The army general who held Odessa and Sevastopol, and returned to command every time Stalin sacked him
As Sevastopol fell, unable to save its garrison, Petrov raised his pistol to take his own life. His officers wrestled the weapon from his grip. Evacuated by submarine, he returned to the front and commanded armies through to Berlin.
A shoemaker's son and former teacher-trainee, Ivan Petrov commanded the Great Patriotic War's two greatest defensive battles: Odessa (1941) and Sevastopol (1941–1942). He honed his craft fighting the Basmachi in Central Asia, then led the Separate Coastal Army in Black Sea holding actions that tied down far larger Axis forces. As North Caucasus Front commander he liberated the Taman Peninsula and executed the Kerch-Eltigen landing; he then drove the 2nd Belorussian and 4th Ukrainian Fronts through the Carpathians. As 1st Ukrainian Front chief of staff he planned the Berlin and Prague offensives, earning the Hero of the Soviet Union. Twice demoted by Stalin, his skill was so vital the Red Army recalled him each time.
Career Timeline
- 1916–1918Graduated Alekseevskoe cadet school; half-company cmdr, 156th Reserve Inf. Reg. (praporshchik); discharged ill
- 1918–1922Joined Red Army & RKP(b); Civil War — Samara, Urals, Polish-Soviet War; commissar, 17th Cavalry Div.
- 1922–1940Fought Basmachi in Central Asia; cdr 1st Turkestan Mtn. Rifle Div.; head, Tashkent Infantry School; Maj.-Gen.
- 1941.7–10Cdr 25th Chapaev Rifle Div. → Cdr Separate Coastal Army — Odessa defense and evacuation
- 1941.10–1942.7Deputy cdr Sevastopol Defensive Region & cdr Coastal Army; 250-day defense vs. Manstein's three assaults
- 1942.8–1943.11Cdr 44th Army → Black Sea Group → North Caucasus Front — Caucasus defense, Taman, Kerch-Eltigen landing
- 1944.3–1945.3Cdr 33rd Army → 2nd Belorussian Front → 4th Ukrainian Front; promoted Army Gen., demoted, reinstated; Carpathian campaigns
- 1945.4–5Chief of staff, 1st Ukrainian Front — Berlin & Prague ops; awarded Hero of the Soviet Union
- 1945–1958Cdr Turkestan MD; 1st Dep. Chief Inspector; 1st Dep. C-in-C Ground Forces; Chief Inspector, MoD; Deputy, USSR Supreme Soviet