The author and initiator of the creation of technical means of the Airborne Forces and methods of using parts and formations of airborne airborne troops, many of which personify the image of the Airborne Forces of the USSR Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces that exists at the present time. Among the people associated with these troops, Paratrooper No. 1 is considered.
Biography
Youthful years
V.F. Markelov (later Margelov) was born on December 27, 1908 (January 9, 1909 in a new style) in the city of Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine), into a family of immigrants from Belarus. By nationality - Belarusian. Father - Philip Ivanovich Markelov, a metallurgical worker. (Vasily Filippovich's surname Markelov was later recorded as Margelov due to an error in his party card.)
In 1913, the Margelov family returned to the homeland of Philip Ivanovich - to the town of Kostyukovichi in the Klimovichi district (Mogilev province). VF Margelov's mother, Agafya Stepanovna, was from the neighboring Bobruisk district. According to some reports, V.F. Margelov graduated from the parish school (TsPSh) in 1921. As a teenager he worked as a loader, carpenter. In the same year he entered a leather workshop as an apprentice, and soon became an assistant to the master. In 1923 he entered the local "Khleboprodukt" as a laborer. There is information that he graduated from the school of rural youth, and worked as a forwarder for the delivery of mail on the line Kostyukovichi - Hotimsk.
Since 1924, he worked in Yekaterinoslav at the mine. MI Kalinin as a laborer, then a horseman.
In 1925 he was sent again to Belarus, as a forester in the timber industry. He worked in Kostyukovichi, in 1927 he became the chairman of the working committee of the timber industry, was elected to the local Council.
Service start
Drafted into the Red Army in 1928. Sent to study at the United Belarusian Military School (OBVS) named after V. Central Executive Committee of the BSSR in Minsk, enrolled in the group of snipers. From the second year he was a foreman of a machine-gun company. In April 1931 he graduated with honors from Minsk military school (former OBVSH).
After graduation, he was appointed commander of the machine-gun platoon of the regimental school of the 99th infantry regiment 33rd territorial rifle division (Mogilev, Belarus). Since 1933 - a platoon commander at the Minsk Military Infantry School named after I. M.I. Kalinina. In February 1934 he was appointed assistant company commander, in May 1936 - the commander of a machine-gun company. From October 25, 1938 he commanded the 2nd battalion of the 23rd rifle regiment of the 8th rifle division named after Dzerzhinsky Belarusian Special Military District. He headed the reconnaissance of the 8th rifle division, being the chief of the 2nd branch of the division headquarters.
During the war years
During the Soviet-Finnish war (1939-1940) he commanded a separate reconnaissance ski battalion of the 596th rifle regiment of the 122nd division. During one of the operations, he captured the officers of the Swedish General Staff.
After the end of the Soviet-Finnish war, he was appointed assistant commander of the 596th regiment for combat units. Since October 1940 - the commander of the 15th separate disciplinary battalion (15disb). On June 19, 1941, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the 1st Motorized Rifle Division (the main part of the regiment was made up of the soldiers of the 15th DISB).
During the Great Patriotic War - the commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Regiment, Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the 3rd Guards Rifle Division. Since 1944 - commander of the 49th Guards Rifle Division of the 28th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. He directed the actions of the division during the crossing of the Dnieper and the liberation of Kherson, for which in March 1944 he was awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union... Under his command, the 49th Guards Rifle Division participated in the liberation of the peoples of South-Eastern Europe.
In the airborne troops
After the war on command positions... Since 1948, after graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff Armed Forces USSR named after K. Ye. Voroshilov - commander of the 76th Guards Chernigov Red Banner Airborne Division.
In 1950-1954 - the commander of the 37th Guards Airborne Svirsky Red Banner Corps (Far East).
From 1954 to 1959 - Commander of the Airborne Forces. In 1959-1961 he was appointed with demotion, first deputy commander of the Airborne Forces. From 1961 to January 1979 - returned to the post of Commander of the Airborne Forces.
On October 28, 1967 he was awarded military rank "army General". Supervised the actions of the Airborne Forces during the entry of troops into Czechoslovakia (Operation Danube).
Since January 1979 - in the group of general inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He went on business trips to the Airborne Forces, was the chairman of the State Examination Commission at the Ryazan Airborne School.
During his service in the Airborne Forces, he made more than 60 jumps. The last of them is at the age of 65.
"Anyone who has never left an airplane in his life, whence cities and villages seem like toys, who have never experienced the joy and fear of free fall, whistling in their ears, a stream of wind blowing into their chest, will never understand the honor and pride of a paratrooper ..."
Lived and worked in the city of Moscow. He died on March 4, 1990. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.
Contribution to the formation and development of the Airborne Forces
General Pavel Fedoseevich Pavlenko:
Colonel Nikolai Fedorovich Ivanov:
Margelov's contribution to the formation of the airborne troops in their current form was reflected in the comic decoding of the abbreviation of the Airborne Forces - "Uncle Vasya's Troops".
Combat theory
IN military theory It was believed that for the immediate use of nuclear strikes and maintaining a high rate of advance, a widespread use of airborne assault forces was necessary. In these conditions, the Airborne Forces had to fully comply with the military-strategic goals of the war and meet the military-political goals of the state.
According to Commander Margelov: “To fulfill their role in modern operations it is necessary that our formations and units be highly maneuverable, covered with armor, have sufficient fire efficiency, are well controlled, capable of landing at any time of the day and quickly switch to active combat operations after landing. This is, by and large, the ideal we should strive for. "
To achieve these goals, under the leadership of Margelov, the concept of the role and place of the Airborne Forces in modern strategic operations in various theaters of military operations was developed. On this topic, Margelov wrote a number of works, and also successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis (awarded the title of Candidate of Military Sciences by the decision of the Council of the Military Order of Lenin of the Red Banner Order of Suvorov of the MV Frunze Academy). In practical terms, exercises and command camps of the Airborne Forces were regularly held.
Armament
It was necessary to bridge the gap between theory combat use Airborne Forces and the existing organizational structure of the troops, as well as the capabilities of military transport aviation. Having assumed the position of Commander, Margelov received troops, consisting mainly of infantry with light weapons and military transport aviation (as part of the Airborne Forces), which was equipped with Li-2, Il-14, Tu-2 and Tu- 4 with significantly limited amphibious capabilities. In fact, the Airborne Forces were not able to solve major tasks in military operations.
Margelov initiated the creation and serial production at the enterprises of the military-industrial complex of landing equipment, heavy parachute platforms, parachute systems and containers for landing cargo, cargo and human parachutes, parachute devices. "You cannot order equipment, so seek the creation of reliable parachutes in the design bureau, industry, during testing of reliable parachutes, trouble-free operation of heavy airborne equipment," Margelov said when assigning tasks to his subordinates.
For the paratroopers, modifications of small arms were created that simplified their landing by parachute - less weight, folding butt.
Especially for the needs of the Airborne Forces in the post-war years, new military equipment was developed and modernized: airborne self-propelled artillery mount ASU-76 (1949), light ASU-57 (1951), amphibious ASU-57P (1954), self-propelled gun ASU-85, tracked combat vehicle Airborne troops BMD-1 (1969). After the arrival of the first batches of BMD-1 in the troops, a family of weapons was developed on its basis: self-propelled artillery guns "Nona", artillery fire control vehicles, command and staff vehicles R-142, long-distance radio stations R-141, anti-tank systems, reconnaissance vehicle. Anti-aircraft units and subunits were also equipped with armored personnel carriers, which housed calculations with portable complexes and ammunition.
By the end of the 50s, new An-8 and An-12 aircraft were adopted and entered the troops, which had a carrying capacity of up to 10-12 tons and a sufficient flight range, which made it possible to airdrop large groups of personnel with standard military equipment and weapons. Later, thanks to the efforts of Margelov, the Airborne Forces received new military transport aircraft - An-22 and Il-76.
At the end of the 50s, parachute platforms PP-127 appeared in service with the troops, designed for parachuting artillery, vehicles, radio stations, engineering equipment, etc. by parachute method. Parachute-jet airborne means were created, which, due to the jet thrust created by the engine, made it possible to bring the speed closer landing the load to zero. Such systems made it possible to significantly reduce the cost of landing by eliminating a large number of large-area domes.
On January 5, 1973, for the first time in world practice in the USSR, a parachute-platform landing was carried out in the Centaur complex from an An-12B military transport aircraft of a BMD-1 tracked armored combat vehicle with two crew members on board. The commander of the crew was the son of Vasily Filippovich, senior lieutenant Margelov Alexander Vasilyevich, and the driver was Lieutenant Colonel Zuev Leonid Gavrilovich.
On January 23, 1976, also for the first time in world practice, dropped from the same type of aircraft, made a soft landing of the BMD-1 on the parachute-jet system in the Reaktavr complex also with two crew members on board - Major Alexander Vasilyevich Margelov and Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Shcherbakov Ivanovich. The landing was carried out with a huge risk to life, without individual means of rescue. Twenty years later, for the feat of the seventies, both were awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
A family
- Father - Philip Ivanovich Markelov - a metallurgical worker, in the First World War he became a knight of two St. George's crosses.
- Mother - Agafya Stepanovna, was from the Bobruisk district.
- Two brothers - Ivan (elder), Nikolay (younger) and sister Maria.
V.F. Margelov was married three times:
- The first wife, Maria, left her husband and son (Gennady).
- The second wife is Feodosia Efremovna Selitskaya (mother of Anatoly and Vitaly).
- The last wife is Anna Alexandrovna Kurakina, a doctor. He met Anna Alexandrovna during the Great Patriotic War.
Five sons:
- Gennady Vasilievich (born 1931) - Major General.
- Anatoly Vasilievich (1938-2008) - Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, author of over 100 patents and inventions in the military-industrial complex.
- Vitaly Vasilyevich (born 1941) - professional intelligence officer, employee of the KGB of the USSR and the SVR of Russia, later - a public and political figure; colonel general, deputy State Duma.
- Vasily Vasilievich (1943-2010) - Major in the reserve; First Deputy Director of the International Relations Directorate of the Russian State Broadcasting Company "Voice of Russia" (RGRK "Voice of Russia")
- Alexander Vasilievich (born 1943) - Airborne Forces officer. On August 29, 1996 "for courage and heroism shown during testing, fine-tuning and mastering of special equipment" (landing inside BMD-1 on a parachute-jet system in the "Reaktavr" complex, carried out for the first time in world practice in 1976) was awarded the title of Hero Russian Federation... After retiring, he worked in the structures of Rosoboronexport.
Vasily Vasilievich and Alexander Vasilievich are twin brothers. In 2003, they co-wrote a book about their father - "Paratrooper No. 1, General of the Army Margelov".
Awards and titles
USSR awards
- Medal "Gold Star" No. 3414 Hero of the Soviet Union (03/19/1944)
- four Orders of Lenin (03/21/1944, 11/3/1953, 12/26/1968, 12/26/1978)
- order of the October Revolution (05/04/1972)
- two Orders of the Red Banner (3.02.1943, 20.06.1949)
- order of Suvorov 2nd degree (1944)
- two Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (01/25/1943, 03/11/1985)
- order of the Red Star (3.11.1944)
- two Orders "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" 2nd (12/14/1988) and 3rd degree (04/30/1975)
- medals
Awarded twelve Commendations of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief (03/13/1944, 03/28/1944, 04/10/1944, 11/24/1944, 02/13/1945, 03/25/1945, 04/05/1945, 04/05/1945, 04/13/1945, 04/13/1945, 05/08/1945).
Foreign countries awards
- order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, 2nd degree (20.09.1969)
- four commemorative medals of Bulgaria (1974, 1978, 1982, 1985)
Hungarian People's Republic:
- star and badge of the Order of the People's Republic of Hungary, 3rd degree (04/04/1950)
- medal "Brotherhood in Arms" gold degree (09/29/1985)
- order "Star of Friendship of Peoples" in silver (02/23/1978)
- medal "Arthur Becker" in gold (23.05.1980)
- medal "Sino-Soviet friendship" (23.02.1955)
- two anniversary medals (1978, 1986)
Mongolian People's Republic:
- Order of the Battle Red Banner (06/07/1971)
- seven commemorative medals (1968, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1982)
- medal "For Oder, Nisa and Baltic" (7.05.1985)
- medal "Brotherhood in Arms" (12.10.1988)
- Officer of the Order of the Renaissance of Poland (11/06/1973)
SR Romania:
- order of Tudor Vladimirescu, 2nd (1.10.1974) and 3rd (24.10.1969) degrees
- two commemorative medals (1969, 1974)
- order of the "Legion of Honor" of the Commander's degree (05/10/1945)
- medal "Bronze Star" (05/10/1945)
Czechoslovakia:
- order of Clement Gottwald (1969)
- medal "For Strengthening Friendship in Arms" 1st degree (1970)
- two anniversary medals
Honorary titles
- Hero of the Soviet Union (1944)
- Laureate of the USSR State Prize (1975)
- Honorary Citizen of Kherson
- Honorary soldier of the military unit of the Airborne Forces
Proceedings
- Margelov V.F. Airborne troops. - M .: Knowledge, 1977 .-- 64 p.
- Margelov V.F. Soviet Airborne. - 2nd ed. - M .: Military publishing house, 1986 .-- 64 p.
Memory
- By order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR of April 20, 1985, V.F.Margelov was enlisted as an Honorary Soldier in the lists of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division.
- Monuments to V.F.Margelov were erected in Tyumen, Krivoy Rog (Ukraine), Kherson, Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine), Chisinau (Moldova), Kostyukovichi (Belarus), Ryazan and Seltsy (training center of the Institute of Airborne Forces), Omsk, Tula, St. Petersburg , Ulyanovsk. Officers and paratroopers, veterans of the Airborne Forces every year come to the monument of their commander on Novodevichye cemetery in Moscow to pay tribute to his memory.
- The name of Margelov bears the Ryazan Military Institute of the Airborne Forces, the Department of the Airborne Forces of the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Nizhny Novgorod Cadet Boarding School (NKSHI).
- The square in Ryazan, streets in Vitebsk (Belarus), Omsk, Pskov, Tula and Zapadnaya Litsa are named after Margelov.
- During the Great Patriotic War, a song was composed in V. Margelov's division, one verse from it:
- By order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation No. 182 of May 6, 2005, the departmental medal of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation "General of the Army Margelov" was established. In the same year, a memorial plaque was installed on a house in Moscow, in the Sivtsev Vrazhek lane, where Margelov lived the last 20 years of his life.
- In honor of the centenary of the Commander's birth, 2008 was declared the year of V. Margelov in the Airborne Forces.
- In 2009, the television series "Dad" was released, which tells about the life of V. Margelov.
- On February 21, 2010, a bust of Vasily Margelov was installed in Kherson. The bust of the general is located in the city center near the Youth Palace on Perekopskaya Street.
- On June 5, 2010, a monument to the founder of the Airborne Forces (Airborne Forces) was unveiled in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. The monument was built at the expense of former paratroopers living in Moldova.
- On June 25, 2010, in the Republic of Belarus (Vitebsk), the memory of the legendary commander was immortalized. The Vitebsk City Executive Committee, headed by Chairman V.P. Nikolaykin, in the spring of 2010 approved a petition from veterans of the Airborne Forces of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation to name the street connecting Chkalov Street and Pobedy Avenue, General Margelov Street. On the eve of the City Day, on General Margelov Street, a new house was put into operation on which a memorial plaque was installed, the right to open which was given to the sons of Vasily Filippovich.
- Monument to Vasily Filippovich, a sketch of which was made from a famous photograph in the divisional newspaper, in which he, being appointed division commander of the 76th Guards. Airborne Division, preparing for the first jump, - installed in front of the headquarters of the 95th separate airmobile brigade (Ukraine).
- The Blue Berets ensemble recorded a song dedicated to VF Margelov, assessing the current state of the Airborne Forces, after his departure from the post of commander, which is so called "Forgive us, Vasily Filippovich!"
The initiator and founder of the Airborne Forces Vasily Margelov personifies the image of the USSR Airborne Forces. Among the servicemen who are related to these troops, he is paratrooper No. 1. He is a Hero of the USSR and a laureate of the State Prize.
Childhood and adolescence
Vasily Filippovich Margelov was born in the city of Yekaterinoslav (Dnepropetrovsk) on December 27, 1908 (January 9 in a new style). His father, Philip Ivanovich, worked as a metallurgist, his mother, Agafya Stepanovna, was engaged in the house and garden.
The family of the future general is from Belarus. In 1913, they returned to their homeland (Mogilev province). According to some reports, Vasily graduated from a church school in 1921. He began to work as a loader, then he tried his hand at carpentry. In the same year he went to study leathercraft in a workshop. In the twenty-third year, the future general got a job as an auxiliary worker at the Khlebprodukt enterprise. At the same time he studied at the school for rural youth. Then he worked as a freight forwarder, delivering mail and various cargoes along the Kostyukovichi - Hotimsk line.
In 1924 he got a job as a laborer, then as a horseman in Yekaterinoslav at the Kalinin mine. Since 1927 - the chairman of the timber industry committee and a member of the local council of the Kostyukovichi. In 1925 he was sent to Belarus, to the timber industry.
The beginning of military service
Vasily Margelov, whose biography is set out in this article, was drafted into the army in 1928. There he was sent to study at the OBVSH (United Belarusian Military School), which was located in Minsk. Was enrolled in a sniper group. In his second year he became the foreman of a machine-gun company.
In the spring of 1931 he graduated from the OBVSh with honors and the management appointed him commander of the machine-gun crew of the 99th Regiment of the 33rd Infantry Division. In 1933 he became a platoon commander, the next year he was appointed a company assistant commander. In 1936, the future general was already in charge of a machine-gun company. From the autumn of 1938 he commanded the second battalion of the 23rd regiment of the 8th rifle division. He headed intelligence, being the chief of the second section of the division headquarters. While in this position, he took part in the Polish campaign of the Red Army in 1939.
The feat of Margelov
Vasily Margelov became a real legend during his lifetime. During the war with the Finns, he commanded a reconnaissance ski battalion (122nd division), making several raids behind enemy lines. During one of them, the future general was able to capture several officers of the German General Staff, who were officially (at that time) allies of the Soviet Union.
In 1941 he was made commander of a Marine Regiment in the Baltic Fleet. There were opinions that the "land officer" would not be able to take root in the navy. Margelov's regiment was considered the "guard of Admiral Tributs", he sent it in besieged Leningrad even to those places where it was difficult to send a penal battalion.
For example, when the Nazis stormed the Pulkovo Heights, Margelov's regiment landed in the rear of the Germans on the shores of Lake Ladoga. The Marines showed heroism and forced the Germans to stop storming Pulkovo in order to resist the Russian landing. Major Margelov was seriously wounded, but survived.
Further exploits
In 1943, Vasily Filippovich Margelov was already a division commander, stormed the Saur-Mogila, and took part in the liberation of Kherson. In 1945, the Nazis gave him the nickname - "Soviet Skorzeny". It happened after the famous German tank divisions "Great Germany" and "Death's Head" surrendered to him without a fight.
In early May 1945, the command set a task for Margelov: to destroy or capture the remnants of the famous SS units that wanted to break through to the Americans. Vasily Margelov dared to take a dangerous step. He, with a small group of officers armed with machine guns and grenades, with a battery of cannons, crept up to the enemy headquarters and ordered to open fire if he did not return in 10 minutes.
The brave man went to the German headquarters and issued an ultimatum: surrender and save life or be destroyed. He gave little time to think - until the end of the lit cigarette. The fascists have surrendered.
In the airborne forces
At the victory parade in Moscow, the founder of the Airborne Forces Vasily Margelov commanded a regiment of the Second Ukrainian Front. After defeating the Nazis, Vasily Margelov, whose biography is set out in this article, continued his service.
1950-1954 was the commander of the 37th Svirsky airborne corps. From 1954 to 1959 commanded the airborne forces of the Soviet Union. In 1964, being impressed by the movie "This is a sports life", he introduced rugby into the training program for paratroopers.
On October 28, 1967, he was promoted to General of the Army. He commanded paratroopers during the entry of troops into Czechoslovakia. For all the time of his service, he made more than sixty parachute jumps, the last when he was sixty-five years old. Thus, he set a personal example for his subordinates.
Contribution to the development of the Airborne Forces
The name of Margelov will forever remain in the history of the Airborne Forces of Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union. His persona personifies the era of development and formation of the Airborne Forces. Their popularity and authority both in our country and abroad are forever associated with his name.
General Vasily Margelov realized that military operations behind enemy lines could be carried out by mobile and maneuverable paratroopers. He always rejected the idea of \u200b\u200bholding the areas captured by the landing force until the approach of the troops that were advancing from the front. In this case, the paratroopers could be quickly destroyed.
Vasily Margelov led the USSR Airborne Forces for more than 20 years, and thanks to his merits, they became one of the most mobile troops in the structure of the country's Armed Forces. The general's contribution to the formation of the Airborne Forces was reflected in the playful decoding of this abbreviation - "Uncle Vasya's troops."
Airborne role concept
In military theory, it was believed that in order to use nuclear strikes and maintain a high pace during an offensive, it was necessary to use amphibious troops. In such conditions, the airborne troops must comply with the strategic goals of military conflicts and meet the political goals of the country.
Margelov believed that in order to fulfill their role in operations, it was necessary that Soviet formations were maneuverable, covered with armor, perfectly controllable, had fire efficiency, could land behind enemy lines at any time of the day and proceed to combat immediately. One should strive for such an ideal, as the famous general believed.
Under his leadership, the concept of the place and role of the Airborne Forces in military operations was developed. On this topic he wrote many papers and defended his dissertation.
Armament of the airborne troops
As time went on, it became increasingly necessary to bridge the gap between the theory of the use of airborne troops and the stratified structure of troops and the capabilities of military transport aviation. Having become commander, Vasily Margelov (Airborne Forces) received at his disposal troops, which consisted of lightly armed infantry and aviation equipped with Il-14, Li-2, Tu-4 aircraft. Opportunities were severely limited and the military was unable to tackle serious tasks.
The general began by initiating the mass production of landing gear, parachute systems and platforms, as well as containers for cargo. For the Airborne Forces, modifications were developed to weapons that were easy to parachute - a folding stock, light weight.
Also, specially for the Airborne Forces, military equipment was modernized: self-propelled landing guns ASU-76, ASU-57, ASU-57P, ASU-85, tracked vehicle BMD-1 and others. Also developed were radio stations, anti-tank systems, reconnaissance vehicles. Anti-aircraft systems were equipped with armored personnel carriers, they accommodated calculations with ammunition and portable systems.
Closer to the 60s, the AN-8 and An-12 aircraft entered service with the landing force, with a carrying capacity of up to twelve tons, they could fly over long distances. A little later, the airborne troops received the AN-22 and IL-76 aircraft.
Everlasting memory
After retirement, Vasily Margelov lived in Moscow. "Uncle Vasya" passed away on March 4, 1990. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery. The monument to Vasily Margelov was erected in Tyumen. There are also monuments in his honor in Krivoy Rog, Dnepropetrovsk, Kherson, Chisinau, Ryazan, Kostyukovichi, Omsk, Ulyanovsk, Tula, St. Petersburg.
In Taganrog there is a memorial plaque dedicated to the general. Airborne officers and soldiers annually visit the monument to "Uncle Vasya" at the Novodevichy cemetery and pay tribute to his memory.
Closely associated with the name of Vasily Filippovich Margelov, who was a talented military leader and army general. For a quarter of a century, he led the "winged guard" of Russia. His selfless service to the Fatherland and personal courage became an excellent example for many generations of blue berets.
Even during his lifetime, he was already called a legendary man and paratrooper # 1. His biography is amazing.
Birth and adolescence
The homeland of the hero is Dnepropetrovsk - the city where Vasily Filippovich Margelov was born on December 27, 1908. His family was large enough, and consisted of three sons and a daughter. My father was a simple worker of a hot foundry, so from time to time the future famous military leader Vasily Filippovich Margelov was forced to live in great poverty. The sons also actively helped their mother to do the housework.
Vasily's career began in early youth - at first he studied leatherwork, and then began working in a coal mine. Here he was engaged in pushing carts with coal.
The biography of Vasily Filippovich Margelov continues with the fact that in 1928 he was drafted into the Red Army and sent to study in Minsk. It was the United Belarusian School, which was eventually renamed the Minsk Military Infantry School named after I. M. I. Kalinina. There, cadet Margelov was an excellent student in many subjects, taking into account fire, tactical and physical fitness... Upon completion of his studies, he began to command a machine gun platoon.
From commander to captain
The abilities of the young commander, which he showed from the very beginning of his service, did not go unnoticed by the chiefs. Even with the naked eye, it was clear that he works well with people and transfers his knowledge to them.
In 1931 he was appointed platoon commander of the regimental school, which specialized in training commanders of the Red Army. And at the beginning of 1933, Vasily began to command in his own school. His military career in native walls began with a platoon commander and ended with the rank of captain.
When the Soviet-Finnish campaign was carried out, he commanded a ski reconnaissance and sabotage battalion, the location of which was the harsh Arctic. The number of raids on the rear of the Finnish army is in the tens.
In the course of one of similar operations, he captured officers of the General Staff of Sweden. This displeased the Soviet government, since the supposedly neutral Scandinavian state actually participated in the hostilities and supported the Finns. A diplomatic demarche of the Soviet government took place, which influenced the king of Sweden and his cabinet. As a result, he did not send his army to Karelia.
The appearance of vests at the paratroopers
The experience that Major Vasily Margelov (nationality testified to the presence belarusian roots) received at that time, brought great benefit in the fall of 1941, when Leningrad was besieged. He was then appointed to head the First Special Ski Regiment of the sailors of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, formed from volunteers. At the same time, rumors spread that he would not be able to settle down there, since sailors are a kind of people and do not accept any of their land brothers into their ranks. But this prophecy was not destined to come true. Thanks to his intelligence and ingenuity, from the first days he won the favor of his wards. As a result, many glorious deeds were accomplished by sailors-skiers, commanded by Major Margelov. They completed the tasks and instructions of the commander himself Baltic Fleet
Skiers with their deep daring raids, which were carried out on the German rear in the winter of 1941-1942, were for the German command as an unabated headache... One of the striking examples of their history is the landing on the coast of Ladoga in the Lipkinsky and Shlisselburg directions, which managed to alarm the Hitlerite command so much that Field Marshal von Leeb withdrew troops from Pulkovo to carry out its elimination. The main purpose of these German troops at that time was to tighten the loop of the blockade of Leningrad.
Approximately 20 years later, the commanding General of the Army Margelov won the right to wear vests for paratroopers. He wanted them to adopt the tradition of their older brothers, the Marines. Only the stripes on their clothes were of a slightly different color - blue as the sky.
"Striped death"
The biography of Vasily Filippovich Margelov and his subordinates has many facts indicating that the "marines" under his command fought very dashingly. This is evidenced by numerous examples. Here is one of them. It turned out that 200 enemy infantrymen broke through the defenses of the neighboring regiment and settled in the rear of the Margelovites. It was May 1942, when the marines were near Vinyaglovo, near which the Sinyavsky heights were located. Vasily Filippovich quickly issued the necessary orders. He himself armed himself with a Maxim machine gun. Then 79 fascist soldiers died at his hands, and the rest were destroyed by reinforcements that arrived in time.
Very interesting is the fact that the biography of Vasily Filippovich Margelov has that during the defense of Leningrad he constantly kept a heavy machine gun nearby. In the morning, a kind of shooting exercise was performed from it: the captain "trimmed" trees with it. After that, he carried out the cutting with a saber, while sitting on his horse.
During the offensive, he more than once personally raised his regiment to attack and was among the first ranks of his subordinates. And in hand-to-hand combat he had no equal. In connection with such terrible battles, the Marines were nicknamed the "striped death" by the German military.
The officer's ration goes to the soldier's cauldron
The biography of Vasily Filippovich Margelov and the history of those old events say that he always and everywhere took care of the nutrition of his soldiers. This was almost the paramount thing for him in the war. After he began commanding the 13th Guards Regiment in 1942, he began to improve the combat effectiveness of his combat strength. For this, Vasily Filippovich improved the organization of food for his fighters.
Then the food was divided: soldiers and sergeants ate separately from the officers of the regiment. At the same time, the latter received a reinforced ration, in which the food block rate was supplemented with animal oil, canned fish, biscuits or cookies, tobacco, and for non-smokers - with chocolate. And, naturally, some of the food for the soldiers also went to the officers' table. The regimental commander found out about this, making a detour around the units. He first checked battalion kitchens and sampled the soldiers' food.
Literally immediately after the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Margelov, absolutely all the officers began to eat the same as the soldiers. He also ordered to give his food to the general mass. Over time, such acts began to be committed by other officers.
In addition, he very carefully monitored the condition of the shoes and clothes of the fighters. The manager of the regiment was very afraid of his chief, since in case of improper performance of his duties, he promised to transfer him to the front line.
Vasily Filippovich was also very strict about cowards, weak-willed and lazy. And he punished very severely for theft, so during his command it was absolutely absent.
"Hot Snow" - a film about Vasily Margelov
In the fall of 1942, Guards Colonel Margelov was appointed commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Regiment. This regiment was part of the 2nd Guards Army, commanded by Lieutenant General R. Ya. Malinovsky. It was specially formed in order to complete the defeat of the enemy that broke through the Volga steppe. While the regiment was in reserve for two months, serious preparation of the fighters for battle took place. They were led by Vasily Filippovich himself.
Ever since the defense of Leningrad, Vasily Filippovich was well acquainted with the weak points of the fascist tanks. Therefore, now he independently conducted training for tank destroyers. He tore off a trench with his own hand in full profile, used an anti-tank rifle and metal grenades. All this he did in order to train his soldiers in the correct conduct of the battle.
When his army defended the line of the Myshkovka River, he was hit by a group of Goth tanks. But the Margelovites were not frightened either by the newest Tiger tanks or their number. For five days a battle took place, during which a lot of our soldiers died. But the regiment held out and retained its combat effectiveness. In addition, his soldiers destroyed almost all enemy tanks, although at the cost of this there were numerous casualties. Not everyone knows that it was these events that became the basis for the script for the film "Hot Snow".
Despite the concussion received during this battle, Vasily Filippovich did not leave the battle. New 1943 Margelov met with his subordinates, conducting an assault on the Kotelnikovsky farm. This was the end of the Leningrad epic. The Margelov division had thirteen commendations from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The final chord was the capture of the SS Panzer Corps in 1945.
On June 24, 1945, during the Victory Parade, General Margelov commanded a front-line consolidated regiment.
The beginning of a career in the Airborne Forces
In 1948, Margelov graduates.After that, the 76th Guards Chernigov Red Banner is at his disposal airborne division, which was located in the city of Pskov. He understood very well that, despite his already rather solid age, he had to start all over again. He, as a beginner, must comprehend all the science of landing from scratch.
The first parachute jump took place when the general was already 40 years old.
As part of the Margelov Airborne Forces, which he received, there were mainly infantry, having light weapons and limited landing capabilities... At that time, they could not be accepted for solving major tasks in military operations. He did a great job: the airborne troops of Russia received at their disposal modern equipment, weapons, and landing gear. He was able to bring to everyone that only highly mobile troops, which can at any time parachute anywhere and quickly begin active fighting immediately after landing, you can entrust the execution of tasks behind enemy lines.
This is also the main theme many scientific works of Margelov. He also defended his Ph.D. thesis on it. Margelov Vasily Filippovich's quotes taken from these works are still very popular among military scientists.
It is thanks to V.F.Margelov that every modern Airborne Forces officer can proudly wear the main attributes of a kind of troops: a blue beret and a blue and white vest.
Brilliant work results
In 1950 he became the commander of the airborne corps at Far East... And four years later he began to lead
- "Paratrooper No. 1", who did not take long for everyone to perceive him not as a simple campaigner, but as a person who sees all the prospects of the Airborne Forces, and who wants to make them the elite of all the Armed Forces. To achieve this goal, he broke stereotypes and inertia, won the trust of active people and involved them in joint work... After a while, he was already surrounded by carefully cultivated like-minded people.
In 1970, an operational-strategic exercise called "Dvina" took place, during which in 22 minutes about 8 thousand paratroopers and 150 pieces of military equipment managed to land behind an imaginary enemy. After that, the Russian airborne troops were raised and thrown out in a completely unfamiliar area.
Over time, Margelov realized that it was necessary to somehow improve the work of the landing troops after landing. Because sometimes the paratroopers were separated from the landing vehicle by several kilometers, not always even earth surface... Therefore, it was necessary to develop such a scheme in which it would be possible to avoid significant losses of time for soldiers to search for their vehicles. Subsequently, Vasily Filippovich put forward his candidacy for the first test of this kind.
Foreign experience
It's very hard to believe, but at the end of the 80s, well-known professionals from America did not own equipment that would be similar to the Soviet one. They did not know all the secrets of how to drop military vehicles with soldiers inside them. Although in the Soviet Union, this practice was carried out back in the 70s.
This became known only after one of the demonstration trainings of the parachute battalion of the "devil's regiment" ended in failure. In the course of its conduct, a large number of soldiers inside the equipment were injured. And there were those who died. In addition, most of the cars remained standing where they landed. They could not get under way.
Test "Centaur"
In the Soviet Union, it all began with the fact that General Margelov made a courageous decision to shoulder the responsibility of the pioneer. In 1972, tests were in full swing new system "Centaur", the main purpose of which is to carry out the landing of people inside their combat vehicles using parachute platforms. Not everything was smooth - there were also breaks in the canopy of the parachute, and failures in the operation of active braking motors. Considering high degree the riskiness of such experiments, dogs were used to conduct them. During one of them the dog Buran died.
Western countries have also tested similar systems. Only there, for this purpose, living people sentenced to death were put into cars. When the first prisoner died, such development work was deemed inappropriate.
Magerlov was aware of the full riskiness of these operations, but continued to insist on their implementation. Since over time the jumping with the dogs began to go well, he sought to get the fighters involved.
On January 5, 1973, the legendary jump of the Margelov Airborne Forces took place. For the first time in the history of mankind, a BMD-1 was landed with the use of parachute-platform means, inside of which there were soldiers. They were Major L. Zuev and Lieutenant A. Margelov, who was the eldest son of the commander-in-chief. Only a very courageous person would be able to send his own son to perform such a complex and unpredictable experiment.
Vasily Filippovich was awarded the USSR State Prize for this heroic innovation.
"Centaur" was soon changed to "Reaktavr". Its main feature was the four times higher rate of descent, which significantly reduced the vulnerability to enemy shelling. All the time, work was carried out to improve this system.
Margelov Vasily Filippovich, whose statements are passed from mouth to mouth, with great love and treated the soldiers with respect. He believed that it was these simple workers who forge victory with their with my own hands... He often came to them in the barracks, the cafeteria, visited the training ground and in the hospital. He felt boundless faith in his paratroopers, and they answered him with love and devotion.
On March 4, 1990, the hero's heart stopped. The place where Vasily Filippovich Margelov is buried is the Novodevichye cemetery in Moscow. But the memory of him and his heroic life is still alive today. This is evidenced not only by the monument to Margelov. It is kept by the airborne troops and veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
In September 1928, he was drafted into the Red Army and, on a Komsomol ticket, was sent to study as a red commander at the United Belarusian Military School (OBVS) named after the Central Executive Committee of the BSSR in Minsk.
In April 1931 he graduated with honors from the Minsk Military School. Appointed commander of the machine gun platoon of the regimental school of the 99th rifle regiment of the 33rd rifle division (Mogilev, Belarus).
In 1933 he was appointed platoon commander at the Minsk Military Infantry School named after I. M.I. Kalinin.
In February 1934 Vasily Margelov was appointed assistant company commander, in May 1936 - the commander of a machine-gun company.
From October 25, 1938, Captain Margelov commanded the 2nd battalion of the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 8th Infantry Division. Dzerzhinsky Belarusian Special Military District. He headed the reconnaissance of the 8th rifle division, being the chief of the 2nd section of the division headquarters.
During the Soviet-Finnish War (1939-1940), Margelov commanded the Separate Reconnaissance Ski Battalion of the 596th Infantry Regiment of the 122nd Division. During one of the operations, he captured the officers of the Swedish General Staff.
After the end of the Soviet-Finnish war, Margelov was appointed assistant commander of the 596th regiment for combat units.
Since October 1940, Vasily Margelov is the commander of the 15th Separate Disciplinary Battalion (ODB).
Vasily Filippovich Margelov was born on December 27, 1908 in Dnepropetrovsk, died at the age of 82 on March 4, 1990 in Moscow. The legendary special forces soldier who turned the USSR Airborne Forces from "penalties" into the elite of the USSR Armed Forces, long-term commander of the airborne forces (1954-1979), army general, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Feat of Vasily Margelov.
Vasily Margelov became a legend during his lifetime
Years Soviet-Finnish war (1939-1940), commanding a separate reconnaissance ski battalion of the 122nd division, made several daring raids on the enemy's rear, during one of which he captured officers of the German General Staff - officially at that time allies of the USSR;
- in 1941 his "land commander" was put at the head of the Baltic Fleet Marine Regiment. Contrary to prejudices that "it will not take root", Margelov became "one of our own", and the marines called him, a major, "captain of the 3rd rank", emphasizing their respect for the commander. The regiment was considered "the personal guard of the commander of the fleet of Admiral Tributs", which he sent in the besieged Leningrad where even the penal battalion could not send. For example, during the assault on Pulkovo Heights by the Germans, Margelov's regiment was parachuted behind enemy lines on the coast of Ladoga in the direction of Lipka - Shlisselburg, and the commander of the Sever group of forces, Field Marshal von Leeb, was forced to stop the assault on Pulkovo, transferring units to eliminate the landing. Margelov was seriously wounded and miraculously survived;
Since 1943, Margelov, the division commander, took the "Saur-Mogila" by storm, liberated Kherson (awarded the Hero's Star), and in 1945 the Germans called Margelov "Soviet Skorzeny" after the divisions of the SS Panzer Corps "Dead Head" and "Great Germany" surrendered to him personally without a fight;
On May 2, 1945, Margelov was given the task of capturing or destroying the remnants of 2 of the most famous SS units that were rushing into the zone of responsibility of the Americans. Then Vasily Margelov dared to take a decisive step. He, along with a group of officers who were armed with grenades and machine guns, accompanied by a battery of 57-mm cannons, arrived at the group's headquarters, after which he ordered the battalion commander to install direct-fire guns at the enemy's headquarters and open fire in case he did not return in ten minutes.
Margelov went to the headquarters and presented the Germans with an ultimatum: either they surrender and save their lives, or they will be completely destroyed using all the means available to the division: “by 4:00 am - the front to the east. Light weapons: machine guns, machine guns, rifles - stacked, ammunition - nearby. The second line - military equipment, guns and mortars - vents down. Soldiers and officers - we line up to the west, ”Vasily Margelov wrote later in his book. He gave a little time for reflection: "while his cigarette burns out." And the Germans capitulated. The exact count of trophies showed the following figures: 2 generals, 806 officers, 31,258 non-commissioned officers, 77 tanks and self-propelled guns, 5,847 trucks, 493 trucks, 46 mortars, 120 guns, 16 steam locomotives, 397 carriages.
Vasily Margelov - "Father of the Airborne Forces". In 1950, the airborne troops were considered a kind of penal battalion, and were never appreciated. They were compared with penalties, and the abbreviation itself was deciphered: "you will hardly come back home." However, soon after the arrival of a new commander, Vasily Margelov, the Airborne Forces turned into truly elite troops.
Just a few years later, primitive equipment was replenished with a Kalashnikov assault rifle with a special folding butt so that it did not interfere with the deployment of a parachute, lightweight aluminum armor, an RPG-16 anti-tank grenade launcher, and Centaur platforms for landing people in combat vehicles. The guardsmen of the Airborne Forces received official permission from the USSR Ministry of Defense to wear blue berets and vests, which were first shown during the 1969 military parade on Red Square. In 1973, the world's first landing on the BMD-1 parachute system took place near Tula. The crew commander was Alexander Margelov's son. The competition in the Ryazan Airborne School overlapped the figures of MGIMO, Moscow State University and VGIK. The comic and fatalistic name of the Airborne Forces was replaced in the 70s by Uncle Vasya's Troops. This is exactly what the airborne forces themselves called themselves, thereby emphasizing the special warmth of feelings for their legendary commander.
During the training of the paratroopers, Margelov paid special attention to parachute jumping. He himself first appeared under the dome only in 1948, already with the rank of general: “Until the age of 40, I had a vague idea of \u200b\u200bwhat a parachute was, and I never dreamed of jumping in my dreams. It happened on its own, or rather, as it should be in the army, by order. I am a military man, if necessary, ready to go to hell. And so it was necessary, already being a general, to make the first parachute jump. The impression, I can tell you, is incomparable. "
Vasily Margelov himself once said: "Anyone who has never left a plane in his life, from where cities and villages seem like toys, who have never experienced the joy and fear of free falling, whistling in their ears, a stream of wind blowing into the chest, he never will understand the honor and pride of a paratrooper. " He himself subsequently, despite his already middle-aged years, made about 60 jumps, the last one at the age of 65.
In 1968, after the occupation of Czechoslovakia, Margelov managed to convince the Minister of Defense Marshal Grechko that the winged guard should have vests and berets. Even before that, he emphasized that the airborne troops should adopt the traditions of their "elder brother" - the marines, and continue them with honor. “For this, I introduced vests to the paratroopers. Only the stripes on them match the color of the sky - blue. "
Vasily Margelov and social networks.
On video hosting Youtube uploaded documentary "Vasily Margelov and the Airborne Forces":
Vasily Margelov's awards.
December 14, 1988 and April 30, 1975 - two Orders "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", second and third degrees, respectively.
Biography of Vasily Margelov.
1921 - graduated from a parochial school, entered a leather workshop, soon became an assistant to a master;
1923 - entered the local Khleboprodukt as a laborer;
Since 1924, he worked in Yekaterinoslavl (now Dnepropetrovsk) at the mine. MI Kalinin as a laborer, then as a horseman (a driver of horses carrying trolleys);
1925 - sent to the BSSR as a forester in the timber industry;
1927 - chairman of the working committee of the timber industry, elected to the local Council;
1928 - drafted into the Red Army;
April 1931 - graduated from the Order of the Red Banner of Labor of the United Belarusian Military School named after Central Executive Committee of the BSSR with honors. Appointed commander of the machine gun platoon of the regimental school of the 99th rifle regiment of the 33rd rifle division (Mogilev, Belarus);
Since 1933 - platoon commander in the Order of the Red Banner of Labor OBVS them. Central Executive Committee of the BSSR;
Since 1937 - platoon commander of the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, Minsk Military Infantry School named after M. I. Kalinina;
February 1934 - appointed assistant company commander;
May 1936 - commander of a machine-gun company;
October 25, 1938 - commanded the 2nd battalion of the 23rd rifle regiment of the 8th rifle division. Dzerzhinsky Belarusian Special Military District;
1939-1940 - commanded the Separate Reconnaissance Ski Battalion of the 596th Infantry Regiment of the 122nd Division;
From October 1940 - commander of the 15th separate disciplinary battalion of the Leningrad Military District;
July 1941 - Commander of the 3rd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 1st guards division the people's militia of the Leningrad Front;
Since 1944 - commander of the 49th Guards Rifle Division of the 28th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front;
At the Victory Parade in Moscow, Guards Major General Margelov commanded a battalion in the combined regiment of the 2nd Ukrainian Front;
1950-1954 - Commander of the 37th Guards Airborne Svirsky Red Banner Corps;
1954-1959 - Commander of the Airborne Forces;
January 1979 - in the group of general inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He went on business trips to the Airborne Forces, was the chairman of the State Examination Commission at the Ryazan Airborne School;
March 4, 1990 - Vasily Filippovich Margelov died in Moscow. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
Perpetuation of the memory of Vasily Margelov.
On May 6, 2005, a departmental medal of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation “General of the Army Margelov” was established;
2005 - a memorial plaque was installed on a house in Moscow in the Sivtsev Vrazhek lane, where Margelov lived the last 20 years of his life.
Monuments to Vasily Margelov were installed in:
Taganrog;
Chisinau;
Dnepropetrovsk;
Yaroslavl;
as well as in many other settlements.
The name of Margelov is the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, the Department of the Airborne Forces of the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Nizhny Novgorod cadet corps (NKSHI);
The square in St. Petersburg, in the city of Belogorsk, the Amur region, the square in Ryazan, streets in Moscow, Vitebsk (Belarus), Omsk, Pskov, Taganrog, Tula and Zapadnaya Litsa, in Buryatia: in Ulan-Ude and the border the village of Naushki, avenue and a park in the Zavolzhsky district of Ulyanovsk.
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