Semyon Konstantinovich Tymoshenko

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SK Tymoshenko as Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1940
Tymoshenko on a Soviet postage stamp

Semyon Timoshenko ( Russian Семён Константинович Тимошенко ; born February 6 jul. / 18th February  1895 greg. In Furmanowka , Bessarabia Governorate , Russian Empire , now for Rajon Kilija , Odessa , Ukraine ; † 31 March 1970 in Moscow ) was Marshal of the Soviet Union and from May 1940 Soviet Defense Minister ( People's Commissar ). This post as Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army was taken over by Stalin at the end of June 1941 after the start of the German-Soviet War, and Tymoshenko became his deputy.

Life

Tymoshenko was born the son of a Ukrainian farmer and got to know hard work from an early age. During the First World War he served as a machine gunner and was awarded two George Crosses. In April 1918 he joined the Red Army , soon commanded a division and finally the 1st Crimean Cavalry Regiment, with which he took part in the battles near Tsaritsyn . After a cavalry brigade, the 6th Cavalry Division and in August the 4th Division of the 1st Cavalry Army was transferred to him.

In the decisive battle against the White Army under Pyotr Wrangel he was wounded, but continued the fight, for which he received the Order of the Red Banner . After the civil war he served as a corps commander and from 1933 as a deputy in the Belarusian and Kiev military district.

At the end of 1935 he took part in the first maneuver under Iona Jakir , in which tanks, planes and artillery were used in large numbers. In 1937 he was given command of the North Caucasian Military District, only to take over that of Kiev a year later. During these years, superiors and comrades fell victim to the "purge" of the Red Army in large numbers . Of the higher commanders, only Kliment Voroshilov and Semyon Budyonny were to survive alongside him .

During the German invasion of Poland , Tymoshenko led the Ukrainian front in the occupation of eastern Poland . On January 7, 1940, he was given command of the Northwest Front with the task of pushing through the Mannerheim Line as part of the Finnish-Soviet winter war . This succeeded later than expected and with far greater losses. Despite the only partially convincing performance, he earned the laurels of victory over Finland. On May 8, 1940, he was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union , honored as Hero of the Soviet Union and replaced the hapless Defense Commissioner Voroshilov.

In his new role he was supposed to accelerate the development of the Red Army with a view to possible involvement in World War II . With the German attack on the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the office was passed to Stalin. Tymoshenko became his deputy. On July 1, he replaced the recalled General Dmitri Pavlov as Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front , and in September the fallen Mikhail Kirponos on the Southwest Front . Here he suffered a heavy defeat in May 1942 when attempting to initiate a Soviet counter-offensive in the 2nd Battle of Kharkov .

Subsequently, he served as Commander in Chief of the Stalingrad Front (July 1942) and the Northwest Front (October 1942 - March 1943). After that he worked in the Stawka until the end of the war, mainly coordinating the interaction of various Soviet fronts (army groups) and planning operations (including Operation Jassy-Kishinev ).

After the war, Tymoshenko took a position as the commander of the Belarusian Military District and retired in 1960. He was twice named Hero of the Soviet Union and was a member of the CPSU from 1919 . Tymoshenko received an urn grave in the necropolis on the Kremlin wall in Moscow.

Awards

Web links

Commons : Semjon Tymoshenko  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Timoshenko, Semyon Konstantinovich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Тимошенко, Семён Константинович (Russian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Soviet officer, most recently Marshal of the Soviet Union, People's Commissar for Defense
DATE OF BIRTH February 18, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Furmanowka , Bessarabia Governorate , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH March 31, 1970
Place of death Moscow