Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov: biography, photo

Marshal Shaposhnikov is one of the most famousfigures of the Soviet Union and an outstanding commander. Almost all his life he devoted to military craft. He served the Motherland from his youth and died while remaining in office. Having passed the way from the trench to the office, Boris left behind him unique works that are still relevant and are applied to modern armed forces.

Biography of Marshal Shaposhnikov

Boris was born in 1882. His mother was a teacher in high school, and his father was a professional soldier. Perhaps this is what predetermined the fate of the future marshal. After leaving school, Boris goes to the school, finishing it in 1899. After that, he decides to link his life with military craft. He enters the capital's military school, where he studies perfectly. Releasing, he was the only one of the whole stream received the rank of lieutenant. He was sent to serve in Tashkent, where Boris was entrusted with a company. During the service, Shaposhnikov continued his studies. He graduated from the Academy of the General Staff, which allowed him to take the post of captain.

With the outbreak of World War I went toThe Western Front. There he was assigned to the cavalry 14th Division. Fought in the post of adjutant. I was personally on the front line, where I received a serious wound. Then he served in several staffs. During the war, he was awarded several awards. It was on the battlefields of the First World that the future Marshal Shaposhnikov showed his knowledge of tactics. He was well versed in operational issues and offered the best solutions to local problems.

Since the beginning of the political crisis in the Russianthe empire, Boris Mikhailovich takes an active part in the activities of the Military Revolutionary Committee in the Caucasus, where delegates elect him commander of the Grenadier Division.

Revolution and the beginning of the civil war

By the beginning of the civil war Marshal Shaposhnikov had alreadywas demobilized. In late May, he is enrolled in the Red Army. Almost immediately he holds the post of intelligence chief. Actively involved in the development of plans. Sits in the operational headquarters. Improves the tactics of conducting combat operations of the Red Army (Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army). His fine understanding of the local situation on the fronts is again manifested. Boris's colleagues celebrate a special sense, thanks to which he perfectly identifies the enemy's weak points.

In those days, the Red Army was only being created andfor the most part, in the confusion and chaos of the civil war, it was an irregular insurgent formation. Coordination of actions and development of a common strategy were very difficult. Field commanders acted on the basis of their vision of the problem. The future marshal Shaposhnikov actively created the directives and basic principles of the young army. Thanks to his developments in the field of command and organization of the work of the General Staff, the Reds managed to defeat Denikin in the West and in the Crimea.

After the Civil War

After the victory in the civil war, Boris tooka number of leading positions in various army structures. Engaged in scientific activities. Continues to develop and systematize the directives of the Red Army. Then these issues were very widely discussed in the country, as many politicians had different views on the aims and tasks of the Red Army.

In 1940 he was awarded the rank of marshalSoviet Union. In the same year, Marshal Shaposhnikov holds the post of deputy People's Commissar for the construction of URs (fortification areas). In June, is part of the stewardship of the commander-in-chief. Participates in the development of an overall strategy.

Winter counteroffensive

The first year of the war was a real hell forThe Red Army. Endless retreat, huge losses - all this exhausted the fighters and the command. In the fall of 1942, Gudarian's forces were already approaching Moscow. Panic moods in the people increased. Everyone understood the need for urgent measures. At the beginning of January 1942, a meeting of the Supreme Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief was convened. This meeting is the last hope for a change in the situation and the stopping of the Reich combat vehicle. Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov prepared the most extensive report. In it, he described the plan for pushing the enemy away from Moscow. Moreover, the report presented assumed a broad strategic offensive on all fronts. This part caused extensive controversy with Georgy Zhukov and several other commanders.

The offensive near Moscow and the Southwest

One way or another, throw the Nazis away from Moscowmanaged. But a vast offensive drowned in the redoubts of the German defense. People and equipment are constantly in short supply. The recruiting had to be taught directly in echelons. From the beginning of January, an offensive operation was being prepared in the Barvenkovo ​​area. The forces of the two fronts were to be a coordinated blow to throw the enemy to the sea. Marshal Boris Mikhailovich Shaposhnikov hoped for this sector of the front, because here the defense of the Germans was the least dense and it could be broken through by capturing strong points. The Red Army men are bogged down in heavy fighting. The grouping was still surrounded, but it was not possible to completely defeat the enemy. The Germans managed to create strong points in all settlements, and this prevented their defense from flanking. Despite the huge losses, the Soviet troops still managed to partially fulfill the strategic task. WASH sends the results of the operation, the material is examined by Marshal Shaposhnikov (photos of German positions were made from the air with the help of airplanes).

Bound in the Donbass and Kharkov, the Germans lost the opportunity to transfer reinforcements to Moscow. Therefore, in fact, it was thanks to the Barvenkovo-Lozovskaya operation that the capital was saved.

End of the Red Army's offensive

Simultaneously with the offensive on the Southern andThe South-Western fronts began a large-scale counterattack near Moscow. Without proper replenishment, the German troops trembled and retreated. But there was no way to develop a serious offensive. Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov did not expect defeat in the Crimea and in a number of other places. Beginning the offensive near Vyazma, the Red Army rested in impregnable Rzhev, where the fascists managed to create a serious line of defense. Therefore, after a retreat for a maximum of 100 kilometers, the Third Reich troops again began to sail to the east, and managed to stop them only at Stalingrad.

In the summer of 1942, Marshal BM Shaposhnikov becomes the chief of the General Staff of the General Staff. His assessment of the events still had a huge weight, despite the fact that Vasilevsky was appointed to his previous position. It is noted that personally Stalin had Shaposhnikov in good standing. Boris was honored to be named after his patronymic. Stalin always listened to his advice and plans. This is also evidenced by the choice of the leader of the plan for the winter offensive Shaposhnikov, when against him expressed himself Zhukov.

Death

Having gone through 3 wars (two of which are world ones), on my ownhaving learned the way from the trench to the chief of the General Staff, Marshal Shaposhnikov died of illness in 1945. Before the Victory there were only 44 days ... After himself, he left a lot of scientific works, among which - the famous "Brain of the Army."