Marshal Biryuzov is one of the most prominent Soviet military figures. Many tactical and strategic innovations were developed by his efforts. He also made an invaluable contribution to the Victory over Nazi Germany. His military path passed not only on the territory of the Soviet Union, but also in other countries that were subjected to Nazi occupation. For this, Biryuzov received many both Soviet and foreign awards.
Sergey Semyonovich Biryuzov: biography
Sergey was born on the twenty-first of August 1904, according to the old style, in the Ryazan province. His family members were merchants and had a good income. Therefore, the Biryuzovs had the opportunity to send their son to a church school. After graduation, he continued his studies at home. Since childhood, he loved to read and was interested in military art. When the Civil War began on the territory of the Russian Empire, Sergei was only thirteen years old. However, heardently supported the Reds. Therefore, at the age of nineteen, he goes to Vladikavkaz, where he takes infantry and machine gun courses. Shows good results during training.
Professional development
After two years he enters the school of senior officers. And two years later he enters the university. Until the thirty-seventh year, the future Marshal Biryuzov was engaged in training and science. At the same time, he is moving quite quickly through the army hierarchy. In just a few years from a platoon commander, Sergei rose to the rank of division chief of staff. During this time, he had under his command formations of various branches of the armed forces: from motorized rifle battalions to an air fleet company. In 1939, Sergei Semyonovich became a brigade commander and sent to Kharkov to command a military district. In August of the same year, he was expected to be promoted to division commander. It is in this rank with his 132nd Infantry Marshal Biryuzov that he meets the beginning of the war.
Beginning of the Great Patriotic War
Immediately after the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union, Sergei Biryuzov fights on the front lines.
His fighters took the first blows of the Reich war machine. The 132nd Rifle Division takes an active part in the defense of Smolensk. This infamous battle claimed many lives of Soviet soldiers. However, Biryuzov and his wards managed to get out of the encirclement. From under Smolensk, the fighters are sent to one of the most difficult areas - near Moscow. At this time, Guderian's tanks are rushing towards the Soviet capital,every day advancing several kilometers. For the defense of the city, all available reserves are pulled together. In the autumn of 1941, Sergei Semyonovich was seriously injured, after which he underwent treatment for several months.
Heavy fights
Already in the forty-second year, Marshal Biryuzov commanded an army on the Bryansk front. After achieving impressive success, the command sends him to Stalingrad, where one of the bloodiest battles of that war is played out.
Soldiers have to fight in the unfamiliar conditions of the city ruins. Biryuzov's division had already fought in Smolensk and other major cities, but a unique situation developed in Stalingrad, when both sides could simultaneously control the same building for several days.
To win the battle for the city, we had to develop new tactics of fighting in urban environments. The first decision was to reduce the personnel of the assault groups. Also reduced the amount of heavy equipment. In the conditions of ruins and difficult terrain, there was practically no sense from her, and the dense fire of the enemy made her an easy target. Instead of tanks, the Red Army soldiers received flamethrowers, which showed themselves in the best possible way during the capture of the fortified positions of the Germans.
Offensive
After the victory at Stalingrad, Marshal Biryuzov was appointed chief of staff of the entire Southern Front. He is personally involved in the development of the operation to liberate Donbass. As a result, the Red Army managed to defeathalf a million grouping of one of the best Nazi strategists - Erich Manstein. During the retreat of the Germans across the Dnieper, Soviet troops quite successfully attacked the retreating, inflicting serious damage on them. After the liberation of the territory of the Soviet Union, Marshal S. S. Biryuzov performed combat missions in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. He worked closely with partisans and members of the anti-fascist resistance.
After the end of the war
Marshal S. S. Biryuzov's awards include Yugoslav and Bulgarian orders. For a long time after the victory over Nazi Germany, he remained an adviser to the army of the allied USSR socialist countries.
Commands several groups of troops. In the post-war period, he was a member of special commissions that led the restoration of Europe and the punishment of Nazi criminals. As Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces, Sergei Semyonovich receives an offer to become Deputy Minister of Defense, which he gladly accepts. Hero of the Soviet Union Sergei Semyonovich Biryuzov has been in command of the strategic missile forces (which also include nuclear weapons systems) for a long time.
Works closely with the Yugoslav People's Army. During an exercise near Belgrade on October 19, 1964, his plane crashes. The crew died. Marshal S. S. Biryuzov is buried in the Kremlin wall.
