Kuzma Nikitovich Galitsky

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Kuzma Nikitovich Galitsky ( Russian Кузьма Никитович Галицкий ; born October 12 . Jul / 24. October  1897 greg. In Taganrog ; † 14. March 1973 in Moscow ) was a Soviet Army General , in World War II Army leader and hero of the Soviet Union .

Life

Early career

Galizki came from a working class family and was born in southern Russia in 1897. After graduating from elementary school, he worked at the Taganrog Railway Station. In 1917 he was drafted into the tsarist army, where he was made a non-commissioned officer. In 1918 he became a member of the Communist Party and fought in the Red Army during the Russian Civil War . He commanded a platoon, a company and a battalion, one after the other. As deputy chief of staff of a brigade, he served on the South and Southwest Fronts in 1919/20.

Interwar period

In 1922 Galitsky had taken a political course at the Comintern School and in 1927 graduated from the Frunze Military Academy . He then became chief of staff of a rifle regiment, since 1928 head of the scientific department of the Frunze Academy and since 1930 board member in this area. From 1931 he was the commander of a rifle regiment and from January to May 1934 he was deputy chief of the combat training department in the Moscow military district. He then served as an adjutant to the commander of the 3rd "Krimskaya" rifle division, from September to November 1937 he served as chief of staff of the Kharkov military district . In November 1937 he took over the leadership of the 90th Rifle Division in the Leningrad Military District . On February 20, 1938 he was promoted to brigade commander (Kombrig).

During the Stalin purges , Galitsky was arrested in July 1938 for alleged anti-Soviet agitation and remained in prison until May 1939. He was released after Yezhov was overthrown . In the winter war against Finland in December 1939 he was given command of the 24th Rifle Division and had his first experience breaking through a fortress line. On June 4, 1940, he was promoted to major general .

In the German-Soviet War

During the German attack on the Soviet Union (June 22, 1941) he led the 24th Rifle Division deployed in Belarus as part of the 13th Army under General Filatov. During the retreat from the Grodno area , his troops were surrounded by German troops during the Battle of Minsk between June 25 and 29. By mid-July, however, some of his troops and Galizki were able to break out to the east. The lost troop flag was found by civilians, buried and returned to the Red Army in 1944. During the Kesselschlacht near Smolensk , Galitsky led the 67th Rifle Corps of the 21st Army on the newly formed central front . On August 13, 1941, he was seriously wounded and was admitted to the hospital for almost a year; he was wounded three times in the fighting near Gomel .

After his recovery he acted briefly as a deputy of the 1st Shock Army , from August 25, 1942 to November 20, 1943 he was in command of the 3rd Shock Army on the Kalinin Front . Under his command the first successful encirclement operation of the Red Army was carried out. In the battle of Velikiye Luki he prevented German units from attempting relief in the direction of Newel . On January 30, 1943, he was promoted to lieutenant general.

From November 1943 to May 1945 Galitsky was the commander of the 11th Guards Army and took part in the Gorodoker and Vitebsk operations. For his contribution to the success of Operation Bagration , Galizki earned the rank of Colonel General on June 28, 1944 . In October 1944, his troops were primarily responsible for the Nemmersdorf massacre when they first invaded East Prussia during the Gumbinnen-Goldaper operation . In January he took part in the battle for East Prussia in the area of ​​the 3rd Belarusian Front . Like the 43rd Army (General AP Beloborodow ) standing further north, his army also played an important role in the Battle of Koenigsberg . For the successful assault on the fortress, Galitsky was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on April 19, 1945 . On April 25, 1945, Pillau was the last East Prussian city to be captured by troops of the 11th Guard Army.

post war period

After the war he was successively commander of the Osobi (1945-1946), Prikarpatski (1946-1951) and Odesser (1951-1954) military districts. From 1954 to 1955 he led the anti-aircraft troops in the Moscow District, from 1955 to 1958 he was in command of the Northern Army Group and then until 1961 he led the Transcaucasus Military District. On March 11, 1955, he was promoted to army general , in 1962 he resigned.

Galitsky wrote two papers on his military service and was also a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 1946 to 1962 . After retiring from the Red Army, he retired to Moscow, where he lived in a house on the embankment . He died in 1973 and was buried in the Novodevichy Cemetery.

Awards

literature

personal data
SURNAME Galitski, Kuzma Nikitovich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Галицкий, Кузьма Никитович (Russian spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION soviet general
DATE OF BIRTH October 24, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH Taganrog
DATE OF DEATH March 14, 1973
Place of death Moscow