Father of the modern VDV, who turned airborne troops into a heavily armored strike force
As his son Alexander tested the world's first crewed parachute drop of a BMD-1 in 1973, Margelov watched from the command post gripping a loaded pistol — ready to shoot himself if the experiment failed.
Vasily Margelov commanded the Soviet Airborne Forces (VDV) for 23 years and is regarded as the father of the modern airborne troops. A decorated officer who earned the Hero of the Soviet Union for forcing the Dnieper at the head of the 49th Guards Rifle Division in 1944, he assumed command of the VDV in 1954 and transformed it from light infantry into a heavily armored strike force. Under his leadership the BMD-1 airborne fighting vehicle, heavy parachute platforms, and the Kentavr and Reaktavr crewed airdrop systems were developed, while An-22 and Il-76 transports gave the force strategic reach. He made over sixty parachute jumps, the last at 65, and led VDV operations during the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. By his retirement in 1979 the VDV had become one of the Soviet military's most capable arms, popularly called 'Uncle Vasya's troops.'
Activities and affiliations
- 1944–1945 Military command · Soviet Union · Military and defence
Career Timeline
- 1944–1945Commander, 49th Guards Rifle Division (Hero of the Soviet Union for Dnieper crossing and liberation of Kherson)
- 1948–1950Commander, 76th Guards Airborne Division (Pskov)
- 1950–1954Commander, 37th Guards Airborne Corps (Far East)
- 1954–1959Commander, Soviet Airborne Forces (VDV), first tenure
- 1959–1961First Deputy Commander, VDV (demoted)
- 1961–1979Commander, VDV, second tenure (led comprehensive modernization)
- 1979–1990Inspector, Group of Inspectors General, Ministry of Defence
Related historical events
- 1939.11–1940.03The Winter WarSoviet reconnaissance battalion commanderIn the 1939–1940 Soviet–Finnish War, he commanded a ski reconnaissance battalion of the 596th Rifle Regiment.
- 1941–1945The Great Patriotic Warcommander of the 49th Guards Rifle Division, crossing of the Dnieper
- 1941–1944Siege of LeningradRegimental commander during the siegeAfter recovering, he commanded the 218th Rifle Regiment of the 80th Rifle Division during the Siege of Leningrad.
- 1968The Prague SpringCommander of VDV airborne operations during Operation DanubeAs commander of the Soviet Airborne Forces, Margelov directed the VDV's airborne operations during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. The 7th, 103rd, and 105th Guards Airborne Divisions were deployed to seize key points in Prague, Brno, and other cities.
Combat record before the VDV: 1939–1944
Margelov's combat record is long before he ever commanded airborne troops. In the 1939–1940 Soviet–Finnish War he commanded a separate ski reconnaissance battalion of the 596th Rifle Regiment, 122nd Division, and is reported to have taken Swedish staff officers prisoner in one operation. After the war he served as assistant commander of that regiment, and from October 1940 commanded the 15th Separate Disciplinary Battalion of the Leningrad Military District. In July 1941, after the German invasion, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Rifle Regiment of the 1st Militia Division on the Leningrad Front.
In November 1941 he took command of the 1st Special Ski Regiment made up of Baltic Fleet sailors, and was wounded in a raid behind enemy lines on Lake Ladoga on 21 November. The sailors carried him, seriously wounded, to a dressing station set up on the ice of the lake. The regiment lost 500 dead and 200 wounded out of 903 men; he led it for only seven days, from 21 to 28 November 1941, and took part with it in a single battle. After recovering he commanded the 218th Rifle Regiment of the 80th Rifle Division during the Siege of Leningrad, and from 15 July 1942 the 13th Guards Rifle Regiment of the reformed 3rd Guards Rifle Division, which in December 1942 repulsed German attempts to relieve the encircled 6th Army at Stalingrad. In January 1943, as the division's deputy commander, he took part in the Salsk-Rostov offensive and then in the Donbass and Melitopol offensives.
When the divisional commander K. A. Tsalikov was wounded, Margelov as chief of staff held temporary command of the division, and on 17 July 1943 his troops broke two German defensive lines on the Mius front, took the village of Stepanovka and secured a bridgehead for the assault on Saur-Mogila. Taking command of the 49th Guards Rifle Division in 1944, he led it across the Dnieper and then the Inhulets to the capture of Kherson, and on through the Second Jassy–Kishinev, Belgrade, Budapest, Vienna and Prague offensives. He was mentioned ten times in Supreme Commander-in-Chief orders of acknowledgement during the war, and at the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 he commanded a battalion of the 2nd Ukrainian Front's combined regiment. The airborne command was built on that record of ground warfare.