Vasily Kazakov

Vasily Ivanovich Kazakov (Russian: Василий Иванович Казаков; 18 July [O.S. 6 July] 1898 – 25 May 1968) was a Soviet Marshal of the artillery.[1]

Vasily Kazakov
Born(1898-07-18)July 18, 1898
Filipovo, Buturlinsky District,
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast,
Russian Empire
DiedMay 25, 1968(1968-05-25) (aged 69)
Moscow, Soviet Union
Buried
Novodevichy Cemetery
Allegiance Russian Empire (1915–1917)
 Soviet Union (1917–1968)
Years of service1915 – 1965
RankMarshal of the Artillery
Battles/warsWorld War I
Russian Civil War
Polish-Soviet War
World War II
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union
Virtuti Militari
Cross of Grunwald

Biography

Early life

Born to a peasant family at Filipovo in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, he was drafted into the Imperial Army in May 1915 and participated in the First World War. After being wounded in the area of Riga at early 1917, Kazakov was transferred to a reserve unit in St. Peterburg. There, he took part in the February Revolution. When the army was dissolved, following the October Revolution, he was demobilized. Kazakov soon volunteered to join the newly established Red Army, where he commanded an artillery battery throughout the Russian Civil War and the Polish-Soviet War.[2] In 1925, Kazakov graduated from the Artillery Academy of Moscow,[3] joining the All-Union Communist Party (B) at 1932. Two years later he finished his studies in the Frunze Academy. On 7 May 1940, he was promoted to the rank of Major General.[4]

World War II

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the 7th Mechanized Corps' artillery formations.[5] Kazakov took part in the battles for Smolensk and Moscow, and developed new methods for the use of anti-tank artillery,[6] which were adopted by the entire army.[7] In July 1942 he was made Rokossovsky's artillery commander at the Bryansk Front. In that capacity, he continued to work with the General at the Stalingrad, Don, Central and 1st Belorussian Fronts. On 17 November 1942, he became an Lieutenant General, and was made a Colonel-General on 18 September 1943. Kazakov was among the planners of the Kursk deep defense lines. He participated in the Lower Dnieper Offensive, in Operation Bagration and in the battles inside Germany.[8] For his contribution to the Vistula-Oder Offensive, Kazakov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union (Medal no. 5871) on 6 April 1945.

Colonel-General Vasily Kazakov (standing on the right, with a cigarette) during the signing of the German instrument of surrender. Karlshorst, 9 May 1945

Post-war career

After the war, he commanded the artillery formations of the GSFG, and beginning in March 1950 he was the first deputy commander of the Artillery Corps. In January 1952 he became their commander, but was demoted to deputy again in April 1953. Kazakov was promoted to the rank of Marshal on 11 March 1955,[9] commanding the Ground Forces' Air Defence from 1958 until 1965. After three more years as an inspector in the Ministry of Defense, he died in Moscow, aged 69, in May 1968.[10]

Honours and awards

References
  1. Ма́ршал ро́да во́йск, the rank below that of a Chief Marshal.
  2. Vasily Kazakov on the Heroes of the USSR site [Russian].
  3. Vasily Kazakov Archived 2011-06-21 at the Wayback Machine on the Kremlin Wall Memorial[Russian].
  4. His name is the 34th on list XIV (Maj. Gen. Artillery) in this order to introduce personal ranks to the Red Army [Russian].
  5. Vasily Kazakov's obituary [English].
  6. A 1988 article by Colonels Suslov and Kligin [English].
  7. Vasily Kazakov on Letopisy [Russian].
  8. Vasily Kazakov on Soldat Narod [Russian].
  9. Decree to appoint Marshals, 11 March 1955 [English].
  10. Vasily Kazakov on Hrono.ru [Russian].
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