Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich life and work. Son of the fatherland. historical injustice. Failure in the Crimea

Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich
4(16).1894–17.10.1949

Marshal Soviet Union

Born in the village of Androniki near Yaroslavl in peasant family. Was an accountant in Petrograd. In 1914 he was an ordinary motorcyclist. Having taken the position of an officer, he took part in battles with the Austro-German armies, had the award crosses of Anna and Stanislav. He joined the Red Army in 1918, took part in the battles against the troops of General N. N. Yudenich, the Poles, and also the Finns. As a reward he had the Order of the Red Banner. AT post-war period Tolbukhin military service led in the headquarters Soviet army. In 1934 he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy. In 1940 he entered the post of general.

During the Great Patriotic War commanded the headquarters of the front, also commanded the army and directly the front. Performed well in Battle of Stalingrad, exercising command of the 57th Army. In the spring of 1943, Tolbukhin headed the Southern Front, and from May 1944 until the end of the war he headed the 4th Ukrainian Front.

The army, under the command of Tolbukhin, managed to defeat the enemy on Miussa and Molochnaya, took part in the liberation of Taganrog and Donbass. In the spring of 1944, they broke into the Crimea and on May 9 liberated Sevastopol. In August 1944, together with the army of R. Ya. Malinovsky, they managed to destroy the South Ukraine army group led by General. Mr. Frizner during the implementation of the Iasi-Kishinev operation. On September 12, 1944, F.I. Tolbukhin received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.

The army under the command of Tolbukhin took part in the liberation of Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Austria. In honor of the victories of this commander, they saluted 34 times in Moscow. Tolbukhin participated in the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945, leading the column of the 3rd Ukrainian front. As a result of constant hostilities, the marshal's health began to deteriorate, and in 1949 Tolbukhin died at the age of 56. Because of this, Bulgaria even declared three days of mourning; the city of Dobrich was renamed to the city of Tolbukhin. In 1965, Tolbukhin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In 1944 he was awarded the title of People's Hero of Yugoslavia, and in 1979 Hero of Yugoslavia. People's Republic Bulgaria. He was buried in Moscow on Red Square.

Marshal F.I. Tolbukhin had:

  • 2 orders of Lenin,
  • Order "Victory" (04/26/1945),
  • 3 Orders of the Red Banner,
  • 2 orders of Suvorov 1st degree,
  • Order of Kutuzov 1st degree,
  • order of the Red Star,
  • a total of 10 orders and 9 medals;
  • as well as 10 foreign awards (including 5 foreign orders).

V.A. Egorshin, Field Marshals and Marshals. M., 2000

Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich

Born on June 4 (June 16), 1894 in the village of Androniki, Yaroslavl Region, in a peasant family, Russian by nationality. In 1905 he graduated from the 3 classes of the parochial school, and in 1907 he graduated from the Ministerial School, in 1910 he studied at a trade school, in 1912 he passed 6 classes of a commercial school as an external student, in 1915 he graduated from the ensign school, in 1919 Mr.. graduated from the school of staff service, in 1927 he took a one-year advanced training courses for senior officers at the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze, after which he took a 3-month advanced training course for senior command personnel in the same place in 1930, in 1934 he studied at the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze.

He began serving in the army under the tsar, from January 1914 to January 1915 he studied at the school of drivers and motorcyclists, after which he was an ordinary motorcyclist for 4 months to April 1915, after graduating from the ensign school from August 1915. until December 1917 he commanded a company and a battalion. In the ranks of the Red Army he served from August 1918 to July 1919 as the military head of the commissariat, in the period from December 1919 to November 1933 he worked in headquarters in various positions from junior assistant chief of staff of the division for operational work to chief corps headquarters. Upon completion of his studies at the operational faculty of the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze from June 1934 to September 1937 was the chief of staff of the corps, and until July 1938 he headed the division.

In 1938, in Tolbukhin's attestation, he was characterized as a person who loves to work at the headquarters, who has relevant experience in organizational activities of operational-tactical training. Persistently implements all his decisions. In subsequent work, Tolbukhin needed to focus his attention on increasing his own control at work, as well as on a greater manifestation of initiative. In the period from July 1938 to August 1941, F. I. Tolbukhin held the post of chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District. During the Great Patriotic War from August 1941 to March 1942 Tolbukhin was the chief of staff of the Crimean Front, in May-June 1942 he was deputy commander of the Stalingrad military district, until March 1943. commanded the 57th Army. Colonel-General A. I. Eremenko, heading the troops of the troops of the Stalingrad Front, wrote in a combat description about Tolbukhin that the 57th Army did not carry out large-scale operations, therefore I cannot give a full description of this commander. The order in the army, in principle, is good. Tolbukhin himself is an experienced general who copes well with the duties of an army commander, but can overestimate the enemy, as well as his power. Until May 1944, F. I. Tolbukhin led the troops of the 4th Ukrainian Front, from May 1944 to July 1945 he led the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. At the end of the war, from July 1945 to January 1947, he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Group of Forces, starting from January 1947, he led the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District.

He had the following military ranks: division commander - was awarded to him on July 15, 1938, major general from June 4, 1940, lieutenant general from January 19, 1943, colonel general was awarded on April 28, 1943, army general from 21 September 1943, Marshal of the Soviet Union from September 12, 1944. He was a member of the CPSU since 1938, as well as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 2nd convocation. He died on October 17, 1949. He was buried in Moscow on Red Square.


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Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin(June 16, 1894, Androniki village, Yaroslavl province, Russian Empire - October 17, 1949, Moscow) - Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1944), Hero of the Soviet Union (1965 - posthumously). Cavalier of the Order of Victory (1945). People's Hero of Yugoslavia (1945), Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1979 - posthumously).

Biography

In the summer of 1918 - the military commissar of the Sandyrevskaya volost of the Yaroslavl province.

In 1919 he graduated from the staff service school and participated in the civil war, being a junior assistant to the chief of staff of a rifle division for operational work in the Northern and Western fronts. Then he married, the marriage with Ekaterina Ivanovna lasted a year, left a daughter, Tatyana (married Vrublevskaya).

In 1921 he participated in the suppression of the Kronstadt uprising, and then in military operations against the White Finns in Karelia.

He married in 1923 in Novgorod to Tamara Evgenievna Bobyleva, who came from a noble family. The son died in infancy.

He graduated from advanced training courses for senior command personnel in 1927 and in 1930, in 1934 - the Frunze Military Academy. Held positions: chief of staff of a rifle division, from June 1934 - chief of staff rifle corps, from September 1937 - commander of a rifle division in Ukraine. In July 1938 - August 1941, F.I. Tolbukhin - Chief of Staff of the Transcaucasian Military District. In June 1940, with the introduction of general ranks in the Red Army, he was awarded the military rank of major general.

Interwar period

  • Chief of Staff of the Novgorod Province Troops (since August 1921)
  • Chief of Staff of the 56th Rifle Division (since September 1921)
  • Chief operational management Headquarters of the troops of the Karelian region (since December 1921)
  • vrid chief of staff (since March 1922)
  • Chief of Staff (since June 1922) of the 56th Infantry Division
  • commander (trainee) of the 167th rifle regiment(since January 1929)
  • Chief of Staff of the 1st Rifle Corps (since November 1930)
  • Chief of Staff of the 19th Rifle Corps (since January 1935)
  • commander of the 72nd Infantry Division (since October 1937)
  • Chief of Staff of the ZakVO (since July 1938)
  • With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War - in the same position.

The Great Patriotic War

  • August-December 1941: Chief of Staff of the Transcaucasian Front.
  • December 1941 - January 1942: Chief of Staff of the Caucasian Front
  • January-March 1942: Chief of Staff of the Crimean Front.
  • May-July 1942: Deputy Commander of the Stalingrad Military District;
  • July 1942: February: Commander of the troops of the 57th Army on the Stalingrad Front;
  • February 1943 - March: Commander of the 68th Army on the North-Western Front. Participated in the Staraya Russian operation in March 1943.
  • January 19, 1943 - awarded the title " Lieutenant General";
  • April 28, 1943 - awarded the rank of "Colonel General";
  • September 21, 1943 - awarded the title of "general of the army".

From March 1943, F. I. Tolbukhin commanded the troops of the Southern (reformed on October 20, 1943 into the 4th Ukrainian Front) and from May 1944 - the 3rd Ukrainian Fronts. Since September 12, 1944 - Marshal of the Soviet Union. He led the troops of the army in the Battle of Stalingrad, participated in the liberation of Yugoslavia from the Nazi invaders and the defeat of the enemy in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria. From September 1944 - Chairman of the Allied Control Commission in Bulgaria. On July 19, 1945, F. I. Tolbukhin, on behalf of the Soviet government, presented the Order of Victory No. 16 to the King of Romania, Mihai I.

The largest operations of the fronts under the command of F. I. Tolbukhin

  • Miusskaya operation , July - August . The troops of the front tried to break through the Mius Front, but they were not successful and were forced, leaving the occupied bridgehead, to retreat to their original positions. However, having pinned down the enemy troops in heavy battles, they deprived him of the opportunity to transfer reserves from Mius to the area of ​​the Battle of Kursk.
  • Donbass operation, August - September 1943. The troops of the front, together with the Southwestern Front, traveled over 300 kilometers to the west in a month and a half of fighting, completely liberating the Donbass.
  • Melitopol operation, September - November 1943. Front troops broke through a pre-prepared line of defense along the Molochnaya River, advanced up to 320 kilometers, cut off enemy troops in the Crimea and occupied bridgeheads for its subsequent assault.
  • Crimean operation , April - May 1944 . The troops of the front broke into the Crimea from the north, together with the Separate Primorsky Army, defeated the 17th army of the enemy and liberated the Crimea.
  • Iasi-Kishinev operation, August 1944. The troops of the front, together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, defeated the Southern Ukraine Army Group, bringing down the entire southern flank of the Soviet-German front. Romania was withdrawn from the war on the side of Germany and entered the war on the side of the anti-Hitler coalition.
  • Bucharest-Arad operation, September 1944. The remnants of the Army Group "Southern Ukraine" were completely destroyed, the territory of Romania was completely liberated with heavy losses for the enemy.
  • Belgrade operation, October 1944. Front troops, together with units of the Yugoslav and Bulgarian armies, liberated the eastern regions of Yugoslavia and its capital Belgrade, creating conditions for the complete liberation of the country.
  • Apatin-Kaposvar operation, November - December 1944. The troops of the front crossed the Danube, defeated the 2nd Hungarian Army and created the conditions for the encirclement of Budapest.
  • Budapest operation, December 1944 - February 1945. The troops of the front, together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, surrounded and destroyed the enemy grouping in Budapest with significant losses, crushing his significant forces west of the city.
  • Balaton defensive operation, March 1945. The troops of the front repelled the last major offensive of the Wehrmacht in the war, bleeding its strike force.
  • Vienna operation, March - April 1945. The troops of the front, together with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, defeated Army Group South, completing the liberation of the territory of Hungary and freeing most of Austria.
  • Graz-Amstetten Offensive, April 15 - May 9, 1945. Western and central Austria were liberated, and the surrender of the opposing German troops was accepted.

Post-war service

After the war, Marshal F. I. Tolbukhin - Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Group of Forces on the territory of Romania and Bulgaria, created to counter Turkey's likely military operations in the Balkans (disbanded in February 1947). From January 1947 - Commander of the Transcaucasian Military District. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR II convocation (1946-1949).

He died on October 17, 1949 in Moscow from diabetes. He was cremated, the urn with the ashes was buried in the Kremlin wall on Red Square.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 7, 1965, the outstanding military leader Marshal of the Soviet Union Tolbukhin Fedor Ivanovich was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Estimates of colleagues

  • Marshal of the Soviet Union S. S. Biryuzov:

Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin, according to my then ideas, was already elderly, that is, at the age of about 50 years. Tall, corpulent, with large but pleasant features, he gave the impression of a very kind person. Subsequently, I had the opportunity to finally be convinced of this, as well as in another quality that was very characteristic of Tolbukhin - his outward equanimity and calmness. I don't remember a single time when he flared up. And it is not surprising, therefore, that Fyodor Ivanovich frankly expressed his antipathy for overly ardent people.

  • General I. K. Morozov:

From the very beginning of its actions to cover Stalingrad from the south and until going on the offensive on November 20, 1942, the 57th Army, without noise, haste, thoughtfully and in an organized manner, conducted defensive and private offensive battles and operations. We called it an army of order and organization and loved its command for its exceptionally attentive and thrifty attitude towards people, towards soldiers, no matter what rank they were.

  • Marshal of the Soviet Union A. M. Vasilevsky:

During the war years such qualities of Tolbukhin as the impeccable execution of call of duty, personal courage, military talent, sincere attitude towards subordinates. I am not talking about this from other people's words, but from personal communication with him during my stay in his troops near Stalingrad, in the Donbass, on the Left-Bank Ukraine and in the Crimea ...
After the war, F. I. Tolbukhin, holding responsible positions and being very sick, continued to successfully fulfill his duties. I will never forget how Fedor, lying in a hospital bed, literally a few minutes before his death, assured that he would go to work tomorrow.

Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasilevsky A.M. The matter of the whole life. Second edition, supplemented. - M: Political Literature Publishing House, 1975. P.375.

  • Army General S. M. Shtemenko:

Fedor Ivanovich Tolbukhin came to command posts from headquarters work. ... Personally, I remember F.I. Tolbukhin as a very kind person and, perhaps, the most modest of all the commanders of the fronts. The “staff bone” remained with him for life and sometimes prevailed over the command one. He always gave his subordinates the opportunity to show broad initiative.

Born June 16, 1894 in the village of Androniki, Yaroslavl province - Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously), folk hero Yugoslavia, Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (posthumously), Commander of the Order of Victory.

Biography

According to the relatives, the family name was the Kholnovs, but in 1815-1825, when one of the Kholnovs was the burgomaster of the landowner, he gave him the noble surname Tolbukhin - perhaps in order to distinguish him from the other Kholnovs. Tolbukhin was the surname of a friend of this landowner, a Yaroslavl nobleman.

He graduated from the parochial school and Davydkovskaya zemstvo school. After the death of his father, he was taken up with other children by his brothers, St. Petersburg merchants. In 1912 he graduated from the St. Petersburg Commercial School and worked as an accountant in St. Petersburg.

With the outbreak of the First World War, he was drafted into the army, served as a motorcycle soldier, then sent to study at the ensign school. In 1915 he was sent to the front. He commanded a company, a battalion on the Southwestern Front and was awarded the Orders of St. Anna and St. Stanislav for military distinctions. After the February Revolution, he was elected chairman of the regimental committee. He finished the war with the rank of captain, in 1918 he was demobilized.

Soon he joined the Red Army. From August 1918 - military instructor of the military commissariat. In 1919 he graduated from the staff service school and participated in the civil war, being a junior assistant to the chief of staff of a rifle division for operational work on the Northern and Western fronts. Then he married, the marriage with Ekaterina Ivanovna lasted a year, left a daughter, Tatyana (married Vrublevskaya).

In 1921 he participated in the suppression Kronstadt uprising, and then in military operations against the White Finns in Karelia.

He married in 1923 in Novgorod Bobyleva Tamara Evgenievna, she was from the nobility. There were no children in this marriage.

He graduated from advanced training courses for senior officers in 1927 and in 1930, in 1934 - the Frunze Military Academy. He held the posts of chief of staff of a rifle division, from June 1934 - chief of staff of a rifle corps. From September 1937 - commander of a rifle division in Ukraine. In July 1938-August 1941, F. I. Tolbukhin was chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District. In June 1940, with the introduction of general ranks in the Red Army, he was awarded the military rank of major general.

The Great Patriotic War

  • August - December 1941: Chief of Staff of the Transcaucasian Front
  • December 1941 - January 1942: Chief of Staff of the Caucasian Front
  • January - March 1942: Chief of Staff of the Crimean Front
  • May - July 1942: Deputy Commander of the Stalingrad Military District,
  • July 1942 - February 1943: Commander of the 57th Army on the Stalingrad Front,
  • February 1943 - March 1943: Commander of the 68th Army on Northwestern Front. Participated in the Staraya Russian operation in March 1943.
  • January 19, 1943 - awarded the title of Lieutenant General,
  • April 28, 1943 - awarded the rank of "Colonel General"
  • On September 21, 1943, he was awarded the title of General of the Army.

From March 1943, F. I. Tolbukhin commanded the troops of the Southern (transformed on October 20, 1943 into the 4th Ukrainian Front) and from May 1944 - the 3rd Ukrainian Fronts. Since September 12, 1944 - Marshal of the Soviet Union. Led the army troops in the Battle of Stalingrad, participated in the liberation from fascist invaders Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria. Since September 1944 - Chairman of the Allied Control Commission in Bulgaria.

After the war, Marshal F. I. Tolbukhin was commander-in-chief of the Southern Group of Forces on the territory of Romania and Bulgaria, created for probable military operations in the Balkans (disbanded in February 1947). From January 1947 - Commander of the Transcaucasian Military District. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR II convocation (1946-1949).

He died on October 17, 1949 in Moscow. He was cremated, the ashes were placed in an urn in the Kremlin wall on Red Square.

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 7, 1965 outstanding commander Marshal of the Soviet Union Fedor Ivanovich Tolbukhin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Awards

  • Hero of the Soviet Union (05/07/1965, posthumously). Fedor Tolbukhin is the only Marshal of the Soviet Union who was awarded this title posthumously.
  • Order "Victory" (No. 9 - 04/26/1945)
  • Two Orders of Lenin (03/19/1944, 02/21/1945)
  • Three Orders of the Red Banner (10/18/1922, 11/3/1944)
  • Two orders of Suvorov, 1st degree (01/28/1943, 05/16/1944)
  • Order of Kutuzov 1st class (09/17/1943)
  • Order of the Red Star (02/22/1938)
  • Order of Saint Anne
  • Order of Saint Stanislaus
  • People's Hero of Yugoslavia (31 May 1945
  • Order "Hungarian Freedom"
  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Hungarian Republic
  • Foreign orders and medals
  • Honorary Citizen of Sofia and Belgrade
  • Badge of Honor "To the Honorable Warrior of the Karelian Front"

Memory

  • In honor of F. I. Tolbukhin, an avenue and a bridge in Yaroslavl, a square and a street in Odessa, Vinnitsa, streets in Belgrade, Volgograd, Kazan, Znamensk, Kaliningrad, Chisinau, Kirovograd, Konotop, Krasnodar, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Novocherkassk are named , Perm, Rybinsk, Kharkov, Salsk, Simferopol, Izmail, Ishimbay, Taganrog, Ulyanovsk, Usolye-Sibirsky, Irkutsk region, Krasnodar, Stakhanov, Penza, Kupyansk, the village of Yablonovsky, Takhtamukaysky district, r. Adygeya and boulevard in Minsk.
  • In Budapest, in honor of the Soviet marshal who led the troops that stormed this city, a segment of the Small Ring (Kishkerut connecting Dimitrov Square with Kalvin Square) is called Tolbukhin kerut.
  • Republic of Kazakhstan North-Kazakhstan region Ualikhanovskiy district state farm named after Tolbukhino until April 2003. Currently, the village of Telzhan.

Fedor Tolbukhin - army officer Russian Empire and Marshal of the Soviet Union.

He took part in several wars, including the First and Second World Wars, the Civil War, the Great Patriotic War.

Fedor Tolbukhin is widely known outside the countries of the former Soviet Union, since he took an active part in the liberation from German occupation of the territory of such states as:

  • Austria;
  • Hungary;
  • Bulgaria;
  • Romania;
  • Yugoslavia.

He has many awards and titles, streets and squares in many cities of Russia and other countries are named after him. Some awards were already awarded posthumously.

Biography of F. Tolbukhin: the period of tsarist Russia

Fedor Ivanovich is a famous military leader from a large family that lived in the village of Androniki, in the Danilovsky district of the Yaroslavl province. It was here that Fedor Tolbukhin was born on June 3 (17), 1894.

The boy studied at the parochial school in his native village, and then entered zemstvo school located in the neighboring village of Davydkovo. Training continued in northern capital- Petersburg, where his older brother moved him after the death of his father.

Fedor graduated from the following educational institutions: the Trade School and the Commercial School. Engaging in commercial business did not attract him, although he worked for several years in one trading partnership.

In 1914, Tolbukhin was drafted into the army, and he was immediately sent to defend his homeland at the front. At this time the first World War. Availability high education allowed the guy to get into the motorcycle company. He fought on the northwestern front, where he received a promotion.

Noticing a smart soldier, the command decided to send him to an officer school, which was located in the city of Oranienbaum. Here he was given the rank of ensign, and he was sent to the southwestern front to command a company. Later entrusted to the battalion.

During the hostilities, Tolbukhin was wounded twice, and 2 times he was shell-shocked. For special distinctions in front of his homeland, the young officer was awarded the rank of staff captain, as well as two orders - Stanislav and Anna.

The soldiers loved and respected Tolbukhin, so with the beginning of the revolution in Russia, he was offered to head the regimental committee. After that, he was responsible for carrying out the demobilization of the unit, received a dismissal from the army himself.

The civil war of 1918, and again Tolbukhin takes part in hostilities. First, he created a military commissariat, recruiting people into the army. Then he was sent to study at the headquarters school, and fight on different fronts of the war.

During 1919-1921. He took part in many battles, among which the most significant were:

  • Battle for Warsaw;
  • Suppression of the uprising in Kronstadt;
  • The struggle with the Finns for the Karelian peninsula.

In the interwar period, he took refresher courses several times, where he studied at the highest command staff. Before World War II, he became Chief of Staff of the Army of the Transcaucasian Military District, and in 1940 he was promoted to Major General. After the district was transformed into a front, Tolbukhin was sent with troops to occupy Iran, with which his servicemen did an excellent job.

Staff work was continued in 1941-1942, when he developed and successfully implemented the operation to liberate the Kerch Peninsula. The operation, which was called the Kerch-Feodosiya, was successful from the very beginning, but then stalled. Fyodor Ivanovich was removed from his post, replacing him with a more experienced general P. Vechny.

Tolbukhin was transferred briefly to the Stalingrad district, and then was appointed to command the 57th army, which took part in the liberation of Stalingrad. After Tolbukhin's army destroyed a rather large group of Germans, the commander was awarded the Order of Suvorov of the first degree and given the next rank - lieutenant general.

He continued his service on the northwestern front, where during February and March 1943 he commanded troops, and then was transferred to the southern front and received a promotion to colonel general. It is with this period that the greatest victories in the Great Patriotic War are associated:

Then he was appointed to the command of the Third Ukrainian Front, after which he began planning the Iasi-Kishinev operation. The successful liberation of Moldova and the offensive against Romania made it possible to arrest the dictator Antonescu, and ensure the transition of Romania to the side of the allies.

Hero of Europe

After that, the offensive of the troops under the command of Tolbukhin on the European continent continued. After Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Hungary were liberated, successful assaults on Belgrade, Budapest and Vienna were carried out. During the assault on the latter, the general gave the order not to use heavy artillery, so as not to damage the ancient architecture.

These military operations are considered masterpieces of the military career of an outstanding military leader, as well as military art. Marshal managed to drive the Germans out of Hungary, which was very important for the Germans. Each operation was very well thought out, differing only in the nature of the conduct. For example, Budapest and Vienna were offensive, Balaton - defensive.

Leading the Third Ukrainian Front, Tolbukhin, like his army, became heroes and champions in Europe in terms of the number of liberated countries, cities, and capitals.

last years of life

During the Victory Parade, the army of the commander took part in the procession of troops along with his general. Later, Fedor Ivanovich was appointed to command the Southern Group of Forces, and in 1947 he took over the Transcaucasian Military District, which he ruled until his death in 1949.

Tolbukhin died on 10/17/1949, was buried in Red Square. After his death, he received his last title - Hero of the Soviet Union.

Personal life

While still studying at the headquarters school, he married for the first time in 1919, and a year later they divorced, during the marriage a daughter appeared, who was named Tatyana. Three years later, Tolbukhin married again to Tamara Bobyleva, who came from noble family. Later, Tolbukhina was remembered more than once, especially during her appointment to senior command positions. The son, who appeared to the couple, did not live long, and died as an infant.

  • For special services to the Bulgarian people, the city of Dobrich was renamed in 1945 to Tolbukhin. And only in 1991 the former name was returned back.
  • The life of Theodor Kellner and King Mihai was connected with the fate of the general. The first was a retired Austrian general, and then became mayor of Vienna, and later the 1st President of Austria. The Romanian King Mihai Tolbukhin presented the Order of Victory, although he was later expelled from his native country and deprived of the throne.
  • For some time, a monument to the marshal stood in the Bulgarian capital, but after the overthrow of communism, the monument was dismantled. And then they were transferred to Tutaev, in the Yaroslavl region.

Born on June 16, 1894 in the village of Androniki, Danilovsky district, Yaroslavl province, in the family of a middle peasant. Father - Ivan Ilyich. Mother - Anna Grigorievna.


After graduating from a rural parochial school, Fedor showed a zeal for further education. He entered the zemstvo school, and then in the St. Petersburg commercial. After graduating from it, from 1912 he worked as a clerk-calculator.

In 1914, as a volunteer, he joined the tsarist army. Initially he served as a private - a motorcyclist in the autorot. In 1915 he graduated from the Oranienbaum ensign school. He fought against the Kaiser troops, commanded a company, a battalion. He was awarded the military rank of staff captain, two officer orders - Anna and Stanislav.

After the February Revolution of 1917, he was elected chairman of the regimental committee. In August 1918 he joined the Red Army as a military specialist. In 1919 he graduated from the staff service school. During civil war He was the military head of the Sadyrevsky and Shagotsky volost commissariats of the Yaroslavl province, assistant chief of staff and division chief of staff, head of the operational department of the army headquarters, participated in battles against white troops on the Northern and Western fronts. After the end of the Civil War, he served as chief of staff of a rifle division, corps. In 1930 he graduated from the advanced training courses for commanding staff, and in 1934 - from the MV Frunze Military Academy. Since September 1937 - commander of a rifle division, and since July 1938 - chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District. In June 1940 he was promoted to major general. When the issue of appointing Fyodor Ivanovich to the post of chief of staff of the district was being decided, the chief of the General Staff B. M. Shaposhnikov introduced him to I. V. Stalin. They say that, looking around from the side of the overweight brigade commander, who was tied with belts, the general secretary approached him almost closely and, fixing a piercing look with a squint, asked harshly:

What happens, Comrade Tolbukhin, we served the tsar-father, and now we serve the Soviet government?

He served Russia, Comrade Stalin,” the brigade commander replied with dignity.

To what ranks did the tsar rise, and with what awards did he grant you? Stalin asked ironically and conciliatoryly.

To staff captain. And he was awarded two orders - Anna and Stanislav.

So, a staff captain with two royal orders ... besides, they are married to a countess ...

Once again looking over the plump figure of the interlocutor and adjusting his mustache with the mouthpiece of the pipe, Stalin asked: - When and for what did you receive the Order of the Red Banner?

In 1922, Comrade Stalin. For the battles with the White Poles ...

Discouraged by the general secretary's not very kind treatment and the permission "you can be free," the brigade commander thought about the possible consequences of the performance that had taken place. However, B. M. Shaposhnikov, who followed after a short time, congratulated him with a smile on the new appointment and Stalin's recommendation "to present Comrade Tolbukhin for military deeds to be awarded the Order of the Red Star."

Since then and during the Great Patriotic War, Fedor Ivanovich devoted all his experience and outstanding talent to fulfilling duties in very high and responsible staff and command positions. The service path of the military leader was cloudless. But success, in the end, came invariably thanks to his diligence and business thoroughness, constant demands on himself and his subordinates, and exceptionally careful attitude towards people.

From 1941 to 1942, General Tolbukhin served as chief of staff of the Transcaucasian, Caucasian and Crimean fronts. In March 1942, for the failures of the offensive operations undertaken by the Crimean Front, he was relieved of the post of chief of staff of this front and transferred to the post of deputy commander of the troops of the Stalingrad district. From July 1942, he commanded the 57th Army, which, defending the southern approaches to Stalingrad, did not let the 4th Wehrmacht Panzer Army to the city, and then participated in the dismemberment and destruction of the enemy group surrounded on the Volga. On January 19, 1943, the commander was awarded the rank of lieutenant general.

After a short command of the 68th Army on the North-Western Front in March 1943, F. I. Tolbukhin was appointed commander of the Southern Front. From that time until the end of the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the fronts operating on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front: from October 1943 - the 4th Ukrainian, from May 1944 until the end of the war - the 3rd Ukrainian. The first of the operations he carried out as front commander was the Miusskaya offensive of 1943, which had the goal of forging, and under favorable conditions, in cooperation with southwestern front to defeat the Donbass grouping of the enemy, to prevent the transfer of its forces to the area of ​​the Kursk salient, where the decisive battles were going on.

The troops of the Southern Front, having launched an offensive on July 17, wedged into the defenses of the German 6th Army (re-formed instead of destroyed near Stalingrad) to a depth of 5-6 km and created a bridgehead on the Mius River near Stepanovka and Marinovka. In order to prevent the complete collapse of their so-called "Mius Front", which covered the Donbass, German command was forced to weaken the grouping near Kharkov, transferring from there against Tolbukhin's troops three of their best tank divisions. In order to avoid unjustified losses due to a powerful enemy counterattack, by order of the Headquarters, the troops of the front were withdrawn to their original position by August 2, and the Germans stormed virtually empty places.

On the whole, the Headquarters positively assessed the results of the operation, as a result of which it was possible not only to tie up the enemy grouping in the Donbass, but also to divert its forces from Kharkov. The front commander, however, came to the conclusion that more could have been achieved if the factor of operational and tactical surprise had not been lost due to the extremely short time frame for preparing the offensive. He also believed that the second echelon of the front was prematurely brought into battle, and it was not possible to maintain superiority in forces and in the direction of the main attack due to the rapid approach of enemy reserves. Critical analysis produced instructive lessons that were taken into account in subsequent operations.

In the next - Donbass - operation, the 5th shock army, operating in the direction of the main attack, broke through the enemy defenses and deepened on the first day by 10 km. In order to prevent a slowdown in the pace of the offensive, F.I. Tolbukhin introduced the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps into the breakthrough zone, which by the end of the next day moved west another 20 km and crossed the Krynka River.

Developing the offensive on Amvrosievka, the troops divided the 6th German army into two parts. Then F.I. Tolbukhin undertook an unprecedentedly daring maneuver by the forces of the 4th Guards Cavalry Corps. Sharply turned from the Amvrosievka area to the south, during the night of August 27, he went deep into the enemy defenses for 50 km. On August 30, the cavalrymen, together with the approaching units of the 4th mechanized corps, utterly defeated the Taganrog group of Germans with the assistance of the Azov military flotilla. Their 6th Army faced the threat of a "new Stalingrad". The commander of Army Group South, Field Marshal E. Manstein, obtained Hitler's consent to withdraw it and other forces to the previously prepared positions of the Eastern Wall. Tolbukhin's troops thwarted their planned withdrawal. On September 8, 1943, they liberated Stalino (Donetsk), and on September 21 they reached the most solid section of the Eastern Wall - the Molochnaya River.

The commander understood that the units, which had been greatly thinned in the offensive since July 17, needed at least a short rest. But VGK rate, concerned that the enemy would further strengthen the defense, and our troops would lose the offensive breakthrough, demanded to continue the onslaught. On September 26, 1943, the front began the Melitopol operation. Main blow was inflicted north of Melitopol in the general direction of Mikhailovka, Vesele by the forces of the 5th shock, 44th, 2nd guards and 51st armies. In the same direction, it was planned to use the 19th and 11th tank and 4th guards cavalry corps. An auxiliary strike was delivered from the area south of Melitopol by the forces of the 28th Army, bypassing the city from the southwest.

The enemy managed to strongly fortify himself and put up fierce resistance in both directions. The attacking rifle units suffered heavy losses. The tank and cavalry corps brought into battle did not turn the tide. Tolbukhin was aware of the need for extraordinary actions. Upon learning that the commander of the 6th by the German army Colonel General Holdit transferred significant forces from the southern sector to the north against the main grouping of the front, he advanced into the zone of the 28th Army, which had achieved some success south of Melitopol, the tank and cavalry corps, and then the 51st Army. The unexpected powerful onslaught of these forces shocked the enemy. After tense nine-day battles, Melitopol was taken on October 23.

The commander realized that an operational maneuver was his smashing sword in the fight against a strong and cunning enemy. He resorts to it more and more boldly, honing his skills and achieving more and more success. The armies of the right wing of the front did not manage to break the enemy's stubbornness in his 12-km along the front and 25-km in depth bridgehead on the Left Bank south of Nikopol between Kamenka and Bolshaya Lepetikha. The command of the Wehrmacht assigned big hopes to this bridgehead, which closed the access of Soviet troops to the important Nikopol-Krivoy Rog region and at the same time allowed it to deliver a mortal blow to the rear of Tolbukhin's troops, who had reached the Crimea. Realizing this threat, the front commander undertook a new effective maneuver. He transferred the 28th Army, as well as a significant amount of artillery and aviation, from the south to the northern sector. And he did it just in time. The grouping of the Nazis, who nevertheless risked striking from north to south, met a worthy rebuff.

On October 20, 1943, the front was renamed the 4th Ukrainian. During the next - Nikopol-Krivoy Rog - operation, carried out from January 30 to February 29, 1944, together with the 3rd Ukrainian Front, three right-flank armies of the 4th Ukrainian Front: 3rd Guards, 5th shock and 28th - by February 8, the Germans were completely driven out of the bridgehead, they crossed the Dnieper in the area of ​​​​Malaya Lepetikha and, together with the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, liberated Nikopol.

F. I. Tolbukhin skillfully maneuvered forces and means in the operation to liberate the Crimea. When the armies of the first echelon, which had created a bridgehead behind Perekop and on the Sivash in advance, crushed the first defensive line of the enemy, the front commander, seizing the turning point, on the morning of April 11, 1944, introduced the 19th tank corps into the breakthrough, which immediately captured Dzhankoy. The enemy, being under the threat of encirclement, fled from the Perekop positions, as well as from the Kerch Peninsula, where the Separate Primorsky Army launched an offensive. In order to break into Simferopol on the shoulders of the enemy, Fedor Ivanovich singled out a powerful mobile group, which included, in addition to the 19th Panzer Corps, also rifle division planted on vehicles, and an anti-tank artillery brigade equipped with regular vehicles.

On April 13, a victorious banner is hoisted over Simferopol. On May 9, the city of Russian glory, Sevastopol, was cleared of the enemy, and three days later, the remnants of the entire Crimean group of the enemy capitulated at Cape Chersonese.

The brilliant victory brought double satisfaction to the commander. Indeed, in May 1942, the Crimean Front, of which he was then chief of staff, was actually defeated by the Germans on the Kerch Peninsula. Since then, that catastrophe has been a thorn in my heart. Being on the southernmost wing of the strategic front, Fedor Ivanovich was afraid of only one thing - that he would again be transferred to another direction. He cherished the dream to wash away the stain of involvement in the past failure, to return to the state the lands of ancient Taurida, sprinkled with the blood of generations of Russians. In the preparation of this case, he truly put his whole soul, all his outstanding talent and skillfully brought it to a glorious conclusion.

A significant milestone in the activities of the commander was the Iasi-Chisinau operation, in which he led the 3rd Ukrainian Front. The operation was carried out jointly with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and in cooperation with Black Sea Fleet and the Danube military flotilla.

Having thoroughly studied the situation, General of the Army F.I. Tolbukhin came to the conclusion that it was necessary to deliver the main blow in this operation from the Kitskansky bridgehead on the Dniester, which was not very convenient in many respects, and not in the Chisinau direction, as recommended by the Headquarters. He managed to defend his point of view. Having misled the enemy with a series of camouflage measures, he concentrated powerful forces near Kitskan and ensured that even on the second day after the start of the operation, the commander of the opposing Army Group South Ukraine, Colonel-General G. Frisner, was still expecting the main attack of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in the Chisinau direction, he kept the bulk of the forces of the Dumitrescu army group and his reserves there.

On September 8, 1944, the 3rd Ukrainian Front entered Bulgaria with three armies in order to expel the remnants of German troops from this country and create the prerequisites for their defeat in the territory of Yugoslavia, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Having started bloodlessly, this operation actually ended bloodlessly on the second day. In connection with the transfer of power in Bulgaria to the government of the Fatherland Front and its declaration of war on Germany, the Stavka ordered, on the evening of September 9, to stop the operation and stop the troops on the lines reached. Then, at the request of the government of the Fatherland Front Soviet troops, having made a 500-km march, they reached the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border. Tolbukhin again carried out an operational maneuver, brought his troops into interaction with the Bulgarian army. On September 12, 1944, he was awarded the highest military rank - Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Marshal Tolbukhin - the first of the country's commanders - had the extraordinary task of conducting an operation with coalition forces in the vast expanse of the Balkans. In the period from September 28 to October 20, 1944, his troops, in cooperation with the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, with the participation of the troops of the Fatherland Front of Bulgaria, carried out the Belgrade operation, liberated Belgrade and most of Serbia, and then joined in carrying out, together with the 2nd Ukrainian Front, the Budapest operations. The armies of the 3rd Ukrainian, having overcome the stubborn resistance of the enemy, went beyond the Danube to the lakes Balaton and Velence. On December 20, they broke through the fortifications of the Margarita line southwest of the Hungarian capital. The main forces created an external encirclement front, and part of the forces, uniting in the Esztergom area with the troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, closed the encirclement of the enemy in Budapest itself.

Hitler once again gave firm assurances that he would help rescue the encircled. The commander of the "South" group, Colonel-General G. Frisner, having received additional forces for this, boastfully promised "to bathe Tolbukhin in the Danube." But this turned out to be an empty threat ... On February 13, a specially created group, which included formations of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts, took Budapest.

The Balaton defensive operation became a serious test of the commander's maturity. The leadership of the Reich did not accept the failure of their plans in Hungary. Having transferred the 6th SS Panzer Army from the West, equipped with the latest types of tanks, concentrating three powerful groups against the 3rd Ukrainian Front, in early March 1945 it launched attacks from the area south of Lake Balaton to Kaposvar and from the Donji Mikholyats area to the north. The strongest blow was dealt on the afternoon of March 6 between the lakes Velence and Balaton, where in some areas up to 50-60 tanks went on the offensive per 1 km of the front.

Tolbukhin countered powerful enemy tank groups with a fairly developed defense 25-50 km deep. As a result of ten days of defensive battles, heavy losses were inflicted on the enemy. Up to 500 of his tanks and assault guns were destroyed. Due to the bold maneuver of the reserves, powerful barriers were created on the breakthrough sites, in some cases up to 160-170 guns per 1 km of the front. On March 15, the enemy is forced to stop attacking.

It is significant that, having won a convincing victory in the defensive operation, the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front left considerable forces unused, saving them for the final - the Vienna offensive operation, which also did not go without a bold operational maneuver. In an effort to save Vienna from destruction, Tolbukhin plans to force the Nazis out of it by a roundabout compressive maneuver. And it succeeds. April 13, the capital of Austria became free. Difficult victories achieved in the Balaton Defensive and Vienna offensive operations, crown the outstanding military activity of Marshal Tolbukhin.

In the memory of colleagues and subordinates, such remarkable features of this valiant son of Russia as loyalty to duty and boundless devotion to the Motherland, conscientiousness and hard work were imprinted. For the successful leadership of the troops, his extensive experience in operational work, a deep understanding of its essence and importance, were of no small importance. In terms of the ability to rely on his headquarters, to make the most of its capabilities, one can hardly find an equal to Fyodor Ivanovich among the commanders of the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Democracy of the boss Everyday life, when developing a decision for the operation, was combined with his firmness and perseverance in achieving the goal.

Of all the front commanders, he was perhaps the most modest, unpretentious in personal terms, tolerant and attentive to his subordinates. He was distinguished by high general level culture, concern for the timely and complete material supply of troops, the desire to crush the enemy primarily with artillery and aircraft, if possible not to throw troops into the attack when enemy firing points have not yet been destroyed or reliably suppressed, to achieve victory with little bloodshed.

On June 24, 1945, Marshal of the Soviet Union F.I. Tolbukhin led the combined regiment of the 3rd Ukrainian Front at the Victory Parade. From July 1945 to January 1947, he commanded the Southern Group of Forces, and then the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District. On October 17, 1949, the commander died. His merits have been awarded the highest military Order of Victory, two Orders of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of Suvorov I degree, the Order of Kutuzov I degree, the Red Star, and many other domestic and foreign awards. In 1965 he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In Moscow, on Samotechnaya Square, a monument was erected to F.I. Tolbukhin.