Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky
| Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
July 21, 1897 Kozliki, Russian Empire |
| Died | May 10, 1968 (aged 70) Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Buried at | Kremlin Wall Necropolis |
| Allegiance |
 Soviet Union
|
| Service/branch | Red Army |
| Years of service | 1918–1960 |
| Rank | Marshal of the Soviet Union |
| Commands held |
43rd Rifle Division Western Front Chief of the General Staff |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin (8) Order of the Red Banner (2) Order of the October Revolution Order of Suvorov, 1st Class (3) Order of Kutuzov, 1st Class (3) |
Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky (Russian: Васи́лий Дани́лович Соколо́вский; July 21, 1897 – May 10, 1968) was a Soviet military commander.
Sokolovsky was born into a peasant family in Kozliki, a small town in the province of Grodno (now in Białystok County in Poland, then part of the Russian Empire). He worked as a teacher in a rural school, where he took part in a number of protests and demonstrations against the Tsar.
He joined the Red Army in February 1918.
He began his formal military schooling in 1919, but was frequently called up by the Red Army and forced to leave his schoolwork. He graduated in 1921 and was made the chief of staff of a division stationed in Turkmenistan. He was wounded during a battle near Samarkand and subsequently decorated for bravery. After the Russian Civil War he held a number of staff positions, eventually becoming the chief of staff for the Moscow Military District and then the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, the position he held at the beginning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa.
In December 1941, when German forces were a mere 20 kilometers from Moscow, Sokolovsky was made the chief of staff of the Western Front, where he was able to help co-ordinate the Soviet winter counter-attacks that forced the Germans away from Moscow. He remained in this position until February 1943, when he became the commander of Western Front.
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