Ivan Ignatyevich Yakubovsky
Encyclopedia
Ivan Ignatyevich Yakubovsky ' onMouseout='HidePop("18531")' href="/topics/Horki_Raion">Horki Raion
, Mahilyow Voblast
, Belarus
- 30 November 1976, Moscow) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union
, twice made a Hero of the Soviet Union
and serving as commander-in-chief of the Warsaw Pact
from 1967 to 1976.
in 1932, he graduated from the Mikhail Kalinin Belarussian Association Military School in Minsk
in 1934, aiming to serve as a training platoon commander in the 27th Omsk Red Banner Rifle Division
(Vitebsk
).
In 1935 he graduated from training courses in Leningrad, before serving in the Belorussian Military District
as a platoon commander, company commander, battalion chief of staff and training battalion commander of various armoured units. Commanding a tank company in the Red Army's September 1939 Polish campaign as part of the troops on the Belorussian front, he also served in the 1939-40 Winter War
.
in the summer of 1942 and in the defensive and offensive phases of the Battle of Stalingrad
, fighting on the Southern, Southwestern, Stalingrad and Don fronts and rising to colonel on 30 November 1942.
In spring 1943 the brigade was transferred to the Central Front, joining the 3rd Guards Tank Army, in which he fought right up until VE Day. Heading the brigade, he fought heroically on the Voronezh
, Bryansk
, Central, 1st Ukrainian
fronts, in the battle of Kursk
in the Orel region, in the Battle of the Dnieper and in the liberation of Kiev
and Fastiv
. For his heroism at Fastiv, where his unit destroyed 30 enemy tanks in a single day, Yakubovsky was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. In spring 1944, at the head of his tank brigade, Col Yakubovsky successfully operated in Proskurovo-Chernivtsi offensive.
In June 1944 he became deputy commander of 6th Guards Tank Corps within 3rd Guards Tank Army. He participated in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive, in the battles defending and expanding the Sandomierz bridgehead, in the Vistula–Oder Offensive in January 1945. In these operations, he commanded the advanced corps troops, at their point of impact with the German tank units. For heroic actions in the Lvov-Sandomierz operation Colonel Yakubovsky was again ranked as a Hero of the Soviet Union, by decree of 23 September 1944. From April 1945 he was deputy commander of the 7th Guards Tank Corps within 3rd Guards Tank Army, participating in the and Prague
operations and rising to Major-General of Tank Troops (20 April 1945).
. In 1948 he graduated from the General Staff Academy
. In March 1948 he became Commander of the Armored Division in the Belorussian Military District
then in April 1952 became commander of armoured and mechanized forces in the Carpathian Military District
. Rising to Lieutenant-General of Tank Forces (3.05.1953), he commanded a Tank Army (December 1953 to April 1957) then a mechanized army (from April 1957).
In July 1957 he became First Deputy Commander of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
, later being promoted to Colonel-General (18.08.1958). In April 1960 he was appointed Commander of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, being in post in the midst of the Berlin Crisis of 1961
, when the threat of armed conflict in Europe dramatically escalated. During the crisis, in August 1961, Ivan Konev
, Commander in Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, was appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union and Yakubovsky was transferred to the post of his first deputy, while continuing to manage the daily operations of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. After stabilizing the situation in April 1962, Army General Yakubovsky again returned to the post of Commander of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. In January 1965 he was made Commander of the Kiev Military District
.
On 12 April 1967 he was made First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR (simultaneously with the appointment of Andrei Grechko
as Minister of Defense) and Marshal of the Soviet Union
, whilst from July that year he contiguously held the post of supreme commander of the forces of the Warsaw Pact
.
, Minsk
, Fastiv
and his birthplace of Gorki
.
Horki Raion
Horki Raion is a raion in Mahilyow Voblast, Belarus, the administrative center is Horki....
, Mahilyow Voblast
Mahilyow Voblast
Mahilyow Voblasts or Mogilyov Oblast is a province of Belarus with its administrative center being Mogilyov ....
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
- 30 November 1976, Moscow) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ....
, twice made a 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:...
and serving as commander-in-chief of the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
from 1967 to 1976.
Early life
Born as the sixth child of a peasant family in Belarus, he was employed in their village and graduated from a rural school. From 1930 he worked as section-secretary on the Makaryevsky village council, then at a plant. He graduated from two courses at the Orsha School in 1932.Pre-war
Enlisting in the Red ArmyRed 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...
in 1932, he graduated from the Mikhail Kalinin Belarussian Association Military School in 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...
in 1934, aiming to serve as a training platoon commander in the 27th Omsk Red Banner Rifle Division
27th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 27th Rifle Division was a tactical unit of the Bolshevist Russia and then the USSR, active between 1918 and 1941. First formed during the Russian Civil War on November 3, 1918 as part of 5th Red Army. Commanded by Vitovt Putna, it was transferred to the 16th Red Army in May 1920, and took part...
(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...
).
In 1935 he graduated from training courses in Leningrad, before serving in the Belorussian Military District
Belorussian Military District
The Byelorussian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally in the times of Russian Civil War it formed as the Western Front, and in April 1924 it was renamed to the Western Military District. In October 1926 it was redesignated the Belorussian Military...
as a platoon commander, company commander, battalion chief of staff and training battalion commander of various armoured units. Commanding a tank company in the Red Army's September 1939 Polish campaign as part of the troops on the Belorussian front, he also served in the 1939-40 Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
.
World War Two
Yakubovsky entered the war in its early days on the western border as commander of a tank battalion, fighting heroically in the most difficult defensive battles in Belarus. His unit was one of the last defenders of a doomed Minsk, crushing an advanced enemy motorcycle convoy with their tanks in the city streets. From January 1941 he commanded a tank regiment on the USSR's western front, becoming Deputy Commander (January 1942) then Commander (March 1942) of the 91st Tank Brigade and participating in the Barvinkivske-Lozova offensive. He distinguished himself in the defensive battles in the Donets BasinDonets Basin
Donbas or Donbass , full rarely-used name Donets Basin , is a historical, economic and cultural region of eastern Ukraine. Originally a coal mining area, it has become a heavily industrialised territory suffering from urban decay and industrial pollution.-Geography:Donbas covers three...
in the summer of 1942 and in the defensive and offensive phases of the Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
, fighting on the Southern, Southwestern, Stalingrad and Don fronts and rising to colonel on 30 November 1942.
In spring 1943 the brigade was transferred to the Central Front, joining the 3rd Guards Tank Army, in which he fought right up until VE Day. Heading the brigade, he fought heroically on the Voronezh
Voronezh Front
The Voronezh Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River....
, Bryansk
Bryansk Front
The Bryansk Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War.General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first formed in mid-late August 1941, comprising, in Erickson's words, 'on paper two armies, 50th and 13th, with eight rifle divisions each, three...
, Central, 1st Ukrainian
1st Ukrainian Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front was a front—a force the size of a Western Army group—of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War.-Wartime:...
fronts, in the battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
in the Orel region, in the Battle of the Dnieper and in the liberation of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and Fastiv
Fastiv
Fastiv is a city located in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Fastivskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
. For his heroism at Fastiv, where his unit destroyed 30 enemy tanks in a single day, Yakubovsky was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. In spring 1944, at the head of his tank brigade, Col Yakubovsky successfully operated in Proskurovo-Chernivtsi offensive.
In June 1944 he became deputy commander of 6th Guards Tank Corps within 3rd Guards Tank Army. He participated in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive, in the battles defending and expanding the Sandomierz bridgehead, in the Vistula–Oder Offensive in January 1945. In these operations, he commanded the advanced corps troops, at their point of impact with the German tank units. For heroic actions in the Lvov-Sandomierz operation Colonel Yakubovsky was again ranked as a Hero of the Soviet Union, by decree of 23 September 1944. From April 1945 he was deputy commander of the 7th Guards Tank Corps within 3rd Guards Tank Army, participating in the and Prague
Prague Offensive
The Prague Offensive was the last major Soviet operation of World War II in Europe. The offensive, and the battle for Prague, was fought on the Eastern Front from 6 May to 11 May 1945. This battle for the city is particularly noteworthy in that it ended after the Third Reich capitulated on 8 May...
operations and rising to Major-General of Tank Troops (20 April 1945).
Cold War
After the war, he continued to serve as deputy commander of the tank shell in the Leningrad Military DistrictLeningrad Military District
The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:...
. In 1948 he graduated from the General Staff Academy
General Staff Academy (Russia)
The General Staff Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was founded in 1936 in Moscow by Leonid Govorov. It was the senior Soviet and now Russian professional school for officers....
. In March 1948 he became Commander of the Armored Division in the Belorussian Military District
Belorussian Military District
The Byelorussian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally in the times of Russian Civil War it formed as the Western Front, and in April 1924 it was renamed to the Western Military District. In October 1926 it was redesignated the Belorussian Military...
then in April 1952 became commander of armoured and mechanized forces in the Carpathian Military District
Carpathian Military District
The Carpathian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1945 after the conclusion of the Second World War to 1990-91. It became part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1991 and was disbanded by being redesignated the Western Operational Command later in the 1990s.Two...
. Rising to Lieutenant-General of Tank Forces (3.05.1953), he commanded a Tank Army (December 1953 to April 1957) then a mechanized army (from April 1957).
In July 1957 he became First Deputy Commander of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany , also known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany and the Western Group of Forces were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany....
, later being promoted to Colonel-General (18.08.1958). In April 1960 he was appointed Commander of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, being in post in the midst of the Berlin Crisis of 1961
Berlin Crisis of 1961
The Berlin Crisis of 1961 was the last major politico-military European incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of post–World War II Germany. The U.S.S.R...
, when the threat of armed conflict in Europe dramatically escalated. During the crisis, in August 1961, Ivan Konev
Ivan Konev
Ivan Stepanovich Konev , was a Soviet military commander, who led Red Army forces on the Eastern Front during World War II, retook much of Eastern Europe from occupation by the Axis Powers, and helped in the capture of Germany's capital, Berlin....
, Commander in Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, was appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union and Yakubovsky was transferred to the post of his first deputy, while continuing to manage the daily operations of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. After stabilizing the situation in April 1962, Army General Yakubovsky again returned to the post of Commander of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. In January 1965 he was made Commander of the Kiev Military District
Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District was a Russian unit of military-administrative division of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Ukrainian Army, RKKA, and Soviet Armed Forces...
.
On 12 April 1967 he was made First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR (simultaneously with the appointment of Andrei Grechko
Andrei Grechko
Andrei Antonovich Grechko was a Soviet general, Marshal of the Soviet Union and Minister of Defense.-Biography:Born in a small town near Rostov-on-Don, the son of Ukrainian peasants, he joined the Red Army in 1919, where he was a part of the legendary “Budyonny Cavalry”...
as Minister of Defense) and Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ....
, whilst from July that year he contiguously held the post of supreme commander of the forces of the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
.
Analysis
During the Second World War, he was noted for his outstanding personal courage and skill, coming up with non-standard solutions and able to act independently, and was wounded and burned in his tank several times. According to numerous recollections of colleagues, Marshal Yakubovsky was a bright and distinctive personality. In terms of the number of army anecdotes about him, he can perhaps only compete with the commander of the Airborne Forces Army General Vladimir F. Margelov. An implacable opponent of showing off, he was a man of exceptional integrity.Awards
- Twice Hero of the Soviet UnionHero of the Soviet UnionThe 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:...
(10 January 1944, 23 September 1944) - Four awards of the 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...
(10.01.1944, 6.01.1962, 22.02.1968, 6.01.1972) - Four awards of the Order 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...
(21 July 1942, 14 February 1943, 30 August 1944, 21 August 1953) - Two awards of the Order 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...
, 2nd degree (6.04.1945, 31.05.1945) - Order of the Patriotic WarOrder of the Patriotic WarThe Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
, 1st Class (21 August 1943) - Order of the Red StarOrder of the Red StarEstablished on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
(6.11.1947) - Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed ForcesOrder for Service to the Homeland in the Armed ForcesThe Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR also known as Order of Service to Motherland was a USSR military order created on 28 October 1974, making it the first military order created after the end of World War II.According to its statute, the order was awarded for...
, 3rd degree (30 April 1975) - Honorary weapon with the State Emblem of the USSR (22 February 1968)
- USSR Medals
- Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist RepublicHero of the Czechoslovak Socialist RepublicThe title of the Hero of the Czechoslovak Republic was established 1955. The name of the title was changed to Hero of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in 1960...
(28 April 1970) - Foreign orders and medals.
Commemorations
Kiev Higher Tank Engineering College was named after him in 1977 and streets have been named after him in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, 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...
, Fastiv
Fastiv
Fastiv is a city located in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Fastivskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
and his birthplace of Gorki
Gorki
Gorki may refer to:*Gorki, Russia, name of several inhabited localities in Russia*Gorki , originally named "Gorky", Belgian band of Luc De Vos-See also:*Gorki , a station of the Kazan Metro, Kazan, Russia*Gorky...
.
Memoirs
- Земля в огне (Earth on fire); Moscow, 1975;
- За прочный мир на земле (For a lasting peace on earth); Moscow, 1975