Kolpakchi, Vladimir Yakovlevich

Vladimir Yakovlevich Kolpakchi was born on September 7, 1899 in Kiev in the family of an employee. According to the award list and biographical dictionary - Russian ^{[1] [2]} , according to other data - a Jew ^[3] . After graduating from high school he entered the law faculty of Kiev University.

In May 1916 he was called up for military service ^[4] . Member of the First World War . Junior non-commissioned officer. In the Red Guard - from August 1917 . Member of the October Revolution in Petrograd and the storming of the Winter Palace .

In the Red Army - since 1918 . During the Civil War, commanded a company , battalion , regiment . He held the post of commandant of Petrograd . In 1923 he participated in hostilities against the Basmachis . In 1928 he graduated from the Military Academy named after MV Frunze . From 1924 to 1936, he served as commander of a regiment, chief of staff, commander of a rifle division, deputy chief of staff of the Belarusian Military District .

In 1936 he was sent on a special trip to Spain , participated in the Spanish Civil War . In March 1938, he returned to the USSR and was appointed commander of the 12th rifle corps in the Volga Military District . From December 1940 - Chief of Staff of the Kharkov Military District .

At the beginning of World War II, Vladimir Yakovlevich was appointed chief of staff formed on the basis of the Kharkov Military District of the 18th Army . In the fall of 1941, during the Donbass defensive operation, the 18th Army was surrounded. In October 1941, after the death of the Commander, A. K. Smirnova took command of the army and removed from the environment part of the troops with headquarters. Took part in the Rostov offensive . From December 1941 - Chief of Staff, from January 1942 - Assistant Commander of the Bryansk Front for Forces.

From February 1942 - Deputy Commander of the 4th Shock Army of the Kalinin Front - Commander of the Velizh Group of Forces. From March 1942 - commander of the White Group of the Kalinin Front. In May 1942, he was appointed commander of the 7th Reserve Army , on the basis of which the 62nd Army was formed on July 10 of the same year and was soon incorporated into the Stalingrad Front . Until August 2, 1942, he commanded the 62nd Army in battles on the distant approaches to Stalingrad . From November 1942 - Commander of the 30th Army of the Western Front , which participated in the operation "Mars" .

In May 1943 he was appointed commander of the 63rd army of the Bryansk Front . He skillfully led the army in the Battle of Kursk , the Oryol offensive operation , the Bryansk offensive operation , participated in the Orsha offensive operation . From February 1944 - Chief of Staff of the 2nd Byelorussian Front , from April - Commander of the 69th Army of the 1st Byelorussian Front .

The troops of the 69th army under the command of V.Ya. Kolpakchi distinguished themselves in the Belarusian offensive operation : acting in the first echelon of the front, they broke through the enemy defenses, forced the Western Bug and Vistula rivers and crossed the bridgehead .

In the future, army troops took an active part in the Vistula-Oder offensive operation , in the hostilities to hold and expand the bridgehead in the area of ​​Kustrin and in the Berlin offensive operation .

For the successful conduct of the forces of the 69th Army of the Radom operation , during which the fortified long-term defense of the German fascist troops was broken and a strong enemy force was defeated, as well as for forcing the Oder River with personal courage and heroism, Colonel-General Kolpakchi Vladimir Yakovlevich Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on April 6, 1945 awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

During the war Kolpakchi was mentioned 11 times in thanksgiving in the orders of the Supreme Commander ^[5]

After the war, Vladimir Yakovlevich Kolpakchi commanded the troops of the Baku Military District (July-October 1945). From the end of 1945 he commanded the 40th Army , from July 1946 to March 1950 - Commander of the 1st Red Banner Separate Army in the Far East, from March 1950 - Commander of the 6th Army in the Northern Military District . Then he commanded the troops of the Northern Military District (May 1954 - January 1956). From August 1956 - Head of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the Ground Forces .

Vladimir Yakovlevich Kolpakchi died on duty on May 17, 1961 in a plane crash ( Mi-4 helicopter crash) along with Colonel General S. N. Pervertkin . The fact of death was silenced for a long time. He was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery .

Of all the Soviet military leaders V. Ya. Kolpakchi, he was the army general for only a short time — only 12 days.

His wife, Galina Stepanovna (1901-1961), was buried in the Novodevichy cemetery next to her husband.

His daughter - ballerina Marina Vladimirovna Kolpakchi-Kuznetsova (born August 31, 1933) was married to the younger son of the former first secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU (b), secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) A. A. Kuznetsov , Valery.

• Kombrig (11/26/1935)
• Divisional Commander (8.3.1938)
• Major General (4.6.1940)
• Lieutenant General (14.2.1943)
• Colonel-General (2.11.1944)
• Army General (5.5.1961)

• Gold Star Medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union No. 5858 (04/06/1945)
• 3 orders of Lenin (3.01.1937 ^[2] , 21.02.1945 ^[2] , 6.04.1945 ^[6] )
• 3 orders of the Red Banner (06/21/1937 ^[2] , 11/03/1944 ^[6] , 06/20/1949 ^[6] )
• 3 orders of Suvorov I degree (09/21/1943 ^[2] , 08/23/1944 ^[2] , 05/29/1945)
• 2 orders of Kutuzov I degree (9/04/1943 ^[2] , 08.27.1943 ^[2] )
• Order of the Red Star (06/16/1936) ^[2]
• Medals, including:
  • "XX years of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army"
  • "For the defense of Stalingrad"
  • "For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" ;
  • "For the capture of Berlin"
  • "For the liberation of Warsaw"

Orders (thanks) of the Supreme Commander in which V. Ya. Kolpakchi is noted ^[5] .

• For the final liquidation of the German troops advancing from areas south of Orel and north of Belgorod towards Kursk, and going over to the offensive in the Oryol-Kursk and Belgorod-Kursk sectors. July 24, 1943. No. 1.
• For bold and decisive actions in crossing the Desna River south of Bryansk and taking the city of Trubchevsk. September 19, 1943. No. 19
• For going over to the offensive from the Kovel area, a breakthrough of the strongly fortified German defense advanced 50 kilometers forward, access to the Western Bug River, and the capture of more than 400 settlements, including the large settlements of Ratno, Maloryta, Lyuboml, and Opalin. July 20, 1944. No. 142.
• For taking the town by storm and the large railway junction Chelm (Hill) - an important stronghold of the German defense in the Lublin area. July 22, 1944. No. 145.
• For mastering the strong strongholds of the German defense, Varka, Grojec, Kozienice, Solec, Zvolen, Bialobrzegi, Jedlinsk, Ilža, as well as the occupation of more than 1,300 other settlements. January 16, 1945. No. 221.
• For the capture of the assault, the large industrial center of Poland was captured by the city of Radom, an important communications hub and strong German defense base. January 16, 1945. No. 222.
• For the capture of the largest industrial center of Poland by the city of Lodz and the cities of Kutno, Tomaszow (Tomaszow), Gostynin and Leczyca - important communications hubs and strongholds of the German defense. January 19, 1945. No. 233.
• For the assault on the city of Kalisz - an important communications center and a strong stronghold of the German defense in the Breslau area. January 24, 1945. No. 250
• For the capture of the cities of Landsberg, Meseritz, Schwibus and Züllichau - large communications hubs and powerful German defense bases covering the approaches to Frankfurt an der Oder. January 31, 1945. No. 266.
• For mastering the cities of Frankfurt an der Oder, Wandlitz, Oranienburg, Birkenwerder, Hennigsdorf, Pankow, Friedrichsfeld, Karlshorst, Köpenick and a breakthrough to the German capital Berlin. April 23, 1945. No. 339.
• For the completion of the liquidation of a group of German troops surrounded by the south-east of Berlin. May 2, 1945. No. 357.

Other states

• Order of the Grunwald Cross , 1st class ( Poland )
• Medal "For Audra, Nisa and Baltic" ( Poland )

• Kolpakchi is named after a street in Orel .

• The Great Patriotic War. Commanders. Military biographical dictionary. - M .; Zhukovsky: Kuchkovo Pole, 2005. - ISBN 5-86090-113-5
• Kazaryan A.V. War, people, destinies. In 4 books. - Yerevan : Hayastan, 1975-1984.
• Kalashnikov K.A., Dodonov I.Yu. Highest commanders of the Armed Forces of the USSR in the post-war period. Reference materials (1945-1975). Volume 1. Ust-Kamenogorsk: “Media Alliance”, 2013. - ISBN: 978-601-7378-16-5. - P.134-136.