A significant figure: he became the first defense minister after Zhukov to be appointed to the Politburo; his name is also associated military operation in Czechoslovakia, and events on Damansky Island, and vietnam war, and two Arab-Israeli conflicts...
The marshal's military achievements and his political movements were described in some detail. But about privacy marshal, his behavior in stressful situations and the mystery of his death, not much is known. Today we introduce readers of Komsomolskaya Pravda to some little-known pages of the biography of Andrei Antonovich Grechko.
GRECHKO AND YELTSIN HAD THE SAME SPARRING PARTNER
Marshal Grechko was a passionate sports fan. Together with Brezhnev, he regularly attended hockey and football matches with the participation of CSKA. Moreover, if Brezhnev became interested in watching sports competitions in the sixties, Grechko was an experienced fan, communicating with army football players and hockey players since the late forties...
Long before President Yeltsin popularized tennis, USSR Defense Minister Andrei Grechko became interested in this game. And I got seriously interested. Twice a week he went to the CSKA stadium, where he spent an hour and a half on the tennis court, quite decent for his age (he played when he was over 70). It is curious that Grechko and Yeltsin had the same sparring partner! In 1967-1968 conscript service Shamil Tarpishchev, the current captain of the Russian national tennis team, was in the CSKA sports team. And he played against the minister several times. And a quarter of a century later, he also attracted Boris Yeltsin to tennis...
The head of Grechko’s security, Evgeniy Rodionov, recalled several years ago that he was even coached by the first Soviet Wimbledon finalist Olga Morozova, who moved to CSKA in 1969: “We still had tennis at that time, it was not ranked, but we went to CSKA and the Minister of Defense played court Olga Morozova was with him all the time, playing for the guard, giving him the opportunity to physically support himself.”
The marshal himself played volleyball well, walked a lot and generally kept himself in shape. And he even forced members of the Military Council of the Ministry of Defense to do physical training. And marshals Kulikov, Yakubovsky, Sokolov. Batitsky, Tolubko, Gelovani, Alekseev and Ogarkov came to the CSKA Weightlifting Palace at seven in the morning twice a week and, under the leadership of the Honored Master of Sports, Lieutenant Colonel Alexei Desyatchikov, trained for an hour and a half, warmed up, and played volleyball. The last training took place four days before Grechko’s death. The new minister Dmitry Ustinov preferred to watch sporting events from the sidelines...
TO STOKE OR NOT TO STOKE, THAT IS THE QUESTION
The early morning of November 9, 1975 turned out to be extremely restless for the Minister of Defense. After celebrating another (as it turned out, his last) anniversary October revolution. He decided to relax a little and go hunting. Grechko was a big fan of this business. And his arsenal of weapons was appropriate - 128 barrels of shotguns, rifles and pistols. A small hunting reserve of the Ministry of Defense not far from Volokolamsk was a place where the marshal could rest peacefully. He stayed in a small house, and he was accompanied only by employees of the 9th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR.
Marshal Grechko was not given a normal night's sleep that night. At the beginning of five in the morning, the head of security heard a call on the phone closed communication. The Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Kulikov, called: “Evgeny, I need the minister urgently!” “I tell him,” recalled Yevgeny Rodionov, “Viktor Georgievich, the Minister of Defense is resting, how can I go to his apartment?” But Kulikov insisted, ordered Grechko to be woken up immediately and took full responsibility for this. And not in vain, the matter was very serious...
The night before, the political officer of the big anti-submarine ship The “watchman” of the 128th brigade of missile ships of the Baltic Fleet, Captain 3rd Rank Sablin, isolated the commander and some of the officers and midshipmen, and then, in the presence of the rest, outlined his vision of the situation in the country and his intention to move to Kronstadt to demand the opportunity to speak on television.
One way or another, the newest Soviet warship weighed anchor, put to sea from the Riga roadstead and moved towards Sweden. Quite a lot has been written about these events, but today we provide the readers of Komsomolskaya Pravda to get acquainted with how decisions were made that morning in reality. top level. Major of the 9th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR Yevgeny Rodionov spent all this time next to the minister. He carried out the order of the Chief of the General Staff. Grechko picked up the phone in the bedroom, where the call was transferred to him, came out after about half a minute and ordered to be ready to leave in five minutes. A heavy government ZIL was flying along the Volokolamsk Highway at a speed of 160-180 kilometers per hour. “We almost crashed in Krasnogorsk,” recalled the head of the minister’s security, “there was ice and the car spun really bad. And in Moscow we also drove at great speed. It was about half past five in the morning, I just had time to direct the police officers over the phone so that they would block the traffic.” All commanders and all deputies gathered at the Ministry of Defense. The minister was determined and expressed the opinion that the ship should be destroyed by a missile strike. Marshal Kulikov suggested delaying the use of missiles and the involvement of aviation. Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, chief marshal Aviation Pavel Kutakhov was ready to launch missile-carrying aircraft, but it was difficult for them to turn around the ship.
According to Rodionov, for about twenty minutes they could not decide what to do with the ship. But it was already necessary to report to Brezhnev and Andropov... In general, Marshal Grechko was sitting in his office, Marshal Kulikov was in his, and Marshal Kutakhov was in the left reception room near the minister’s office. And everyone decided for a long time: to sink the ship or not to sink it... Moreover, the pilots reported that there were many ships in the water area and they could not see the side number (it is known that bombs were dropped along the course of our border boat and near our dry cargo ship).
When the bomb damaged the Storozhevoy’s rudders and it stopped moving, Marshal Grechko was informed about this. He thought for a minute. And then he gave the order: the Komsomolets submarine should keep the mutinous ship at gunpoint and escort it to the port. And prepare documents on the disbandment of the crew and their distribution among different fleets. Despite the fact that everything ended relatively well, Rodionov spoke skeptically about the effectiveness of the management of senior military officials: “Summarizing all this, I will say that approximately 38-40 minutes passed. And I already had some kind of feeling, some kind of demoralization in the Ministry of Defense. Somewhere in the headquarters the threads of control were torn. They couldn’t stop one ship for forty minutes!”
MARSHAL BREZHNEV? OVER MY CORPSE!
The Minister of Defense, an athletic and fit man who was in good physical shape, died unexpectedly for many. And although 72 years is not a young age, his death seemed strange and unexpected. Colonel General Varennikov, former commander of the USSR Ground Forces, wrote: “I couldn’t believe in the natural death of A.A. Grechko and that’s it! And this disbelief remains to this day. Moreover, it has intensified.” General Varennikov considered the culprit in Grechko’s death to be the secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Dmitry Ustinov, who was striving for the post of Minister of Defense. And, by the way, he hinted at the possibility of Grechko’s suicide.
Two years before his death, the marshal could have died during a visit to Iraq. The head of his security, Yevgeny Rodionov, recalled: “When the delegation was supposed to go to a meeting in the hall, the minister got dressed, cleaned himself up, and went to the toilet. And we hear a crash in the toilet. I quickly open the door and practically don’t see him. He's covered in dust from the plaster. The ceiling collapsed. Apparently, the Iraqi employees also heard the roar and began to rush into our apartments, but we did not let them in. Andrei Antonovich came out, we quickly washed him. He had a small abrasion on his forehead. Lev Mikhailovich Maltsev, his personal doctor, was with us. He repaired this wound, completely unnoticeably.”
But, most likely, the death of the Minister of Defense was still natural. Yevgeny Rodionov spoke about this event like this at one time: “It was at eight o’clock in the morning. We had to arrive half an hour before, there was some kind of meeting. And I was already dressed, the car was already moving, so I approached Tatyana: “Has Comrade Minister eaten?” She says: “Yes, he didn’t go out today.” I say: “Why, he didn’t come out, we should be at the meeting at half past nine!” I tell her: “Go to him,” and she says: “I won’t go.” He did not allow anyone to enter his small outbuilding where he lived.
He was there alone the whole time. And he, as it turned out, sat down to read an article by one of the professors on health in a chair with armrests. And at about twenty-one o'clock he died.
But then we didn’t know this and asked the great-granddaughter to go to his room, and he melted when the great-granddaughter came running to him. She came running from there and said: “Aunt Tanya, Aunt Tanya, grandpa is cold, we need him a blanket.” Well, when she said that grandpa was cold and he was sitting in a chair, I immediately, as I was, in my overcoat, rushed into the room. He was sitting in a chair, leaning on one arm, a sheet of paper fell from his hand. I touched him... and he already had cadaverous spots.”
And the security chief also recalled the following incident: “Brezhnev called: “Where is Andrei?” He called the minister Andrey, everyone called him, of course, by his first name and patronymic, but he called him Andrey. “Where is Andrey?” I tell him that the minister is at the dacha, now walking. He walked barefoot, he probably had thick blood. He had something vascular. By the way, he died from this. He had a blood clot, he had a blood clot...”
In the spring of 1976, there were rumors that Defense Minister Grechko, when asked whether Brezhnev would become a marshal, replied: “Only over my corpse!” One way or another, on April 26, the death of Marshal Grechko was announced, and ten days later the conferral of this military rank to “dear Leonid Ilyich.”
Grechko Andrey Antonovich (born October 4 (17), 1903 - death April 26, 1976) - Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1955), twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1958, 1973) During the Great Patriotic War, he was the commander of a number of armies. 1945-1953 - commanded the troops of the Kyiv Military District. 1953-1957 – Commander-in-Chief of the Group Soviet troops in Germany. 1957-1967 – 1st Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. 1960-1967 – Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact member states. Minister of Defense of the USSR since 1967. Member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee since 1973.
Origin. early years
The future marshal was born in the village of Golodayevka, Taganrog district, Don region. Father - Anton Vasilyevich Grechko, mother - Olga Karpovna. The son of a peasant, there were 14 children in the family, Andrei was the thirteenth child. His youth fell on the civil war, and he chose the military path for himself. At the age of 16, Andrei joined the 11th Cavalry Division of the 1st Cavalry Army.
Service before the Great Patriotic War
During the Civil War, the future marshal fought as a private in a cavalry division against the general's troops on the Southern Front, then on the Caucasian Front during the liberation of the North Caucasus.
1926 - Andrei Grechko graduated from cavalry school, 1936 - Military Academy them. M.V. Frunze. 1938, October - was appointed chief of staff of the special cavalry division BOVO. 1939 - took part in the liberation campaign in Western Belarus. 1941 - graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff.
The Great Patriotic War
For the first time, George could get married in his youth. Him…
During the Great Patriotic War, from July 3, 1941, he was the commander of the 34th separate cavalry division of the Southwestern Front. 1942, January - commanded the 5th Cavalry Corps, from March - the operational group of troops of the Southern Front, from April - army commander. He distinguished himself in the battle for the Caucasus. 1942, autumn - together with other armies, his troops stopped the enemy near Novorossiysk and Tuapse.
1943, October - deputy commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front. 1943, December 15 - appointed commander of the 1st guards army, which took part in the Zhitomir-Berdichev, Proskurov-Chernivtsi, Lviv-Sandomierz, East Carpathian, Moravian-Ostrava and Prague operations.
1943 - was deputy to General N.F. Vatutin during the capture of Kyiv, and then Marshal. In December he was appointed commander of the 1st Guards Army, which he commanded until the end of the war.
Post-war career
A romance between a nurse and an army commander...
IN post-war period- was the commander of the troops of the Kyiv Military District. 1946 - elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. 1953–1957 - Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. 1955, March 1 – Marshal of the Soviet Union. 1957 – Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces. 1960 - Appointed Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact countries. 1967-1976 – Minister of Defense of the USSR.
1969 - was Hero of Czechoslovakia Socialist Republic. Marshal Grechko wrote the books: “Battle for the Caucasus”, “Across the Carpathians”, “Years of War 1941-1943”, etc.
Last years. Death
Andrei Antonovich was married (she worked as a teacher). The marriage produced a daughter, Tatyana.
Andropov replaced Marshal Grechko as Minister of Defense. He immediately set about strengthening the influence of the State Security Service structures, but Andrei Antonovich Grechko was still able to “slow down” him in this endeavor.
1976, April 26 - despite enviable health and good physical shape, Marshal Grechko died in his sleep at his dacha. The doctors did not find any traces of violence or any reason for such an untimely death.
He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall. The bronze bust was installed in his homeland in the village of Kuibyshevo, Rostov region.
The marshal's name was given to the Naval Academy. Avenue in Moscow, streets in the cities of Kyiv, Slavyansk Donetsk region and Rovenki, Lugansk region, are named after him.
Awards
Awards of Marshal Grechko Andrei Antonovich: Two Gold Stars - Hero of the Soviet Union (02/1/1958, 10/16/1973); six Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of Suvorov 1st degree and Order of Suvorov 2nd degree, two Orders of Kutuzov 1st degree, two Orders of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st degree, a total of 15 orders and 10 medals; He was awarded an honorary weapon - a personalized saber with the golden Coat of Arms of the USSR (1968). He was also awarded 10 foreign orders and medals.
Marshal of the Soviet Union, head of the country's Ministry of Defense Andrei Antonovich Grechko died suddenly at his dacha on April 26, 1976. The marshal's contemporaries noted that at 72 years old, he could give odds to many young people. Andrei Grechko continued to actively engage in sports, and nothing foreshadowed such an unexpected death. In many ways, it was this circumstance that became the reason for the emergence of conspiracy theories around the death of the marshal. In addition, shortly before his death, the head of the USSR Ministry of Defense, Andrei Grechko, dropped the phrase: “Only over my corpse,” commenting on Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev’s desire to become a marshal. 10 days after the death of Andrei Grechko, Leonid Brezhnev nevertheless became a marshal.
Andrey Antonovich Grechko was born in the small village of Golodayevka, Kuibyshevsky district Rostov region in October 1903. He took part in the Civil War, joining the Red Army in 1919. In 1926, Grechko graduated from the cavalry school, in 1936 from the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze, and just before the war in 1941, from the Military Academy of the General Staff. In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, he worked at the General Staff, but already in July 1941 he headed the 34th Cavalry Division, which already in the first half of August of the same year entered into battle with the Germans south of the capital Ukraine.
During the Great Patriotic War, he successively commanded a division, a corps (from January 1942), an operational group of troops (from March 1942), and an army (from April 1942). Andrei Grechko ended the war as commander of the 1st Guards Army, which he took over in December 1943. After the end of the war, he continued his way up the army career ladder, reaching the very top. In 1967, Andrei Antonovich Grechko became the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union.
Commander of the 1st Guards Army, Colonel General A. A. Grechko (center) on the Arpad line. 1944
The version that the Minister of Defense was helped to die is largely based only on the fact that Andrei Antonovich was in excellent health, and there were simply no prerequisites for his sudden death. The version of the “conspiracy theory,” in particular, was considered by Vitaly Karyukov in an article published on the Free Press portal. In general, you can find some other authors on the Internet who also develop this version.
Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrei Antonovich Grechko was truly an athletic and healthy person. By the time of his death at his own dacha, the marshal was completely healthy and led an active lifestyle, taking fairly long walks. Grechko was a passionate fan and often attended football and hockey matches in company with Leonid Brezhnev. Moreover, he actually went in for sports himself: he played tennis and volleyball quite well and with pleasure.
“After graduating from college, I was sent by special order to serve in CSKA, although I was supposed to get into landing troops. It so happened that before I was sent to the unit, I was asked to play with Marshal Grechko, who, after the match was over, ordered me to appear in person to him the next day. So in the end they left me at CSKA,” recalls Shamil Tarpishchev, president of the Russian Tennis Federation. According to him, for his age Andrei Antonovich was a very decent tennis player. He also spoke about a tragicomic incident that once occurred on the tennis court. Korotkov, who was playing with me (the marshal preferred to play only in pairs), accidentally hit Grechko right in the stomach. While the Minister of Defense was coming to his senses, two officers managed to jump onto the court and quickly tied up the athlete. However, they did not have time to drag him off the court. Having caught his breath, the marshal ordered them to leave, explaining that what was happening was just a game. After this curious incident, the same adjutants accompanied the marshal in civilian clothes. Apparently, they decided that uniformed officers twisting a tennis player’s arms was too sinister, especially if observed from the sidelines.
At the same time, Andrei Antonovich not only kept himself in good physical shape, but also involved his direct subordinates in regular exercises physical training. Even the marshals of the Soviet Union played volleyball with him. Regardless of their positions, they met twice a week early in the morning at the CSKA Weightlifting Palace, where they trained together in full for an hour and a half. The Minister of Defense himself loved to play volleyball with everyone, demonstrating by personal example that you shouldn’t give up on physical fitness, no matter what age you are. Therefore, it seems strange how a fit, strong, healthy marshal passed away so suddenly at the age of 72.
According to the recollections of Yevgeny Rodionov, a “nine” (security) officer who was attached to the marshal, the body of the Minister of Defense was discovered by them on the morning of April 26, 1976. Getting ready for the meeting was already coming to an end, but Andrei Antonovich never came to the table, although he always had breakfast before the start of the working day. Concerned about the marshal's absence, the guard asked his relatives to check what was wrong with him. And since the Minister of Defense strictly forbade anyone from entering his room, it was decided to send his great-granddaughter to the wing where Grechko lived. It was she who found her already cold great-grandfather: he seemed to have fallen asleep while sitting in a chair.
After the discovery of the body, everything started to spin: the marshal’s death was reported to where it should be, the necessary preparations began, and on the same day, information about the death of the country’s Minister of Defense was reported in the media. By the way, a later autopsy showed only that the marshal died the day before, approximately at 9 o’clock in the evening. The autopsy showed nothing more. It would seem that all supporters of the conspiracy can rest, but if we still assume that for some reason it was decided to eliminate Grechko, then there were a sufficient number of sophisticated ways for this.
Since 1937, under the leadership of Professor Grigory Moiseevich Mayranovsky, and in the future a colonel of the medical service in the USSR, the toxicology laboratory (“Laboratory-X”), which was part of the Twelfth Department of the GUGB NKVD of the USSR, was already in full swing. Over 40 years of continuous development, Soviet toxicology was able to reach truly stratospheric heights. For example, in the Soviet Union, poisons were created that could not be detected by any analyzes or tests. Such poisons did not even need to be added to food or sprayed into the air. There were quite a number of filigree ways of “transmitting” such poisons. For example, it was enough to simply shake a person’s hand. Before this, the alleged killer applied poison to his hand just before shaking hands. After that, he wiped his hand with an antidote. But his counterpart could pass away in just 3-4 days: simply fall asleep and never wake up again, which is approximately what happened with Andrei Antonovich.
It is worth noting that Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was a very subtle psychologist and strategist. He tried to appoint only well-known, loyal and close people to all leading positions in the country. Grechko was no particular exception in this regard. Firstly, because both of them were peers with an age difference of only 3 years. Secondly, both fought on the territory of the Kuban during the Great Patriotic War, in particular, in the armies that liberated Novorossiysk from the Nazis (Grechko commanded the 56th Army, the future Secretary General served in the 18th). Thirdly, the future Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union was an active participant in the conspiracy against Khrushchev. However, could the Secretary General be offended by his marshal to such an extent as to “sentence” him. Most likely, no, and Leonid Ilyich was never famous for his bloodthirstiness.
However, in 1976, which was Brezhnev’s anniversary, in December, the Secretary General turned 70 years old, they began to prepare for the holiday in advance - from the very beginning of the year. And when in the spring of 1976, one of the members of the party’s Central Committee suggested that Andrei Antonovich confer the rank of marshal on Leonid Ilyich, he flatly refused to fulfill this whim, uttering that very phrase. Grechko remembered very well that at the height of the battle in the Kuban, the future general secretary was just a colonel, while he himself at that time already commanded the army and wore the shoulder straps of a colonel general. Most likely, until the very last moment Grechko considered this idea of Brezhnev to be complete nonsense. But he was very mistaken in this, since the Secretary General simply loved the stars on his chest and shoulder straps to the point of oblivion. It was quite reckless to deprive Brezhnev of his favorite “toys”.
Military ranks were indeed something of a Brezhnev fad. Even during the war years, Leonid Ilyich dreamed of being promoted to general and was very worried about this. Only in November 1944 did he manage to receive the long-awaited general's shoulder straps. At the same time, he remained for a long time with a certain inferiority complex, especially when he stood on the podium of the Mausoleum, surrounded by marshals. At that time, the Secretary General was “just” a lieutenant general. Probably for this reason, back in 1974, Leonid Ilyich decided to jump over the rank of colonel general and immediately become an army general. In this aspect, the Secretary General’s negative reaction to Grechko’s objections is quite predictable. And the phrase dropped by the marshal “Only over my corpse!” and could even be what pushed the Secretary General to bad thoughts.
It is also worth noting that due to the fact that Leonid Brezhnev served practically under the command of the future marshal during the war, Andrei Grechko more than once torpedoed all the decisions of the General Secretary. This was not surprising. Andrei Antonovich was a stately handsome man, almost two meters tall; this man, by his calling, was supposed to be a commander. Sometimes it came to direct attacks by the marshal against the General Secretary right at Politburo meetings. Brezhnev humbly endured this criticism.
But we should not forget that by 1976 Leonid Ilyich was already a sick man who had recently suffered clinical death. Sometimes, under certain conditions, he was not fully aware of what he was doing. At the same time, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was not the only one who could be “offended” by the marshal. Andrei Antonovich did not have direct problems with the KGB of the USSR, but he did not hide his negative attitude towards the growth of the KGB bureaucratic structures in the USSR and the strengthening of the agency’s influence. These views caused a certain amount of tension in the Marshal’s relationship with Andropov. It was difficult for Ustinov to share the sphere of influence with the Minister of Defense, who in June 1941 received the post of People's Commissar of Armaments. This allowed Ustinov to consider himself a person who had done a lot to strengthen the country’s defense capability and did not need anyone’s advice.
It is believed that the department headed by Andropov could have been involved in the death of Andrei Antonovich Grechko at his own dacha. This version is supported by the strange deaths that accompanied the leadership of the Politburo for several years after the death of the marshal. So in 1978, the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee for Agricultural Issues Fyodor Davydovich Kulakov came to his dacha, sat there with the guests, after which he went to bed and did not wake up. People who knew him closely noted his excellent health. It also seemed strange that on the eve of his death his personal doctor and security guards left his dacha. Subsequently, Semyon Kuzmich Tsvigun and Mikhail Andreevich Suslov passed away in less obvious ways.
In any case, whether Marshal Grechko’s death was natural, or whether someone had a hand in it (perhaps literally), we will only be able to find out when all the archives are opened. If, of course, documents that could shed information on the death of the marshal exist at all.
Information sources.
40 years ago, on April 26, 1976, Defense Minister Andrei Antonovich Grechko passed away. The son of a blacksmith and a dashing cavalryman, Andrei Grechko served in the Civil War under the command of Budyonny, went through the entire Great War Patriotic War, commanded a cavalry division, then a cavalry corps, and an army. In 1967, Andrei Antonovich was appointed to the post of Minister of Defense of the USSR, becoming the 33rd head of the military department in the country. So, the peasant son came a long way from a private to the Marshal of the Soviet Union, head of the defense department of the Soviet Empire. Grechko, on the whole, remained in the memory of the military as a zealous and active owner of the military department, under whom the defense of the USSR became stronger.
Andrei Antonovich Grechko was born on October 4 (17), 1903 in the settlement of Golodayevka, Donskoy Army Region (now the village of Kuibyshevo, Kuibyshevsky District, Rostov Region) in the family of a blacksmith. He became the thirteenth child in the family. His youth fell on the civil war, and he chose the military path. In his memoirs, he would later write: “In 1919, units of the 1st Cavalry passed through our village. I looked with envy at the dashing Budennovites with red stars on their caps. His proud bearing and prowess aroused admiration in my boyish soul. Among the Red Army soldiers there were many young people who went into battle for Soviet power. And I decided to be with them at all costs.”
The advancing troops needed ammunition. To deliver them, horse-drawn transport of peasants was mobilized. Andrei Grechko carried ammunition on his horse all the way to Rostov. After one of the battles, he was lucky enough to meet fellow countryman Stepan Vasilenko, at that time the squadron commander. It was he who helped Andrei realize his dream, took him with him to his squadron, gave him a riding horse and. Soon after the liberation of Rostov in January 1920, the Red Army soldier Grechko visited Golodayevka, visited his family and said that he had decided to connect his life with the Red Army. Father Anton Vasilyevich Grechko approved of his son’s choice and said this: “I served Russia for 12 years, as expected, fought with the Turks, liberated Bulgaria, rose to the rank of sergeant major and was once honored - at the review the general shook my hand. Rise up, son, and you will receive such an honor.” So, as a 16-year-old boy, Andrei Grechko joined the 11th Cavalry Division of the First Cavalry Army. Then the father had no idea that time will pass and a simple peasant son will reach the highest ranks in the Soviet Army.
His service continued on the Don in the detachment named after M.V. Krivoshlykov, then in the battalion of units special purpose Taganrog. As one of the best Red Army soldiers, in 1922 he was sent to study - first to the Crimean Cavalry Courses named after the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, and then to the Taganrog Cavalry School of the North Caucasus Military District (SKVO). In 1924, he studied again - first as a cadet, then as a squadron sergeant major of the North Caucasus Mountain National Cavalry School of the North Caucasus Military District. His studies at the cavalry school were repeatedly interrupted - Grechko took part in military operations against the Makhno and Marusya gangs in Ukraine, then in Chechnya and Dagestan.
In 1926, after graduating from cavalry school, Andrei Grechko was appointed commander of a platoon, then a machine-gun squadron of the 61st cavalry regiment of the 1st Special Cavalry Brigade named after Comrade I.V. Stalin of the Moscow Military District. In the 1930 certification of A. A. Grechko, regiment commander N. M. Dreyer noted: “He has willpower, knowledge, is demanding of his subordinates... He is interested in business. He is working on himself according to ... his military and general education training.” The hard work and diligence of the young commander was noticed, and in 1932 he became a student at the M.V. Frunze Military Academy, after which in 1936 he was appointed to the headquarters of the Special Red Banner Cavalry Division of the Moscow Military District.
Captain A.A. Grechko. 1936
In May 1938, he was appointed commander of the 62nd Cavalry Regiment, then assistant chief of staff and, finally, chief of staff of the Special Red Banner Cavalry Division named after Comrade. I.V. Stalin of the Belarusian Military District. In 1939 he took part in the Red Army's campaign in the western regions of Belarus. In 1939 he became a student at the Military Academy General Staff named after K. E. Voroshilov, from which he graduated in 1941.
Thus, Andrei Antonovich entered the Great Patriotic War as a mature, well-trained commander, with two academies behind him. In July 1941, Grechko was awarded the rank of colonel and appointed commander of the 34th Cavalry Division. The division fought in early August as part of the 26th, 38th, then 6th Armies with German troops south of Kyiv. In the heavy battles of 1941, the cavalry units under his command steadfastly held the defense, retreating only on orders, and more than once made raids into enemy rear lines. In November 1941, Grechko was awarded the rank of major general, and in January 1942 he was appointed commander of the 5th Cavalry Corps, which took part in the Barvenkovo-Lozov offensive operation. The cavalry, in cooperation with rifle units, crushed the enemy in the Barvenkovo area and advanced deep into enemy lines. Grechko's cavalrymen showed examples of dedication and military art in those battles.
Since March 1942, Andrei Grechko led the operational group of troops, which, as part of the Southern Front, fought stubborn battles with the Nazis in the Donbass. Then the young military leader was appointed commander of the 12th Army, which subsequently actively participated in the ensuing battle for the Caucasus. About these difficult days Andrei Antonovich later recalled: “But no matter how bravely and selflessly the soldiers and commanders fought, our units continued to retreat. We were retreating to the Don, the 12th Army was retreating just east of Rostov. Somewhere very close was my native village of Golodayevka. It was not easy at heart. Many of us left dear to the heart places, close people. All around lay the steppe, dotted with ravines and slopes; in the distance lay copses and orchards. Everything is painfully familiar, tugging at the soul. And it seemed that even the air, filled with the smell of thyme and wormwood, was here in a special way, evoking memories of distant childhood. For me, the Motherland began from these places. From a small house in the village of Golodayevka, where I was born, from comrades, classmates, who are now scattered by fate along military roads, from a teacher - strict, but infinitely kind, constantly making sure that in life we are honest, hardworking people who love their Homeland. I remembered my father Anton Vasilyevich and my mother Olga Karpovna. It was not easy for them to raise and raise children. But our parents had fourteen of us.”
Since September, Grechko served as commander of the 47th Army, whose troops prevented the Wehrmacht from breaking through in Transcaucasia along Black Sea coast. In October 1942, the general took command of the 18th Army, which held the defense in the Novorossiysk area. Stopping the advancing German troops, the 18th Army, part of its forces, carried out a successful operation to eliminate the Semash group of the Wehrmacht, which was trying to overcome the Main Caucasus Ridge.
In January 1943, the troops of the Transcaucasian Front (from the end of January - the North Caucasus Front) launched a general offensive. In the zone of the Black Sea Group of Forces, the main blow was delivered by the 56th Army, which was headed by Grechko in early January. In February-March 1943, the 56th Army as part of the North Caucasus Front successfully led an offensive, participating in the Krasnodar offensive operation, during which the city of Krasnodar and hundreds of settlements. At the end of April 1943, A. Grechko was awarded the rank of lieutenant general. In September-October, the 56th Army, in cooperation with the 9th and 18th armies, carried out the Novorossiysk-Taman offensive operation and liberated the Taman Peninsula.
As Marshal of the Soviet Union V. Kulikov recalled: “Outstanding organizational skills And military talent A. A. Grechko in the heroic battle for the Caucasus. The troops led by him showed steadfastness and courage, inflicting crushing blows on the enemy. ... In all the operations that General Grechko led, the courage of his plans, the unshakable will to implement them, and personal courage were invariably manifested.”
October 9, 1943 A. A. Grechko assigned military rank Colonel General, and on October 16, after the defeat was completed Hitler's troops in Kuban, the commander was appointed deputy commander of the troops of the Voronezh Front (from October 20 - 1st Ukrainian Front). The troops of this front participated in the liberation of the capital of Ukraine - Kyiv. From December 1943 until the end of the war, Andrei Antonovich headed the 1st Guards Army. Under his leadership, the army participated in the Zhitomir-Berdichev, Proskurov-Chernivtsi, Lviv-Sandomierz, West Carpathian, Moravian-Ostrava and Prague operations. With heavy fighting, Grechko's guards marched to Prague, where they celebrated Victory Day.
Commander of the 56th Army, Lieutenant General A. A. Grechko (4th from right) among the officers and generals of the 11th Guards Corps. 1943
Commander of the 1st Guards Army, Colonel General A.A. Grechko (center) with army headquarters officers on the Arpad line (Eastern Carpathians). 1944
A. A. Grechko in 1945
The merits of General A. A. Grechko during the war were noted high awards- Order of Lenin, 2 Orders of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov 1st and 2nd degree, Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st degree, Kutuzov 1st degree. These awards were received by those military leaders and commanders who showed “outstanding success in command and control of troops, excellent organization of combat operations and demonstrated determination and perseverance in carrying them out.” Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov noted in his memoirs that Supreme Commander I.V. Among the army commanders, Stalin considered the most talented generals A. A. Grechko and K. S. Moskalenko.
After the end of the war, Andrei Antonovich commanded the troops of the Kyiv Military District. Grechko carried out decisions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the demobilization of older people personnel; major organizational events to reorganize troops, political bodies and headquarters in relation to peacetime requirements. Places for permanent deployment of troops were determined, a training and material base was created, parks, warehouses, and housing for officers were built, combat and political training classes were organized in units and subunits. Soldiers of the Kyiv district provided significant assistance in the restoration National economy countries: participated in mine clearance, cleared streets in cities and towns from rubble, restored residential buildings, enterprises, mines, cultural and educational institutions, built bridges, provided electricity, restored water supply, etc. In 1947-1953. Under the leadership of Grechko, the district troops conducted a number of major exercises and mastered new weapons.
Grechko's successes were noted. Since 1953, Andrei Antonovich has been the commander-in-chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, which was the most important in the western strategic direction. Soon he was awarded the rank of army general. In 1955, Grechko was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Since November 1957 - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR - Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, since 1960 - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Treaty Organization member states. Grechko was an active participant in the anti-Khrushchev conspiracy.
Commander-in-Chief of the GSVG A. A. Grechko at the parade of the NNA troops of the GDR. 1956
USSR Minister of Defense A. A. Grechko (3rd from left) at the parade of the NNA troops of the GDR. 1974
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated February 1, 1958, for the courage and heroism shown in the fight against the Nazi invaders, Andrei Antonovich Grechko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. Second " Gold Star"Grechko was awarded by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on October 16, 1973 for services to the Motherland in the construction and strengthening Armed Forces THE USSR.
In April 1967, Marshal of the Soviet Union A. A. Grechko was appointed Minister of Defense of the USSR. In this post, he did a lot to strengthen the defense capability of the country and its Armed Forces. He was distinguished by his strong-willed and decisive character, which he demonstrated during the events in Czechoslovakia and the Vietnam War, during the Arab-Israeli War, the Soviet-Chinese armed conflict in Far East.
Under the leadership of the Minister of Defense, the most important documents on the preparation and conduct of operations were adopted. Andrei Antonovich made and implemented a number of significant decisions in military development. An important event was the training of generals and operational-strategic officers at the Higher Academic Courses at the Academy of the General Staff and the Military-Political Academy. Big number reserve officers were regularly called up for 2 years in order to accumulate the combat potential of personnel. The institute of warrant officers was established. The system of training sergeants has radically changed: instead of regimental schools with their diversity in programs, methods and educational and material base, training divisions were established - tank, motorized rifle, artillery, district training centers. In the 1970s, a new generation of military equipment and weapons entered service with the army and navy.
The most important provisions of the theory nuclear war have been studied in numerous strategic exercises and games. Among them special meaning had the strategic command and staff exercise “Decisive Strike” conducted in 1970 by the Minister of Defense, which was attended by the country’s top leadership. The exercise was carried out with real missile launches and with full-scale use of all control systems and all central command posts without exception. Soviet army conducted exercises “Neman”, “Spring Thunder”, “East”, “West”, “North”, “Ocean”. Under the leadership of Grechko, in the 1970s, strategic exercises of the “Center” type were conducted - with launches of ground-, air- and sea-based missiles. For the first time, in a single complex with the deployment of the Armed Forces and their strategic use in war, the issues of transferring the national economy from a peacetime to a wartime situation, the operation of the economy during the “special period” were resolved, the scale of damage and losses was assessed, and the possible volumes of restoration work were determined. A coherent system of operational-strategic exercises (front-line, district, coalition, etc.) was created in theaters of military operations. Since 1971, operational-strategic exercises of air defense, air force, and navy have been conducted, during which issues of managing the branches of the Armed Forces and branches of the armed forces were worked out. As a result, the combat power of the Soviet Union increased significantly. The West was forced to look for new methods of combating Soviet civilization, abandoning the possibility of direct aggression.
As Marshal Viktor Kulikov noted: “If you look at the development and improvement of our Armed Forces over the entire post-war history, then Marshal A.A. Grechko can be confidently called a military reformer. The first of these reformers was I.V. Stalin. Marshals G.K. Zhukov and A.M. did a lot for the Armed Forces. Vasilevsky. Andrei Antonovich Grechko stands in this glorious row. The development of the Armed Forces and military equipment, the daily increase in combat readiness of all types of weapons was the focus of his attention. The Minister of Defense not only participated in the management of our military-technical policy, but also personally attended tests of ultra-modern types of military equipment, and discussed in detail with the general designers each type of new weapon being presented. ... In general, the reform of the Armed Forces when Marshal A. A. Grechko was the Minister of Defense of the USSR was successful and had a positive impact on the life and activities of the army and navy.”
It is also necessary to note Grechko’s merits in the theoretical generalization and historical analysis of Soviet military development and the functioning of the Soviet Armed Forces. Andrei Antonovich dedicated a major scientific and theoretical work to the army, “The Armed Forces of the Soviet State.” Since 1973, he was the editor-in-chief of the 12-volume encyclopedic publication “History of the Second World War 1939-1945.” IN last years life of the Marshal of the Soviet Union, memoirs “Through the Carpathians”, “Liberation of Kyiv”, “Battle for the Caucasus”, “Years of War” were written and published. 1941-1943".
From his youth, Grechko was distinguished by his strength and health. He led an active lifestyle, taking long walks. A fan of Grechko, in company with Leonid Brezhnev (the marshal and the secretary general were friends), he often attended football and hockey matches. Moreover, he was an avid athlete: he played volleyball and tennis with pleasure and well. It is interesting that Andrei Antonovich not only kept himself in shape, but also attracted his immediate subordinates to regular exercises physical culture: Even marshals played volleyball with him. Regardless of their positions, they gathered twice a week early in the morning at the CSKA Weightlifting Palace and trained for a full hour and a half. Grechko himself warmed up and played volleyball with everyone else, showing, so to speak, by personal example that you shouldn’t give up physical education, no matter what age you are.
USSR Minister of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union A. A. Grechko died on April 26, 1976. He was buried in Moscow on Red Square near the Kremlin wall.
GRECHKO Andrey Antonovich
(10/17/1903 - 04/26/1976). Member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee from 04/27/1973 to 04/26/1976. Member of the CPSU Central Committee in 1961 - 1976. Candidate member of the CPSU Central Committee in 1952 - 1961. Member of the CPSU since 1928
Born in the village of Golodayevka, Taganrog district, Don region (now the village of Kuibyshevo, Matveevo-Kurgan district, Rostov region) in a peasant family. Ukrainian. In 1919 he voluntarily joined the Red Army. During Civil War fought in the 11th Cavalry Division of the 1st Cavalry Army. After graduating from the North Caucasian Mountain Nationalities Cavalry School in 1926, he became a platoon and squadron commander. Promoted by K.E. Voroshilov and S.M. Budyonny, who placed their cavalrymen in prominent command posts. He graduated from the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze in 1936, and from the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1941. Since 1938, chief of staff of the special cavalry division of the Belarusian Military District. In September 1939 he took part in the liberation of Western Belarus. From July 1941 he commanded the 34th separate cavalry division in Southwestern Front; from January 1942, the 5th Cavalry Corps on the Southern Front, from April 1942, commander of the 12th Army, from September 1942, the 47th Army, from October 1942, the 18th Army. I attracted the attention of L.M. Kaganovich, who, having arrived at the Southern Front, spoke positively about the capable commander in a letter to J.V. Stalin dated October 12, 1942: “Knowing how much you value capable young workers, I want to address your attention to Comrade Grechko. This is a very capable and outstanding worker” (APRF. F. 45. Op. 1. D. 743. L. 98). In January - October 1943, commander of the 56th Army on the 1st Ukrainian Front. Then he was deputy commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front. In December 1943 - May 1946, commander of the 1st Guards Army, with which he reached Prague. In 1945 - 1953 Commander of the Kyiv Military District. In 1953 - 1957 Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. 06/17/1953, when strikes and mass protests of workers broke out in the GDR, L.P. Beria received an order to restore order with the help military force. As a result, hundreds of people died. After the arrest of L.P. Beria, he received an order to detain all employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who had recently arrived in the GDR and take them to Moscow under guard. They were all people of L.P. Beria, including the boss military counterintelligence S. Goglidze and the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Germany A. Kobulov. He carried out the order clearly and took control of all means of communication and transportation. Later, in West Berlin, through dummies, he bought the latest American rocket, with great precautions, delivered it to Moscow to one of the design bureaus, but it turned out to be a fake. Despite the huge amount of money spent, N.S. Khrushchev, privy to the details of the operation, did not take harsh measures against those responsible for the failure. He was lanky, almost two meters tall. In 1957 - 1967 First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, at the same time (in 1957 - 1960) Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces of the Soviet Union, in 1960 - 1967 Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact member states. In 1967 - 1976 Minister of Defense of the USSR. Marshal of the Soviet Union (1955). Under his leadership, the largest maneuvers and military exercises “Dnepr”, “Dvina”, “South”, “Ocean”, etc. were carried out. The displaced N.S. Khrushchev, being retired, reproached him: “Stalinists varnish Stalin as a brilliant leader, This movement was opened in the mid-60s by Marshal Zakharov, Marshal Konev is following his path, and Grechko is trailing behind them.” And further: “Grechko is KVD (that is, which way the wind blows).” He was an avid hunter. Received US Vice President Humphrey, who was visiting the USSR. Having learned that the guest liked to hunt, he offered to go wild boar. According to Humphrey’s story, recorded by the Soviet diplomat A.F. Dobrynin, when he arrived at the hunting lodge, A.A. Grechko took him to dinner: “At dinner, he began to offer toasts - each time “to the bottom” - to the health of President Johnson, then Brezhnev, for the health of their wives, their ministers, for the improvement of Soviet-American relations, for the success of the hunt and other “hunting” toasts. In short, they made “serious preparations” for the hunt. And then Humphrey remembered only one thing: the generals accompanying Grechko, with outstretched arms, solemnly carried him to the bedroom “to rest a little before the hunt.” When Humphrey woke up, it was already the next morning, and he was solemnly presented with a trophy: the stuffed head of a large boar, which “he and Grechko killed the day before.” This “trophy” was then delivered to Humphrey’s plane” (Dobrynin A.F. Purely confidential. M., 1996. P. 162). At a meeting of the Politburo on March 3, 1968, L. I. Brezhnev reproached him: “We have recently acquired a lot of memoir literature... They cover, for example, the Patriotic War at random, take documents from archives somewhere, distort, distort these documents... Where do these people get documents? Why have we become so free with this issue?” (APRF. Working record of meetings of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. 1968, L. 92). A. A. Grechko assured the Secretary General: “We will sort out the archives and put things in order. We are now writing our conclusion about Zhukov’s memoirs. There is a lot of unnecessary and harmful stuff there” (Ibid.). According to K.F. Katushev, in the mid-70s. during a discussion with L.I. Brezhnev on the issue of Soviet-Chinese relations, he said: “Don’t listen to him, Leonid Ilyich, just give us a command, and our tanks will be in Beijing in two or three days.” L. I. Brezhnev looked at him carefully, asked how seriously he was talking about this, and, hearing an affirmative answer, remarked: “You may be able to enter China, but how will you get out of it? no one can say. I beg you, Andrei Antonovich, to never talk about this anywhere, let your remark remain in this office, and no one else will hear it.” At a meeting of the Politburo discussing the SALT I Treaty, he raised objections to the already agreed upon text, saying that as a person responsible for the country’s security, he could not support this document. L.I. Brezhnev sharply opposed the Minister of Defense, saying that he was primarily responsible for the security of the country and insisted on a positive decision by the Politburo. Later I went to L.I. Brezhnev to apologize. The Secretary General told him: “You accused me of neglecting the interests of the country’s security at the Politburo, but you apologize in private.” According to Academician G. A. Arbatov, during Ford’s visit at the end of 1974, when the general framework of the SALT-2 Treaty was discussed, L. I. Brezhnev and A. A. Grechko also had a very sharp and loud dispute. At the decisive moment of the discussion, L. I. Brezhnev kicked everyone out of the office and spoke on the phone for almost an hour so loudly and emotionally that it could be heard even through walls and closed doors. At one of the meetings of the Defense Council, L.I. Brezhnev threw a tantrum because he had invited a prominent military designer to discuss defense matters with him without his knowledge. As the assistant recalled Secretary General A. M. Aleksandrov-Agentov, all those present were outraged by the minister’s behavior and expected an explosion. But L.I. Brezhnev, who was subordinate to him during the war years, kept silent and remained calm. In 1976, along with other military leaders, he signed a proposal to the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee to award L. I. Brezhnev the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. He brought the entire board of the USSR Ministry of Defense to a Politburo meeting where this issue was discussed. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 2nd - 9th convocations. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1958, 1973). Awarded six Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of Suvorov 1st degree, Order of Suvorov 2nd degree, two Orders of Kutuzov 1st degree, two Orders of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 1st degree. He died suddenly at his dacha. Author of the memoirs “Battle for the Caucasus” (M., 1976), “Across the Carpathians” (M., 1972), “Liberation of Kyiv” (M., 1973), “Years of War. 1941 - 1943" (M., 1976). The ashes were buried in the Kremlin wall on Red Square in Moscow.
