The cavalryman who closed Stalingrad's southern pincer
In August 1941, taking command of the Bryansk Front, Yeryomenko promised Stalin personally: "I will smash that scoundrel Guderian." The promise failed; Guderian encircled Kiev instead.
Born to a poor Ukrainian peasant family, Yeryomenko rose from a conscript in the First World War to Marshal of the Soviet Union. He fought the Civil War in Budyonny's 1st Cavalry Army and survived the purges as a cavalry officer. At Stalingrad he commanded the Southeastern (later Stalingrad) Front, planning the city's defence with Khrushchev and closing the southern pincer of Operation Uranus to trap Paulus's 6th Army. He led no fewer than eight fronts during the war, ending it at the head of the 4th Ukrainian Front liberating Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Made a Marshal in 1955, his battlefield record far outran his political weight. He was also a diarist: despite a ban on wartime journals, he kept one throughout.
Career Timeline
- 1913–17Conscript, Imperial Army; NCO on Southwest and Romanian Fronts
- 1918–20Organised Markivka partisan detachment; 1st Cavalry Army in the Civil War
- 1935Graduated Frunze Military Academy
- 1938–39Commander 6th Cavalry Corps; led advance into eastern Poland
- 1941.6–7Acting Cdr Western Front; wounded at Smolensk
- 1941.8–10Cdr Bryansk Front; encircled in Typhoon, severely wounded
- 1942.8–1943.1Cdr Stalingrad Front; southern pincer of Operation Uranus
- 1943–44Cdr Kalinin, 1st Baltic, then 2nd Baltic Front
- 1944Cdr Separate Coastal Army; liberated Crimea
- 1945.3–5Cdr 4th Ukrainian Front; liberated Hungary and Czechoslovakia
- 1945–58Cdr Carpathian, West Siberian, North Caucasus Military Districts
- 1955Promoted Marshal of the Soviet Union
- 1958–70Inspector General, Ministry of Defence; wrote memoirs
Related historical events
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionCivil War veteran
- 1941–1945The Great Patriotic WarStalingrad Front commanderHe commanded the Southeastern (later Stalingrad) Front during the Battle of Stalingrad and closed the southern pincer of Operation Uranus, trapping Paulus's 6th Army. He led eight fronts during the war and, as commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front, completed the liberation of Hungary and Czechoslovakia.