Alexander Gorbatov: the wayward General, who endured Stalin

Heroes 30/11/19 Alexander Gorbatov: the wayward General, who endured Stalin

This phrase, attributed to Generalissimo Joseph Stalin, the General of the army Aleksandr Gorbatov, held through the millstones of repressions. He was an “enemy of the people”, and the 16-time noted by orders of the Supreme Commander.

what was General

Alexander Gorbatov in his memoirs, “Years of war”, according to historians, was one of the first in Soviet historiography talked publicly about repression 30-ies. The commander of the cavalry units of the red army Gorbatova she was arrested twice, in 1937 and 1938.

As he recalled the General in the interrogation, he was beaten so badly, that that the camera had been placed on a stretcher, defendant could not move independently. In this way, Gorbatov was trying to get evidence on other suspects.

But the General, accused of links with “counter-revolutionary group”, no one agreed and told investigators: “Better to die than to slander myself and others.” About two years before the beginning of the great Patriotic war, Gorbatov held in the Kolyma camps and was liberated in the spring of 1941 with the removal of all charges against him.

Who voiced the legendary phrase

the Soviet commander of the Second World Alexander Gorbatov left the memories of many generals of the great Patriotic war. In his (repeatedly editable later) “Memories and reflections” Marshal Georgy Zhukov wrote that the war, as commander of the 3rd army of the Bryansk front from June 1943 until the end of the war was harsh and direct in their judgments, not fawned over his superiors. According to the archives, more than 80 soldiers and officers of the army Gorbatov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (the Lieutenant-General received the title in the spring of 1945 during the battles in East Prussia).

the Mention that “Gorbatova grave will fix it”, is in the book the General-Leiththe enant “Years of war”, released in the mid 60-ies. The author wrote that in December 1941, he highly had an altercation with the commander of the southwestern front Kirill Moskalenko: he insisted on the necessity of frontal attacks of the regiments in the battles of Kharkov, and Gorbatov, then the commander of the infantry division, he objected to such tactics and orders Moskalenko ignored. And to insult the captain replied that he would not tolerate such attitude. This information allegedly came to Stalin. The commander responded with the phrase “Gorbatova only grave correct”. This whole situation was resolved.

Gorbatov is linked to another story, once again proving that Stalin was closely followed by a wayward General, and he certainly liked it. In conversation with the poet Alexander Tvardovsky Gorbatov recalled: Generalissimo treated him kindly, but also in high office were not nominated. In 1942, the General ordinary knotty stick, which was used instead of a cane after being wounded, beat up the officer of the special Department of his division because he was ordered to roll on the logs for their own dugout peasant hut. Stalin was informed about this fact. The leader ordered to send Gorbatov lightweight slim walking stick, explaining that it’s better General moves with it, but one never knows, all the army’s NKVD slaughtered.

Why he don’t smoke or drink

In the memoirs of Konstantin Rokossovsky, Alexander Vasilevsky and Georgy Zhukov Aleksandr Gorbatov described as an intelligent leader and an interesting conversationalist. However, even as people with “weird”. Captain he was a kind – don’t smoke or drink (at 16 years of age vowed to a fellow that in all his life will not do drink and not to smoke any cigarettes, prior to his death the word Gorbatov kept). Rokossovsky wrote: the war General even ate from field kitchens, together with his soldiers. The humpback repeatedly mentioned the feast of the bosses literally made him peeth. But then he resolutely refused.

… After the war, Gorbatov was the second commandant of Berlin (the first commandant Nikolai Berzarin is not served in this position two months, died in a car accident). Subsequently, the humpback was headed by the Soviet military administration in Germany, he commanded the 11th guards army and the year served as a commander of the Soviet airborne forces. Also major-General headed the Baltic military district, was elected Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR.

Alexander Died Gorbatov in 1973, is buried at the Moscow Novodevichy cemetery.

Nicholas Syromyatnikov

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