Glazunov, Vasily Afanasevich

Vasily Afanasevich Glazunov was born into a peasant family on December 20, 1895 ( January 1, 1896 ) in the village of Varvarovka, Chubarovskaya volost, Serdobsky district, Saratov province ^[2] .

World War I and Civil War

In August 1915 he was drafted into the ranks of the Russian Imperial Army and sent as a private to the 135th reserve battalion stationed in the city of Balashov , but in September of that year he was transferred as a private to the infantry reconnaissance team of the 195th Oryol Infantry Regiment, stationed in the city of Baranovichi .

Since February 1916, he was an ordinary and a division commander in the 198th Infantry Regiment , took part in hostilities on the South-Western Front , including in battles in the vicinity of the city of Brody .

In February 1918 he was demobilized from the army with the rank of junior non-commissioned officer .

In July 1918 he was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army and sent to the reserve of the command staff at the Pokrovsko-Turkestan Regiment ( 4th Army , Eastern Front ), stationed in the city of Pokrovsk . In November of the same year he was appointed to the post of commander of the 1st Samara reserve regiment, and in February 1919 - to the post of commander of the Serdobsky reserve regiment (4th Army, Eastern Front).

Since May 1919, as part of the 25th Separate Rifle Battalion, he took part in the hostilities on the Turkestan Front , serving as assistant platoon commander, company foreman, platoon commander, assistant commander and company commander.

Interwar

Since June 1921, Glazunov served as assistant commander and company commander and temporarily acting battalion commander in the 14th Turkestan (Akmola) Rifle Regiment ( Separate Steppe Brigade , Turkestan Front ). In September 1922 he was appointed to the post of battalion commander in the 12th Turkestan Rifle Regiment, and in October 1923 - to the post of battalion commander in the 251st Rifle Regiment ( 84th Rifle Division , Moscow Military District ).

In 1926 he joined the ranks of the CPSU (b) .

In December 1928 he was sent to study at the shooting and tactical courses " Shot ", after which in August 1929 he returned to the 251st Rifle Regiment, where he served as battalion commander and assistant regiment commander.

In December 1931 he was appointed commander of the 5th separate territorial infantry battalion (2nd separate Vyatka regiment, Moscow military district), in January 1933 - the commander of the 142nd infantry regiment ( 48th infantry division ), stationed in Rzhev .

In July 1934, Glazunov was transferred to the post of assistant commander of the 168th Infantry Regiment of the 56th Infantry Division , stationed in Porkhov , in June 1937 - to the position of Assistant Commander of the 56th Infantry Division, in August 1938 to the position of Assistant Commander 33 -th Infantry Corps , and in July 1939 - to the post of commander of the 59th Infantry Division ( 1st Red Banner Army ).

In December 1940, Glazunov was sent to study at advanced training courses for commanding officers at the MV Frunze Military Academy .

World War II

On June 23, 1941, Major General Vasily Afanasevich Glazunov was appointed to the post of commander of the 3rd airborne corps , which was on the formation in the city of Pervomaisk ( Odessa Military District ). Since July 3, the corps took part in defensive battles for Kiev .

On August 29, 1941, he was appointed to the post of commander of the Airborne Forces of the Red Army, being on which, he led the formation of ten airborne corps and five brigades , as well as their preparation for military operations. From January to February 1942, the Vyazemsky airborne operation was prepared and carried out under the leadership of Glazunov, during which more than 15 thousand people were airborne.

In June 1943, Major General Vasily Afanasevich Glazunov was relieved of his post as commander of the Airborne Forces of the Red Army, after which he was appointed deputy commander of the 29th Guards Rifle Corps ( 8th Army ), and in November of the same year to the post of commander of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps , which distinguished itself during the crossing of the Dnieper , the Nikopol-Kryvyi Rih offensive operation and the liberation of Odessa . From January to February 1944, the 4th Guards Rifle Corps under the command of Glazunov successfully broke through the enemy’s fortified defensive line in the vicinity of the village of Novonikolaevka ( Dnipropetrovsk Region ), and during the further offensive the corps liberated 96 settlements.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 19, 1944, for the successful leadership of military formations and the personal courage and heroism of the guard shown, Major General Vasily Afanasyevich Glazunov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Golden Star medal (No. 3163).

In early June 1944, the corps was relocated to the area of ​​the city of Kovel and included in the 1st Belorussian Front, and soon during the Vistula-Oder offensive , the 4th Guards Rifle Corps under the command of Glazunov crossed the Vistula River, after which it liberated a number of settlements, for which the corps was awarded the honorary title "Brandenburg". A participant in the operation to maintain and expand the bridgehead in the Kustrin region (February — March 1945).

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 6, 1945, Lieutenant General Vasily Afanasevich Glazunov was awarded the second Golden Star medal for the able command of military formations and the personal courage and heroism of the guard shown.

During the development of the offensive on Berlin, the corps under the command of Glazunov participated in breaking through the enemy’s defense at the Zeelov Heights and forcing the Spree River . Conducting hostilities in Berlin , the corps seized the buildings of the Ministry of Aviation , Propaganda and the Gestapo . For the successful management of parts of the corps during the capture of Berlin, Glazunov was awarded the Order of Lenin .

In the past, an airborne paratrooper, more than once, back in 1941, he and his troops traveled behind enemy lines. Then, after reforming the airborne corps into guards rifle divisions, he was appointed deputy corps commander. Deputy commander - a position that is not always mentioned in reports and orders. With successful operations, laurels are given primarily to commanders. But Glazunov could not be overlooked. Energetic, decisive, he was everywhere in the center of events. He was seen with fighters in the trench and in attack, he was indispensable at the advanced command post.

Soon he was appointed commander of the corps, and in the battles on the Vistula, where it was required to show particularly high organizational abilities, speed of action and commander’s will, he deployed his talent with might and main. Glazunov correctly understood that the main thing was the speed of maneuver preparation and the suddenness of actions. Its units were the fastest and the best to start the task, swiftly and decisively crossed the river and fought excellently on the opposite bank.

- Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union V. Chuikov. Wisla // End of the Third Reich. - M .: Soviet Russia , 1973.

Post-War Career

After the war, Lieutenant General Vasily Afanasevich Glazunov continued to command the 4th Guards Rifle Corps as part of the 8th Guards Army ( Group of Soviet Forces in Germany ) and in January 1946 he was appointed commander of the 125th Rifle Corps , and in June the same year - to the post of Inspector General of the Airborne Troops of the Main Inspection of the Ground Forces.

In May 1949 he was sent to study at higher academic courses at the Higher Military Academy named after K.E. Voroshilov , after which in May 1950 he was at the disposal of the GUK and in October of that year he was appointed assistant commander of the East Siberian troops military district .

Since December 1950, Lieutenant General Vasily Afanasyevich Glazunov was at the disposal of the 2nd Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Soviet Army and in June 1954 retired due to illness.

He died on June 26, 1967 in Moscow . He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery . There is a monument on the grave. Every year, on the birthday of Glazunov on January 1, delegations of the Council of Veterans and the Airborne Command of Russia lay flowers at the place of his burial ^[3] .

• Colonel (02.17.1936)
• Kombrig (05/17/1939)
• Major General (06/04/1940)
• Lieutenant General (03/19/1944)

• Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (March 19, 1944, April 6, 1945)
• Three Orders of Lenin (03/19/1944, 02/21/1945, 05/29/1945)
• Three Orders of the Red Banner (03/27/1942, 11/3/1944, ...)
• Order of Suvorov II degree (02.22.1944)
• Order of Kutuzov II degree (08/23/1944)
• Order of the Red Star (08.16.1936)
• Medal "For the Capture of Berlin" (1945)
• Other medals of the USSR;

Poland awards

• Order of Virtuti Militari III degree
• Medal "For Odra, Nisa and the Baltic"
• Medal "For Warsaw 1939-1945"

Penza Region

• A bronze bust of twice Hero of the Soviet Union V.A. Glazunov was installed in his small homeland - in the district village of Kolyshly in the Penza region in 1951 .
• A bust of V. A. Glazunov was also installed in the village of Chubarovka in the Kolyshleysky district (near the village of Varvarovka, in which V. A. Glazunov was born).
• Permanent thematic exhibitions dedicated to V. A. Glazunov were created at the Kolyshleysky regional museum of local lore and the school museum of the village of Chubarovka in the Kolyshleysky district. In the schools, libraries and local history museums of the settlements of the Kolyshleysky district , evenings in memory of Lieutenant General V. A. Glazunov are held under the motto "So that they remember and do not forget their heroes."
• Since 2014, in the Kolyshleysky district open ski championships of the region among skiers-racers twice in memory of the Hero of the Soviet Union V. A. Glazunov have been held.
• The name of General Glazunov is recorded on the “Glory to the Heroes” stela, opened in 2011 at the Rostock monument on the embankment of the Sura River in Penza .
• September 30, 2011 by the decision of the Penza City Council in the residential complex "Arbekovskaya Zastava" in the Arbekovo microdistrict of the Oktyabrsky district of Penza, the name of V. A. Glazunov was given to one of the new streets (it is called " General Glazunov Street "). On December 7, 2017, on a residential building on General Glazunov Street, 2, a memorial plaque was solemnly opened to the first commander of the Airborne Forces ^[4] .
• Since 2012, in the Penza region, the regional branch of the Russian Paratroopers Union and the regional public organization "Soldiers of Russia" have held an open song-festival of the patriotic song "For Russia, airborne troops and special forces!" Named after the first commander of the Airborne Forces, twice Hero of the USSR, Lieutenant General V. A. Glazunov. "
• Since 2012, in the Penza Region, the regional Federation of Bullet and Shotguns has been holding open championships in the Penza Region on shotguns named after the first commander of the Airborne Forces, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant General V. A. Glazunov.
• In 2015, on the Day of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation with the support of the Penza Regional Library. The book “Three Wars of General Glazunov” (Valery Melnik) was released by M. Yu. Lermontov and the Union of Paratroopers.

Moscow Region

• A street in the village of Sheremetyevsky (now within the city of Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region ^[5] ) is named in honor of the Hero.
• On Glazunov Street in the city of Dolgoprudny a memorial sign is installed.

Dnipropetrovsk Region (Ukraine)

• In the city of Apostolovo, Apostolovsky District, Dnipropetrovsk Region of Ukraine, the name of V. A. Glazunov is immortalized on a stele with the text of the order of Vekhovny, Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin, Commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front , Army General R. Ya. Malinovsky, dated February 6, 1944, which mentions that during the liberation of Apostolovo the troops of Major General Glazunov were especially distinguished.

• Team of authors . World War II: Comcor. Military Biographical Dictionary / Edited by M. G. Vozhakin . - M .; Zhukovsky: Kuchkovo Field, 2006. - T. 2. - P. 11-13. - ISBN 5-901679-08-3 .
• Heroes of the Soviet Union. A Brief Biographical Dictionary in two volumes - M .: Military Publishing House, 1987.
• Glazunov Vasily Afanasevich // The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945: encyclopedia / editor-in-chief of the army general, professor M.M.Kozlov. et al. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1985.-C.209
• Glazunov Vasily Afanasevich // Soviet Military Encyclopedia in 8 volumes. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1976-1980, Volume 2, S.571-572.
• Soloviev D. Yu. All the generals of Stalin. Volume 3. - M., 2019 .-- ISBN: 9785532106444. - S.47-49.

• Glazunov, Vasily Afanasevich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".