 |
Anatoliy GekkerSoviet military leader, corps commander
Date of Birth: 25.08.1888
Country:  Georgia |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Military Career in World War I
- Russian Revolution and Civil War
- Post-Civil War Service
- Arrest and Execution
- Gekker was rehabilitated in 1956.
Early Life and Education
Alexander Ivanovich Gekkerwas born in Tbilisi, Georgia, in the family of a military doctor. He graduated from the Vladimir Military School in Saint Petersburg in 1909.
Military Career in World War I
Gekker participated in World War I, rising to the rank of staff captain. He completed courses at the Academy of the General Staff in 1917.
Russian Revolution and Civil War
After the October Revolution, Gekker was elected chief of staff of the 33rd Corps and later the 8th Army. In January 1918, he became the commander of the 8th Army.
In the spring of 1918, Gekker organized Red Army unitsand commanded the Soviet forces in the Donbas region. He also served as chief of staff to the commander of the Ukrainian Front and later as commissar of the White Sea District.
From December 1918 to April 1920, he commanded the Astrakhan Fortress and then the 13th Army.
Post-Civil War Service
In 1920, Gekker served as chief of staff of the internal security forces. He later commanded the 11th Army and became the head of the Military Academy of the Red Army.
In 1929, Gekker was appointed military attaché in China. He also served as military attaché in Turkey from 1934 onward.
Arrest and Execution
In 1937, Gekker was arrested on fabricated charges and sentenced to death by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR. He was executed on July 1 at the Kommunarka shooting grounds.
