Chuvakov, Nikita Emelyanovich

Born on March 16, 1901 in the village of Darovoye, Dyakovsky volost, Venevsky district, Tula province (now Venevsky district, Tula region) in the family of a leatherworker.

After graduating from the Zemstvo School in 1913, he worked as a saddler in the Dorogomilovsky saddlery and dredging workshops, then at a metal factory in Moscow .

Civil War

During the October Revolution , as a member of the Union of Working Youth “III International”, he took part in hostilities against the cadets in Moscow.

Joined the ranks of the RCP (B.) In 1918 , and in January of the following year - joined the ranks of the Red Army.

After graduating from the 3rd Moscow Soviet infantry courses of the Red Army commanders, he fought from October 1919 on the Eastern and Western fronts as an assistant commander of the company of the 5th Krasnouralsk regiment of the 2nd Krasnouralsk brigade. He took part in the liberation from the Kolchak troops of the cities of Kungur and Perm .

Since June 1920, he fought with the White Poles as a company commander of the 94th Infantry Regiment of the 11th Petrograd Infantry Division . During the fighting on the Western Front was wounded twice.

From October 1920 he studied at the United Higher Military Courses of the Western Front. In March 1921, as part of the Combined Cadet Regiment, he took part in the suppression of the Kronstadt insurgency and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner .

Interwar Period

In 1923 he graduated from the Higher Military Pedagogical School in Moscow . From August 1923, he worked as a tactical teacher at the 11th Novocherkassk Infantry Command Courses and at the 12th Ulyanovsk Red Banner Lenin Infantry School, where he later became an assistant commissioner.

After graduating from the Military Academy of the Red Army named after M. Frunze in June 1928, he was appointed commander of the 11th Alma-Ata rifle regiment of the 4th Turkestan Division .

From October 1929 he worked as a teacher in the school for retraining of reserve commanders in Leningrad . From March 1931 he worked as an assistant chief of the 1st Division of the Headquarters of the Leningrad Military District . From December 1931, he worked as Chief of Staff and Acting Commander of the 85th Infantry Division , and from February 1935, Chief of Staff of the 56th Infantry Division stationed in Pskov .

In February 1936, he was appointed to the post of chief of the 1st department and deputy chief of staff of the North Caucasus Military District , and in November 1938 - to the position of chief of staff of the 6th infantry corps . From June 1940, he worked as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Kharkov Military District , and since August of the same year, he served as Head of the Higher Special School of the General Staff of the Red Army .

In 1939 he received the military rank of brigade commander , and in 1940 - Major General .

Great Patriotic War

In October 1941, he was appointed Adjutant General of the Commander-in-Chief of the South-West Direction of Marshal Tymoshenko of the Soviet Union, and on January 8, 1942, he was appointed Deputy Commander of the 12th Army defending on the Popasna - Debaltsevo line . In the summer of 1942, an unsuccessful offensive in the Kharkov area led to a counter-offensive by the enemy troops on Voronezh , and then to the rear of the troops of the Southern Front . To avoid encirclement, the 12th Army began a retreat to Rostov . At the turn of the Don between the villages of Aksay and Bagayevskaya, the army delayed the offensive of the enemy, but he crossed the river at Bataisk and at the village of Tsimlyanskaya and continued the attack on the North Caucasus , in connection with which the 12th army had to retreat again. In early August 1942, the army fought defensive battles for the cities of Kropotkin , Armavir , Maykop . By August 12, the army took up defense at the turn of the village of Khadyzhenskaya , preventing the enemy from reaching the Black Sea .

In August 1942, with the release of the order of NCO No. 227 , known as “Not one step back,” Chuvakov opposed the creation of detachments in the 12th Army, for which he was convicted by the Military Tribunal of the North Caucasus Front . Due to the difficult situation in the North Caucasus direction, the sentence (4 years in prison) was conditional with a probation period of 2 years. In February 1943, the conviction was prematurely removed by the decision of the Front Tribunal.

Chuvakov was removed from his post as deputy army commander, and on August 27, 1942, he was appointed commander of the 236th rifle division ( 18th army ), which since the end of September has fought hard under Tuapse in the area of ​​the Geiman and Gunay mountains against the divisional group of General Lanz . By mid-October, the division withdrew across the Pshish River to the Goyth junction, where it organized a new defensive line. From these positions, on January 12, 1943, the division launched an offensive along the Tuapse highway in the direction of the village of Shaumyan , on January 25 took part in the liberation of the village of Khadyzhenskaya, on February 2 reached the Psekups river, on February 4 forced the Kuban river near the village of Shabanohabl , and on February 12, along with other connections took part in the liberation of the cities of Lakshukai and Krasnodar . After this, the division was incorporated into the 16th Rifle Corps . From February to March 1943, the division took part in the battles for Novorossiysk . For the skilful command of a division during the Krasnodar operation, Major General Chuvakov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner .

In early April 1943, Chuvakov was appointed commander of the 23rd Rifle Corps ( 47th Army ). In the same month, due to the narrowing of the front on the Taman Peninsula, the 46th and 47th armies were withdrawn to the Stakes reserve. The 47th Army was redeployed to the Steppe Front , created to repel a possible front breakthrough by enemy troops on the Kursk Bulge . In July 1943, the Voronezh Front withstood the onslaught of enemy tank formations, and from July 12 the Soviet offensive began. At this time, the Voronezh Front, weakened during the defense, was replenished with the 47th Army.

The 23rd Rifle Corps under the command of Major General Chuvakov led the offensive in the second echelon. When the 40th Army entered into heavy fighting in the area of Trostyantsa and Akhtyrka , the corps struck a powerful blow from the north and by September 11 released the city of Gadyach . The capture of the city allowed the Soviet units to continue the offensive, and by the third decade of September, troops in many places reached the Dnieper .

The 23rd Rifle Corps went to the Dnieper near the city of Kanev . Chuvakov personally organized the forcing of the river, and on September 25 the assault forces forced the Dnieper, seizing two bridgeheads near the villages of Selishche and Pekari. Being on the left bank of the river, Chuvakov sent permanent reinforcements to the bridgeheads, and by September 29, two anti-tank and one mortar regiments and a tank brigade were sent. On the same day, the command post was moved to the bridgehead, and Chuvakov forced the river by swimming because of the damaged crossing. In October, the corps, holding the bridgehead, allowed the 47th Army's main forces to cross, and also expanded the bridgehead with its attacks.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 25, 1943, for exemplary performance of combat missions of command on the front of the struggle against the German fascist invaders during the crossing of the Dnieper and showing courage and heroism to Major-General Nikita Yemelyanovich Chuvakov, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and awarded the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal (No. 2064).

With the end of the battle for the Dnieper, the 23rd rifle corps was transferred to the 38th Army and took part in the battles for Zhytomyr , which on November 12, along with the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps, was liberated, after which the corps participated in defensive battles with the advancing enemy forces. Because of this, Zhytomyr had to be left, which in the Zhytomyr-Berdichev operation in December 1943 was again released. In this operation, the 23rd Rifle Corps took part as part of the 60th Army . On January 15, 1944, the corps liberated the city of Slavuta .

The 23rd Rifle Corps liberated the city of Izyaslav on March 5, 1944, on March 19, Volochysk , and on March 21, Skalat , approaching Ternopil . During the offensive, the corps repulsed several powerful counterstrike corps connections. For the difference in the course of the Proskurov-Chernivtsi operation, Major General Chuvakov was awarded the Order of Kutuzov , 2nd class.

In April 1944, Major General Chuvakov fell ill. In connection with the disease, he was released from the command of the corps and was treated in a hospital in Moscow .

In July 1944 he was appointed commander of the 35th rifle corps ( 3rd Army ). Under the command of Chuvakov, the corps was freed on July 8 by Novogrudok , July 12 - the city of Bridges , July 14 - the village of Ross , July 23 - the city of Zabluduv , July 27 - the city of Bialystok and by July 31 went to the River Narev , which it forced on August 1 . In August, the corps liberated Polish cities and towns: on August 13, the city ​​of Vysoko-Mazowieck , and on August 27, Chervin returned to the Narew River, where an important bridgehead was created. With this bridgehead January 14, 1945, the offensive of the Soviet troops was launched. The 35th Rifle Corps led heavy offensive battles on the approaches to East Prussia . In early February 1945, the corps reached the city of Elbing , where bloody battles took place for a week. Soon the city was liberated, and by mid-February the corps reached the Baltic Sea . For the skillful leadership of the corps in these battles, Major General Chuvakov was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st degree.

In March 1945, the 35th Rifle Corps took part in the battles for Danzig . After the fighting on the Baltic Sea coast, Chuvakov was given the military rank of lieutenant-general , and he was appointed commander of the 18th rifle corps ( 65th Army ). Commanding the corps, he took part in forcing the Ost-Oder and the West-Oder , as well as taking the cities of Stettin and Demmin , and by the end of April 1945 the corps reached the Baltic Sea east of Rostock , where the war ended for him. For the skillful leadership of the troops at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War, he was again presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union , but was awarded the Order of the Red Banner .

Post War Career

Until December 1945, he continued to command the 18th Rifle Corps in the Northern Group of Forces. From February 1946 he commanded the 132nd rifle corps there .

From April 1948 to June 1950, he served as Head of the Directorate for Combat and Physical Training of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany .

In 1951, Chuvakov graduated from the Higher Academic Courses at the Higher Military Academy named after KE Voroshilov , after which from July 1951 he worked in the USSR Ministry of Defense as head of the Directorate of General Military Training of the Main Directorate of Combat and Physical Training of the Ground Forces, since May 1953 - at the post of head of the off-arm training department there, and since June 1955, at the post of head of the Strelkovo-tactical committee of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the Ground Forces.

Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR of the 2nd convocation (1947-1951).

Since June 1958, Lieutenant-General Nikita Yemelyanovich Chuvakov was in reserve.

He died on December 27, 1965 in Moscow . He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery (section 6).

• Hero of the Soviet Union
• two orders of Lenin (10/25/1943; 2/21/1945)
• five orders of the Red Banner (1921 [RSFSR]; 04.1943; 03.11.1944; 05.1945; 15.11.1950)
• Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky I degree (04.1945);
• Order of Kutuzov II degree (04.1944)
• medals, including:
  • Medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus"
  • medal "For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
  • medal "For the liberation of Warsaw"
  • jubilee medal "XX years of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army"
• four Polish orders and medals.

Chuvakov, Nikita Emelyanovich (Rus.) . The site " Heroes of the country ."