Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich (6 (18) February 1895 - death March 31, 1970) - Soviet military and statesman. Twice Hero Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union.
He took part in the First World War. Since 1918 in the Red Army. Participant civil war. 1940–41 - People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. During the Great Patriotic War commanded various fronts and troops. After the war - in command positions in the Soviet Army.
Origin. early years
Born into a large peasant family, in the village of Furmanka, Akkerman district, Bessarabian province. Elementary education received in a rural parochial school. 1909 - after its completion, he began to work - he worked as a laborer.
Military service (briefly)
1915 - took part in the First World War of 1914-18 as a machine gunner. During the Civil War (1918-22) he fought in the Red Army in the Don, Kuban and Crimea. 1920-30s - was in senior command positions in the Belarusian, Kiev, North Caucasian military districts. 1939 - Commander of the Ukrainian Front during the annexation of Western Ukraine to the Soviet Union. During the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-40. commander of the troops of the North-Western Front, which broke through the Mannerheim Line. From May 1940 to July 1941 - People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR.
During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45. - was the commander of the Western Front in the battle of Smolensk, was a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, in 1941-42. - was the commander-in-chief of the Western and South-Western directions, in 1942-43. - commanded the troops of the Stalingrad and North-Western fronts. 1943, March-June - coordinated the actions of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, until December - North Caucasian Front and Black Sea Fleet, in February - June 1944 - the 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts, from August 1944 until the end of the war - the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ukrainian fronts.
1945-60 - was the commander of the troops of a number of military districts. March 1960 - Inspector General of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. 1961-70 - Chairman of the Soviet Committee of War Veterans.
Death
1970, January 10 - at the next plenum of the Committee, the last public speaking Timoshenko. A rapidly progressing illness forced the marshal to go to bed. Despite the prohibitions of doctors, he did not stop working, dictating answers to numerous letters coming from different parts of the country on a variety of issues.
February 18, 1970 - Marshal Timoshenko celebrated his 75th birthday. The country, its army honored one of the most famous commanders. , on a gift copy of his book “Memoirs and Reflections”, donated by S. K. Timoshenko, he wrote: “I learned a lot from you. This gave me the opportunity to master the operational-strategic art, which was so useful in the Great Patriotic War ... ".
March 31, 1970 - Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich died. On an April day, an endless stream of people of various generations went to Red Square. They went to honor the memory of the great commander, whose life was closely connected with the turning points in the history of the Fatherland.
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich. Marshal's biography.
-Marshal Rokossovsky - was one of the most brilliant commanders of the Second World War ...
Personal life
1923, February - at an evening in Minsk, in honor of the 5th anniversary of the Red Army, he met a beautiful Turkish woman named Nurgail. The future marshal fell in love with her, as they say, at first sight. And the girl seemed to reciprocate. And after 2 days they got married. In those days, for the army commander's level, it was enough for a certificate from the combatant of the formation commanded by Timoshenko to legalize marriage and put his young wife on all types of allowances. “The free bachelor life is over,” the corps commander joked, handing gifts to the young from his colleagues. “I wish you great happiness and eternal love.”
However, neither one nor the second succeeded. On December 21, daughter Katya was born. And on the night before the new 1924, the wife disappeared, leaving her husband a child. The search was unsuccessful, although a special department was also connected to them. Only a month later it turned out that Nurgalil had gone abroad, to Poland. The reason remained unclear ... The future marshal found real family happiness only 3 years later, when he met Anastasia Mikhailovna Zhukovskaya, a teacher in one of the Minsk schools. Katya was brought up in a new family, who later had a sister, Olya, and a brother, Kostya.
(future marshal) was under investigation. He was accused of having links with Polish and Japanese intelligence. 1940, spring - S. K. Timoshenko, appointed People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, began to look for talented military leaders in places of detention. And Rokossovsky was released, reinstated in rank.
Timoshenko never shifted his miscalculations onto someone else and never cowardly humiliated himself in front of Stalin, as did the same Nikita Khrushchev.
Marshal of the Soviet Union, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, holder of the Order of Victory Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko was born on February 6 (February 18, according to a new style), 1895, in the village of Furmanka, Akkerman district, Bessarabian province (now Furmanovka, Kiliya district, Odessa region of Ukraine), in the family of a Ukrainian peasant .
Graduated from the village school. In December 1914 he was drafted into the army. In 1915, after a training team and an exemplary machine-gun school, he became a sergeant-major. Participated in the First World War, was a machine gunner in the 4th Cavalry Division on the Southwestern and Western fronts. Awarded for bravery St. George's crosses three degrees.
In the Red Army since 1918. He commanded a platoon, a squadron. In August 1918, at the head of a cavalry regiment, he participated in the defense of Tsaritsyn, from November 1918 - commander of a cavalry brigade (from June 1919 - in the corps of S. M. Budyonny). Member of the RCP(b) since 1919. In November 1919 - August 1920 commander of the 6th, from August 1920 to October 1921 - 4th Cavalry Division of the 1st Cavalry Army. He was wounded five times, but did not leave the ranks. For military exploits during the Civil War, he was awarded three Orders of the Red Banner and Honorary Revolutionary Weapons.
After the Civil War, he studied at the Higher Military Academic Courses, then at the courses for one-man commanders. He commanded the 3rd and 6th Cavalry Corps. From August 1933 - Deputy Commander of the Belorussian, from September 1935 Kyiv military districts. From June 1937 - commander of the North Caucasian, from September 1937 - Kharkov military districts. On February 8, 1938, he was awarded the rank of commander of the 1st rank and was appointed to the post of commander of the Kyiv Special Military District. During the Liberation Campaign in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus in 1939, he commanded the Ukrainian Front. In the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, from January 7, 1940, he commanded the Northwestern Front, whose troops broke through the Mannerheim Line.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the medal "Gold Star" to the commander of the 1st rank S.K. Timoshenko was awarded on March 21, 1940 for "exemplary performance of command assignments and courage and heroism shown at the same time", and on May 7, 1940 he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union and was appointed to the post of People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR.
In 1940-1941, Timoshenko was the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR (he replaced K. E. Voroshilov in this post). According to G.K. Zhukov, Timoshenko, as People's Commissar of Defense, did a lot of work to improve the combat training of the troops, their reorganization, technical re-equipment, and the training of new personnel (required due to a significant increase in the size of the army), which was not fully completed due to the start of the Great Patriotic War.
S.K. Timoshenko was revered in the USSR as a talented commander. Meanwhile, in professional terms, he represented the worst part of the Soviet command staff - the semi-literate non-commissioned officers who joined the Bolsheviks, who remained afloat after Stalin's massacre of the "military experts" from former officers and failed to the top, in II world war, ruining millions of lives, until they were replaced by younger cadres who advanced during it.
Most of the prominent figures of this type came from the 1st Cavalry Army and belonged to the circle of associates and nominees of Voroshilov and Budyonny, which is why they escaped repression in the 1930s. Such was life path and Timoshenko. A Ukrainian peasant with an education in the volume of a parochial school, who served as a sergeant major during the World War, he joined the Red Guard detachment in Crimea in 1918, and at the end of the same year he joined Budyonny (even before that, having participated in repressions against the Kuban Cossacks) . During the defense of Tsaritsyn, Timoshenko commanded the 1st Crimean Revolutionary Regiment; at this time he became close friends with Voroshilov, Budyonny and Stalin. This friendship helped his further rapid advance: Timoshenko began to command a cavalry brigade, and since 1919, having joined the party, a division. It was his division, having captured Rostov-on-Don in January 1920, that participated in mass robberies and executions of the local population.
After the civil war, Timoshenko held the highest positions in the military leadership (he commanded the troops of a number of military districts). After the repressions of the late 1930s, Timoshenko rose to the top of the military hierarchy, and in addition became a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR and the Central Committee of the party. In September-October 1939, implementing the secret protocols to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, he commanded troops in Western Ukraine during the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, 1939.
Timoshenko was one of the main military leaders during the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, he commanded the North-Western Front. At this time, he "became famous" for his unsuccessful attempts to break through the fortified Mannerheim Line on the Karelian Isthmus, which was overcome with huge human losses. But Stalin approved of Timoshenko's actions, made him a Marshal and Hero of the Soviet Union.
Between 1940 and July 1941 Timoshenko - People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. In the first month of the war with Germany - Chairman of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander; due to military failures, he was demoted, but remained a member of the Headquarters, and in September 1941 he became deputy people's commissar of defense. In the autumn of 1941, commanding the Western Front, he carried out a counteroffensive to capture Rostov-on-Don with heavy losses. In January-July 1942 - commander of the South-Western, and from July 1942 - Stalingrad fronts. One of the main culprits of the defeats in these months. Thus, in the course of the Barvenkovo-Lozovskaya offensive operation alone, more than 220 thousand Soviet soldiers were taken prisoner. Since October 1942, Timoshenko has been the commander of the Northwestern Front. Since 1943 - the representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the fronts. At the beginning of 1943, Timoshenko unsuccessfully carried out the Demyansk offensive operation: despite the favorable location Soviet troops and overwhelming superiority in strength, allowed the Germans to safely get out of the encirclement and even take out all the equipment.
Commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Commander of the Order of Victory.
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Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich (18.02.1895 - 31.3.1970)
Born in with. Furmanka, Kiliysky district, Odessa region. Died in - Moscow.
Ukrainian. Soviet statesman and military figure, commander.
Marshal of the Soviet Union (1940).
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (March 21, 1940 and February 18, 1965).
In the Russian army since 1915, private. Fought in World War I Western front.
In the Red Army since 1918. He graduated from the courses: Higher academic (1922 - 1927) and one-man commanders at the Military-Political Academy (1930).
During the Civil War, S.K. Timoshenko commanded a platoon and a squadron, fought against the interventionists and White Guards in the Crimea and Kuban. From August 1918, the commander of the 1st Crimean Revolutionary Regiment, which took part in the defense of the city of Tsaritsyn, from November - the 2nd separate cavalry brigade, from October 1919 - the 6th cavalry division, which distinguished itself as part of the 1st Cavalry Army in battles near Voronezh, Kastornaya, Rostov-on-Don, Bataysk, Yegorlykskaya, Maikop, Zhitomir and Brody.
Since August 1920, the commander of the 4th Cavalry Division, successfully acted in the defeat of the Wrangel troops and the armed formations of N.I. Makhno. For the successful command of subordinate troops, courage and heroism shown in battles during the Civil War, he was awarded two orders of the Red Banner.
In the interwar period, S.K. Timoshenko commanded the 3rd cavalry corps from 1925, and from August 1933 he was deputy commander of the Belarusian military district. From July 1937 he commanded the troops of the North Caucasian Military District, from September - the Kharkov Military District, from February 1938 - the Kyiv Special Military District. Applying the rich experience of the Civil War, he proved to be a skillful organizer of the combat training of troops. In September 1939, under his command, the troops of the Ukrainian Front made a trip to Western Ukraine. During the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. from January 1940 he commanded the Northwestern Front, whose troops broke through the Mannerheim Line.
For outstanding services S.K. Timoshenko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Since May 1940, the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR.
During the Great Patriotic War S.K. Timoshenko proved to be an experienced and skillful military leader. His battle path as a commander was marked not only by failures, but also by major victories. in July - September 1941, commander-in-chief of the Western, from September 1941 to June 1942 - South-Western directions, simultaneously commanded the Western (July - September 1941) and South-Western (September - December 1941 and April - July 1942) fronts. Under his leadership, the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops near Rostov-on-Don in 1941 was planned and carried out. In July 1942 he commanded the Stalingrad, and from October 1942 to March 1943 - the North-Western Fronts. Troops Northwestern Front under his command, the enemy's Demyansky bridgehead was liquidated. Since March 1943, as a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, he coordinated the actions of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts (March - June 1943), the North Caucasian Front and the Black Sea Fleet (June - November 1943), 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts(February - June 1944), and from August 1944 until the end of the war - the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ukrainian fronts. With his participation, a number of major operations of the Great Patriotic War were developed and carried out, incl. Yassko-Chisinau.
After the war, S.K. Timoshenko commanded the troops of the Baranovichi Military District (1945–1946), the South Ural Military District (1946–1949) and the Belarusian Military District (in 1946, 1949–1960). Since April 1960 he was the inspector general of the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense, since 1961 he was simultaneously the chairman of the Soviet Committee of War Veterans.
- Awarded 5 orders of Lenin,
- order October revolution,
- 5 Orders of the Red Banner,
- 3 Orders of Suvorov 1st class,
- medals, foreign orders and medals,
- Honorary revolutionary weapon
- Honorable weapon
- He was awarded the highest military order "Victory".
Essay on the life and work of Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko
Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko received the Order of Victory, number 12, although he became the Marshal of the Soviet Union before all previous awardees, and on the eve of World War II he served as People's Commissar of Defense. Then he is a permanent member of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, commander-in-chief of the strategic directions in which the groups of fronts operated. Almost 350 days of the Great Patriotic War was headed by the Marshal of the Soviet Union
S.K. Timoshenko troops of strategic directions, more than 300 days and nights - troops of the fronts. For about 500 days he was on various fronts as a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. Timoshenko was born on February 18, 1895 in the village of Furmanovka, Bessarabian province, into a peasant family. In December 1914 he was called to military service, graduated from the regimental and machine-gun schools, served as a non-commissioned officer, participated in hostilities as part of the Southwestern and Western fronts, was awarded three St. George crosses, and was wounded three times. Since March 1918 in the Red Army. He commanded a cavalry platoon, squadron, detachment, regiment, brigade and division in the 1st Cavalry Army. According to the report card of the military hierarchy, in just a year and a half, Semyon Konstantinovich reached the position of junior officer to general. The revolution raised commanders from the thick of the people - Timoshenko was a prominent and colorful figure among the commanders of the 1st Cavalry Army. However, the young commander lacked education. From November 1921 to March 1922, Timoshenko partially filled this gap at the Higher Courses at the Military Academy of the Red Army. Then he studied at the Courses of the highest command staff in 1927 and 1930 of the Military-Political Academy. Lenin. But he spent most of his time in the ranks: commander of a cavalry corps, an army group, deputy commander of the troops of a military district for cavalry, commander of a number of military districts. On the seventh day after the outbreak of World War II,
in September 1939, Semyon Konstantinovich was appointed commander of the Ukrainian Front. Officially, the Soviet Union does not participate in the war. But his troops are carrying out a "liberation campaign" in Western Ukraine and Bessarabia. Commander 1st rank Timoshenko directs these actions. The unsuccessful start of the Soviet-Finnish war required the Stalinist leadership to take effective measures. On January 7, 1940, the North-Western Front deployed against Finland, with Tymoshenko appointed commander of its troops. The war ended with the capture of the Mannerheim Line and the signing of a peace treaty beneficial to the USSR on March 12, 1940. Semyon Konstantinovich is awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Timoshenko himself assessed the results of the Soviet-Finnish war not so optimistically. He expressed his opinion on a number of problems in a report addressed to the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. In it, in particular, it was noted that success was achieved at too high a price. According to incomplete data, the losses of the Soviet troops amounted to: more than 50 thousand killed, about 16 thousand missing, almost 11 thousand frostbitten, more than 170 thousand wounded. There were several reasons for this, according to Tymoshenko. The first is a clear underestimation of the enemy. The second is a simplified assessment of the situation, which gave rise to miscalculations in the planning of military operations. The third is poor theater equipment for a large-scale offensive. The unsatisfactory training of troops, including personnel, as well as their ill-conceived logistics. Having examined in detail operational tactical issues, the problems of using military branches in operations and combat, Semyon Konstantinovich formulated specific proposals (there were more than twenty of them) for improving the organizational structure of troops, their technical equipment, and battle tactics. It was also proposed to radically change the content of the combat and political training of personnel, the operational training of staffs, and the methods of their training.
A month later, Semyon Konstantinovich is appointed People's Commissar defense of the USSR with the assignment of higher military rank Marshal of the Soviet Union.
The situation in the world became more complicated. The Nazis occupied Denmark and Norway, captured Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. On June 14, the capital of France will fall, the Nazi armies will invade Greece and Yugoslavia. Under the heel of the "Third Reich" will be twelve European countries with a population of about 200 million people. An ally of Germany - Japan occupied the territory of six states, where more than 400 million people lived. The war was inexorably approaching the Soviet Union. This required a number of urgent measures to bring troops to a qualitatively new level of combat readiness and combat capability. And the People's Commissar immediately took up this work. “... The closer the threat of war approached,” recalled G.K. Zhukov, the more intensely the leadership of the People's Commissariat of Defense worked. The leadership of the People's Commissariat and the General Staff, especially Marshal Timoshenko S.K., at that time worked 18-19 hours a day. Often the people's commissar stayed in his office until the morning. What exactly did People's Commissar Timoshenko do during the year of leadership of the Armed Forces on the eve of the war?
Already a week after his appointment, the People's Commissar sent an order to the troops, containing a number of fundamentally new proposals for organizing the training of personnel - from a soldier to commanders. With his direct participation, the General Staff developed a plan for the strategic deployment of the Red Army, revised the mobilization plan, taking into account the already existing experience of the Second World War and the combat operations of the Soviet Armed Forces to ensure reliable protection state border USSR.
Semyon Konstantinovich perfectly understood the importance of personnel and saw their deplorable state, the cause of which was the repressions of the late 30s. By mid-May 1940, the shortfall in the command and command staff of the Red Army was 35 percent, almost 70 percent of the commanders had less than a month's experience in their position. At the same time, thousands of innocently convicted officers and generals languished in prisons and camps. In June 1940, Timoshenko submitted to Stalin a certificate-report with a request to review about 300 cases of commanders and senior officials. commanding staff, repressed in 1937-1938. Despite opposition from the former People's Commissar K.E. Voroshilov, Semyon Konstantinovich was able to convince Stalin to positively resolve this issue. More than 250 military leaders were returned to duty. Among them, K.K. Rokossovsky, A.V. Gorbatov, A.I. Todorsky and others. The arrest of L.A. was prevented. Govorov and R.Ya. Malinovsky. The training of commanders in military schools and academies has become more intensive. By January 1, 1941, the number of students in military academies increased from 9 to 12 thousand people compared to 1937, cadets of military schools - from 36 to 175 thousand people. As a result of the measures taken, by the spring of 1941, the shortage of command personnel in the Red Army had decreased to 18.6 percent. Of course, at that time Tymoshenko was a supporter of an offensive strategy. The consequence of this was the organizational restructuring of the troops. A course was taken to create mechanized corps of 1036 tanks - future mobile groups of fronts and armies, separate tank brigades to reinforce rifle corps and divisions, strong artillery units of the High Command reserve, large formations airborne troops.
Thus, the activity of People's Commissar Tymoshenko on the eve of the Great Patriotic War was quite fruitful. Semyon Konstantinovich prepared the troops for war and monitored the preparations of the enemy. “Timoshenko reported to Stalin an infinite number of times,” testifies A.M. Vasilevsky, about the concentration of German troops and the need to take measures to increase combat readiness, but invariably received a categorical prohibition in response. Using his right as People's Commissar, he tried to do everything he could to circumvent these prohibitions. In this regard, the lines from the memoirs of G.K. Zhukova: “Tymoshenko in some works is assessed completely incorrectly, they portray him almost as a weak-willed person and fawning over Stalin. It is not true-". From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Semyon Konstantinovich was at the front, in the thick of things. First the chairman, then a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, the commander-in-chief of the troops of the Western strategic direction. Under his leadership, the battle of Smolensk is played out. Despite the fact that the Soviet troops during the counterattacks were not able to defeat the enemy's Smolensk grouping and achieve decisive success. But the important goal that was pursued at that time was achieved. During the fierce battle of Smolensk, the offensive of the "Center" armies against Moscow was thwarted, which was a major strategic success. Describing the activities of Timoshenko at that time, Zhukov wrote years later: “We must pay tribute to Marshal S.K. Timoshenko. In those difficult first months of the war, he did a lot, firmly led the troops, mobilizing all his forces to repel the onslaught of the enemy and organize defense.
Assessing the results of the Smolensk battle, a prominent American military scientist of that time M. Werner in the book "The Great Offensive", written, as they say, in hot pursuit and published in New York in 1942, came to the conclusion that the Red Army fought for the first time near Smolensk with the German hordes "on an equal footing", that it was here that Hitler's blitzkrieg suffered its first very tangible defeat, lost its inherent features, which were clearly manifested in campaigns in Poland, in the West and in the Balkans. And if the first battles were determined by German methods of warfare, the author believed, then the nature of the battles near Smolensk was already determined by Soviet methods. “The first big crisis came in the war,” noted the fascist general K. Tippelskirch.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of autumn, a critical situation arose near Kyiv. On September 11, 1941, Timoshenko was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops of the South-Western direction. Despite the extremely negative attitude of Stalin, he is trying to withdraw troops from Kyiv, who were under the threat of encirclement. But it was too late. At noon on September 15, the enemy closed the ring around the troops Southwestern Front. The commander-in-chief of the direction had only to try to somehow rectify the situation ...
After a difficult five-month retreat, the Soviet troops, according to Timoshenko's plan, launched a counteroffensive near Rostov. Almost at the same time, under his leadership, another successful operation was carried out, which ended in the encirclement and complete defeat of the Yelets enemy grouping. This was followed by Barvenkovo-Lozovskaya and Kharkov offensive operations. For a number of reasons, they did not receive their full completion, and the battles near Kharkov turned into severe defeat and entailed huge losses of Soviet troops. The enemy outwitted the Soviet High Command, outwitted Timoshenko and struck in the direction where he was not expected. Near Kharkov, a large group of Soviet troops was surrounded. Their losses during the operation amounted to more than 175 thousand people killed, wounded and taken prisoner, almost 500 tanks, more than 3200 guns and mortars.
At the end of June 1942, the command of the South-Western direction was disbanded. Timoshenko is appointed commander of the troops of the Southwestern Front. Then this front was renamed the Stalingrad. Semyon Konstantinovich commanded them for only ten days, after which he was sent as commander to the North-Western Front. In 1943, the troops of the North-Western Front under his command will complete the liquidation of the enemy's Demyansky bridgehead.
Subsequently, as a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Timoshenko coordinated the actions of the South-Western and Southern, Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, the North Caucasian front and the Black Sea Fleet, the Baltic and Ukrainian fronts. With his participation, the Novorossiysk-Taman and Kerch-Eltingen operations were developed and carried out. “The merit of Semyon Konstantinovich in the defeat of the Wehrmacht troops on the so-called Blue Line in the Kuban, and then the Taman Peninsula, as well as in forcing Kerch Strait and mastering bridgeheads in the Crimea, no doubt, - wrote I.Kh. Bagramyan in his last book. Front commander Ivan Efimovich Petrov told me that the representative of the Headquarters helped him well in planning and implementing the very complex Novorossiysk-Taman operation ... Here his truly unquenchable optimism, the ability to boldly take responsibility ... severe everyday exactingness were manifested. By the way, for the skillful leadership of the troops on October 10, 1943, Semyon Konstantinovich was awarded the highest commander's order of Suvorov, I degree.
The contribution of Marshal Timoshenko to the preparation and conduct of the Iasi-Kishinev offensive operation is great. The enemy suffered a crushing defeat in this strategic direction. The command of the Army Group "Southern Ukraine" stated that this defeat is the biggest catastrophe they have ever experienced. During the fighting from August 20 to September 3, 1944, Soviet troops destroyed 22 German divisions, and also defeated almost all Romanian formations that were at the front. 208.6 thousand soldiers and officers were captured, 490 tanks and assault guns, 1.5 thousand artillery pieces, 298 aircraft were destroyed. As a result of the Iasi-Kishinev operation, the Moldavian SSR and the Izmail region of Ukraine were liberated, favorable conditions were created for the victory of the anti-fascist armed uprising of the Romanian people. Soviet troops were given the opportunity for a rapid offensive in Romania, entry into Hungary, and assistance to the Bulgarian, Yugoslav, Hungarian, Czechoslovak and Austrian peoples in liberation from the fascist yoke.
The Pravda newspaper on September 13, 1944 noted that this operation was one of the largest and most outstanding in its strategic and military-political significance in the current war.
“Speaking of the successful implementation of the Iasi-Kishinev operation,” Tymoshenko wrote in a report sent to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, “we should especially emphasize the art of the commanders of the fronts and armies, the skillful organizational activity of headquarters officers, the initiative, the combat skill of all personnel.” In this regard, he focused on the fact that the irretrievable losses of the Soviet troops amounted to 13 thousand people, that is, they were 20 times less than the damage inflicted on the enemy. The Budapest operation was difficult, the East Carpathian operation was difficult ...
The commanders of the two Ukrainian fronts, as well as their headquarters, worked hard on the idea of the Vienna operation. Only one, but a very important question remained unresolved - about the direction of the main attack. Timoshenko came to the conclusion that it should be applied in the zone of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. He reported his opinion to the Supreme Commander, and it was approved.
The operation began on March 16, 1945, and on April 5, Soviet troops approached Vienna, overcoming the enemy's defense in depth.
Being at the advanced command post of the commander of the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Marshal Timoshenko watched how the formations of the 9th Guards Army stormed the city blocks. At the same time, the 4th and 6th Guards Tank Armies entered the battle. From the air, they were covered by aviation of the 17th Air Army. On the way were warships Danube military flotilla. Seeing the fierce resistance of the enemy, Semyon Konstantinovich became more and more convinced of the need to bypass the capital of Austria from the north. This task, in his opinion, could best be solved by the 46th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front by regrouping its formations from the left bank of the Danube. Such an order was given. The decision made was timely and correct. On the night of May 1, when the Banner of Victory was already flying over the Reichstag, the command post of the 2nd Ukrainian Front received a directive from the Headquarters of the Supreme Command with the following content: “To the representative of the Headquarters, Marshal Timoshenko. Marshal Malinovsky, Commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, “Turn the main forces of the front troops to the west and strike in the general direction on Chiglav, Prague, with the task of ... capturing the Chiglav, Ulabinch, Horn line, then go to the Vltava River and capture Prague.” The requirements of the directive have been met. Semyon Konstantinovich met Victory Day in the capital of Austria - Vienna.
On May 12, 1945, the plane delivered Timoshenko to the capital, joyfully welcoming the winners. The summer of that unforgettable 1945 for Semyon Konstantinovich, as for all Soviet people, was happy, filled with many bright events.
Order "Victory" S.K. Timoshenko was awarded on June 4, 1945 "For the successful fulfillment of the tasks of the Supreme High Command for coordinating the actions of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts in large-scale operations."
Peaceful days soon began. The national economy was restored. The ashes turned into flourishing cities. Semyon Konstantinovich headed the Military Commission of Deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the preparation of the Law on the demobilization of older military personnel from the Armed Forces, then the troops of the Belarusian Military District.
The summer of 1951 became memorable for the Timoshenko family, when for the first time in the Marshal’s apartment in the center of Minsk last years all relatives and friends met to celebrate the silver wedding of Anastasia Mikhailovna and Semyon Konstantinovich. Daughters Ekaterina and Olga arrived, son Kostya, they brought their grandchildren - Svetlana and Vasily. Silver "newlyweds" recalled the 20s, the first meeting in Smolensk of the young commander of the Red Army and the young teacher Nastya Zhukovskaya. They remembered youth, difficult war years, those who were no longer alive. As always, Semyon Konstantinovich joked a lot, told funny stories from the life of an "amateur hunter", as he put it. Hunting and fishing were Semyon Konstantinovich's favorite pastimes. He certainly showed his new acquaintances a collection of guns - this was also the marshal's passion from his youth.
The year 1952 was also full of family celebrations. Celebrated the 25th anniversary of Olga, the 50th anniversary of Anastasia Mikhailovna. We celebrated the arrival of our son, a graduate of the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy. Before they had time to meet their son, Olga, who had been assigned to work in Italy, was seen off to the Soviet consulate. Kostya went to the place of service.
“So we were left alone,” Semyon Konstantinovich spread his hands, turning to his wife. - All our children scattered, began independent life...»
In the mid 50s before Soviet Army qualitatively new tasks arose
Of great importance for increasing the combat power of the Armed Forces of the USSR by this stage had a practical implementation in the country of a new military-technical policy, caused by the creation of atomic, then thermonuclear weapons and rocket delivery vehicles to the target. This left a significant imprint on the training of troops, including the Belarusian Military District, which continued to be commanded by S.K. Timoshenko.Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko loved the land very much from childhood, in all questionnaires he called himself a "farmer by origin." Fate decreed that he became a professional military man, one of the organizers of the Red Army, a major military leader. Among those who knew him, Semyon Konstantinovich left a good memory as a patriot, a man of strong will, great determination and organization, personal courage, honesty and moral strength, a sincere and sympathetic comrade.
Nature generously endowed Semyon Konstantinovich with outstanding physical strength, an analytical mindset, and diligence. He has always been active life position, was demanding of himself and subordinate, firm in carrying out decisions taken, which was based on a deep faith in people, in their strengths and capabilities.
In the funds of the Central Archive Russian Army and the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, in the personal archive of S.K. Tymoshenko survived a lot interesting materials, testifying to the objectivity of this statement. Here are operational reports, directives and orders, combat orders signed by S.K. Timoshenko, telegraph tapes of negotiations that he conducted with the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, various military leaders, and memoirs about the war "From the Combat Past", published in 1938, and the brochure "School of Combat Training", published in the fall of 1940, and articles from the last pre-war years , in which the People's Commissar of Defense determined the tasks for the personnel of the Red Army in combat and political training for 1941, summed up the results of the classes, exercises and maneuvers. There are also abstracts of reports, numerous speeches, notes on various issues, extracts from books read, correspondence with friends, relatives, acquaintances and strangers, sketches of essays and articles, among which a special place is occupied by material collected in several folders with code name"Military art. Commander's work style. These are reflections, observations, testifying to the intense creative work of a man who for many years was in the thick of military and political events, his testaments to a new generation of command personnel of the Armed Forces. The activities of the military leader, according to Tymoshenko, cannot be imagined without elements of risk. In one of the marshal's notebooks, the words of M.I. Dragomirova: “You need to firmly remember and know that no one will say in advance whether he will beat him or he will be beaten, that you cannot take receipts from the enemy, that he will allow himself to be defeated, and therefore you must always dare.” The idea expressed by the famous Russian military commander and military teacher, judging by the activities of Semyon Konstantinovich, was guiding for him.
For his time, Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko was a highly educated person, mainly due to the tireless work to improve his knowledge in various fields of science, military art, who was well versed not only in military affairs, but also in politics, issues of state life. Curiosity, high erudition, a sharp mind, an enviable memory helped the marshal to successfully solve problems in all the leading positions entrusted to him in the Soviet Armed Forces. He worked hard and purposefully himself, respected and valued working people.
“The commander (commander) is, first of all, a hard worker, a person who is distinguished by great efficiency,” noted S.K. Timoshenko, speaking to cadets of the Moscow Higher All-Arms Command School named after the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. - Such is the nature of his activities that he cannot work from and to the set time. The commander always has a lot of things to do, because he is constantly surrounded by people whom he teaches, educates, cares about and with whom he is ready to carry out any, the most difficult task of the Motherland.
S.K. himself possessed this quality necessary for the commander. Timoshenko. “He is amazingly hardy,” I.V. will say about him. Tyulenev, who went through with Semyon Konstantinovich almost the entire civil war, many days and nights of the Great Patriotic War. “He had an unusual capacity for work,” said General of the Army A.I. Radzievsky, who knew the marshal well. “Sometimes it seemed that he did not rest at all, always in motion, always in worries.” AT notebook Semyon Konstantinovich preserved the following entry: “Without work there is no life, without labor life is uninteresting and useless.”
Noteworthy is Semyon Konstantinovich's view of the role and place of a commander in a combat situation, in the process of making a decision and mobilizing troops for its implementation. “The commander should not break away from the people,” said Timoshenko. – In history there are no commanders who have created world fame for themselves, who would not be favorites of their troops. This means that the world famous generals were not only masters of strategy and tactics. No, they also knew the way to the hearts of their soldiers, their army. They were masters of the high spirit of the troops, they knew how to instill strong confidence in themselves in the soul of a soldier.
The commander, to the extent necessary and possible, of course, should visit the troops more often, the marshal believed, in order to understand the situation on the spot, including the combat one, to better study his subordinates, help them solve their tasks, find out the needs of the troops, their problems.
“It is important that the departure to the troops, the presence of the commander in the unit or subdivision,” stressed S.K. Timoshenko, speaking to the leadership of the Belarusian Military District in the 50s, had clear goals so that the commander, staff officer knew, understood what he wants and must do, what to achieve ... It is also important that a visit by a higher commander does not interfere , but helped subordinates to work. And yet - it is necessary that the commander, having a higher, often academic training, teach his subordinates, teach concretely and purposefully, showing composure, iron restraint. A hasty decision, noisiness, the so-called "spreads" create an atmosphere of nervousness, interfere with business.
Semyon Konstantinovich was very concerned about the psychological preparation of the soldiers. This quality of his manifested itself during the years of the civil war, especially in the Soviet-Polish campaign. This question also bothered him in the spring of 1941, when it was far from easy to get rid of hat-taking moods in the troops and in society. Tymoshenko was convinced of this once again, reviewing in February 1941 the collection “These days the glory will not cease” being prepared by the publishing house “Young Guard”. “There is a lot of unnecessary drawing and laudation in the materials,” he noted. - Victory is won exceptionally easily and simply ... all with a bang. We cannot educate our youth in this way. The authors, apparently, did not draw any conclusions for themselves from the restructuring that is taking place in the Red Army ... "The troops must be prepared for actions to break through enemy defenses in depth, well prepared in engineering terms, Marshal Timoshenko emphasized at a meeting of command staff on the eve of Yassko -Chisinau operation, and taking into account the mountainous wooded theater of operations. Classes should be held in training centers, paying special attention to command and staff and military exercises. For all personnel it is necessary to establish a 14-hour training day. At least a third of this time should be devoted to practicing actions in conditions of limited visibility. You will have to fight against a strong and experienced enemy...
The commander should not be afraid to take responsibility for himself if he is sure that he is right. This also applies to the combat situation and peaceful military everyday life - the following thought expressed by Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko repeatedly and persistently. In one of his speeches in the last years of his life, as if reinforcing the thesis put forward, he gave those present an example of actions on the eve of the war by General M.V. Zakharov, at that time the chief of staff of the Odessa military district, who arrived in Tiraspol on June 19, 1941, at a reserve command post. Having received information about the preparations of the Nazi command to cross the state border with the USSR, Zakharov, on behalf of the commander of the district troops, decided to give the commanders of the formations the following order: to alert the troops and headquarters and withdraw from settlements, cover units to occupy prepared areas, establishing contact with border detachments and outposts. To the commander present at the command post air force district to General F.G. Zakharov suggested to Michurin that the planes be dispersed among field airfields by dawn. Matvei Vasilyevich saw that he was distrustful of the order he received. - Is there anything you don't understand? Zakharov asked.
“I ask for a written order, Comrade General.
The chief of staff thought for a moment. Really, isn't he taking on too much? After all, there are no formal grounds for such actions to which he resorts. And the district commander did not give specific instructions. But is it possible in such an environment to hesitate, to wait for instructions, to be inactive? Everyone present was waiting to see what the chief of staff would do. Zakharov, sitting down at the table, on behalf of the district commander wrote an order to General Michurin ...It is appropriate in this regard to emphasize the originality of military leadership and Marshal Timoshenko himself. characteristic feature defensive operations, which he led, being the commander of the Western and Southwestern strategic directions, Western, Southwestern and Southern fronts, became highly active. It was expressed in the organization of strong counterattacks, continuous fire impact on the enemy, in a sharp intensification of sabotage operations in the enemy rear by raiding cavalry formations, actions partisan detachments.
Most characteristic of offensive operations is that many of them were carried out in conditions where there was no superiority over the enemy in terms of forces and means. This is a counteroffensive near Rostov, the Yelets, Barvenkovo-Lozovskaya operations. It is worth noting that all of them were prepared when the enemy had the strategic initiative. Such difficult conditions of the situation required special skill in choosing the direction of the main attack, the secret concentration of troops, the manifestation of reasonable risk, initiative, restraint, conviction, and firmness in the leadership of the troops. As a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, Marshal Timoshenko proved himself a great master of coordinating the efforts of the Ground Forces with Navy and aviation. Such tasks were solved by him in the preparation and conduct of the Novorossiysk-Taman, Kerch-Eltingen and especially the Yassko-Kishinev operations.
To be able to recognize the miscalculations and mistakes made, to make them correct conclusions- also a commanding quality, which, according to Semyon Konstantinovich, makes it possible to more successfully resolve all issues that arise both in a combat situation and in the days of peaceful study.
Many participants in the Great Patriotic War for many years remembered the analysis that Marshal Timoshenko conducted at the end of certain operations. For example, the analysis of the Barvenkovo-Lozovo operation was instructive. It scrupulously analyzed the miscalculations made in choosing the direction of the 9th Army's entry into battle, the mistakes made by the Military Council in the use of cavalry formations. The issue was resolved in a similar way when evaluating the Kharkov offensive operation carried out in May 1942. The marshal also self-critically assessed his actions at the beginning of the Demyansk operation, submitting a report to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. “We didn’t do everything right when preparing the Kerch-Eltingen operation,” he will share his thoughts with A.M. Vasilevsky, - more precisely, even - a lot is wrong ... especially with regard to the use of the fleet. Semyon Konstantinovich approached the assessment of the initial version of the decision approved by him in the Budapest operation with the same self-criticism. And he not only acknowledged the miscalculations made, but also made significant adjustments to the plan for future actions, although this caused a negative reaction from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Goodwill, moral purity, concern for subordinates are one of the indispensable conditions for the commander to create an atmosphere of efficiency, creativity, and the team's full dedication to work. The marshal himself served as an example of this. Much has been said about this in the memoirs of I.Kh. Bagramyan, I.A. Laskina, M.F. Lukina, K.S. Moskalenko, A.T. Stuchenko, V.M. Shatilova, S.M. Shtemenko.
Semyon Konstantinovich was always happy when friends and acquaintances came to his children. He usually joined the society. “And I have never been superfluous in such cases. On the contrary, it turned out interesting conversation- says Nelli Vasilievna Chuikova. He generally loved society. He never ate alone, he invited an adjutant, a driver, to the table. At the table he joked, told a lot, especially from his own life. Semyon Konstantinovich almost always treated people kindly. They appreciated it. Called "our marshal". Anastasia Mikhailovna called him "dad" ... "Much in the commander's talent of the marshal delighted the people around him, who quite often asked who he considered his teachers. He answered this question as follows: “There were many teachers in my life. In fact, all the people around. The best teacher, of course, was life, that military reality that taught me the art of fighting. First the civil war, then the Soviet-Finnish war, a little later the Great Patriotic War... My first teacher was the First Cavalry Army, its people. My "godfather" is Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny. Here, in the Cavalry, I met Oka Ivanovich Gorodovikov, Iosif Rodionovich Apanasenko. I learned from them... Meetings with M.V. Frunze, K.E. Voroshilov and S.S. Kamenev. deep professional knowledge received at the Higher Academic Courses in 1922, at the Advanced Courses for Senior Commanders in 1927 and at the Military-Political Academy in 1930, and acquired practical skills by commanding a division for five years, commanding a corps and an army group for eight years, and leading troops for almost twenty years North Caucasian, Kharkov, Kyiv, Baranovichi, South Ural and Belorussian military districts.
I learned a lot at meetings of the Main Military Council in the 1940s, where I had the opportunity to work together with many outstanding statesmen, organizers of large-scale production, scientists and designers. During the Great Patriotic War, meetings with members of the GKO, Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, employees of the General Staff, commanders of front troops, armies, commanders of formations, units and subunits gave a lot of useful information. All this, taken together, can be called the school of my life. An important place in it, of course, was occupied by soldiers, sergeants, officers, generals and admirals, constant communication with which formed the style of work.
The teacher gave credit to his teachers. Everyone who served with Semyon Konstantinovich or met with him remembers the exemplary military bearing of this man, his smartness.
“Appearance is not the main, but an important indicator that characterizes a good commander,” noted S.K. Timoshenko at one of the meetings of the command staff of the Kyiv military district back in prewar years. – The fact is that the appearance reflects how much the commander respects himself, military uniform, your work. External composure is usually closely related to the internal organization of a person. There is a second side of the issue - the charter obliges a military person to be accurate. Appearance disciplines him, as if forcing him to obey military orders and laws. For the commander, it is also important that military regulations oblige him to be a model in everything, including behavior, saluting military honor, and finally, addressing. If the commander does not set an example in these matters, then he simply will not be able to restore order in a subunit, unit, or formation. And one more thing - external smartness is needed not only in peaceful days, but also in battle. I have verified this many times. A real hero rarely comes out of a slut ... ”The commander must be well developed physically - such is the deep conviction of the marshal. This is necessary for him for the service, which is characterized by hard work, requiring full dedication, hardiness, adaptability of the body to all climatic difficulties, bad weather, rain, winds, heat and cold. Great physical exertion is required in battle, in a combat situation. The commander also needs physical hardening because he trains and educates his subordinates, including by personal example.
Semyon Konstantinovich himself served as an example of rare physical endurance. General A.D. Okorokov, who in the autumn of 1940 was the commissar of the rifle corps conducting live-fire exercises, recalls: “The moment came when, after the transfer of artillery fire, the infantry began to advance on the location of the “enemy”. Semyon Konstantinovich jumped out of hiding and rushed forward to a new observation post. A tall, thin, fit man with marshal's insignia ran ahead and was the first to climb a high hill. To be honest, we did not expect this ... I tried my best to maintain the pace of the run and ran after Tymoshenko, pretty out of breath. The marshal smiled and praised for sports training ... "The relatives and friends of Marshal Tymoshenko noted his attachment to sports until last days life. At the dacha near Moscow, a real sports town was equipped with a variety of gymnastic equipment. “At one time, with my father, we often went to the shooting gallery, to the hippodrome,” recalls Konstantin Semenovich. - There he taught to shoot, showed riding techniques. He did it masterfully, with love, arousing the admiration of those present. Time took its toll. In April 1960, Semyon Konstantinovich, who was always distinguished by good health, became seriously ill. He moved to Moscow. After he felt better, he received a new appointment - in the group of inspectors general of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. The marshal's health improved only in the summer. He spent most of his time at his dacha in Arkhangelskoye next to I.S. Konev and K.A. Meretskov. I read a lot. In his personal library, there were more than 2 thousand books. Among them are many historical, memoirs: “Patriotic War of 1812 and Russian society”, works by S.M. Solovyov and V.S. Klyuchevsky, notes by Denis Davydov... Timoshenko was often visited by Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, Ivan Stepanovich Konev, Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov, Kirill Afanasyevich Meretskov. Sometimes Semyon Konstantinovich went to visit his daughter Katya, mainly to see his grandson and granddaughter, whom he loved very much.
Two years later, a tragic event occurred in the life of the marshal, which unsettled him for a long time: after a long illness, his beloved wife and faithful friend Anastasia Mikhailovna died. He tried to suppress the severity of this loss with hard work, although his strength and health were far from the same - age, nervous stress affected, and old wounds increasingly made themselves felt.
In the spring of 1962, Timoshenko was elected chairman of the Soviet Committee of War Veterans. Semyon Konstantinovich was carried away by new concerns. “He usually began his working day at 7 o’clock in the morning and ended late in the evening,” recalled General of the Army P.I. Batov. - Every day up to two or three dozen letters were addressed to him on a variety of issues. They came not only from our cities and villages, but also from European countries, Asia and even from Australia. For each letter, the chairman made a specific decision. Often there were his meetings and conversations with representatives of the International Organization of Resistance Fighters, committees of former prisoners of fascist concentration camps. He often and willingly spoke at the forums of fighters for peace and international security, for cooperation and friendship between peoples, and participated in the preparation of materials for the Bulletin of the Soviet Committee of War Veterans.
“In the international activities of the Soviet Committee of War Veterans,” noted Marshal Timoshenko, speaking at a regular plenum on January 10, 1970, “an important place was also occupied by the struggle to stop American aggression against the Vietnamese people, against the freedom-loving peoples of Laos and Cambodia, to eliminate the consequences of Israeli aggression on Middle East, in support of national liberation movements. This was the last public performance of Semyon Konstantinovich. Doctors insisted on hospitalization, but Semyon Konstantinovich refused. A rapidly progressing illness forced this always active and active person to go to bed. Despite the prohibitions of doctors, he continued, however, to work, dictating answers to numerous letters received by the committee from all over the country on a variety of issues. - This is my duty as a deputy, - Tymoshenko answered the reproaches for non-compliance with the regime to his doctor, Professor N.I. Petin.
Deprived of the opportunity to actively participate in the performance of his official duties, the marshal thought a lot, read the works of the classics. He turned to them especially often in moments of spiritual adversity. So in those winter days of 1970, he re-read Gorky, Chekhov, Anatole France, whom he especially loved. Putting the book aside, Semyon Konstantinovich thought about it, sometimes making notes in his workbooks - a kind of diary. Daughter Olga Semenovna with her family constantly lived together with her father in the country house and apartment, cared for her father and did everything possible to alleviate the suffering of her seriously ill father.
February 18, 1970 Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Tymoshenko celebrated his 75th birthday. The country and its Armed Forces honored one of the most honored commanders. On a donation copy of his book "Memories and Reflections", handed to Semyon Konstantinovich, G.K. Zhukov wrote: “I learned a lot from you. This made it possible for me to master the operational-strategic art, which was so useful in the Great Patriotic War ... "
“The seeds of Konstantinovich Timoshenko,” Marshal of Artillery N. Yakovlev wrote that day in the article “Courageous Son of the People,” Marshal of Artillery N. Yakovlev, “are known as well as Vasily Chapaev, Alexander Parkhomenko, Grigory Kotovsky. He is one of the heroic galaxy of heroes of the civil war, who mercilessly crushed the enemies of the revolution, defended the young power of the Soviets ... In the struggle against the fascist conquerors, S.K. Tymoshenko took an active part... A fearless warrior who has looked into the eyes of death more than once, a courageous commander... now he is fighting for peace and creative labor to flourish on earth.
On March 31, 1970, this man's heart stopped beating. great fate. People of different generations went to the Red Square of the capital. They went to honor the memory of the fearless fighter, whose life was closely connected with the turning points in the history of the Fatherland. These are two revolutions, the civil, Soviet-Finnish and Great Patriotic Wars, and the post-war revolutionary transformations in the Soviet Armed Forces. The personality of this military figure, of course, is ambiguous in assessments. There were also bright pages in his military fate, there were also mistakes, failures, which were caused by both objective and subjective factors. Both, of course, should be considered in close connection with the foreign policy situation, with the events taking place in our country at various, sometimes tragic stages of its history. Summing up a kind of conclusion military biography Timoshenko, we can agree with the assessment of his activities made by Academician A.M. Samsonov, who, answering a question about the personality of Marshal American Professor H. Deutsch at the International Symposium held on September 17–19, 1981 in Stuttgart, said: “He was, undoubtedly, a major military figure, a strong-willed and experienced commander. During the Patriotic War, he played a prominent role in leading the armed struggle on a number of Soviet fronts. In general, the activities of S.K. Timoshenko is associated with the outstanding victories of the Red Army.”
2. Natalia Timoshenko - daughter-in-law of Marshal S.K. Timoshenko. In November 1918, S.K. Timoshenko received the 2nd separate cavalry brigade. In 1933, S. K. Timoshenko was appointed to the post of deputy commander of the Belarusian military district. In July 1941, Marshal of the Soviet Union S. K. Timoshenko was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Western Direction.
In the Red Army since 1918. He commanded a platoon, a squadron. In 1940-1941. Timoshenko - People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR (replaced K. E. Voroshilov in this post). On July 19, 1941, instead of the Headquarters of the High Command, headed by Timoshenko, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command was created under the leadership of I.V. Stalin.
On September 30, 1941, Timoshenko himself led the recreated Southwestern Front, which was defending on the southern flank of the Soviet-German front. At the end of November 1941, Timoshenko commanded the counteroffensive of the Soviet troops near Rostov-on-Don. Timoshenko himself survived and escaped captivity. On March 13, Marshal Timoshenko was removed from his post as commander of the Northwestern Front.
The second Gold Star medal was awarded to Marshal Timoshenko of the Soviet Union on February 18, 1965 for services to the Motherland and Armed Forces USSR, on the day of its 70th anniversary.
Until June 26, 1945, it was the highest, then preceding the rank of Generalissimo of the Soviet Union (and after the death of the only Generalissimo I.V. Stalin in 1953, again the highest de facto). During the war, there was a trend towards conferring the rank of marshal on particularly distinguished commanders. The assignment of the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union to L. I. Brezhnev is actually honorary, since his activities have never been associated with the command of troops.
Difficult daughter of Marshal Timoshenko
M. N. Tukhachevsky and G. I. Kulik were posthumously reinstated in the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union in the process of rehabilitation. She inflicted very serious damage on the troops of Wrangel and the Makhno gang. For courage and heroism in the battles of the Civil War, S. K. Timoshenko was awarded two Orders of the Red Banner. Two heroes of the Civil War together successfully conducted exercises in the area of Slutsk and other garrisons in order to increase the combat readiness of the troops. In those years, S. K. Timoshenko became close to G. K. Zhukov.
Family[edit edit wiki text]
S. K. Timoshenko ordered to use the full power of the artillery of the front and fleet, to deliver massive air strikes. Many of them were personally attended by People's Commissar of Defense S. K. Timoshenko. For S. K. Timoshenko, the most responsible and difficult time has come. He becomes chairman of the Headquarters of the High Command.
S. K. Timoshenko was appointed Deputy People's Commissar of Defense and became a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. In February-June 1944, S.K. Timoshenko coordinated the actions of the 2nd and 3rd Baltic, and from August 1944 until the end of the war - the 2nd, 3rd, 4th Ukrainian fronts.
How is Wikipedia trying to steal the history of Ukraine?
Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko is one of those commanders who in the war communicated not only with generals and officers, but also with ordinary soldiers. Marshal of the Soviet Union I. Kh. Bagramyan, in his memoirs “This is how the war began,” recalls how Marshal Timoshenko, commander-in-chief of the South-Western direction, called him near Poltava.
Marshals don't retire. A memorial plaque was installed on the building of the headquarters of the Belarusian Military District. There is a museum of S. K. Timoshenko in the Military Academy of Chemical Protection. In 1945, Catherine married Stalin's son, Vasily. Ekaterina Timoshenko was born in 1923 on the same day as Stalin and later attached special, mystical significance to this fact. She was the daughter of Semyon Timoshenko's first marriage.
Vasily Stalin h 28 Women in his life
And her daughter Katya ended up in an orphanage. She was then 14 years old, during a search they found a metric in which the name of her real father was indicated - Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko. She stopped answering phone calls and knocking on the door. The only outlet was a trip to his father - in 1960, Marshal Timoshenko moved from Minsk to Moscow and settled in a dacha in Arkhangelsk.
When they nevertheless managed to get through to the wounded, it was already too late - the grandson of Stalin and Timoshenko died on the way to the hospital in an ambulance. Marshal's daughter. V. Stalin married her in Sochi, without dissolving the marriage with his first wife, Galina Burdonskaya (according to other sources, E.S. Timoshenko is the common-law wife of V. Stalin).
In August 1918, at the head of a cavalry regiment, he took part in the defense of Tsaritsyn, where he met Stalin. From June 1937 - commander of the North Caucasian, from September 1937 - Kharkov military districts. February 8, 1938 was appointed commander of the Kyiv military district with the military rank of commander of the 1st rank. During the Polish campaign of 1939 he commanded the Ukrainian Front.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War on June 23, 1941, he was appointed chairman of the Headquarters of the High Command. N. G. Kuznetsov. As a result, the mechanized corps were lost in an unsuccessful counterattack on Senno and Lepel.
About celebrity: military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, participant in the Civil, Soviet-Finnish and Great Patriotic Wars
On November 28, the city was taken, which was one of the first victories of the Red Army in 1941. In December 1941 - January 1942, he led the Kursk-Oboyan offensive operation. In May 1942, Timoshenko led the Kharkov operation, as a result of which a large group of the Red Army suffered a crushing defeat.
JV Stalin this title was awarded in 1943 "according to his position" People's Commissar of Defense and Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The name of Marshal of the Soviet Union S. K. Timoshenko was given to the Military Academy of Chemical Protection and to the anti-submarine ship. In the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, from January 7, 1940, he commanded the Northwestern Front, whose troops broke through the Mannerheim Line.
TIMOSHENKO Semyon Konstantinovich(02/18/1895, Furmanka village, Suvorov district, now - Furmanovka village, Kiliysky district, Odessa region, Ukraine, - 03/31/1970, Moscow), Soviet statesman and military leader, commander. Marshal of the Soviet Union (1940). Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (03/21/1940 and 02/18/1965).
Born into a peasant family. In the Russian army since 1915, private. During the First World War he fought on the Western Front. Awarded with three St. George's crosses. In the Red Guard since November 1917, he participated in the liquidation of the rebellion of General L.G. Kornilov, then in the suppression of the speech of Ataman A.M. Kaledin. In the Red Army since June 1918: commanded a platoon and a squadron, fought against the German occupiers and White Guards in the Crimea and Kuban. Since August 1918, the commander of the 1st Crimean Revolutionary Regiment, which took part in the defense of the city of Tsaritsyn, then the commander of the 2nd separate cavalry brigade and the 6th cavalry division, which, as part of the 1st Cavalry Army, distinguished itself in battles near Voronezh, Kastornaya, Rostov-on-Don, Bataysk, Yegorlyk and Maykop. In August 1920, Timoshenko was appointed commander of the 4th Cavalry Division, which successfully operated in the defeat of the Wrangel troops.
In 1922 and 1927 Timoshenko graduated from the Higher Academic Courses, and in 1930 - courses for commanders-one-man commanders at the Military-Political Academy. In 1925 he was appointed commander of the 3rd cavalry corps, and in August 1933 - deputy commander of the Belarusian military district. Subsequently, he consistently commanded the troops of the North Caucasian, Kharkov and Kyiv special military districts. In September 1939, under the command of Tymoshenko, the troops of the Ukrainian Front made a liberation campaign in Western Ukraine. During the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. since January 1940, Timoshenko has been commander of the troops of the North-Western Front. Under his leadership, the troops of the front carried out a breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line. May 7, 1940 Marshal of the Soviet Union Timoshenko S.K. was appointed People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Headquarters of the High Command was formed for the strategic leadership of the Armed Forces of the USSR in the war. People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR S.K. Timoshenko, until July 10, 1941, was simultaneously the Chairman of the Stavka and the Commander-in-Chief. In this period of time, Timoshenko exercised direct leadership of all military operations. Then he became a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme Command, and then he was a member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (until February 17, 1944) and a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme Command (until July 9, 1945). Since July 10, 1941, Timoshenko has been the commander-in-chief of the Western direction. From September 1941 to June 1942 - Commander-in-Chief of the South-Western direction and at the same time commander of the troops of the Western (July - September 1941) and South-Western (September - December 1941 and from April 8 to July 12, 1942) ) fronts. In 1941, under his leadership, a counter-offensive of the Soviet troops near Rostov-on-Don was planned and carried out.
According to the wishes of I.V. Stalin and at the insistence of the Military Council of the Southwestern Front, headed by S.M. Timoshenko and N.S. Khrushchev, from May 12 to May 29, 1942, an attempt was made to conduct the Barvenkovo-Kharkov offensive operation in the southwestern direction. However, the mistakes of the Soviet top military leadership in planning led to disaster. The Kharkov battle (May 12-29, 1942) ended for the troops of the South-Western direction with the loss of over 270 thousand people, 775 tanks and more than 5 thousand guns and mortars, which greatly contributed to the successful conduct of the enemy in 1942 operation " Blau. In the period from July 12 to July 23, 1942, he was the commander of the Stalingrad Front. From October 5, 1942 to March 14, 1943 Timoshenko leads the troops of the North-Western Front. Since March 1943 Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko, as a representative of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, coordinated the actions of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, whose troops in the summer battles of 1943 actively thwarted the enemy’s attempts to restore complete blockade Leningrad.
From June to November 1943, Marshal Timoshenko, as a representative of the Supreme Command Headquarters, coordinated the North Caucasian Front, the Black Sea Fleet and the Azov military flotilla during the Novorossiysk-Taman operation. As a result of the operation, the port and the city of Novorossiysk, the city of Taman were liberated and the Taman Peninsula was completely cleared of the enemy. In February - June 1944, Timoshenko coordinated the actions of the 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts, and from August 1944 until the end of the war, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ukrainian fronts. With his participation, a number of major operations of the Great Patriotic War were developed and carried out, incl. Iasi-Chisinau offensive operation.
After the war, S.K. Timoshenko consistently commanded the troops of the Baranovichi (1945-1946), South Ural (1946-1949) and Belorussian (1949-1960) military districts. Since April 1960, Semyon Konstantinovich has been in the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In 1937-1970. S.K. Timoshenko was repeatedly elected to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1938-1940. Since 1961, simultaneously chairman of the Soviet Committee of War Veterans. In this post, he did a lot to study the experience of the last war. Urn with ashes of S.K. Timoshenko is buried in the Kremlin wall on Red Square in Moscow.
He was awarded the highest military order "Victory". Awarded: 5 Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, 5 Orders of the Red Banner, 3 Orders of Suvorov 1st class; foreign orders: SRR - Tudor Vladimerescu 1st class, SFRY - Partisan Star 1st class, Czechoslovakia - White Lion "For Victory"; Honorary revolutionary and inscribed weapons with a golden image of the State Emblem of the USSR, as well as many Soviet and foreign medals.
