Ivan Chernyakhovsky
Encyclopedia
Uman
Uman is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. The city rests on the banks of the Umanka River at around , and serves as the self-governing administrative center of the Umanskyi Raion ....
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(today Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast is an oblast of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Cherkasy).-Geography:...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), - Mehlsack, today Pieniężno
Pieniezno
Pieniężno is a town on the Wałsza River in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship of Poland. It is located in Braniewo County and had a population of 2,975 in 2004.- History :...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, 18 February 1945) was a Soviet General of the Army
General of the Army
General of the Army is a military rank used in some countries to denote a senior military leader, usually a General in command of a nation's Army. It may also be the title given to a General who commands an Army in the field....
(the youngest ever to have this rank), twice Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
, commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front
3rd Belorussian Front
The 3rd Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
, who died from wounds received outside Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
at age 39.
Chernyakhovsky was the youngest Front commander in the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
.
Youth
Ivan Chernyakhovsky was born in 1906 to a Ukrainian railwayman who died of typhus when his son was nine. He was a railway worker until joining the Red Army in 1924. In 1928 he finished the officer's school in Kiev. Due to the rapid pre-war expansion of the RKKA and 1937-1938 military purges, he quickly rose in rank. In 1938 he became commander of the 9th Light Tank Brigade. In March 1941 he became the commander of the 28th Tank Division in the Baltic Military DistrictBaltic Military District
The Baltic Military District was a military district of the Soviet armed forces, formed briefly before the German invasion, and then reformed after World War II and disbanded after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991....
. In July 1942 promoted to the commander of the 18th Tank Corps defending Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
.
1943: Liberates Kursk
The 60th army of General Ivan Chernyakhovsky hoisted a victorious Red Banner over the city of KurskKursk
Kursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history...
on February 8, 1943.
1944: Battles in Belarus
Operation Bagration was launched after a four month break in activities because of the spring thaw. The Soviets launched their attack on June 22 on four fronts with 146 infantry and 43 armored divisions. General BagramyanHovhannes Bagramyan
Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan , also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi BaghramyanPronunciation: Bagramyan's name is most commonly written in English as Bagramyan "bahg-rahm-yahn" or Bagramian...
's 1st Baltic Front
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. The commanders of it were Army General Andrey Yeryomenko and succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It was formed by re-naming the Kalinin Front in October 12, 1943 and took part in several important military...
and General Chernyakhovsky's 3rd Belorussian Front
3rd Belorussian Front
The 3rd Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
struck to the north and south of Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
and took the city on June 27. Chernyakhovsky's left wing then took Orsha - this meant that the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
- Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
highway could now be used to threaten the German rear. To the south, General Zakharov
Matvei Zakharov
Matvei Vasilevich Zakharov Marshal of the Soviet Union, Chief of General Staff, Deputy Defense Minister, was born in Tver, to peasant parents. Zakharov joined the Red Guards in 1917. He served under Kliment Voroshilov during the Russian Civil War...
's 2nd Belorussian Front
2nd Belorussian Front
The 2nd Belorussian Front was a military formation of Army group size of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
, north of the Pripet Marshes
Pinsk Marshes
The Pinsk Marshes or Pripyat Marshes are a vast territory of wetlands along the Pripyat River and its tributaries from Brest, Belarus to Mogilev and Kiev ....
, destroyed a force of 33,000 at Babruysk
Babruysk
Babruysk or Bobruysk is a city in the Mahilyow Voblast of Belarus on the Berezina river. It is a large city in Belarus with a population of approximately 227,000 people . The name Babruysk probably originates from the Belarusian word babyor , many of which used to inhabit the Berezina...
on that day. Chernyakhovsky's army now headed for Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
. On July 2 his mobile forces reached Stolbtsy, 40 miles away. General Rotmistrov
Pavel Rotmistrov
Chief Marshal of Armoured Troops Pavel Alexeyevich Rotmistrov was a commander of armoured troops in the Red Army during and following World War II.-Pre-War:...
's tanks entered Minsk on 3 July and 50,000 Germans were trapped.
The offensive pressed on to Baranavichy (8 July) and to Hrodna
Hrodna
Grodno or Hrodna , is a city in Belarus. It is located on the Neman River , close to the borders of Poland and Lithuania . It has 327,540 inhabitants...
(13 July). In the south Rokossovsky
Konstantin Rokossovsky
Konstantin Rokossovskiy was a Polish-origin Soviet career officer who was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, as well as Marshal of Poland and Polish Defence Minister, who was famously known for his service in the Eastern Front, where he received high esteem for his outstanding military skill...
cleared the Pripet Marshes taking Pinsk
Pinsk
Pinsk , a town in Belarus, in the Polesia region, traversed by the river Pripyat, at the confluence of the Strumen and Pina rivers. The region was known as the Marsh of Pinsk. It is a fertile agricultural center. It lies south-west of Minsk. The population is about 130,000...
and Kovel on 5 July. In the north Bagramyan turned to the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
and took Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Daugavpils in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
on 13 July. This split the Army Group North
Army Group North
Army Group North was a German strategic echelon formation commanding a grouping of Field Armies subordinated to the OKH during World War II. The army group coordinated the operations of attached separate army corps, reserve formations, rear services and logistics.- Formation :The Army Group North...
in two (East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
and the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
). The Soviets arrived on the Polish border within 24 days and claimed to had taken 158,000 men, 2,000 tanks, 10,000 guns, and 57,000 motor vehicles. They also claimed to have killed 38,000 Germans. It was a resounding defeat for the Germans and Hitler dismissed Busch from the command of Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...
, replacing him with Model. The Soviets had swept the Germans from Belorussia by mid-July 1944 and they pressed their advantage by attacking Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In the north Generals Chernyakhovsky and Zakharov joined to take Bialystok
Bialystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Located on the Podlaskie Plain on the banks of the Biała River, Białystok ranks second in terms of population density, eleventh in population, and thirteenth in area, of the cities of Poland...
on 18 July.
1944: Victory in East Prussia
In summer 1944 General Chernyakhovsky pressed the Germans on the frontiers of their own land in East PrussiaEast Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. His 3rd Belorussian Front drove across the Neman River
Neman River
Neman or Niemen or Nemunas, is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Curonian Lagoon and then into the Baltic Sea at Klaipėda. It is the northern border between Lithuania and Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast in its lower reaches...
, taking Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
on 1 August, and pressed the eastern border of East Prussia. The center thrust took Suwalki on July 26 and General Bagramyan
Hovhannes Bagramyan
Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan , also known as Hovhannes Khachaturi BaghramyanPronunciation: Bagramyan's name is most commonly written in English as Bagramyan "bahg-rahm-yahn" or Bagramian...
occupied the Tukums
Tukums
Tukums is a town in Latvia. Three regions of Latvia meet in the vicinity of Tukums – Vidzeme, Zemgale and Courland. The city was host to the Cold War facility Tukums air base.- History :...
junction on the Gulf of Riga
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. According to C.Michael Hogan, a saline stratification layer is found at a depth of approximately seventy metres....
.
1944: Into Germany
Prior to his death in 1945, Chernyakhovsky launched the Soviet East Prussian OffensiveEast Prussian Offensive
The East Prussian Offensive was a strategic offensive by the Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front . It lasted from 13 January to 25 April 1945, though some German units did not surrender until 9 May...
against stiff resistance from the III Panzer Army
German Third Panzer Army
The 3rd Panzer Army was a German army that saw action during World War II. It was formed from Panzergruppe 3, which had been formed on November 16, 1940....
. He was part of the drive on Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Together with Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky's 2nd Belorussian Front, which attacked East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
from the south and then headed north-westwards towards the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
coast around Danzig
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
(Gdansk), the 3rd Belorussian Front, commanded by General Chernyakhovsky was ordered to attack from the east towards Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, even though this meant throwing his armies against heavy German defence works. These two fronts mustered 1,670,000 men with 28,360 guns and heavy mortars and 3,300 tanks.
1945: Soviet Supreme Commander of East Prussia - Killed in action
Marshal Rokossovsky's front made contact with Marshal ZhukovGeorgy Zhukov
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
's forces at Grudziadz
Grudziadz
Grudziądz is a city in northern Poland on the Vistula River, with 96 042 inhabitants . Situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship , the city was previously in the Toruń Voivodeship .- History :-Early history:...
(German: Graudenz) and they wheeled north towards Danzig to cut off East Prussia. More than 500,000 Germans were caught in a pocket, but many were evacuated. On 10 February, Rokossovsky reached the coast near Elbing
Elblag
Elbląg is a city in northern Poland with 127,892 inhabitants . It is the capital of Elbląg County and has been assigned to the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. Before then it was the capital of Elbląg Voivodeship and a county seat in Gdańsk Voivodeship...
(Elbląg) and East Prussia was under siege from the south and east by the 3rd Byelorussian Front.
From January 1945 until February 18, 1945, General Ivan Chernyakhovsky was appointed Soviet supreme commander of East Prussia.
On 1 February General Chernyakhovsky split the pocket by attacking between Elbing and Königsberg. Just over 2 weeks later, on February 18, General Chernyakhovsky, the youngest front commander of World War II, was killed by shell fragments from artillery fire while inspecting preparations for an offensive.
General Chernyakhovsky was buried in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, near a square named for him. After Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990, Chernyaknovsky's remains were reburied at the Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
in Moscow.
After World War II, when the Soviet Union annexed northern East Prussia and expelled the Germans, the town of Insterburg was renamed Chernyakhovsk
Chernyakhovsk
Chernyakhovsk is a town and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Instruch and the Angrapa Rivers, forming the Pregolya...
in his honor.
Dates of rank
- Major General (equivalent to Major General, US Army) 5 May 1942
- Lieutenant General (Lieutenant General, US Army) 14 Feb 1943
- Colonel General (General, US Army) March 1944
- General of the Army (General of the Army, US Army) 26 June 1944
Web.genealogie at web.genealogie.free.fr
Awards
- Order of LeninOrder of LeninThe Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
- four Orders of the Red BannerOrder of the Red BannerThe Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
- two First Class Orders of SuvorovOrder of SuvorovThe Order of Suvorov is a Soviet award, named after Aleksandr Suvorov , that was established on July 29, 1942 by a decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This decoration was created to award senior army personnel for exceptional leadership in combat operations...
- First Class Order of KutuzovOrder of KutuzovThe Order of Kutuzov is a Soviet and Russian military award, named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov ....
- First Class Order of Bogdan KhmelnitskyOrder of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Soviet Union)The Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky was a Soviet award named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossack Hetmanate The award was first established on October 10, 1943, by the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR during World War II....