demanding and authoritative commander. He is ideologically firm and morally steadfast, loyal to the party and Homeland.

On the eve of the

Alexander Luchinsky arrived to command the 36th Army, and Fomenko became army deputy commander. He was given command of the right (western) flank of the 36th Army, consisting of the 293rd and 298th Rifle Divisions supported by two machine gun artillery brigades. This force was designated the Manzhouli Operational Group. During the invasion, Fomenko's troops took the stations of

Manzhouli Manzhouli ( zh, s=满洲里; ; ) is a sub-prefectural city located in Hulunbuir prefecture-level city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Located on the border with Russia, it is a major land port of entry. It has an area of and a populat ...

and Jalainur on 11 and 12 August, inflicting over 500 Japanese casualties. Fomenko's group pursued the remnants of the Japanese defenders, retreating towards Tsagan station and Hailar. The operational group surrounded Hailar from the west and took part in the elimination of Japanese resistance in the

Hailar Hailar District, formerly a county-level city, is an urban District (China), district that serves as the seat of the prefecture-level city Hulunbuir in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Hulunbuir, due to its massive size, is a city in administr ...

fortified region, as well as the capture of

Qiqihar Qiqihar (also spelled Tsitsihar) is the second-largest city in the Heilongjiang province of China, in the west central part of the province. The built-up (or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 959,787 inhabitants, w ...

. For his performance in command of the Manzhouli Operational Group, army commander Alexander Luchinsky recommended Fomenko for the

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...

, 1st class, downgraded to the

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 ...

, 2nd class and awarded on 8 September 1945. The recommendation read:

''General-leytenant'' Fomenko, during the battles with the Japanese, commanded an operational group of the troops of the army on the Manzhouli axis. On 9 August 1945, the troops of the operational group broke through the long-term enemy defense with a large presence of pillboxes: the Manzhouli-Jalainur Fortified Region, and with a rapid offensive took the cities of: Manzhouli, Jalainur, and pursued the retreating enemy along the railroad to Hailar. On reaching the Hailar region, the troops of the operational group fought to eliminate the blockaded garrisons in the Hailar Fortified Region. In a short period the elimination of strong enemy centers of resistance was completed, wiping out more than 100 pillboxes and taking 3,880 enemy soldiers and officers prisoner. ''General-leytenant'' Fomenko, leading the fighting of the group, was directly with the combat formations of the advancing units, displaying an example of courage and heroism. For self-sacrificing leadership of the combat operations of the troops, he is deserving of the award of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class.

Postwar

Postwar, Fomenko resumed command of the 36th Army on 28 November 1945, which he led until its disbandment in June 1948. After completing the Higher Academic Course at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy in 1949, he rose to assistant commander of the Transbaikal Military District in April of that year, before transferring west in September 1953 to serve as first deputy commander of the

Taurida Military District The Taurida Military District was a military district of the Soviet Union. It was formed from the headquarters of the Separate Coastal Army and the 22nd Army in the summer of 1945. The military district controlled troops on the territory of the ...

. He served as acting district commander between July and September 1954. Fomenko transferred to serve as first deputy commander of the

in Poland in July 1956 before being retired in 1957. He died on 28 October 1991 in

Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...

Awards

Fomenko was a recipient of the following decorations: *

(2) *

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 ...

(3) *

, 2nd class *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

, 1st class *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fomenko, Sergey 1902 births 1991 deaths People from Shpola Soviet lieutenant generals Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star