Ivan Ivanovich Fedjuninsky

Ivan Ivanovich Fedjuninsky

Ivan Ivanovich Fedjuninski ( Russian Иван Иванович Федюнинский ; born July 17, ^jul. / 30th July  1900 ^greg. In the village Giljow, Ujesd Tyumen , Tobolsk , † 17th October 1977 in Moscow ) was a Soviet Army General , in World War II Army leaders and Hero of the Soviet Union .

Life

Fedjuninski came from a peasant family in the western Siberian village of Giljow (also called Giljowa), which today belongs to the Tugulym district of the Sverdlovsk Oblast . In 1913 he graduated from a rural school there and began an apprenticeship as a painter and house painter.

Early career

In 1919 he volunteered in the Red Army . During the Russian Civil War he fought with the troops on the Western Front and was wounded twice. From 1923 to 1924 he studied at the Vladivostok Infantry School. After graduation he became platoon leader in Vladimir's 107 Infantry Regiment . In 1929 he became a battalion leader in the 106th Rifle Regiment of the 36th Rifle Division in the Far East military district. For his leadership there he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner . From October 1930 he completed courses for commanders at the higher rifle training facility "Wystrel". In 1936 he became deputy commander of the 106th Rifle Regiment.

At the beginning of the war against Japanese troops on the Manchurian border, he was appointed commander of the 24th Motorized Rifle Regiment at the suggestion of the superior commander Georgi Schukow and from May 1939 he personally proved himself as a troop leader in the Battle of Chalchin Gol . On August 29, 1939, Fedyuninsky was promoted to colonel , received the title Hero of the Soviet Union, and was awarded the Order of Lenin and the Golden Medal.

In the German-Soviet War

At the beginning of the Second World War he took over command of the 82nd motorized rifle division in November 1940. On February 29, 1940, he took over the leadership of the 15th Rifle Corps in the Kovel area . Standing in the area of ​​the 5th Army during Operation Barbarossa , his troops were pushed away in the area south of the Brest fortress after the breakthrough of the front by German Panzer Group 2 . He proved himself in the end of June during the retreat towards Korosten and was flown out to Moscow to take over a new command at the Stawka . On August 12, 1941, he was promoted to major general. During the critical phase of the Leningrad blockade , Fedjuninsky was appointed deputy commander on the Leningrad front at Zhukov's suggestion in September 1941 . After Zhukov's transfer to the Western Front, Fedjuninsky temporarily took command of this front in October 1941. He then became the commander of the 42nd Army in defense of Leningrad.

In the spring of 1942 he took over the 54th Army on the Volkhov , which suffered heavy losses as part of the Ljubaner operation . Transferred to the Western Front at the end of April 1942 , he commanded the 5th Army in the Gschatsk area and was promoted to lieutenant general on June 13th . In October 1942 he became deputy commander of the Volkhov Front under General Merezkow . After Operation Iskra (January 12-30, 1943), where he proved himself in the promontory of Shlisselburg and Sinjawino and was seriously wounded, he was awarded the Kutuzow Order of 1 class. In May 1943 he was appointed deputy commander of the Brjansk Front , and on July 14, 1943 he took command of the 11th Army . Between September 1 and October 3, 1943 his troops liberated Bryansk and in November proved their worth in the offensive between Gomel and Rechyza (November 10–30, 1943).

On December 24, 1943 he became the commander of the 2nd Shock Army in the besieged Leningrad area . During the (Krasnoye Selo-Ropscha Operation) his troops broke out of the Oranienbaum bridgehead on January 14, 1944, and a week later they were united with the 42nd Army of the Leningrad Front . This broke the Leningrad blockade by the beginning of March. After another position battle against the German bridgehead at Narva , this city was recaptured at the end of July in cooperation with the 8th Army . As part of the operations in the Tallinn area , his troops reached the Rakvere area , and all of Estonia fell back into Soviet possession. On October 5, 1944 he was appointed Colonel General. For the Battle of East Prussia , which broke out in early 1945 , the 2nd Shock Army was transferred to the Narew section of the 2nd Belarusian Front . From January 14, 1945, his troops attacked in the Różan area and broke through to the Baltic Sea as part of the Mlawa-Elbinger operation . Elbing could be taken on February 10th . After the Battle of East Pomerania his troops were regrouped to attack the last German troops in West Prussia, and on March 30th Danzig fell into Soviet hands. For the following operation, his army was moved to the northern Oder section near Stettin . At the end of April, his troops under Marshal Rokossowski took part in the Stettin-Rostock operation , occupying Stralsund and the islands there. On June 24, 1945, Colonel General Fedjuninsky took part in the great victory parade in Moscow. His army remained stationed in Mecklenburg (headquarters in Schwerin ) as part of the Soviet military administration in Germany .

post war period

On July 9, 1945 he was appointed head of the SMAD for Mecklenburg, from 1951 to 1954 he also acted as the deputy commander in chief of the Soviet occupation forces in Germany. In 1948 he made up a higher academic course at the Military Academy of the General Staff. From 1948 to 1951 he was in command of the 7th Combined Army in Yerevan . From 1954 to 1957 he was in command of the Transcaucasus Military District , and on August 8, 1955, he was promoted to Army General. From 1957 to 1965 he was a commander in the Turkestan Military District and from 1958 he was also a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet for eight years . In 1967 he became deputy commander in chief of the Warsaw Pact troops . From December 1965 until his death in 1977 he served as a military advisor in the Ministry of Defense. During this time he lived at Moscow Goncharnaja Street 26. He died in Moscow in 1977 and was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery.

literature

• Biography of Федюнинский Иван Иванович on www.warheroes.ru (Russian)