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Vladimir VashkevichSoviet military leader, Colonel General
Date of Birth: 17.03.1900
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Early Life and Military Service
Vladimir Rodionovich Vashkevich was born in Zembin, Belarus, in 1895. After graduating from a two-year zemstvo school in 1911, he began working independently due to his family's poverty. In 1915, he moved to Petrograd and secured employment at the Trubochny Factory on Goloday Island. He continued his education in the evenings and passed the exams for the 6th grade at the Vvedenskaya Gymnasium of Peter the Great in February 1917, after which he secured a position in the factory's office.
In July 1917, Vashkevich joined the Red Guard of the Vasilyevsky Island district. He participated in the October Revolution in October 1917, and his detachment was responsible for guarding the Nikolaevsky Bridge during those days. In January 1918, he returned to Zembin to care for his seriously ill mother and joined the local Red Guard detachment there.
As the Central Powers invaded Russia in late February 1918, the Red Guards retreated in battle to Borisov and then Orsha. On March 5, 1918, Vashkevich enlisted in the Red Army and became an active participant in the Civil War. He served in the 1st Cavalry Regiment of the Mogilev Division.
Interwar Period
After the Civil War, Vashkevich continued his military career. He graduated from the Higher Cavalry School of the Red Army in Petrograd in 1923 and served in various capacities, including squadron and regiment commander and chief of staff, in the 7th Samarkan Cavalry Division, the 38th Cavalry Regiment, the 42nd Cavalry Regiment, and the 17th Cavalry Division.
In 1925, Vashkevich entered the Military Academy of the Red Army named after M. V. Frunze and graduated in 1928. Upon his graduation, he was appointed chief of staff of the 7th Separate Turkestan Cavalry Brigade of the Central Asian Military District, where he also temporarily served as brigade commander.
In 1932, Vashkevich entered the Military Academy of the Red Army named after M. V. Frunze as an adjunct and became a teacher of tactics, senior head of the cavalry department, and chief-commissar of the course. In 1935, he was appointed commander and commissar of the 30th Cavalry Division of the Leningrad Military District, and in 1937, he became chief of staff of the 4th Cossack Corps named after Budyonny.
World War II
With the outbreak of World War II, Vashkevich was appointed commander of the 2nd People's Militia Division of the Stalin District of Moscow in July 1941. This division was later reorganized into the 2nd Rifle Division and transferred to the 32nd Army of the Reserve Front.
In November 1941, Vashkevich was appointed commander of the 5th Rifle Division in the 31st Army of the Kalinin Front. The division played a significant role in the Kalinin Defensive and Offensive Operations, liberating over 150 settlements in the process.
From March 1942 onwards, Vashkevich commanded the 359th Rifle Division in the 31st Army of the Kalinin Front and later in the 30th Army of the Western Front, participating in the Rzhev-Vyazma Operation of 1942 and other offensive operations.
In September 1942, Vashkevich was appointed chief of staff of the 20th Army on the Western Front and directed the army's actions in the second Rzhev-Sychevskaya, second Rzhev-Vyazma, and Oryol Operations. In 1945, he became chief of staff of the 3rd Baltic Front, where he played an active role in planning and carrying out the Pskov-Ostrov, Tartu, and Riga offensive operations. He also contributed to the improvement of troop management during the liberation of the Baltic states.
Postwar Career and Legacy
After the war, Vashkevich served as chief of staff of the Baltic Military District from 1945 to 1951. He then graduated from the Higher Academic Courses of the Higher Military Academy named after K. E. Voroshilov in 1952 and became chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District from 1952 onwards.
From 1954 to 1955, Vashkevich served as Chief Military Advisor to the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army and Military Attaché to the Soviet Embassy in Poland. He then returned to the Soviet Union and became head of the Department of Strategy at the Higher Military Academy named after K. E. Voroshilov in 1955.
In 1956, Vashkevich retired and became a member of the Research and Development Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In 1961, he retired from active service.
Vladimir Rodionovich Vashkevich passed away in February 1978. He was a distinguished Soviet military leader and an active participant in the Russian Civil War, World War II, and various other conflicts. He was awarded the Order of Lenin, four Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of Kutuzov, the Order of the Red Star, and numerous medals for his bravery and outstanding leadership.
