Hero of Khalkhin Gol who commanded the army that broke the siege of Leningrad
Zhukov recalled: "When Stalin summoned me to the apparatus and asked whether I had a good army commander in mind for Leningrad, I named General Fedyuninsky without hesitation … He is undoubtedly a talented military leader, an excellent organiser, a master of troop leadership."
Born to a peasant family in the Urals, he volunteered for the Red Army in 1919 and fought in the Civil War. At Khalkhin Gol in 1939 he commanded the 24th Motorized Regiment, breaking through Japanese rear positions, an action that earned him the Hero of the Soviet Union and brought him to Zhukov's attention. As deputy commander of the Leningrad Front in the desperate autumn of 1941 and later commander of the 2nd Shock Army, he executed the deception operation from the Oranienbaum bridgehead that decisively broke the siege of Leningrad in January 1944. After the war he commanded the Transcaucasian and Turkestan Military Districts, was promoted to Army General in 1955, and served as an inspector-adviser to the Ministry of Defence until his death.
Career Timeline
- 1919Volunteered for the Red Army; fought on the Western Front in the Civil War
- 1929Company commander, 36th Rifle Division; fought in the Sino-Soviet conflict on the CER
- 1939Commander, 24th Motorized Regiment, Battle of Khalkhin Gol → Hero of the Soviet Union
- 1941Commander, 15th Rifle Corps; Deputy Commander of the Leningrad Front & 42nd Army; Commander, 54th Army
- 1943–1944Commander, 2nd Shock Army; broke the Leningrad blockade from the Oranienbaum bridgehead
- 1946–1951Commander, 7th Guards Army
- 1954–1957Commander, Transcaucasian Military District
- 1957–1965Commander, Turkestan Military District; promoted Army General 1955