General Gordov. Life story

In the Moscow prison Lefortovo in the August day of 1950, three generals were killed, who passed the war and were awarded many prizes. They were accused of wanting to plot and overthrow the existing system. Their names are VN. Gordov, G.I. Kulik and F.T. Rybalchenko.

The youth of the future general

The future general Gordov was born in a peasant family, in a small village of Matveyevka in the territory of present-day Tatarstan. By the beginning of the First World War, he had already reached the age of conscription and was at the front. Here, from the very first days, the young guy managed to stand out from the crowd and at the end of the training course he was promoted to non-commissioned officers.

During the Civil War, he actively participated in battles. Already in those years, Vasily Gordov showed extraordinary talent for career growth. Not possessing special commander's data, in a short time he passed the way from platoon commander to regiment commander. In those same years he joined the party.

Failures in Mongolia

After the war, his career progression continued, and despite obvious blunders on his part. For example, he was recalled from a business trip to Mongolia, where he was sent as an instructor of the army, for his gross mistakes.

It should also be noted here that back in 1918 Gordov was involved in the development of a specially created department, which in the future will be known as military counterintelligence. The reason was illiterate orders given to them, costing the lives of a huge number of servicemen, and his boorish manner of dealing with subordinates. However, everything got away with it. So, after returning from Mongolia, he received another promotion.

On the fronts of two wars

By the beginning of the Finnish war, General Gordov was already the chief of staff of the 7th Army. And the old story repeats itself. Illiterate commander's decisions, losses of personnel, dismissal and, as a result, another increase. From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, General Gordov is serving at the front.

Here he takes part in many major military operations. And again, colleagues' reviews draw the image of a commander with personal courage, but completely devoid of the ability to command large military formations. And again, endless rudeness.

The failure of the defense of Smolensk

In 1942, quite unexpectedly for the members of the higher commanders, Stalin appointed him commander of the Stalingrad Front. General Gordov also showed his complete lack of talent here. As a result of his mistakes, the Germans managed to break through the defense of the defenders of the city.

But this also served as the reason for the demotion - from the commander of the front, he became his deputy. Why in the years when even for minor official miscalculations were given to the tribunal, a general who has been under the supervision of the competent authorities for many years and guilty of the failure of many military operations was not brought to trial remains a mystery.

"Officer's meat grinder"

In October 1942, General Gordov already commanded the front. And this will continue until the end of the war. Some successful operations carried out under his command will be replaced by a series of failed ones, as a result of which many and many soldiers and officers will absolutely unjustifiably perish. According to the memoirs of his colleagues, the officers were particularly hard hit by his tyranny.

Preserved orders that Gordov published. The general forced all officers, right up to the highest ranks, to go into battle in the front ranks of the advancing. As a result of such orders, combat formations were deprived of experienced, well-trained commanders and lost combat effectiveness. At the front it was called "officer's meat grinder". To such a characteristic, it is difficult to add anything. However, nothing prevented him from climbing the ranks and even becoming a Hero of the Soviet Union.

The retired general

But the war ended, the victory salutes came to a stop. Soon General Gordov was dismissed. For the first time in his life, Vasily Nikolayevich was out of the army. True, he was a member of the Supreme Council, and he did not have to sit around without business. Having traveled on business trips already as a civilian, Gordov saw a completely different life.

The general could not imagine the poverty in which ordinary people lived. Especially distinctly, she showed up against the backdrop of Western life, which he saw in conquered Germany. A huge scale of corruption has opened up before him. He did not find the strength to fight them. Everything was reduced, as often happens to us, to drunken talk with two of the same generals as Kulik and Rybalchenko.

The Lefortovo Tragedy

In these conversations, he scolded and accused the head of state-Stalin. These conversations were written down by NKVD officers, and everything became known to the "Father of the Peoples". He could forgive and incompetent command, and rudeness with subordinates, and even failure to comply with orders. He did not forgive one - criticism in his address. As a result, the arrest and the process, known as the "revolt of generals". General Gordov and two of his comrades were sentenced to be shot. The story is sad, but, unfortunately, quite typical for those years.