Exactly 70 years ago - on August 28, 1948, the Soviet Marshal of the Armored Forces, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Pavel Semyonovich Rybalko passed away. Marshal passed away relatively early, he was only 53 years old. Despite his early death, Pavel Rybalko played the main role that fate had in store for him during the Great Patriotic War, forever inscribing his name in the cohort of bright and glorified Soviet military leaders of the difficult war years.
The future marshal was born in the Ukraine in the village of Romanovka, Sumy region on October 23 (November 4, new style), 1894 in the family of a factory worker. He graduated from only three classes of school, after which, as a teenager, he went to work to help a poor family. In 1908, he began his career at a sugar factory, then became an apprentice turner, in parallel with this he attended Sunday school. From 1912 he lived and worked in Kharkov, where he was a turner at a steam locomotive plant.
With the outbreak of the First World War, Pavel Rybalko was drafted as a private into the ranks of the Russian imperial army. He fought on the Southwestern Front as part of the 82nd Infantry Division, participated in the battles near Przemysl. In battles with the Austro-Hungarians, he showed himself to be a brave and skillful soldier. In July 1917, after the first revolution, the fall of the autocracy and the beginning of the collapse of the army, he voluntarily left his unit and returned to his home.
In December 1917 he joined the Red Guard. From February 1918 he fought in a partisan detachment, was an assistant to its commander. The partisan detachment fought against the invaders represented by the German and Austro-Hungarian troops, as well as against the troops of Petliura and Hetman Skoropadsky. In August 1918, he was captured by Germany, but after the November Revolution in Germany he was released in December 1918, and returned to his homeland again. He began to work in the Lebedinsky district commissariat. Since March 1919, he was the commander of the combat group of the district Cheka, took part in the suppression of the Grigoriev rebellion (the largest uprising against Soviet power in Ukraine, which took place in May 1919).
In the same 1919 Rybalko became a member of the RCP (b) and forever linked his life with the Red Army. From June of the same year, he commanded a company of the Lebedinsky Rifle Regiment, from September he became the commander of this regiment. Since May 1920, he was Commissioner of the 84th Cavalry Regiment of the 14th Cavalry Division as part of the famous 1st Cavalry Army. Pavel Rybalko took an active part in the civil war, fought with Denikin's troops in the Kuban, Wrangel's troops in Northern Tavria, participated in the cleansing of the territory of Ukraine from Makhno's bands and other atamans. He took part in the Soviet-Polish war of 1919-1921, participated in the breakthrough of the Polish front near Uman, in battles with the Poles near Lvov and near Zamosc.
In those years, he literally walked under death, but he could die in an accident. His horse stumbled on a railroad track, and the rider flew out of the saddle straight into the track. On landing, Pavel Rybalko seriously hit the rails, resulting in a very severe liver injury. The pain from this injury would haunt him for the rest of his life, and the doctors even advised the future marshal to leave combat service, but he preferred to do everything his own way.
After the end of the civil war, Pavel Rybalko remained in the service of the Red Army. From September 1925 to July 1926, he studied at the Advanced Training Courses for the Higher Commanding Staff (KUVNAS) at the MV Frunze Military Academy. In 1930 he graduated from the Comintern's Shooting-tactical courses of improvement of the command staff of the Red Army "Shot". From May 1931 to April 1934 he studied at the cavalry department of the main faculty of the Frunze Military Academy. In the intervals between training and improving military qualifications, Pavel Rybalko held various positions in the cavalry divisions of the Red Army. After completing his studies at the Frunze Military Academy in 1934, he was seconded to the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army Headquarters and sent to China as a military adviser. He stayed in this country until December 1935, participated in the fight against the Uyghur rebels of Ma Zhongin in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.
Lieutenant General of Tank Forces Pavel Rybalko in the center of Kharkov, February 1943
With the introduction of personal military ranks, Pavel Semyonovich Rybalko was certified as a colonel. From February 1936 to July 1937 he was assistant commander of the 8th Turkestan (from July 1936 - 21st) mountain cavalry division stationed in Fergana in the territory of the Central Asian military district. From July 1937 to October 1939 he was a military attaché in Poland. On February 20, 1940, he was awarded the next military rank of brigade commander, and on June 4 of the same year - the rank of major general. In April-December 1940, he was the Soviet military attaché in China, after which he entered the disposal of the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, at the disposal of the General Staff until December 1941.
Then, after the start of the Great Patriotic War, from September 1941 to May 1942, Pavel Rybalko was the head of the intelligence department of the Higher Special School of the General Staff of the Red Army. At the same time, he literally bombarded the higher command with reports demanding to send himself to the front. Doctors also opposed this development of events - the liver was still making itself felt. Sometimes Rybalko was pursued by very strong pains that made him move, leaning on a stick. However, the general's persistence bore fruit, in May 1942 he was sent to the active army. Pavel Semyonovich became deputy commander of the 3rd Panzer Army, which was at that moment in the formation stage.
And already in August 1942, Major General Rybalko was entrusted with the command of the 5th Panzer Army. It is worth noting that there were enough skeptics for such an appointment. By that time, Pavel Rybalko simply did not have practical experience in commanding such large military formations. At the same time, in the early years of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army suffered heavy losses not only in the rank and file, but also among the generals, so Pavel Semyonovich was given a chance to prove himself in a high command position. True, the general will be able to prove himself later. Already on September 22, 1942, the Headquarters castled the commanders of the 3rd and 5th tank armies, so Rybalko became the commander of the 3rd tank army. Most likely, the Headquarters considered that it would be better to command the 5th Panzer Army, which had already entered the hostilities, would be commander Romanenko, who had a certain combat experience and authority in the troops, and Rybalko would be better off focusing on the formation and manning of the 3rd Panzer Army. where he had some success.
Tank column of the 3rd Guards TA, Zhytomyr-Berdichev offensive operation, 1944
Therefore, Pavel Rybalko will begin to fight for real only in 1943. In January, his army, acting as part of the Voronezh Front, takes part in the Ostrogozh-Rossosh offensive operation, the Kharkov offensive and Kharkov defensive operations. The Ostrogozh-Rossosh offensive operation was carried out brilliantly and ended with the defeat of the 2nd Hungarian army, the main part of the 8th Italian army, including its three alpine divisions, and the 24th German tank corps. During the offensive, by January 27, 1943, Soviet troops completely defeated 15 enemy divisions, 6 more divisions suffered significant losses. The losses of the Hungarians and Italians alone amounted to about 52 thousand people killed and up to 71 thousand prisoners. For his brilliant successes in this offensive operation, Pavel Rybalko was awarded the Order of Suvorov I degree, then in January he became a lieutenant general.
Later, during the Kharkov defensive operation, units of the 3rd Panzer Army were surrounded and suffered significant losses, especially heavy losses in equipment, on April 16, 1943, the army was renamed 57th. And on May 14, 1943, Stalin gave the order to restore the 3rd Panzer Army, this time as a Guards Army. At the same time, Lieutenant General Pavel Rybalko again becomes its commander, who is tasked with restoring the combat capability of the entrusted army. The commander will not part with his 3rd Guards Tank Army until the end of the Great Patriotic War.
With his army, he took part in the battle on the Kursk Bulge. After the reorganization, units of the army confirmed their combat capability and military skill during the Oryol strategic offensive operation. It should be noted that when executing the directives of the front command, Pavel Semyonovich showed independence and demonstrated firmness, refusing to introduce tanks into the cities until they were cleared by rifle units. Despite the pressure from the higher command, he noted: “We will not enter either Mtsensk or Oryol. On the narrow city streets, the Nazis will shoot tanks at close range, we will have nowhere to maneuver. This position of the commander of the 3rd Guards Tank Army fully justified itself. Thanks to Rybalko, it was possible to significantly reduce the losses of tank units, as well as to develop a completely new tactic for the Red Army for the use of armored vehicles in urban combat. Rybalko also consistently spoke out in favor of introducing his army into battle not by separate units, but by the whole composition at once, which also said its positive role in breaking through the echeloned German defense in the Orel region.
Tanks of the 3rd Guards Tank Army in Berlin. May 1945
Already in September 1943, Rybalko's tankers distinguished themselves during the battles in the Kiev direction. On September 21, units of the 3rd Guards Tank Army advanced to the Dnieper on a forced march and, after crossing the river, took part in organizing the Bukrin bridgehead, which played an extremely important role in the liberation of Kiev and the further offensive of Soviet troops in the Right-Bank Ukraine. For the successful crossing of the Dnieper, as well as the skillful leadership of the army in the battle of Kursk and the Kiev offensive operation on November 17, 1943, Pavel Semyonovich Rybalko was awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the presentation of the Gold Star medal. And already on December 30, 1943, he was awarded the next rank - colonel general.
After the liberation of Kiev from the Nazi invaders, the 3rd Guards Tank Army under the command of Pavel Rybalko played a significant role in the further liberation of the territory of Right-Bank Ukraine from the invaders. Rybalko's tankers took part in the Kiev defensive (November-December 1943), the Zhytomyr-Berdnichevsk offensive (December 1943 - January 1944), the Proskurovo-Chrnovitsk offensive (March-April 1944) and the Lvov-Sandamir strategic offensive (July-August 1944 years) operations.
In each of the operations, Pavel Rybalko confirmed his status as an excellent commander and an excellent strategist. His swift actions and skill in carrying out maneuvers unexpected for the enemy often caught the enemy by surprise and made a very important contribution to the success of the operations. This happened when Lvov was liberated from the Nazis in 1944. The liberation and preservation of the city was largely due to the soldiers and commanders of the 3rd Guards Tank Army. Parts of the army carried out a deep coverage of the city from the western side, the actions of Rybalko's tankers completely disorganized German communications in the Lvov area and created a threat to encircle the entire enemy grouping in the city area.
In 1945, Colonel General Rybalko directed the actions of the 3rd Guards Tank Army in the Lower Silesian Operation (February 1945), the Berlin Offensive (April 1945) and the Prague Offensive (May 1945). On April 6, 1945, Pavel Semyonovich was awarded the second Gold Star medal, becoming twice Hero of the Soviet Union. He was presented for the award for military distinction of the troops under his command at the final stage of the war, as well as personal heroism shown in battles. It is worth noting that very often Pavel Rybalko led army units from his "Viliss", sometimes acting directly in the battle formations of his units. His command jeep could sometimes be seen flickering between advancing tanks. The general himself explained this by the fact that due to health problems it was difficult for him to get into the tank, so he led the battle from the wheels, without parting with his cane.
It is symbolic that it was Rybalko's army that, after the capture of Berlin, was instructed to defeat the Dresden-Görlitz enemy grouping and capture the capital of Czechoslovakia. His 3rd Guards Tank Army began its movement to Prague on May 5, 1945. Eliminating the centers of enemy resistance along the way, Rybalko's tankmen entered Prague in the early morning of May 9, and by the end of the day the war was over for them and for their commander. After the end of hostilities - on June 1, 1945, Army Commander Pavel Semyonovich Rybalko received the shoulder straps of the Marshal of the Armored Forces, and in April 1946 he was appointed First Deputy Commander of the Armored and Mechanized Forces of the Soviet Army.
Since April 1947, Rybalko himself became the commander of the armored and mechanized troops of the Soviet Army. Earlier, in 1946, he was elected a deputy of the USSR Supreme Soviet of the second convocation. At that time, Marshal 53 years old, he is still relatively young, but has already achieved a lot, he is loved and respected by tankmen and other Soviet military leaders, but life ordered that the newly-made commander of the country's armored forces did not have to hold this post for long. Already at the end of 1947, the marshal was hospitalized in the Kremlin hospital. The harsh military life, extreme loads over the years, existing illnesses and the loss of his only son in the war, whom Rybalko demonstratively did not take under his wing, undermined his health. On August 28, 1948, after a long illness, despite all the efforts of doctors, Pavel Semyonovich Rybalko died.
It so happened that one of the brightest Soviet military leaders of the period of the Great Patriotic War passed away first. The marshal's funeral took place in Moscow, his grave is located at the Novodevichy cemetery.
