Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Biriuzov

Sergei Semenovich Biriuzov (August 21, 1904-October 19, 1964) Marshal of the Soviet Union, Chief of the General Staff, born in Skopin, in the province of Ryazan. At 18, joined the Red Army, where he was steadily promoted to become the commander of a battalion before going to the Frunze Military Academy in 1934. He graduated in 1937, after which he became the Chief of Staff of a rifle division. In 1939 he was made Chief of Operations for the Kharkov Military district, a position he held until August 1939, after which he became the commanding officer of the 132nd Rifle Division.

Biriuzov commanded this unit for the next three years, a rarity among Soviet generals, especially during World War II. Soviet generals rarely held command positions for longer than a few months at most. Biriuzov’s division was apart of Southwestern and Bryansk Fronts. Birizuov was a fine division commander, often times leading his division personally into battle. Within the first year of Operation Barbarossa (June 1941), Biriuzov had been wounded five times, two times rather severely. In April 1942, he was made the Chief of Staff of the 48th Army, which was apart of Bryansk Front. He commanded this unit until November 1942, when he was made the Chief of Staff of the 2nd Guards Army. He was in this position until April 1943, helping to lead this powerful unit during Operation Saturn, when 2nd Guards Army helped crush the German 6th Army after the Germans had been surrounded during the Battle of Stalingrad.

In April 1943, he was made the Chief of Staff of the Southern Front, where he was a valuable aid to the Southern Front commander, Fedor Tolbukhin. On October 20, 1943, Southern Front was renamed 4th Ukrainian Front. Biriuzov remained the Chief of Staff until May 1944 when he was transferred to 3rd Ukrainian Front, along with Tolbukhin. In October 1944, Biriuzov was transferred to command the 37th Army, which was apart of 3rd Ukrainian Front. He held this position through the end of the war, until May 1946. In these command positions, Biriuzov helped plan and carry out the expulsion of all German forces from the Ukraine, and then helped plan and carry out the invasion of the Balkans.

After these commands, Biriuzov was made the Head of the Soviet Military Mission in Bulgaria, a position he held until 1947. Between 1947 and 1955, Biriuzov held numerous command positions, but he didn’t remain in any position too long. On March 11, 1955, Biriuzov was given the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Between April 1955 and April 1962, Biriuzov was the Commander in Chief of the National Air Defense Force. After this, he was made Commander in Chief of the Strategic Missile Force, and in 1963, he was made the Chief of the General Staff. On October 19, 1964, Biriuzov was killed in a plane crash near Belgrade. The urn containing his ashes is buried in the Kremlin.