Andrei Antonovich Grechko - Marshal of the Soviet UnionUnion, twice Hero of the USSR. He was Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union and Commander-in-Chief of Soviet troops in Germany. A famous party and statesman.
Andrey Antonovich Grechko, family who lived in the Rostov region, in a smallthe village of Golodayevka, was born in 1903, on October 17. Now in this place is the village of Kuibyshevo. His mother, Olga Karpovna, gave birth to fourteen children. Andrei Antonovich was born on the thirteenth. His father, Anton Vasilyevich, was a simple peasant. But since the family was very large, and there was not enough money, he was still working as a physical education teacher at a local school.
Andrei Antonovich Grechko, whose biography began with Golodayevka, often recalled his native village. In memory, comrades in games, strict, but a good teacher and classmates, always remained.
Andrei Antonovich since childhood was very smartand restless. Villagers remembered that he did not differ in obedience, often acted contrary to the requirements of his parents. From the childhood Andrei Antonovich has a good imagination. And my favorite game was "war."
Once Andrei decided to play without demandweapons. And miraculously survived. Father often told his sons about military service. Andrei listened to him with ecstasy. Perhaps later these stories also played a role in choosing the life path.
In 1919, the Bolsheviks launched an offensive againstRostov. Then Andrei first saw the Red Army men who entered the village. The locals went out to meet them, and he looked with admiration and envy at the Budyonovs. Andrei saw that among them there were sixteen-year-olds of his age.
The army needed urgent delivery of ammunition.Therefore, the Red Army men borrowed all the horses in the village. Andrey drove ammunition to Rostov on his horse. And there he persuaded Stepan Vasilenko, the commander of the squadron, to take him to the service. So fulfilled his dream. He received uniforms, weapons and joined the army.
After the liberation of Rostov Andrew returned to the village to visit his family. He announced to his family that he had become a military man. The father approved his decision.
Всю Гражданскую войну будущий маршал Гречко, whose family supported him in his desire to make a military career, fought as an ordinary Red Army man. Courses of commanders, he graduated in Krasnodar. And in 1926 he began to study in a cavalry school. Successfully graduated from it, and he was entrusted to command a platoon. A little later - a squadron in the 1st Separate Cavalry Brigade.
In 1938Andrei Antonovich Grechko became the chief of staff of the Special cavalry division of the BOVO. And the next year he defended Western Ukraine and Belarus from the Germans in order to deprive Germany of a chance to gain a foothold in these territories.
When the Great Patriotic War began,Andrei Antonovich still studied at the Academy of the General Staff. Already taking the last exam in June 1941, Grechko understood that the USSR was in serious danger. Three days later, the war broke out. He immediately tore to the front, into the thick of events, but only a few of his classmates were sent to study.
The future Marshal Grechko, whose biography is closelyconnected with military service, was sent to the headquarters of the General Staff. Andrei Antonovich was confused. He understood that this was a responsible appointment, but he really wanted to get to the battlefield. He began to look for an opportunity to realize his desire. As a result, he served in the General Staff only twelve days.
Workers of the General Staff worked for days andnights. If you could sleep, then only in the workplace. At the front, the situation changed rapidly, and sometimes it was almost impossible to track the course of the struggle. Information coming to the General Staff was often sketchy and sometimes even contradictory. Grechko led a summary map of the operational situation.
First, Andrei Antonovich was angry at the staffwork, wishing to get into the thick of events - to the front. And only when I got there, I realized how difficult it is to orient myself in the situation of the staff of the General Staff, and what responsibility falls on their shoulders. It was very difficult to report accurate data. And they still had to be transferred "upstairs."
Andrei Antonovich, the future Marshal of the USSR Grechko,whose biography is closely connected with the military service from the youth, after long meditations he nevertheless turned to the people's commissar Tymoshenko and asked to go to the front. After a while the answer came. Grechko was appointed commander of a cavalry division. He was heading for Kharkov, on the South-Western Front. In Priluki, Grechko was to form the 34th Cavalry Division.
The first days at the front for Andrei Antonovich werethe heaviest. The practice of military operations was very different from the theory that was taught in peacetime. Grechko had to navigate and adjust to the circumstances immediately on the spot and in the shortest possible time. There was not enough ammunition. There was nothing to stop even the infantry, not speaking about the tanks. And the authorities about this were silent and only gave orders to advance and smash the Germans. Grechko's division, clenched teeth, fought in these nightmarish conditions.
But already in 1941The Red Army began to win. This year, Grechko was already in charge of the 5th Cavalry Corps, which in 1942 freed Barvenkovo. After many successful battles, a little later, Andrei Antonovich was handed over to the 12th army, defending the Voroshilovgrad direction. Then, in the fall of 1942, Grechko began to command the 47th Army. They defended the Black Sea coast. Later he became commander of the 18th Army, operating in the direction of Tuapse.
После победы под Сталинградом в 1943 г.the future Marshal Grechko of the USSR began to command the 56th Army. On October 9, he was the first to report to the General Staff on the liberation of the Caucasus. Andrei Antonovich has proven himself in numerous battles and was appointed deputy commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front. Thanks to the skillful regrouping of troops, which Grechko led, the 3rd Panzer and 38th Armys defeated the Germans in Kiev with a powerful offensive.
In 1943Grechko Andrei Antonovich (the war years brought him invaluable military experience) was already in the rank of colonel-general. He was appointed to command the 1st Guards Army, which was then in his submission until the end of the war. Grechko troops participated in the liberation of Zhytomyr, Czechoslovakia, Poland. Then Grechko's army reached Prague.
After Victory in the Great Patriotic Warfuture marshal Grechko Andrei Antonovich led the troops of the Kiev district. In 1953, Mr .. became commander of all Soviet military units stationed in Germany. In June of the same year led the suppression of the uprising.
Grechko was visited in his native village.She was in a deplorable state, completely destroyed. Andrei Antonovich helped all countrymen to “get back on their feet” after the war. Thanks to his support, the village was quickly restored. Helped by technology, labor. He took patronage over other villages and entire districts destroyed during the war. New houses, administrative buildings, schools were built.
In early 1967Rodion Malinovsky was the Minister of Defense. But he did not welcome new directions (equipment, helicopters, space exploration, etc.). This was done just Andre Grechko, Marshal of the USSR. As a result, he was able to gather around him many talented and young cadres who are ready for the further development of the country.
Малиновский не доработал до пенсии.He fell ill and found himself in a hospital, from which he no longer left. Brezhnev appointed Andrei Antonovich Grechko to replace him. In the post of Minister of Defense of the USSR, he worked for 9 years. He showed himself to be a demanding and principled leader. I did not tolerate people who were “out of place.” He carefully selected personnel, paying attention to his track record.
For example, General Joseph Gusakovsky decidedreview staff and rejuvenate it. He listed many high military leaders, who had vast experience, to replace them with younger ones. Brought this document for approval Grechko. Andrei Antonovich, having read the list, offered to head it to Gusakovsky. Thus, the general lost his position. Grechko highly appreciated the experience and achievements of war veterans.
Marshal Grechko was loved and respected by the Sovietby the troops. He was interested and supported the development of new technology. Thanks to him, combat helicopters and modified improved tanks appeared in service in the country. He demanded that the soldiers constantly go in for sports so that they were in uniform at any moment.
According to his decrees, military camps were built, officerscould get housing from the state. Salaries of the military grew, so they had no problems how to feed the family and send the children to kindergarten. Thanks to Grechko, the country gradually rose from ruins. New training centers were being built, military exercises and trainings were constantly taking place. The rank of officer was valued "worth its weight in gold."
Gradually advancing military careerthe stairs, from 1955. Andrei Antonovich Grechko - Marshal of the Soviet Union. This is the highest military rank he has achieved, starting service in the army with a simple Red Army soldier bringing ammunition. Despite his high position, Grechko did not try to interfere in the activities of the KGB. Andrei Antonovich believed that politics and the army are different concepts.
After receiving the title of Marshal, in 1957Grechko was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the ground forces and at the same time the first deputy minister of defense of the USSR. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union, Andrei Antonovich, was awarded in February 1958 for the heroism and courage shown in the struggle against the fascists.
In 1960, he became head of the United Armed Forces of the states that concluded the Warsaw Pact. In 1973, he received the second Gold Star medal.
Many who met with Andrei Antonovich,remember him as a man of his word. Intelligent, educated, experienced defense minister. Even in combat conditions, Grechko was always dressed neatly, clean-shaven. His communication was always correct, he knew how to listen to a person, did not make hasty decisions.
Grechko (Marshal of the USSR) was a devoted fanCSKA. He did more for the football club than all other ministers. After the war, he even placed the team at home when CSKA came to Kiev. And when Grechko was in the capital, he took up the problems of the club more closely. CSKA, thanks to Grechko, acquired not only the stadium and arena, but also the training base in Arkhangelsk and other sports facilities.
Grechko had a wife (worked as a teacher) and a daughterTatyana. Andrei Antonovich died in 1976. And later, in 1990, Grechko’s wife was buried. Andrei Antonovich adopted his granddaughters, twins Claudius and Irina, who were born to their only daughter. The newly minted "daughters" grew up, got married and gave birth to a girl. And they were also adopted by Andrei Antonovich Grechko. His children and granddaughters after the death of the parent subsequently received pensions from the state. And since childhood, the governess looked after them.
When Andropov took up the post of Minister of Defense, hetried to increase the influence and growth of State Security structures. But Grechko, Marshal of the USSR, negatively reacted to this and “slowed down” the General Secretary. The relationship between them was strained. Historians believe that Andropov wanted complete power and gradually "cleaned" those disagreeable to him on the way to the "state Olympus".
Very often, prominent figures died somehow veryat a wrong time. Most often, the person went to sleep completely healthy. And in the morning the guard found a cold corpse in the bed. Oddly enough, but Andrei Antonovich’s earthly journey ended just that way. In 1976, on April 26, Grechko, Marshal of the USSR, returned from work to the dacha belonging to him in good health. As always, I went to bed calmly. And in the morning they found his body in bed.
Death overtook the marshal suddenly.Grechko died in a dream. There were no signs of a violent death, and the doctors could not establish the cause of the death of Andrei Antonovich. On the contrary, they claimed that Grechko was in excellent physical shape. Therefore, his death was more than strange. The urn with the ashes of Andrei Antonovich is located on Red Square, in the Kremlin wall.
