Alexander Rodimtsev

Alexander Rodimtsev
Born (1905-03-08)8 March 1905
Scharlyk. Orenburg Oblast, Russian Empire
Died 13 April 1977(1977-04-13) (aged 72) [1]
Moscow, Soviet Union
Allegiance  Soviet Union
Service/branch Soviet Army
Years of service 1927–1977
Rank Colonel-General
Unit 13th Guards Rifle Division; 32nd Guards Rifle Corps, which included the 13th Guards Rifle Division, the 66th Guards Rifle Division, and the 6th Guards Airborne Division
Commands held Deputy Commander of the Eastern Siberian Military District and the Northern Military District
Battles/wars Spanish Civil War; Eastern Front of the Second World War, including the Battle of Kharkov, Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk, and Operation Bagration
Awards


Order of Lenin; Order of the October Revolution; Order of the Red Banner; Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st class; Order of Suvorov; Order of the Red Star; Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad"; Medal "For the Defence of Kiev", Medal "For the Liberation of Prague";, Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945", Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945", Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" as well as multiple medals from foreign governments.


Alexander Ilich Rodimtsev (1905–1977, Russian: Александр Ильич Родимцев) was a Colonel-General in the Soviet Red Army during World War II and twice won the Hero of the Soviet Union award (in 1937 and 1945).[2]

Rodimtsev joined the Red Army in the 1920s. He fought in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republicans against Francisco Franco in 1936-1937, where he earned his first decoration as a Hero of the Soviet Union. During the course of the Second World War, he is best remembered for his role in the Battle of Stalingrad, where he brilliantly commanded the 13th Guards Rifle Division which earned him his second order of Hero of the Soviet Union. The division was charged to hold the Germans between Mamayev Kurgan and Tsaritsa Gorge, which his outnumbered and outgunned force successfully did. Rodimtsev was vastly popular with his troops and was well known for his bravery.

In 1943, after the Battle of Stalingrad, Rodimtsev commanded the 32nd Guards Rifle Corps, which included the 13th Guards Rifle Division, the 66th Guards Rifle Division, and the 6th Guards Airborne Division. The 32nd Guards Rifle Corps was an element of the 5th Guards Army, which was a part of the Steppe Front (commanded by Marshal Ivan Konev), and engaged SS Panzer divisions at the Battle of Kursk.[2]

After the war Rodimtsev served as the Deputy Commander of the Eastern Siberian Military District, then served as a military attaché in Albania, before serving again as a deputy commander for a Military District, this time for the Northern Military District.[2]

References

  1. Карелия: энциклопедия: в 3 т. / гл. ред. А. Ф. Титов. Т. 3: Р — Я. — Петрозаводск: ИД «ПетроПресс», 2011. С. 319—384 с.: ил., карт. ISBN 978-5-8430-0127-8 (т. 3)
  2. 1 2 3 Биография Александра Ильича Родимцева

External links

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