Grigory Kulik: what Stalin did with the worst Marshal of the great Patriotic

History 03/01/20 Grigory Kulik: what Stalin did with the worst Marshal of the great Patriotic

In February 1942, the decision of the Supreme Court of the USSR Marshal of the Soviet Union G. I. Kulik was deprived of the rank of Marshal and demoted to major General, deprived of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and of all awards, expelled from the CPSU(b). According to the currently known order of the Commissar of defense, the guilt he was the first to be delivered abandonment of the cities of Kerch and Rostov. But also mentioned about the systematic drunkenness and misappropriation of state property.

However, after the death of I. V. Stalin and G. I. Kulik ranked as the victims of illegal political repression, and abandonment of Kerch had been substantiated. It was argued that for the defense of Kerch at Kulik does not have the necessary strength, and the Germans had a big advantage.

to imagine the whole picture of events, you need to start from afar. Career G. I. Kulik difficult to described as very successful. During the Civil war he participated in the defense of Tsaritsyn, where Voroshilov was appointed to command the artillery. After Tsaritsyn, Stalin and Voroshilov had an opinion about Kulik as a sensible gunners.

In the 1930s in Spain, he was Advisor to the commander of the front, after which he headed the Main Artillery Directorate of the red Army, which left a bad memories. Was at the battle of Khalkhin Gol, but got there from Zhukov reprimand and left for Moscow.

In the Finnish war directly under his leadership, provocative “Manelski incident” when the shelling of Soviet troops served as the formal pretext for war. At the end of the war received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and became a Marshal. At that time the red Army marshals can be easily counted on the fingers of one hand.

After the outbreak of the great Patriotic war was sent to save the Western front, but was surrounded, came out in peasant clothes, without documents and weapons. After which he engaged in the formation of new compounds, but was removed from work, as a failed. He commanded the 54th separate army near Leningrad, but after the unsuccessful action sent to save the situation in the Crimea.

Established in Crimea by that time the situation differently as disastrous not to call. Defense of the Crimea was assigned to the 51st separate army, which was commanded by Colonel General F. I. Kuznetsov. To this Kuznetsov commanded the North-Western front, but was suspended for the inept command, then commanded the 21st army and the Central front, but from there it was removed.

it is easy to understand looking at the map of the Crimea, to get to the Peninsula by land is possible only through the narrow Perekop isthmus and narrower Arbat arrow. But the advent of the arrow through the Arbat, which stretches for 100 km, with a width from 8 km to 300 m, it is difficult to imagine.

the 11th army under the command of Manstein was fighting on several fronts for an attack on the Crimea has allocated two infantry divisions. 51st army had in its composition of eight infantry and three cavalry divisions. One division covered Perekop, one Arbatskaya arrow, and another stretches along the shore of the Sivash. The rest were scattered all over the Peninsula to fight with the air assault of the Germans. However, the Wehrmacht on the Eastern front has not carried out any airborne operations and after 1941 landings were not planted, but the Soviet generals German paratroopers were afraid of fire. Four more divisions were on the coast, so as not to allow the Germans to land Marines. Despite the fact that in the Black sea there was no force able to airlift at least a battalion. Later in the Crimea, troops were transported from Odessa, which added the 51-th army of four divisions.

According to the Soviet version, in the fighting in the Perekop isthmus, the Germans had an overwhelming advantage, entering into battle a significant number of tanks (not less than three hundred), and thus able to break through to the Peninsula. Onhowever, the 11th army was fighting with the forces of two, then three infantry divisions (more simply could not deploy), and all armored Armada of the 11th army consisted of a half dozen assault weapons 190th division, which in the Crimea were deployed after the Germans took Simferopol.

After the German breakthrough on the Peninsula part of the forces retreated to Sevastopol, and a large part of the 51st army retreated in the direction of Kerch. General Kuznetsov was replaced by Vice-Admiral G. I. Levchenko, and in Kerch sent Marshal Kulik. At the disposal of the Soviet command on the Kerch Peninsula were the four infantry divisions of the 51st army, badly mauled in the fighting. The defense of the city kept fresh 302 th mountain division. Assessing on the spot the situation, Kulik gave the order to evacuate the troops on the Taman Peninsula. He himself departed to Rostov-on-don that the next day was taken to the regiment “Adolf Hitler”.

All of these events, apparently overcome with some patience guide — Kulik tried. Almost a year Kulyk any posts not occupied, but in the spring of 1943 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed to command 4th guards army. In September his command was suspended. Part of winning him back, and he even got a new order of seniority. However, after the war for another plundering of national property of the Sandpiper again demoted to major General, again stripped of all awards and was expelled from the party. Then he allowed himself repeatedly to criticize Beria, Bulganin and Stalin personally, and in 1947 he was arrested in 1950 and executed.

Cyril Shishkin

Source:
© Russian Seven

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