 |
Victor LebedevSoviet military leader, Guards Major General of Tank Troops
Date of Birth: 19.11.1901
|
Content:
- Early Life and Revolutionary Years
- Military Career
- Interwar Period
- World War II
- Operation Citadel
- Later War Years
- Post-War Years
- Awards
Early Life and Revolutionary Years
On November 19, 1901, Vladimir Grigorievich Lebedev was born in Moscow, Russia. His childhood was spent in the village of Terekhyun in the Serpukhovsky district. His father was a cabinetmaker, and his mother was a seamstress.
During the revolutionary years, Lebedev became a cabin boy on the battleship "Gangut" (later renamed "Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsiya" in 1925). He participated in the Petrograd and Moscow revolutions of October-November 1917.
Military Career
In late 1918, Lebedev volunteered for the Red Army. He fought on the Eastern and Turkestan fronts during the Russian Civil War.
Interwar Period
After the war, Lebedev continued his military education. He became a pioneer in armored forces, commanding a tank company and then a tank battalion. He also participated in the Soviet-Finnish War (1939-1940), where he distinguished himself by using tank guns to destroy concrete anti-tank blocks.
World War II
By the start of World War II, Lebedev was a Major commanding the 49th Tank Regiment of the 24th Tank Division in the Leningrad Military District. He fought in the battles on the Luga defensive line and at Nevskaya Dubrovka.
In February 1942, Lebedev became Colonel and was appointed commander of the 87th Tank Brigade. In March, he was tasked with organizing a tank column known as the 96th Tank Brigade named after the Chelyabinsk Komsomol. It received its baptism of fire under Voronezh in June of the same year.
On January 8, 1943, Lebedev was promoted to Major General. The 96th Tank Brigade participated in the Ostrogozhsk-Rossoshanskaya operation as part of the 18th Rifle Corps and as a separate tank brigade in the Voronezh-Kastornenskaja operation.
On February 9, 1943, the remnants of the tank brigade, comprising 228 men and 8 tanks, blocked the path of a 13,000-man column of the defeated 2nd Field Army at the village of Puzachi in the Kursk region. Despite heavy snowstorms, they held off the enemy for nearly three days, destroying around 6,000 Germans and taking 2,000 prisoners.
Operation Citadel
Historians now believe that Prokhorovka was initially the intended target of the German offensive in the Battle of Kursk (1943). To achieve this, the SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" aimed to cut through the Soviet front, capture crossings over the Lipovets Donets River, and advance towards Prokhorovka.
The 96th Tank Brigade, led by Lebedev, played a crucial role in countering the German thrust. For four days, it held off an onslaught by "Totenkopf,"阻止敌人在霍皮诺（Шопино）和古斯蒂舍沃（Гостешево）建立据点。
After the battle, the 96th Tank Brigade, now under the command of the 6th Tank Corps of the 1st Tank Army, halted the advance of the German 3rd Panzer Corps east of the Severny Donets River. It also covered the withdrawal of Soviet forces to the western bank of the river.
On the night of July 12, the brigade launched a daring raid into the German rear, capturing nine tanks and establishing a defensive position near the villages of Alexandrovka and Sviridovo.
Later War Years
From July 15 to October 31, 1943, Lebedev served as deputy commander of the 6th Tank Corps, which was later renamed the 11th Guards Tank Corps. On November 1, he commanded the 54th Guards Tank Brigade in the battles for Kiev and the right-bank Ukraine.
During the liberation of Kiev, Lebedev led a nighttime "psychic" attack with headlights on and sirens howling, causing the Germans to hastily abandon the city. In the battles for Zhitomir, he lost an eye and was transferred to a safe post.
Post-War Years
After the war, Lebedev headed the military department at the Moscow Automotive Institute and lectured on electrical engineering. In 1972, he resigned from the Communist Party in protest against its policies.
He also actively studied the history and folklore of his homeland, publishing works on Russian folk wisdom, arguing that it was not merely a collection of proverbs but a comprehensive worldview.
Awards
Order of the Red Banner (1940, 1944, 1949)Order of Suvorov, 2nd Class (1943, 1944)
Order of Lenin (1945)
