After graduating from a real school in Yelabuga, Leonid becomes a student in the shipbuilding department of the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute.
In December 1916, upon mobilization, he was sent to the capital's Konstantinovsky Artillery School. Here Govorov studied for only six months; in June 1917, together with other graduates of Konstantinovka, he was promoted to second lieutenant and sent to a mortar battery of one of the units of the Tomsk garrison. In the fall of 1917, Leonid went to his native Elabuga, where he was mobilized and sent to Kolchak’s army. From there, with part of the soldiers of his separate mortar battery, he moves to Tomsk and voluntarily joins the Red Army.
In the 51st division (commander - V.K. Blyukher), L.A. Govorov is entrusted with urgently forming an artillery division. Once completed, the unit is transferred to the Crimea to defeat the troops of Baron Wrangel. There Govorov was wounded twice. The Perekop period became an important stage in the development of Leonid Alexandrovich as a commander and artilleryman. Near the village of Terni, the first encounter with British tanks took place. It seemed like the tanks were about to crush everyone. Govorov's division did not flinch. The gunners did a great job. Four British tanks froze forever on the Black Sea soil, the rest retreated from the battlefield. In the battles near Kakhovka and Perekop, Leonid Aleksandrovich proved himself to be a thoughtful, energetic, strong-willed commander, and was awarded his first military award - the Order of the Red Banner.
In October 1923, L. A. Govorov was appointed chief of artillery of the 51st Infantry Division, and at the end of 1924 - commander of an artillery regiment. He throws himself into work: camp training, training trips, artillery training of personnel, live firing, improving the life of the Red Army soldiers and commanders. “He showed himself to be a very capable commander in all respects. He has a strong will and energy, and is proactive. “I am impeccably prepared as an artilleryman,” noted in the description of the regiment commander - the future marshal.
History has brought to us such a review of the creative abilities of L. A. Govorov. “Once,” recalled G.N. Degtyarev, also a regiment commander, “something happened that surprised us all. The commander of the artillery regiment of the Perekop division, equal in position to all of us, was appointed to lead the gathering. Some participants in the gathering did not hesitate to loudly express their skepticism towards the new leader. A few days later, the wrong attitude towards Govorov changed dramatically. “Perekopets” turned out to have an enviable filling. The commanders of the artillery regiments, as if enchanted, listened to Govorov’s informative lectures, distinguished by the depth and clarity of his thoughts, and the novelty of his statements on the theory and practice of artillery.”
Throughout the 1920s, Leonid Aleksandrovich combined intense service with study. Day after day I was engaged in self-education. As soon as I learned about the organization of a correspondence faculty at the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze, I entered there. By 1932, he completed a three-year correspondence course. Then he takes another year-long course in the operational department of the same academy. At the same time, he takes an exam in German to the extent of his knowledge as a military translator.
In the spring of 1936, the Military Academy of the General Staff was established. Brigade commander Govorov was also included in the first group of her listeners. At that time he was already the head of the artillery department of the Kyiv Military District. In 1938, studies were interrupted. Leonid Aleksandrovich is appointed teacher of tactics at the Artillery Academy named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky.
Best of the day
The Soviet-Finnish war begins. L. A. Govorov is sent to the front as the chief of staff of the artillery of the 7th Army. He had a difficult mission: preparation and implementation of artillery support for breaking through the Mannerheim Line. He copes with this task successfully, is awarded the Order of the Red Star, and is given the rank of divisional commander ahead of schedule. In 1940, he was appointed deputy inspector general of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army.
At the end of December 1940, a meeting of the highest command and political personnel of the Armed Forces was held in Moscow. At the meeting there was a detailed discussion about the tasks arising from the results of the Soviet-Finnish war. Among others, Major General of Artillery L.A. Govorov spoke. He not only outlined his own experience of overcoming the long-term structures of the Mannerheim Line, but also shared very deep thoughts about the prospects for using artillery in modern warfare.
A new appointment followed in May 1941. L. A. Govorov becomes the head of the Artillery Academy named after F. E. Dzerzhinsky.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, L. A. Govorov assumed the post of chief of artillery in the Western direction. Here a meeting of two future marshals took place - G.K. Zhukov and L.A. Govorov. Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov commanded the Western direction.
The situation dictated the need for emergency measures. Leonid Aleksandrovich immediately got down to business. He promptly developed a plan for a radical restructuring of the artillery support system for defensive battles and counterattacks. He ensured that directives on this important problem were immediately sent to the troops. He himself went to formations and units of troops in the Western direction. Under his leadership, an artillery anti-tank defense system is being quickly created to a depth of at least 5–6 km. This soon led to a significant increase in losses among the Nazis rushing to Moscow. Such an episode is known. Once G.K. Zhukov interrogated a prisoner from the Deutschland regiment of the SS division. He said: “The Germans are afraid of artillery fire.” Georgy Konstantinovich turned to the chief of artillery: “Did you hear, Comrade Govorov? The Germans are afraid of our artillery. So work out your plans in every detail.”
L.A. Govorov did a lot for the success of the famous Elninsky operation. Thus, he thought out artillery support for the offensive near Yelnya. Thanks to this, the 24th Army, the main combat force in this operation, gained 1.6 times superiority over the enemy in artillery. On August 30, 1941, she, along with other formations, went on the offensive, and by the morning of September 6, she liberated Yelnya. This was one of the first offensive operations of the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War.
Govorov, an artilleryman with a brilliant reputation, had yet to demonstrate a different kind of talent - the talent of a commander. This began in the battle of Moscow. In October 1941, the commander of the 5th Army, Major General D. D. Lelyushenko, was wounded and taken from the battlefield. He was replaced by Major General L. A. Govorov. Later, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov explained this decision by saying that “... Govorov, being the chief of artillery of the Reserve Front, established himself not only as a specialist who knows his job very well, but also as a strong-willed, energetic commander...”.
The 5th Army found itself at the forefront of the main events - in the center of the Western Front. It was here that the fascists tormented our defenses with particular fury and were preparing to unleash a blow of enormous force on the capital. For Govorov the commander, there came sleepless nights, countless calculations, and colossal stress. Based on an assessment of the situation, enemy forces and the capabilities of the 5th Army, decisive measures were taken to organize a strong defense and create powerful artillery barriers.
In those October days, the army commander pinned special hopes for success on the Far Eastern troops of the 32nd Infantry Division of Colonel V.I. Polosukhin. Taking a position on the historical Borodino field, they fought steadfastly and courageously, like the heroes of 1812. Later, L.A. Govorov quickly brought into battle the 82nd Infantry Division, which had arrived from Siberia in the Dorokhov area. The army commander took all measures to strengthen resistance to Nazi tank formations. A powerful anti-tank unit was created. It included four artillery regiments, five Katyusha divisions, and the 20th tank brigade. Field Marshal Kluge persistently tried to break through the defenses of Govorov's 5th Army in a straight line to Moscow through Dorokhovo and Kubinka. But everything is in vain. The defense turned out to be impenetrable. The Nazis also suffered huge losses in the zone of the 16th Army under Lieutenant General K.K. Rokossovsky, with which the 5th Army interacted.
On December 1, the Nazis made another serious attempt to break through to Moscow. Govorov urgently went to the village of Akulovo, where parts of V.I. Polosukhin’s division and the artillery and anti-tank reserve were transferred. Having encountered powerful resistance, German tank units turned towards Golitsyno. There they were completely defeated. On December 4, the breakthrough was completely eliminated.
The deep meaning of the actions of Commander-5 in these defensive battles was expressed very clearly by Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. His words “rest like Govorov” sounded both like the highest assessment of the decisions he made and as a recommendation to learn from him.
In April 1942, Lieutenant General of Artillery L.A. Govorov was appointed commander of the Leningrad Group of Forces, responsible for the defense of the city on the Neva, and in June 1942 - commander of the Leningrad Front. The situation in Leningrad was extremely difficult. The dilapidated city was still under blockade, experiencing an acute need for food. Almost every day Leningraders experienced hardships and losses from artillery shelling and air raids. In April 1942, Hitler confirmed the task of Army Group North, led by Colonel General von Küchler, to “... take Leningrad and establish land communications with the Finns...”.
A huge responsibility fell on the shoulders of L. A. Govorov. For 670 of the 900 days of the siege, he led the heroic defense of Leningrad and created a defense that was invincible to the enemy. It fell to his fate to prepare and conduct a number of offensive operations. One of them is Operation Iskra. In preparation for it, literally everything was taken into account: opportunities for regrouping enemy troops and equipment, fire systems and various obstacles, organization of engineering equipment for enemy positions and lines.
And again, as more than once in the past, Govorov’s knowledge of artillery was revealed. Leonid Aleksandrovich was directly involved in developing the principles and methods of using artillery in Operation Iskra. By his decision, a long-range artillery group and a special purpose group, as well as a counter-mortar group, were formed. Guards mortar units were consolidated into a separate group.
Direct preparation of troops for a breakthrough was actively underway. Joint infantry and artillery exercises took place at the Toksovsky training ground. On them, the shooters learned to move behind the barrage of fire from line to line. But the matter did not stop there. Additional training was carried out in all formations and units. This was the case in the division of General N.P. Simonyak. At his signal “Attack!” chains of riflemen jumped onto the ice, rushed at full speed along the river, climbed onto the steep bank, specially doused with water, where the division commander stood. This is how readiness for possible options of action was developed. All this ultimately predetermined the success of Operation Iskra. The blockade of the great city on the Neva in January 1943 was finally broken. The turning point in the historical battle for Leningrad has arrived.
And there were still many offensive operations ahead: Mginskaya and Krasnoselsko-Ropshinskaya, Novgorod-Luga and Vyborg, Tallinn and Moonsund landing operations. And in each of them he put his will, his knowledge, his heart. In each he proved himself to be a mature commander. Official recognition of L. A. Govorov's high leadership skills followed long before the end of the war - on June 18, 1944. On this day he was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. In 1945, he was awarded the gold star of the Hero of the Soviet Union and the highest military order of Victory.
L. A. Govorov found time to write articles in besieged Leningrad. In June 1942, he gives an in-depth analysis of the military operations of the troops in the articles “Battles for Leningrad” and “In Defense of the City of Lenin.” In February 1943, his work “One and a half years of fighting for Leningrad” was published, and then “The Great Battle of Leningrad”. In January 1945, he wrote the preface to the book “The Great Victory of Soviet Troops near Leningrad.” The article is small, but in a concise, polished form it not only told about the victory achieved, but also set tasks for the front troops for the future. The article was called: “Towards new victories over the enemy.”
In the post-war years, L. A. Govorov commanded the troops of the Leningrad Military District, was the chief inspector of the Ground Forces, and then the Armed Forces. In 1948, he was appointed commander of the country's Air Defense Forces, while simultaneously remaining chief inspector of the Armed Forces. In 1952, Leonid Alexandrovich was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense for Combat Training.
During that period, significant changes took place in the Air Defense Forces. Essentially, they become a new type of the country's Armed Forces. Marshal Govorov is appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the country's air defense - Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. At this time, the technical re-equipment of the Air Defense Forces began. Leonid Aleksandrovich traveled a lot around the country, trying to speed up this important process. However, hypertension became increasingly worse. He could no longer overcome this illness. On March 19, 1955, he passed away. The urn with the ashes is buried in the Kremlin wall.
The country paid tribute to its great son. Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal of the Soviet Union L.A. Govorov was also awarded the Order of Victory, five Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of Suvorov, 1st degree, Order of Kutuzov, 1st degree, Order of the Red Star, and many medals. His name is immortalized in the name of the ship and streets in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Odessa, Kirov and Elabuga. Two schools in St. Petersburg and one in Moscow are named after the outstanding commander. A monument to Marshal of the Soviet Union L.A. Govorov was unveiled in St. Petersburg.
Govorov's life is a feat. That's what many people say about him. He himself assessed himself much more modestly. “I,” he wrote on the last day of his life, “should have done more, but I did what I had time to do, what I could.” These words of an outstanding commander and patriot of the country contain his entire essence, his greatness and his inherent modesty and simplicity.
Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich born on February 22, 1897 in the village of Butyrki, Yaransky district, Vyatka province (now the territory of the Sovetsky district of the Kirov region). His father, Alexander Grigorievich Govorov, in order to feed his family, had to first become a peasant and then work as a sailor on the ships of a private shipping company. Later, having mastered reading and writing and naturally possessing excellent handwriting, Alexander Grigorievich got a job as a clerk at a real school in the city of Elabuga. This gave him the right to educate his children in this educational institution for free.
In the family, Leonid was the eldest of four sons. After graduating from a 4-year vocational school in Yaransk, Leonid Govorov entered the Yelabuga real school. During all seven years of his studies at the school, Leonid was the first student in his class (his brother Nikolai was second in academic performance). I studied purposefully and systematically, and read a lot. He was interested in mathematics and physics.
In December 1916, he was mobilized into the army and was sent to study at the Konstantinovsky Artillery School, after which in June 1917, Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov was promoted to second lieutenant and was appointed junior officer of a mortar battery as part of one of the units of the Tomsk garrison.
In March 1918, Leonid and his brother returned to their native Elabuga, where they went to work as clerks in the local Consumer Cooperation, helping their parents and younger brothers with a small salary. Leonid did not even consider military service as a profession at that time. But life decreed otherwise.
In 1918, Civil War broke out in Russia. In October of the same year, the city of Elabuga was captured by the White Guards - troops of the army of Admiral A.V. Kolchak. Leonid Govorov and his brother Nikolai, as former tsarist officers, were forcibly mobilized into the artillery battery of the 8th division of the 2nd Ufa Corps, which was part of the Western Army from March 1919. Second lieutenants Govorov participate in the spring offensive of Kolchak’s troops, in the Chelyabinsk and Ufa operations, in the battles against the Red Army near Zlatoust and on Tobol.
In November 1919, Govorov, along with several soldiers from his battery, left the unit and headed to Tomsk, where, as part of a fighting squad, he took part in the uprising against the white authorities.
On December 22, 1919, Tomsk came under the control of the Red Army and in January 1920, Govorov joined the 51st Rifle Division under the command of V.K. Blucher as a volunteer, where he took the position of commander of an artillery division.
As part of the Perekop strike group of the 6th Army under the command of A.I. Kork, the division took part in the battles against the army of General Wrangel. In 1920, Govorov was wounded twice: in August, near the village of Serogozy, during defensive battles in the Kakhovka region, he received a shrapnel wound in the leg, and also in September, in a battle near Antonovka, he received a bullet wound in the arm.
For the great courage and bravery shown in the battles against the “Russian Army” during the Perekop-Chongar operation in 1921, Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In October 1923, L. A. Govorov was appointed chief of artillery of the 51st (since September 14, 1921) Perekop Rifle Division. By the beginning of 1925, he held the post of commander of an artillery regiment. Subsequently, in the period until 1936, he held the positions of chief of artillery of a fortified area, chief of artillery of the 14th and 15th rifle corps, and head of a department in the artillery department of the Kyiv Military District.
Leonid Govorov is actively involved in his education, and in 1926 he graduated from the Artillery Advanced Courses for Command Staff. In 1930 he took higher academic courses at the Military Academy named after. Frunze, and in 1933 he completed the full course of this academy in absentia and studied at its operational department. Having studied German on his own, he passed the exam to become a military translator. On February 5, 1936, L. A. Govorov was awarded the military rank of brigade commander. Also in 1936, he became part of the first intake of students at the Academy of the General Staff. In 1938, six months before graduation, he was appointed teacher of tactics at the Artillery Academy named after. Dzerzhinsky [source not specified 546 days]. In 1939 he completed his first scientific work on the topic “Attack and breakthrough of a fortified area.”
In 1940, he was appointed chief of staff of the artillery of the 7th Army, which participated in the war with Finland on the territory of the Karelian Isthmus. For his work in preparing and providing artillery support for the breakthrough of a section of the Mannerheim Line, L. A. Govorov was awarded the Order of the Red Star and was given the rank of division commander ahead of schedule. In the summer of the same year, during recertification, he was awarded the rank of major general of artillery (06/04/1940), he was appointed to the post of deputy inspector general of artillery of the GAU RKKA.
The Great Patriotic War.
In May 1941 Govorov L.A. becomes head of the Artillery Academy of the Red Army named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky. But Govorov did not have to command the academy for long.
The Great Patriotic War began, and already at the end of July 1941 he was appointed to the post of chief of artillery in the Western direction, commanded by Army General G.K. Zhukov. Soon the Reserve Front was also created under the command of G.K. Zhukova, and L.A. Govorov is appointed chief of artillery there.
Leonid Aleksandrovich immediately got down to business. Under his leadership, an artillery anti-tank defense system is being quickly created. This soon led to a significant increase in losses among the Nazis rushing to Moscow. Such an episode is known. Once G.K. Zhukov interrogated a prisoner from the Deutschland regiment of the SS division. He said: “The Germans are afraid of artillery fire.” Georgy Konstantinovich turned to the chief of artillery: “Did you hear, Comrade Govorov? The Germans are afraid of our artillery. So work out your plans in every detail.”
L. A. Govorov thought out in every detail the artillery support of our troops, which made it possible to achieve success in one of the first offensive operations of the Red Army - the Elninsky operation of 1941. On his initiative, a strong artillery group was created, the number of guns was more than one and a half times superior to the German one. Artillery reconnaissance was established. The offensive of our troops began on August 30 at 8.00 am after a crushing artillery barrage. More than 800 guns, mortars and rocket launchers rained down on German positions. For the first time in the Great Patriotic War, Soviet artillery proved itself to be a powerful offensive force. As a result of fierce battles on September 6, 1941, our troops liberated Yelnya, and by the end of September 8, the Yelnya ledge was eliminated.
On April 21, due to the failure of the Lyuban operation, the Volkhov Front was disbanded. On its basis, the Volkhov Group of Forces of the Leningrad Front was formed. On April 25, L. A. Govorov took command of the Leningrad group of forces of this front (23rd, 42nd and 55th armies, Primorsky and Nevsky operational groups). Since taking office, he has been actively involved in increasing the effectiveness of counter-battery warfare: he is creating the Leningrad Artillery Corps of Counter-Battery Combat (including, among other things, the artillery of the Baltic Fleet), and is seeking from the Supreme High Command Headquarters a decision to allocate two aviation correction squadrons to Leningrad. He is actively working on the task of strengthening the external defensive perimeter: he is creating five field fortified areas on the near approaches to the city and placing separate artillery and machine-gun battalions in them, introducing a system of continuous trenches. Creates a front reserve.
In May, without undergoing candidate experience, he was accepted as a member of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). On June 8, after the notorious defeat of the 2nd Shock Army, the Volkhov Front was recreated, M. S. Khozin was removed from his post as commander of the Leningrad Front, the leadership of which passed to L. A. Govorov. In June-August, he trains front forces (Neva Operational Group, 55th Army) to participate in the Sinyavinsk offensive operation. The purpose of the operation was to relieve the blockade of Leningrad from land and disrupt the Northern Lights (Nordlicht) operation being prepared by Army Group North. By the end of September, it became obvious that the front forces were unable to cope with the task of breaking the blockade. On October 1, the command of the Leningrad Front received an order from the Supreme High Command Headquarters to retreat to their original positions (the Nevsky operational group retained the Nevsky patch).
At the end of October, Govorov begins developing a new operation. On November 25, front units began preparing for the upcoming hostilities. On December 2, the plan for the operation, called “Iskra,” was approved by the Supreme Command headquarters. The goal of the operation was to use counter strikes from the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts to cut through the enemy grouping in the area of the Sinyavinsky salient, unite south of Lake Ladoga and break the blockade of Leningrad.
On January 12, 1943, the offensive operation of the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts began, and on January 18, Soviet units formed a connection, the blockade was broken. On January 15, L. A. Govorov was awarded the rank of “Colonel General”. On February 27, the offensive was stopped, and the front command began drawing up plans for a new offensive operation. For the operation to break the blockade of Leningrad on January 28, Govorov was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree. In July-August, the 67th Army of the Leningrad Front takes part in the Mginsk operation. The purpose of this operation was to disrupt the plans of the command of Army Group North to restore the blockade ring. In September, a plan for the Leningrad-Novgorod strategic operation, developed with the active participation of L. A. Govorov, was presented to the Supreme Command Headquarters. According to the plan of this operation, the troops of the Leningrad Front were supposed to completely lift the blockade and liberate the territory of the Leningrad region from enemy units. On November 17, in the midst of preparations for the operation, Govorov was awarded the rank of “army general.”
On January 14, 1944, the troops of the Leningrad Front began the Leningrad-Novgorod operation. During the offensive, the front broke through the enemy's deeply echeloned defenses, defeating the Peterhof-Strelna group. By January 27, enemy troops were driven back 65-100 km from the city. On January 27, a fireworks display took place in Leningrad to commemorate the final lifting of the blockade, and the order for the fireworks was given by Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov on behalf of Stalin.
Developing the offensive, the troops of the Leningrad Front under the command of Army General Govorov marched about 100-120 km, reaching the Narva River and seizing a bridgehead on the western bank of the river. For the success in carrying out the operation to lift the siege of Leningrad, Govorov was awarded the second Order of Suvorov, 1st degree, on February 21.
By March 1, the troops of the Leningrad Front during the offensive marched to the west about 220-280 km. During the offensive, three and 23 enemy divisions were destroyed and the Leningrad region and part of the Kalinin region were almost completely liberated.
On June 10, the Leningrad Front, along with the Karelian Front, the Baltic Fleet, the Ladoga and Onega flotillas, launched the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation with the goal of withdrawing Finland from the war.
The operation was started by troops of the Leningrad Front (21st and 23rd armies - over 150,000 people), then (in July 1944) the Karelian Front (32nd and 7th armies) went on the offensive. In advance, Govorov carried out a major diversionary maneuver with a demonstration of the impending attack on Narva. Meanwhile, the Red Banner Baltic Fleet secretly transferred units of the 21st Army from the Oranienbaum area to the Karelian Isthmus. This created an effect of surprise for the enemy. The offensive was immediately preceded by air strikes and a 10-hour artillery barrage. 500 guns were used along 1 km of front. The Finns were taken by surprise. During ten days of fighting, the troops of the Leningrad Front broke through 3 defense lines (on June 11, 17 and 19, respectively) “restored” by the Finns in 1941-1944. "Mannerheim Lines". The rate of advance was very high and amounted to 10-12 km per day. In a directive dated June 11, 1944, the Supreme High Command Headquarters noted the successful progress of the offensive and ordered the troops of the Leningrad Front to capture Vyborg on June 18-20. For his achievements on June 18, L. A. Govorov was awarded title of "Marshal of the Soviet Union", and on June 20, the 21st Army of the Leningrad Front, during stubborn battles, captured the southern suburb and center of Viipuri (Vyborg).
On September 4, the Finnish government reached an agreement with the Soviet government to end hostilities. In turn, from 8.00 on September 5, the Leningrad and Karelian fronts, by order of the Supreme High Command Headquarters, ceased military operations against Finnish troops.
From July 24 to November 24, units of the Leningrad Front, carrying out the Narva, Tallinn offensive and Moonsund landing operations developed under the leadership of Govorov, defeated the German task force “Narva” and drove the enemy out of Estonia. Starting from October 1, by order of the Supreme High Command Headquarters, simultaneously with the command of its front, it carries out the task of coordinating the actions of the 2nd and 3rd Baltic fronts in the Riga operation. After the liberation of Riga on October 16, the 3rd Baltic Front was disbanded, and the 1st and 2nd Baltic Fronts began blockading the group of German troops in Courland.
Post-war period
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 31, 1945, Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov was awarded the Order of Victory for the defeat of German troops near Leningrad and in the Baltic states.
On July 9, he was appointed commander of the troops of the Leningrad Military District, formed on the basis of the Leningrad Front. Since April 1946 - Chief Inspector of the Ground Forces. Since January 1947, he has held the post of chief inspector of the USSR Armed Forces, and since July 7, 1948, he has combined this position with the post of commander of the country's air defense. Under his leadership, a structural reorganization of the command and control of air defense forces is being carried out in the USSR; anti-aircraft missile systems, jet fighters, and the latest radar stations are being adopted in air defense units.
In January 1948, he headed the “court of honor”, which convicted four admirals - N. G. Kuznetsov, L. M. Galler, V. A. Alafuzov, G. A. Stepanov - all rehabilitated in 1953.
Since April 1953, he was appointed to the post of chief inspector of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In May 1954, he became the first Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Air Defense Forces and was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense of the country.
By that time, Govorov was seriously ill with hypertension, which was aggravated by frequent stress. In the summer he had his first stroke. He died on the night of March 19, 1955 in the Barvikha sanatorium near Moscow. After his death, he was cremated, and the urn with his ashes was buried in the Kremlin wall on Red Square in Moscow.
Memory of Govorov
Streets and alleys in many cities of Russia and Ukraine are named in honor of Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov, including Moscow (Govorova Street), Kyiv, St. Petersburg, Odessa, Kirov, Yelabuga, Donetsk, Kremenchug, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Tomsk and many others. Also, the name of Govorov was assigned to the Military Order of the October Revolution and the Patriotic War Engineering Radio Engineering Academy of Air Defense (formerly the Artillery Radio Engineering Academy of the Patriotic War Academy of the Soviet Army) - Kharkov.
A postage stamp was issued in 1977. USSR stamp from the issue “Soviet Military Figures” (1977, Fig., DFA No. 4679)
In St. Petersburg installed:
- Monument on Stachek Square (installed in 1999);
- Two memorial plaques (Kronverkskaya street, building No. 29; Marshal Govorova street, building No. 2);
Also, the square at the intersection of Moskovsky Prospekt and the embankment of the Fontanka River in St. Petersburg bears the name of Govorov. A memorial sign “Marshal L.A. Govorov’s Square” would be installed near the square.
In Yelabuga, a monument-bust was installed on Memory Square (opened in 2000) and a memorial plaque on the building of the former real school (Naberezhnaya St., building No. 19).
Leonid Govorov was one of the most prominent military leaders of the Great Patriotic War. He led battles with the Germans in different regions of the country, and in 1944 he liberated Karelia from Finnish occupation. For his many services, Govorov received the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
early years
The future Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov was born on February 22, 1897 in the Vyatka province - a remote, bearish corner of the Russian Empire. Butyrki (his native village) was an ordinary provincial town. The life of a military man is very similar to the life of his peers, whose youth and youth fell on the First World War, revolutions and the Civil War.
Leonid Govorov spent his childhood in Yelabuga, where his father worked as a clerk. In 1916, the young man graduated from a real school and even entered the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute. However, in the same December he was drafted into the army. The First World War was going on, and the state drew its last human resources from the rear. After the February Revolution, Leonid Govorov received a new title. A second lieutenant in the Russian army met October 1917. The Bolsheviks who came to power signed peace with Germany, and most of the military was demobilized. The second lieutenant returned to Yelabuga to his parents.
Civil War
In the fall of 1918, Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov joined the White Army. At this time, his native land was under the control of Kolchak’s supporters. The officer took part in the White Spring Offensive. He fought near Ufa, Chelyabinsk and Western Siberia. Soon the Kolchakites began to retreat to the east. In November 1919, Govorov deserted. In January he joined the 51st Rifle Division of the Red Army.
There Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov met with another future marshal, Vasily Blucher. In 1919, he commanded the very 51st Infantry Division, and during this time he was shot. Under the leadership of Blucher, Govorov received his leadership. Finally, the future second lieutenant ended up in Ukraine, where the last large resisting group of whites remained. This was Wrangel's army. In those battles of 1920, Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov received two wounds - one near Kakhovka, the other in the Antonovka area.
Peaceful period
After the end of the Civil War, Leonid Govorov began to live and work in Ukraine. In 1923, he was appointed artillery commander in the 51st Perekop Rifle Division. His subsequent career advancement in the army was due to his vocational education. In 1933, Govorov completed courses at the Frunze Military Academy. But that was not all. Having learned German and passed the relevant exams, he became a military translator. In 1936, the military man entered the newly opened Academy of the General Staff, and shortly before that he received the rank of brigade commander. After completing his studies, he began teaching at the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy.
In 1940, war with Finland began. Govorov was appointed chief of artillery headquarters in the 7th Army. She took part in the battles on the Karelian Isthmus. The brigade commander was preparing a breakthrough in the Finnish defensive line. After the signing of peace, he was already a major general of artillery.
Beginning of the Great Patriotic War
The day before, Leonid Govorov was appointed head of the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy, which he himself recently graduated from. As soon as the German offensive began, he was sent to lead the artillery of the Western Front. I had to work in conditions of disorganization of the army, lack of communication and a blitzkrieg of the enemy. The artillery of the Western Front was no exception to this rule. The chaos of the first months of the war did not stop the Germans in Belarus or Ukraine.
On July 30, Govorov received artillery from the Reserve Front. The major general began organizing defensive operations in the central direction of the Wehrmacht's offensive. It was he who prepared the counterattack near Yelnya. On September 6, the city was liberated. Although this success was temporary, it allowed time to pass. The Germans were stuck in the Smolensk area for two months, which is why they found themselves on the outskirts of Moscow only in winter.
Battles near Moscow
At the beginning of October, Govorov was on the Mozhaisk defense line, preparing its infrastructure. On the 15th, due to the injury of Dmitry Lelyushenko, he began to command the 5th Combined Arms Army. The decisive role in the appointment was played by who personally signed the corresponding order. This formation fought bloody defensive battles near Mozhaisk. On October 18, due to an enemy breakthrough, Govorov convinced Headquarters that it was necessary to leave the city. Further delay could result in the encirclement of the entire army. The go ahead was given. The troops retreated.
In early November, the 5th Army took up defensive positions on the outskirts of Moscow. There were battles here every kilometer. Soviet troops were supported by artillery barriers and anti-tank detachments. Stopping at the approaches to the capital, the Red Army began to prepare a counteroffensive near Moscow. On November 9, Leonid Govorov became lieutenant general.
The critical moment came on December 1, when the Germans managed to break through the front in the sector occupied by the 5th Army. The artillery commander personally led the defense. The enemy was able to advance only 10 kilometers and was soon driven back. On December 5, the Soviet counteroffensive began near Moscow.
New appointment
In April 1942, Leonid Govorov was briefly out of action due to an acute attack of appendicitis. Ivan Fedyuninsky stood at the head of his 5th Army. On April 25, Govorov, who had recovered, received a new appointment. He went to the Leningrad Front, where he began to command a large group of Soviet troops (it included the 55th, 42nd and 23rd armies). Finding himself in a new place, the lieutenant general began to fulfill his duties with particular zeal.
He created the Leningrad Artillery Corps from scratch, designed for counter-battery combat. Thanks to the commander’s pressure, new planes and fresh crews arrived at the front. On the approaches to Leningrad, Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov (1897-1955) created five new fortified field areas. They became part of a continuous trench system. They housed newly equipped machine gun and artillery battalions. For a more reliable defense of Leningrad, a front-line reserve was formed. Govorov was guided in his decisions by the rich experience accumulated during the battles near Moscow. He was especially attentive to the creation of barrage detachments, maneuver groups and other operational formations.
The Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army began supplying the city with large-caliber shells. Thanks to this, it was possible to begin the destruction of the enemy siege batteries, which caused the greatest damage to buildings and residents. Govorov had to simultaneously solve two complex problems. On the one hand, he had to organize the defense and think about breaking the blockade, and on the other, the military leader tried with all his might to help the starving Leningraders.
Attempts by the Red Army to drive the Germans out of the vicinity of Leningrad failed. Because of this, Mikhail Khozin (front commander) was deprived of his position. Leonid Govorov was appointed in his place. Throughout the summer of 1942, he prepared the Neva Operational Group and the 55th Army for the Sinyavsk offensive operation. However, already in the fall it became clear that the Soviet Army in this region simply did not have enough forces to clear the approaches to Leningrad (this was the main strategic goal of the event). On October 1, Govorov received an order to retreat to his original positions. The decision was made at Headquarters after long discussions. Nevertheless, “local battles” continued. This is how the reports referred to small-scale active actions. They did not change the position at the front, but noticeably exhausted the enemy, who found himself in trenches far from his homeland. Under Govorov, Leningrad was divided into sectors. Each of them had its own permanent garrison. Combat detachments formed at enterprises were united into battalions.
Attempts to break the blockade
An artilleryman by training, Govorov had an army at his disposal, which included troops of all possible types. But this did not stop him from quickly getting into the swing of things. He knew how to instantly assess the situation and knew by heart the location of Soviet and German units on any sector of the front. Leonid Govorov always listened carefully to his subordinates and did not interrupt them, although he did not like empty verbosity. He was a man of strict self-organization, who demanded the same from those around him. At the Leningrad headquarters, such a character evoked reverent respect. Party leaders (Zhdanov, Kuznetsov, Shtykov, etc.) treated him with reverence.
In January 1943, the Leningrad Front began to move again. On January 18, the blockade ring of the Northern capital was broken. This was done thanks to two counter strikes by the Volkhov Front (under the command of Kirill Meretskov) and the Leningrad Front (under the command of Leonid Govorov). The enemy group was cut up, and Soviet units met south of Lake Ladoga.
Even before the final breakthrough of the blockade, Govorov received the rank of colonel general. In the summer of 1943, the 67th Army, which he commanded, took part in the Mginsk operation. Its task was to establish control over the Kirov Railway south of Lake Ladoga. If communications were freed from the Germans, Leningrad would receive a reliable and convenient communication channel with the rest of the country. These were tough battles. Due to a shortage of forces, Soviet troops were unable to complete all assigned tasks, and by the fall the Mginsky ledge remained virtually unchanged. Nevertheless, time was working for the Red Army, and the Wehrmacht was experiencing increasing difficulties.
Liberation of Leningrad
In the fall of 1943, preparations began at Headquarters for a new Leningrad-Novgorod operation. On November 17, Leonid Govorov became an army general. At the beginning of the new year 1944, troops under his leadership broke through the enemy defenses around Leningrad. On January 27, German units were already a hundred kilometers from the city. The blockade was finally lifted. On the same day, Govorov, on Stalin’s instructions, gave the order to hold a fireworks display in the liberated city.
However, there was little time for celebrations. Quickly returning to his duties, Leonid Govorov led the troops of the Leningrad Front towards Narva. In February, the Red Army crossed this river. By spring, the counteroffensive had advanced 250 kilometers. Almost the entire Leningrad region was liberated, as well as part of the neighboring Kalinin region.
Fights with the Finns
On June 10, front forces were sent north to conduct the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation. The main enemy in this direction was Finland. Headquarters sought to bring the Reich's ally out of the war. Govorov began the operation with a deceptive demonstration maneuver. On the eve of the offensive, Finnish intelligence tracked the preparation of an attack in the Narva area. Meanwhile, the Soviet fleet had already transferred the 21st Army to the Karelian Isthmus. For the enemy, this blow was a complete surprise.
In addition, before the offensive, Govorov ordered artillery preparation and a series of air strikes. Over the next ten days, the forces of the Leningrad Front broke through three lines of defense on the site of the former Mannerheim Line, which was restored during the occupation. Leonid Govorov took part in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. He knew this region and the characteristics of the enemy army well.
The result of the rapid advance of the Red Army was the liberation of Vyborg on June 20, 1944. Two days earlier, Leonid Govorov became Marshal of the Soviet Union. The title became a reflection of the military’s merits. He took part in organizing many important operations: he repelled German attacks at the beginning of the war, defended Moscow, liberated Leningrad, and finally fought the Finns.
After the restoration of Soviet power in Vyborg, the fighting moved to the Karelian Isthmus. Almost the entire Finnish army (60 thousand people) operated here. The Soviet offensive was complicated by the difficult terrain of these places. Water obstacles, dense forests, lack of roads - all this slowed down the liberation of the isthmus. The losses of the Red Army increased sharply. In this regard, on July 12, Headquarters gave the order to go on the defensive. The further offensive continued with forces. In September, Finland left the war and joined the allied countries.
In the late summer and autumn of 1944, Marshal Govorov developed operations to liberate Estonia. In October, he also coordinated the actions of the armed forces in the liberation of Riga. After the capital of Latvia was cleared of the Germans, the remnants of the Wehrmacht forces in the Baltic states were blocked in Courland. The surrender of this group was accepted on May 8, 1945.
After the war
In peacetime, Leonid Govorov began to occupy senior military leadership positions. He was commander of the Leningrad Military District and air defense commander. Under his leadership, these troops underwent significant reorganization. In addition, new types of weapons began to be adopted (fighter jets, anti-aircraft missile systems, radar stations, etc.). The country was building a shield against suspected attacks by NATO and the United States in the nascent Cold War.
In 1952, at the last Stalinist 19th Congress of the CPSU, Leonid Govorov was elected as a candidate member of the Central Committee. In 1954, he began to combine the position of commander of air defense and deputy minister of defense of the Soviet Union. A busy work schedule and stress had a negative impact on the marshal’s health. Leonid Govorov died on March 19, 1955 from a stroke while on vacation in the Barvikha sanatorium.
Today, streets in the largest cities of the former USSR (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Odessa, Kirov, Donetsk, etc.) are named in honor of the marshal. The memory of him is especially carefully preserved in the former Leningrad, which was liberated thanks to an operation undertaken under the leadership of Govorov. There are memorial plaques on two buildings, and the park on the embankment of the Fontanka River bears his name. In 1999, a monument to L. A. Govorov was erected on Stachek Square.
Awards
Leonid Aleksandrovich's many-year military journey was accompanied by a variety of medals and honorary titles. In 1921, after two wounds, the future Marshal Govorov received the Order of the Red Banner. He was awarded this award for the bravery and courage shown during the Perekop-Chongar operation, when Wrangel’s army finally surrendered Crimea. After the end of the Soviet-Finnish war, Govorov received the Order of the Red Star.
In the most difficult days of the Great Patriotic War, when the Wehrmacht troops stood near Moscow, it was Leonid Alexandrovich who was one of the leaders of the defense of the capital. On November 10, 1941, on the eve of the counteroffensive, he received the Order of Lenin. The next reward awaited him after breaking the siege of Leningrad. Govorov Leonid Aleksandrovich, whose biography is a biography of one of the outstanding military leaders of the Great Patriotic War, received a deserved 1st degree.
He managed to have a hand in many successes of the Red Army during the liberation of the territory of the USSR from occupation by Wehrmacht troops. Therefore, it is not surprising that on January 27, 1945, Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov also became a Hero of the Soviet Union. His awards also include numerous medals awarded for the liberation or defense of major cities.
On May 31, 1945, a few weeks after the surrender of Germany, Govorov was awarded the Order of Victory. During the entire existence of this badge, only 17 people were awarded such an honor, which, of course, emphasizes the importance of Leonid Alexandrovich’s contribution to the defeat of the Nazis in the Great Patriotic War. It is noteworthy that, in addition to Soviet ones, he also received foreign awards: the Order of the Legion of Honor (France), as well as the American Order of the Legion of Honor.
artillery of the 51st Infantry Division;
artillery of the Reserve Front;
5th Army;
Leningrad front;
2nd Baltic Front;
Leningrad Military District;
Air Defense Forces of the USSR
Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov(February 10, Butyrki, Yaransky district, Vyatka province - March 19, 1955, Moscow) - Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (June 18, 1944), Hero of the Soviet Union (January 27, 1945).
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✪ Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich
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Biography
Childhood and youth
Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov was born on February 10 (22), 1897 in the village of Butyrki, Yaransky district, Vyatka province (now the territory of the Sovetsky district of the Kirov region) into a peasant family. Russian . Father - Govorov Alexander Grigorievich (1869-1920) - worked as a barge hauler, a sailor in the shipping company of the Stakheev merchants and as a clerk at a real school in Yelabuga. Mother - Govorova (nee Panfilova) Maria Alexandrovna (1867-1919) - housewife. Leonid was the eldest of four sons.
After graduating from rural school, Leonid Govorov entered the Yelabuga Real School, graduating brilliantly in 1916, and entered the shipbuilding department.
In December 1916, he was mobilized into the army and was sent to study at the Konstantinovsky Artillery School, after which in June 1917, Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov was promoted to ensign and appointed junior officer of a mortar battery as part of one of the units of the Tomsk garrison.
Civil War
Interwar period
In May 1941, a month before the start of the war, he headed the Artillery Academy named after. Dzerzhinsky. Since the first day of the Great Patriotic War, he has been on the Western Front, where he serves as the chief of artillery in the Western strategic direction. Since July 30, he has headed the artillery of the Reserve Front, in this position he is actively involved in the creation of an anti-tank defense system and the preparation of the Elninsky offensive operation. In the period from October 5 to October 9, he carried out work on organizing the Mozhaisk defense line. By order of the Supreme Command Headquarters dated October 9, Govorov was assigned the duties of deputy commander of the troops of this formation. On October 12, in connection with the entry of the Mozhaisk defense line into the organizational structure of the Western Front, he was transferred to the post of chief of artillery of the Western Front.
However, a few days later, on October 15, in connection with the injury of D. D. Lelyushenko, Govorov, at the request of G. K. Zhukov, took command of the 5th Combined Arms Army (the order appointing Govorov was signed by Zhukov on October 18), which led heavy defensive battles on the approaches to Mozhaisk. On October 18, the defensive formations of the 32nd Rifle Division were broken through, and battles began to prevent an enemy tank breakthrough along the Mozhaisk Highway and the Minsk Motorway. In negotiations with the front command, Govorov manages to prove the inappropriateness of further struggle for Mozhaisk. On the same day, October 18, the troops of the 5th Army leave Mozhaisk. In the first half of November, taking advantage of a two-week pause in the battle, the troops of the 5th Army organized a deeply layered defense on the approaches to Moscow, supported by a powerful artillery barrier and maneuverable anti-tank detachments, and prepared forces and means for the subsequent counter-offensive. On November 9, Lieutenant General of Artillery,” and on November 10, he was awarded the Order of Lenin. In the subsequent offensive of the 4th Army on December 1, von Kluge managed to break through the defenses of the 5th Army at the junction with units of the 33rd Army and, having gone 10 kilometers into the defense of the Soviet troops, reached the area of the village of Akulovo. While in the battle area, Govorov personally leads the defensive actions, and by December 4, the breakthrough is eliminated. On December 6, the Klin-Solnechnogorsk operation of the troops of the right wing of the Western Front began, in which, from the second ten days of December, units of the right wing of the 5th Army actively took part. On December 11, army units launched a general offensive.
In April, Govorov was hospitalized with an acute attack of appendicitis, I. I. Fedyuninsky was appointed commander of the 5th Army.
At the end of October, Govorov begins developing a new operation. On November 25, front units began preparing for the upcoming hostilities. On December 2, the plan for the operation, called “Iskra,” was approved by the Supreme High Command headquarters. The goal of the operation was to use counter strikes from the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts to cut through the enemy grouping in the area of the Sinyavinsky salient, connect south of Lake Ladoga and break the blockade of Leningrad.
The operation was started by troops of the Leningrad Front (21st and 23rd armies - over 150,000 people), then (in July 1944) the Karelian Front (32nd and 7th armies) went on the offensive. In advance, Govorov carried out a major diversionary maneuver with a demonstration of the impending attack on Narva. Meanwhile, the Red Banner Baltic Fleet secretly transferred units of the 21st Army from the Oranienbaum area to the Karelian Isthmus. This created an effect of surprise for the enemy. The offensive was immediately preceded by air strikes and a 10-hour artillery barrage. 500 guns were used along 1 km of front. The Finns were taken by surprise. During ten days of fighting, the troops of the Leningrad Front broke through 3 defense lines (on June 11, 17 and 19, respectively) “restored” by the Finns in 1941-1944. "Mannerheim Lines". The rate of advance was very high and amounted to 10-12 km per day. In a directive dated June 11, 1944, the Supreme High Command Headquarters noted the successful progress of the offensive and ordered the troops of the Leningrad Front to capture Vyborg on June 18-20. For the successes achieved on June 18, L. A. Govorov was awarded the title “Marshal of the Soviet Union,” and on June 20, the 21st Army of the Leningrad Front, during stubborn battles, captured the southern suburbs and center of Vyborg. After occupying the city, Headquarters clarified the tasks of the troops of the Leningrad Front. The directive dated June 21 indicated that the front should clear the Karelian Isthmus northeast of the Vuoksa River and Lake Vuoksa from the enemy on June 26-28. Following these instructions, the front troops continued the offensive. The Finnish command, aware of the impending danger, urgently brought up reserves. Therefore, during the first ten days of July, the 21st Army was able to advance only 10-12 km. By that time, the 23rd Army had crossed the Vuoksa River and captured a small bridgehead on its northern bank. In the period from July 4 to July 6, in close cooperation with the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, Soviet troops captured the main islands of the Vyborg Bay and began preparing for a landing in the rear of the Finnish troops.
Meanwhile, enemy resistance on the Karelian Isthmus was increasingly intensifying. By mid-July, up to three quarters of the entire Finnish army (about 60,000 people) were operating here. Her troops occupied a line that 90 percent passed through water obstacles ranging in width from 300 m to 3 km. This allowed the enemy to create a strong defense. Further continuation of the offensive of Soviet troops on the Karelian Isthmus under these conditions could lead to unjustified losses. Therefore, the Headquarters ordered the Leningrad Front to go on the defensive at the reached line from July 12, 1944. During the offensive, which lasted more than a month, the front forces forced the enemy to transfer significant forces from South Karelia to the Karelian Isthmus. This changed the balance of forces in favor of the troops of the Karelian Front and thereby created favorable conditions for the success of their strike. On August 9, the troops of the Karelian Front reached the line of Kudamguba, Kuolisma, Pitkyaranta, thereby completing the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk offensive operation. On September 4, the Finnish government reached an agreement with the Soviet government to end hostilities. In turn, from 8.00 on September 5, the Leningrad and Karelian fronts, by order of the Supreme High Command Headquarters, ceased military operations against Finnish troops.
Start
Since April 1953, he was appointed to the post of chief inspector of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In May 1954, he became the first Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Air Defense Forces and was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense of the country.
By that time, Govorov was seriously ill with hypertension, which was aggravated by frequent stress. In the summer he had his first stroke. He died on the night of March 19, 1955 in the Barvikha sanatorium near Moscow. After his death, he was cremated, and the urn with his ashes was buried in the Kremlin wall on Red Square in Moscow.
Memoirs of contemporaries
"L.A. Govorov was demanding and persistent. Outwardly he seemed dry and even gloomy, but in fact he was the kindest person. He would never raise his voice at anyone, and if he was dissatisfied with something, he would either remain silent or mutter something to himself. Leonid Aleksandrovich's organization could be envied. Not a single front command officer sat idle with him. He knew the work of the headquarters very well, but did not take on the functions that should have been performed by the chief of staff."
Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky. Life's work. Second edition, expanded. - M.: Politizdat, 1975. P.596.
“I was very pleased to meet Leonid Aleksandrovich. I couldn’t help remembering the times when we commanded artillery regiments. We had to attend training camps and shooting sessions together more than once. L. A. Govorov was distinguished by his composure, quickly made decisions, and acted confidently. But not all of us liked the fact that in his leisure hours he avoided noisy companies, spoke little, rarely smiled... And now Leonid Aleksandrovich appeared before us, as always, calm, watching everything carefully, somewhat reserved, taciturn. with me, quickly got to the point."
If this outstanding military leader of the Red Army had no other glorious military deeds other than the heroic defense of Leningrad, then even then his name would have been preserved forever by grateful descendants
Marshal of the Soviet Union Bagramyan I.Kh.
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Youth scorched by war
From Kolchak officer to red commander
Under special control
Soviet-Finnish War. Breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line.
The Great Patriotic War. The first months of the war. Elninskaya operation
Battle of Moscow. In the Mozhaisk direction
Defense of Leningrad
Breakthrough and complete lifting of the blockade
Fighting on the Karelian Isthmus. Finland's withdrawal from the war
Liberation of the Baltic states. "Courland Cauldron"
Post-war period