The Soviet tank general who reviewed the Brest parade with Guderian and held Oboyan at Kursk
Brest-Litovsk, 22 September 1939. As German armor withdrew and the Red Army took control of the city, Krivoshein stood beside Heinz Guderian and reviewed the joint parade of Wehrmacht and Red Army troops together.
Soviet Lieutenant General of Tank Forces. Born into a Jewish artisan family in Voronezh, he joined the Red Army in 1918 and fought the Civil War. After the Frunze Academy he transferred to tanks, becoming the first Soviet tank commander in Spain at the defence of Madrid in 1936. On 22 September 1939 he met Guderian at Brest-Litovsk to negotiate the German withdrawal and presided over the joint parade. At Kursk in 1943 his 3rd Mechanized Corps under Katukov's 1st Tank Army held the Oboyan axis against Hoth's main armored assault, a decisive stand that earned the corps Guards designation. He led the 1st Mechanized Corps through the Berlin offensive, where his troops broke into the capital first on 25 April 1945, earning him the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
Career Timeline
- 1918Joined Red Army, fought in Civil War (1st Cavalry Army)
- 1919Joined Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)
- 1931Graduated Frunze Academy; Chief of Staff, 7th Mechanized Regiment
- 1934Commander, 6th Mechanized Regiment
- 1936–1937Fought in Spain; commanded tank forces at defence of Madrid
- 1937Commander, 8th Independent Mechanized (later Tank) Brigade
- 1938Sent to Lake Khasan as representative of investigative commission
- 1939Polish campaign: led 29th Tank Brigade; joint parade with Guderian at Brest
- 1939–1940Winter War: took part in capture of Vyborg
- 1940–1941Promoted Major General; commanded 15th Mechanized Div., 2nd Tank Div., 25th Mechanized Corps
- 1941–1943Head of Combat Training, Main Armored Directorate
- 1943Cmdr. 3rd Mechanized Corps; held Oboyan axis at Kursk; promoted Lt. Gen., corps became 8th Guards Mechanized
- 1944Cmdr. 1st Mechanized Corps; recaptured Brest in Operation Bagration
- 1945Vistula-Oder and Berlin offensives; first into Berlin 25 April; Hero of the Soviet Union
- 1946–1949Head of Armored Tactics Dept., Frunze Academy
- 1950–1952Commander of Armored Forces, Odessa Military District
- 1953Transferred to reserve