Kirill Meretskov: Difference between revisions

| name = Kirill Meretskov

| image = Кирилл Афанасьевич Мерецков с сыном Владимиром (cropped).jpg

|death_date birth_date = {{deathOldStyleDate|7 date and age|1968|12|30June|1897|6|7|df=y26 May}}

|death_place birth_place = [[MoscowZaraysky District|Nazaryevo]], [[RussianRyazan SFSRGovernorate]], [[SovietRussian UnionEmpire]]

| placeofburial = [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis]]

| nickname =

| allegiance = {{Flag|Soviet Russia|1919}} (1917-19221917–1922) <br/>{{flag|Soviet Union|1936}} (1922-19641922–1964)

| serviceyears = 1917–1964

| rank = [[Marshal of the Soviet Union]] (1944-19641944–1964)

| unit =

| commands = [[Volga Military District]]<br>[[Leningrad Military District]]<br>[[7th Army (Soviet Union)|7th Army]]<br>[[Chief of the General Staff (Russia)|Chief of the General Staff]]<br>[[Volkhov Front]]<br>[[Karelian Front]]<br>[[Soviet Far East Front]]<br>[[Moscow Military District]]

* [[Petsamo–KirkenesSpanish OffensiveCivil War]]

* [[SovietWorld invasionWar of ManchuriaII]]

'''Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov''' ({{lang-ru|Кири́лл Афана́сьевич Мерецко́в}}; {{OldStyleDate|7 June|1897|26 May}} – 30 December 1968) was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] military commander. Having joined the Communist Party in 1917, he served in the [[Red Army]] from 1920. During the [[Winter War]] of 1939-19401939–1940 against Finland, he had the task of penetrating the [[Mannerheim Line]] as commander of the [[7th Army (Soviet Union)|7th Army]]. He was awarded the title of [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] shortly afterwards.

The NKVD arrested Meretskov at the start of [[Eastern Front (World War II)|invasion of the Soviet Union]]. Released two months later, he returned to command the 7th Army and later the [[Volkhov Front]] during the 1941–1944 [[siege of Leningrad]]. He commanded the [[Karelian Front]] from February 1944, notably the [[Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive]] of October 1944. From April 1945 he was assigned to the [[Soviet Far East | Far East]], where he commanded a [[Front (military formation) | front]] during the [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria |Soviet invasion of Japanese Manchuria]]. During the war he reached the rank of [[Marshal of the Soviet Union]].<ref name="Meretskov on warheroes.ru">

Meretskov was born at [[Zaraysky District|Nazaryevo]] in [[Ryazan Governorate]] (now in [[Moscow Oblast]]), southeast of [[Moscow]]. His parents were peasants of [[Russians|Russian]] ethnicity and lived in a rural village.<ref>[{{Cite web|url=http://warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1084]|title=Мерецков Кирилл Афанасьевич}}</ref> He was a factory worker from 1909, first in Moscow, later near [[Vladimir, Russia|Vladimir]]. He joined the [[Bolsheviks]] (later the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]) in August 1917, and became [[chief of staff]] of [[Red Guards (Russia)|Red Guard]] militia that helped to organise in the town. During the [[Russian Civil War]], he was chief of staff of a regiment, and later a division. In 1921, he graduated from the Military Academy (later the [[M. V. Frunze Military Academy]]).<ref name="Meretskov on warheroes.ru" />

==WinterWorld War II==

The next Soviet offensive began in February 1940. The heavy artillery support allowed the Soviet forces to breach the Mannerheim Line. Meretskov's 7th Army proceeded to takefight in [[Vyborg|Viborg]] which so far had resisted attempts of Soviet conquest. Less than two weeks after the signing of the [[Moscow Peace Treaty]], on March 21, 1940, Meretskov was awarded the title of [[Hero of the Soviet Union]]. Afterwards, Meretskov was promoted to rank of [[Army General (Russia)|army general]] and made Deputy Commissar of Defense. From August 1940 to January 1941, he was [[Chief of the General Staff (Russia)|Chief of the General Staff]].<ref name="Meretskov on warheroes.ru" /> He was dismissed on 14 January 1941, and on 24 January, Stalin spotted him at the [[Bolshoi Theatre|Bolshoi]] and, in front of witnesses: "You are courageous, capable, but without principles, spineless. You want to be nice, but you should have a plan instead and adhere to it strictly, despite the fact that someone or other is going to be resentful."<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Diary of Georgi Dimitrov 1933-1949|url = https://archive.org/details/diarygeorgidimit00dimi_120|url-access = limited|editor-last = Banac|editor-first = Ivo (editor)|publisher = Yale University Press|year = 2003|isbn = 0-300-09794-8|location = New Haven|pages = [https://archive.org/details/diarygeorgidimit00dimi_120/page/n194 145]}}</ref>

=== Operation Barbarossa ===

On June 22, 1941, when [[Operation Barbarossa]] started, Meretskov was appointed permanent adviser to Stavka. However, on JulyJune 23 he was arrested by the [[NKVD]] as a member of an alleged [[Purge of the Red Army in 1941|anti-Soviet military conspiracy]]. The exact reasons are unknown, and the case file was destroyed in 1955. Meretskov's close friendship with General [[Dmitry Pavlov (general)|Dmitry Pavlov]], the Soviet Commander of the Western Front who had been executed, is often considered a factor, although Pavlov, at the time, was yet to even be relieved of duty, much less arrested. [[Mark Solonin]], in his book ''June the 25th: Stupidity or Aggression'', proposes a theory that the actual reason might have been Meretskov's skepticism about the need to start bombardments of Finland, and his later release was due to him turning out to have been right, although he admits that direct evidence is unlikely to be found.<ref>''[http://www.solonin.org/en/article_mark-solonin-25-june-stupidity2 Mark Solonin. 25 June. Stupidity or aggression? Part 3]''</ref> After being subjected to two months of torture, including being beaten with rubber rods, and having one of his ribs broken by the notorious torturer [[Boris Rodos]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Murphy |first1=David E. |title=What Stalin Knew: The Enigma of Barbarossa |date=2005 |publisher=Yale U.P. |location=New Haven |isbn=0-300-10780-3 |page=229}}</ref> in [[Lubyanka Building|Lubyanka Prison]], Meretskov relented and signed a written confession.<ref name="Forczyk2009">{{cite book|author=Forczyk, Robert Forczyk|title=Leningrad 1941–44: The Epic Siege|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7AaaVUGaOVcC&pg=PA16|year=2009|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84603-441-1|pages=16–}}</ref> According to Nikita Khrushchev, "before his arrest, Meretskov had been a strapping young general, very strong and impressive-looking. After his release, he was a shadow of his former self. He had lost so much weight he could hardly speak."<ref>{{Cite book|title = Khrushchev Remembers|last = Khrushchev|first = Nikita|pages = 86}}</ref> Released in September, he was taken before the police chief, [[Vsevolod Merkulov]], whom he had known socially: he told Merkulov that their friendship was over. He was then presented to Stalin, in full army dress, and given command of the [[7th Army (Soviet Union)|7th Separate Army.]] His confession was used against other commanders arrested in May–July 1941, who were executed on the order of [[Lavrenty Beria]] near [[Samara, Russia|Kuybyshev]] on October 28, 1941, or sentenced by the [[Special Council of the NKVD]] and executed on February 23, 1942.<ref name="Meretskov on warheroes.ru" />

Meretskov's next major command was in [[Manchuria]] in 1945, in the [[Far East]], where he was selected to lead the [[1st Far East Front]] during the [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria]], under the overall command of [[Aleksandr Vasilevsky]]. According to the plan, the main force of the 1st Far East Front Army of set out from [[Primorsky Krai]], broke through the Japanese defense line set up in the East Manchuria, and carried out assaults against the [[Kwantung Army]] in [[Jilin]], in order to compete with Marshal [[Rodion Malinovsky]]'s [[Transbaikal Front]]. The Transbaikal Front Army cooperated and advanced towards [[Changchun]].<ref>K·A·梅列茨科夫. 为人民而战. 王树森等译. 解放军出版社. 1986年8月.</ref>

Meretskov's Far East First Front Army and [[Maksim Purkayev]]’s's [[2nd Far East Front]] jointly enclosed the Kwantung Army at [[Harbin]] in an area with a circumference of 1,500 kilometers. Before the attack on August 9th9, there was a heavy rain. Meretskov decisively ordered the attack without artillery fire as planned. The sudden attack worked and the Soviet army successfully seized the forward position. Within a week, the 1st Far East Front Army broke through. Thethe Kwantung Army's 1st Front Army permanently prepared fortifications and penetrated 120  km-150  km. The Japanese headquarters completely lost command of the team and did not organize strong resistance until August 15th15. After August 15th15, the Japanese tried to organize heavy resistance in [[Mudanjiang]], but they still could not stop the advancement of Meretskov's 1st Far East Front Army. On the 18th, the commander of the Kwantung Army [[Otozō Yamada]] did not reply to Meretskov's telegram requesting him to surrender. Meretskov ordered the [[airborne forces|airborne troop]]s to be dropped at Harbin and other airports. The Kwantung Army surrendered on August 19th19.

In addition to military work, Meretskov also did political work. At the end of August, he went to the Chinese brigade inspection training led by [[Zhou Baozhong]] and asked his subordinates to provide the report of the North Korean battalion commander by future [[leader of North Korea]] [[Kim Il-sung Sung]]. In September, Meretskov inspected the liberated cities of [[Changchun]], [[Shenyang]] and [[Dalian]], and assisted the [[Chinese Communist Party]] in restoring the party organization in the [[Northeast China]] and the establishment of the Northern Manchurian Committee of CCP. Meretskov was awarded the [[Order of Victory]].<ref name="Meretskov on warheroes.ru" /> As commander of Soviet forces in Korea, he launched the career of [[Kim Il- Sung]].

After the war Meretskov commanded a number of military districts until 1955 (including the [[Moscow Military District]] in 1947–49),<ref>Feskov et al. 2004, The Soviet Army during the Period of the Cold War</ref> when he was made the Assistant Minister of Defense, a post he held until 1964. In that year, he was made the Inspector-General Ministry of Defense, a largely ceremonial post.<ref name=r1/>

=== Death ===
Meretskov died on December 30, 1968, at the age of 71. The urn containing his ashes is buried in the [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis]]. A streetStreets in [[Moscow]], [[St. Petersburg]] and [[Petrozavodsk]] isare named after him.<ref name="Meretskov on warheroes.ru" />

|[[Hero of the Soviet Union]] (№No. 242–21 March 1940)<ref name=r1>{{cite web|url=http://warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1084|title = Мерецков Кирилл Афанасьевич|work=warheroes.ru}}</ref>

|[[File:Ordervictory ribOrderVictoryRibbon.pngsvg|60px]]

|[[Order of Victory]] (№No. 18–8 September 1945)

|[[Medal "For the Victory over Japan" (Mongolia)|Medal "For Victory over Japan"]] ([[Mongolian People's Republic]], 1946)

|[[File:PRK_Order_of_the_National_Flag_DPRK ribbon bar -_1st_Class_BAR Order of National Flag 1st Class.pngsvg|60px]]

|[[File:US_Legion_of_Merit_Commander_ribbonUS_Legion_of_Merit_Chief_Commander_ribbon.png|60px]]

|[[Legion of Merit]], Chief Commander ([[USA]]US, 1946)

Meretskov is a character in the 2009 novel ''[[The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (novel)|The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared]]''.

[[Category:Candidates of the Central Committee of the Communist18th PartyCongress of the Soviet All-Union candidateCommunist Party members(Bolsheviks)]]