Kustov, Alexey Fedorovich

Alexei Fedorovich Kustov was born in December 1905 in the village of Usadishche, Pskov Uyezd , now the rural settlement " Palkinsky volost ", Palkinsky district , Pskov region, Russia ) into a peasant family. He worked with three brothers since childhood, and at age 12 he was apprenticed to a tailor. From the age of 14, according to the memoirs of his daughter, “he already sewed outerwear for peasants throughout the district” ^[1] .

Military Service

On November 15, 1927, he was drafted into the Red Army and sent to the 167th Infantry Regiment of the 56th Infantry Division of the LVO in the city of Pskov , after graduating from the regimental school in October 1928, he served there as a junior commander and foreman. Since November 1930, in the same regiment, he temporarily commanded an economic and infantry company. Member of the CPSU (b) since 1930 . After completing the Shot courses, from March 1933, he commanded a training platoon, and from June 1935, a training company ^[1] .

On August 16, 1936, by a resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, for his excellent performance in military and political training, he was awarded his first award - the Order of the Red Star ^[1] .

In September 1937 he entered the MV Frunze Military Academy as an excellent student, was released ahead of schedule and sent to the army in the Finnish War . In March 1940, at the end of the war, he was appointed assistant chief of the 1st (operational) staff department of the 65th Rifle Corps. In June, he was transferred to the post of chief of the 1st (operational) division of the headquarters of the former 56th Infantry Division, which at that time was part of the ZAPOVO and was stationed in the city of Grodno ^[1] .

World War II

At the beginning of the war, the division as part of the 4th Rifle Corps of the 3rd Army of the Western Front conducted heavy defensive battles in the areas of Grodno, Lida, and Novogrudok. Since June 30, she was surrounded, where she was actually defeated. After leaving the encirclement in August, A.F. Kustov was appointed to the same position in the 137th Infantry Division. Its units at that time as part of the 13th Army fought hard battles on the Krichev-Roslavl highway, ensuring the withdrawal of army troops to a new frontier. In the area of ​​Surazh, the division was surrounded and from August 18 to 25 made its way to join its troops, then it was concentrated in the forests southeast of Trubchevsk. After the replenishment on September 1, 1941, it was subordinated to the 3rd Army of the Bryansk Front and, as part of it, took part in the Oryol-Bryansk defensive operation and in the defensive operations of the battle of Moscow in the Tula direction (from November 11, as part of the South-West, with December 24 - Bryansk fronts) ^[1] .

From November 13 to 20, 1941, in the post of chief of the 1st department headquarters of the 137th Infantry Division, Major Kustov was directly in the troops of the 771th Infantry Regiment at the turn of the villages of Verkhniy Izrog - Yablonovo ( Kamensky District, Tula Region ), skillfully influenced the course of the battle, helping commanders of all degrees manage the battle. At the time of the enemy's breakthrough in the vicinity of the village of Medvedka, Kustov was sent to organize a counterattack, having operational documents with him; despite the fact that the enemy was 10 meters away and tried to capture him, under heavy fire Kustov managed to save documents and complete the task. Major General Kreiser raised the award to the Order of the Red Banner , commander of the 137th regiment, Colonel Grishin, was presented to the Order of the Red Star , commander of the 3rd Army Hero of the Soviet Union, but Major Kustov was awarded Order on the Bryansk Front Troops dated January 31, 1942 medal "For Courage" .

In December 1941, he participated in the Yelets offensive operation with the division, and since February 1942, he served as chief of staff of the same division. In June, he was appointed chief of the operational department of the headquarters of the 3rd Army ^[1] .

On March 5, 1943, the interim commander of 20 mc, Colonel D. M. Gritsenko signed an order No. 014 on the reorganization of 116 foreign brigades to state No. 010 / 420-010 / 431 of a separate motorized rifle brigade. March 24, 1943 the commander of 20 mt Colonel N. A. Yuplin signed order No. 037 on assuming the post of commander of the 116th Marine Rifle Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Kustov Alexei Fedorovich. On March 28, 1943, units and subunits of the brigade entered the reserve of troops of the Bryansk Front and, together with other units of 20 mc, became part of the Verkhovyevsky garrison. March 31, 1943 the brigade commander A.F. Kustov was awarded the military rank of colonel . In mid-April, the brigade commander Colonel A. F. Kustov wrote a petition addressed to the commander of the 20 th squadron N. A. Yuplin to give the brigade the honorary name “Pacific” in order to continue the traditions of Pacific sailors and pay off the debt of memory to the dead comrades, but the subsequent disbandment of the brigade did not allow this to materialize.

On June 24, 1943, in the midst of preparations for the Battle of Kursk, Kustov was appointed commander of the 380th Infantry Division . From July 12 to July 17, 1943, during the Oryol offensive operation, the 380th Infantry Division under the command of Colonel Kustov broke through the enemy’s heavily fortified line in the Vyazha area of ​​the Novosilsky District of the Oryol Region and as a result of the offensive took over 20 settlements, destroyed more than 4,000 and captured 74 German soldiers and officers. Also, 30 guns of various calibers, 13 self-propelled guns, 24 mortars, 492 cars, 7 tractors, 57 motorcycles, 12 horses, a large number of ammunition and other property were captured. In these battles, Kustov was wounded. The commander of the 3rd Army, Lieutenant General Gorbatov, introduced the commander Kustov to the Order of Suvorov II degree , but Colonel Kustov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by order of the troops of the Bryansk Front on 07/27/1943.

On the Oryol land, his division passed through Oryol from the village of Vyazhi of the Novosilsky district. The fighters of his 380th rifle division , scouts V. I. Obraztsov and I. D. Sanko, at 2 hours 30 minutes on August 5, 1943 hoisted the flag of liberation over house No. 11 (13) on ul. Moscow city of Orel . In only 26 days of fighting on Oryol’s land, 2198 fighters and commanders of the 380th division of A.F. Kustov were awarded orders and medals. In honor of the heroes of the 380th Rifle Division, as well as the fighters of the 5th, 129th, 308th Rifle Divisions and the tank formations supporting them, on August 5, 1943, the capital saluted with 12 artillery salvos of 120 guns.

In commemoration of the victory and the liberation of the city of Oryol from the Nazis, three divisions, including the 380th, were named the Orlovskys by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on August 5, 1943. After the Oryol offensive operation “Kutuzov” was completed, the division’s path lay further to the west.

From August 7, 1943, 380 sd was defensive west of Orel, then from September 8 it was transferred to the 50th Army under the command of Lieutenant General Boldin to break through the enemy defense forces in the area of ​​the city of Kirov (Kaluga Region) . During the Bryansk offensive operation, skillfully preparing the division for the task assigned to it, Kustov successfully completed it at the beginning of the offensive. Later, with the development of offensive operations, with great initiative and perseverance, he brought to life the decisions of the army commander. In offensive battles in a wooded area, he organized and supervised them perfectly. Throughout the entire offensive operation from September to December 1943, the division, together with the troops of the 50th Army, inflicted great damage in the manpower and equipment of the enemy and went to the west bank of the Pronya River . During this operation, the Desna, Iput, Sozh, and Pronya rivers were boosted by parts of the division. In February 1944, Colonel Kustov, among other divisions of the 50th Army, crossed the Dnieper River and participated in successful battles to expand the bridgehead on the western bank of the Dnieper in the area of ​​N. Bykhov.

For excellent leadership of the units of the 380th Infantry Division in offensive operations of 1943-1944, for personal courage shown in a combat situation, Kustov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by a separate order on the troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front No. 058 of 06/19/1944, signed by the generals Zakharov and Mehlis .

June 3, 1944 Kustov was awarded the military rank of Major General .

In July 1944, preparing for a breakthrough of the enemy’s defense on the Sviloch River, Kustov, working selflessly, correctly organized the interaction of the division’s units and the funds given to it, correctly deployed artillery, and organized communications for interaction with neighboring units. Having carefully studied the deployment of enemy troops, he correctly chose the direction of the main attack, boldly and audaciously began the battle with the fiercely defending enemy. Personally, being in the advanced units on the main direction of the strike, he showed fearlessness, boldly influenced the course of the battle, firmly and skillfully controlled the 380th Infantry Division . As a result of the battle, the enemy was knocked out of the occupied line and for two days thrown back 25 kilometers to the west. After the breakthrough, he organized the pursuit of the enemy and successfully led a division to the Chuprynovo-Kuznitsa line. And only a year later for personal courage, the skillful organization of the battle to break through the defense and force the water line by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 26, 1945, Major General Kustov was awarded the Order of Suvorov, II degree .

At the end of 1944, for 17 years of impeccable service in the ranks of the Soviet (Workers 'and Peasants' Red) Army, he was awarded the second Order of the Red Star .

On January 15, 1945, during the Mlava-Elbing offensive operation north of the city of Rozhan, skillfully commanding the 380th rifle division entrusted to him, he broke through the enemy’s heavily fortified defense line and, in six days of fighting, overcoming the intermediate lines of the enemy’s defense in a heavily crossed wooded marshland, advanced 36 kilometers deep into the enemy’s defense, which ensured the successful and rapid advance of other formations of the 121st Rifle Corps to the border with East Prussia . In these battles, the division destroyed 1,150 German soldiers and officers, 32 machine guns, 7 guns, 6 tanks, and 70 enemy soldiers and officers were captured. In these battles, Kustov was seriously injured, lay in a hospital for a long time, underwent several operations, his leg was amputated.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated 04/10/1945, Major General Kustov was awarded the Order of the Order of Kutuzov, II degree .

During the four years of the war A.F. Kustov lost three brothers on the fronts, he was wounded five times.

Former political worker of the 380th SD, retired colonel Y. Z. Valit in his book spoke of his commander as follows:

“Tall, strong build, dark face, open look. Always smart and tidy. He knew military affairs very well, and everyone immediately felt in him an experienced, mature, demanding commander. Colonel Kustov spent a lot of time in battalions, companies, checked everything to the smallest detail. He taught people to fight, paternally cared for them, did not miss the slightest opportunity to speak frankly, sincerely with a soldier. Every fighter knew him, and he knew, one might say, everyone. He had a wonderful memory for people. And all the people fell in love with him, believed their commander. ”

- Valit Yu.Z. Altai - Oryol - Mecklenburg. - Barnaul, 1977.

Post-war time

After the war, until December 1945 he continued to be treated in the hospital and in the Arkhangelsk sanatorium, then he was appointed head of the Chernigov military infantry school ^[1] .

Since July 1946, he commanded the 4th Separate Guards Rifle Prilukskaya Order of Lenin of the Red Banner Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky Brigade of the KVO ^[1] .

In March 1947 he was appointed head of the 4th Division of the Directorate of Combat Training of the Rifle Forces, and since May 1948, he served as head of the 6th Division of the Directorate of Combat Training of the Ground Forces ^[1] .

In August 1950, he was transferred to the Central Committee of the All-Union Council of DOSARM as Head of the Department of Military Training ^[1] .

On May 19, 1959, Major General Kustov was dismissed due to illness, he lived in Moscow. He died on December 8, 1962, was buried in Moscow ^[1] .

Order of the USSR

• Order of Lenin (1952 ^[2] )
• three orders of the Red Banner (07.27.1943, 06.19.1944, 1947 ^[2] )
• Order of Suvorov II degree (07.26.1945)
• Order of Kutuzov II degree (04/10/1945)
• two orders of the Red Star (08/16/1938, 11/03/1944 ^[2] )

Medals of the USSR including

• "For courage" (01/31/1942)
• "For the defense of Moscow"
• “For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.”

Orders (thanks) of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, in which A.F. Kustov and the 380th SD under his command are noted. ^[3]

• For the liberation of the city of Oryol. August 5, 1943 No. 2
• For crossing the Dnieper River and for liberating the large regional center of Belarus, the city of Mogilev - an operationally important defense center of the Germans in the Minsk direction, as well as for the capture of the cities of Shklov and Bykhov. June 28, 1944 No. 122
• For the liberation of the city and the fortress of Lomza, an important stronghold of the German defense on the Narev River. September 13, 1944 No. 186

Foreign awards

• Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire , CBE ( Great Britain ) (1944) ^[4] .

By the decision of the executive committee of the city Council of Workers' Deputies of the city of Oryol No. 862 of November 30, 1963, 2nd Silikatnaya Street, located in the Northern District of the city, was renamed Kustova Street.

• Team of authors. World War II: Divisional Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary. - M.: Kuchkovo field, 2015. - V. 4. - S. 533-534 - 330 copies. - ISBN 978-5-9950-0602-2
• Valit Yu.Z. Altai - Oryol - Mecklenburg. - Barnaul, 1977.
• Kustova Street // The streets of Oryol are named after them: Rec. decree. literature. - Vol. 1. - Oryol, 1977 .-- S. 29-30.
• Budkov A. D. Generals and generals of the Great Patriotic War June 22, 1941 - May 9, 1945: Textbook. - Eagle: publisher Alexander Vorobyov, 2005.

• Public electronic document bank “Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945”
• Press Agency “Red String” (Oryol) - article about A. F. Kustov (inaccessible link)
• 116th Separate Marine Rifle Brigade of the 2nd formation (inaccessible link)