Victor of Lake Khasan and Khalkhin Gol, purged Far Eastern Front commander
On 5 July 1939 a Defence Commissar's order created a Front Group controlling the 1st and 2nd Red Banner Armies, the Transbaikal Military District and the 57th Special Corps, with Shtern as its commander. On 19 July the 57th Special Corps became Zhukov's 1st Army Group.
Soviet military commander, born 6 August 1900 (O.S. 24 July) in Smela, Kiev Governorate, now Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine, and killed on 28 October 1941. Born into a Jewish family, he joined Bolshevik underground activity in Kiev in 1918 and entered the Red Army in 1919 as a political commissar during the Civil War. Under the surname Grigorovich he was chief military advisor to the Republican government in the Spanish Civil War in 1937–38. In 1938 he commanded the 39th Rifle Corps at Lake Khasan; from 5 July 1939 he commanded the Front Group at Khalkhin Gol and became a Hero of the Soviet Union on 29 August 1939. Arrested on 7 June 1941, he confessed under 'physical methods' to a Trotskyist conspiracy and German spying, and was shot without trial on 28 October 1941 near Kuibyshev. Rehabilitated in 1954, he regained the Hero title and awards in 1959.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1919Joined Red Army, served as political commissar on Southern Front
- 1924Fought Basmachi rebels in Turkestan
- 1929Graduated Eastern Faculty of Frunze Military Academy; staff at Defence Commissariat
- 1936Commander, 7th Samara Cavalry Division
- 1937–1938Chief Soviet military advisor to Spanish Republic (pseud. Grigorovich)
- 1938Chief of Staff, Far Eastern Front → commanded 39th Rifle Corps at Lake Khasan
- 1938–1939Commander, 1st Separate Red Banner Army
- 1939Front Group commander at Khalkhin Gol — Hero of the Soviet Union
- 1940Commander, 8th Army (Winter War) → Commander, Far Eastern Front; Colonel-General
- 1941Head, Main Air Defence Directorate → arrested June, executed 28 October without trial
Related historical events
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign Interventionpolitical commissar
- 1936–1939The Spanish Civil WarSenior military adviser to the Republican army, GrigorovichLed the advisory mission from 1937 and guided the Guadalajara operation
- 1937–1938The Great PurgeTarget of wartime extrajudicial executionA Hero of the Soviet Union and former Far Eastern Front and air-defence commander, he was arrested and shot without trial in 1941.
- 1938–1941The Soviet-Japanese Border Wars and the Neutrality PactChief of Staff, Far Eastern Front → Commander, 1st ArmyTook de facto command at Khasan after Blyukher was sidelined, directing the 6 Aug offensive. NKO Order 0040 credited his 'skilful direction.' Appointed commander, 1st Separate Red Banner Army.
- 1939.11–1940.03The Winter WarCommander of the 8th ArmyOn 3 January 1940, he told the encircled 18th Rifle Division to hold out at any cost.
- 1941–1945The Great Patriotic Warcommander of the Far Eastern Front, victor of Khasan and Khalkhin Gol
Spanish-War comrades and subordinate officers: conduct under repression
Shtern's standing as former senior Soviet military adviser in Spain was used at least once to shield a comrade facing repression. When Colonel Karol Świerczewski, who had commanded an International Brigade in Spain, was arrested, Shtern personally vouched for him, invoking his own record as senior Soviet adviser to the Republic. Świerczewski survived the Great Patriotic War, became a general, and in 1945 held high posts in the allied Polish Army. This is the documented case of Shtern spending his authority to protect a fellow Spanish-War officer.
Accounts of Khalkhin Gol diverge and must be attributed. According to the recollections of General Pyotr Grigorenko, at Khalkhin Gol Zhukov's preferred instrument of discipline was execution: firing orders went out daily, against soldiers and officers alike, and "Shtern by his authority very often annulled these monstrous sentences." The same recollections describe Shtern flying to the 1st Army Group, speaking with Zhukov alone, and then ordering the withdrawal of the detachments from the army's direct subordination back to their own units. These are witness recollections with divergent interpretations, and Zhukov's memoirs largely omit Shtern.
For context, one source describes Shtern as one of the outstanding Soviet commanders and the only Jew to hold so high a command post as commander of the Front Group, while noting that Stalin did not fully trust him and that after Khalkhin Gol the major promotion went to Zhukov while Shtern remained in the Far East. Interpretations of his conduct diverge between sources and should be attributed.
The record does not support presenting him only as a protector of subordinates. On 3 January 1940, as the new commander of the 8th Army in the Winter War, Shtern informed the commander of the 56th Rifle Corps that encircled units could expect help from the leading parts of the 60th Rifle Division only in six or seven days. Although the Stavka's Main Military Council had authorised the withdrawal of the encircled divisions if necessary, Shtern did not give the order to withdraw, stating that the 18th Rifle Division "must hold out at any cost." This counterpoint is documented alongside the interventions above.