- Kirill Moskalenko
Infobox Military Person
name=Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko.
born= birth date|1902|5|11
died= death date and age|1985|6|17|1902|5|11
caption=Marshal of the Soviet Union Kirill Moskalenko.
placeofbirth=Grishino,Russian Empire
placeofdeath=Moscow ,Soviet Union
placeofburial=Novodevichy Cemetery
placeofburial_label=
nickname=
allegiance=USSR
serviceyears=1920 — 1962
rank=Marshal of the Soviet Union
commands=
unit=Artillery
battles=Russian Civil War
Great Patriotic War
awards=Hero of the Soviet Union (2)Order of Lenin (7)Order of the October Revolution Order of the Red Banner (5)Order of Suvorov , 1st Class (2)Order of Kutuzov , 1st ClassOrder of Bogdan Khmelnitsky , 1st ClassOrder of the Patriotic War , 1st ClassOrder for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces , 3rd Class
laterwork=Commander of Strategic Missile ForcesKirill Semenovich Moskalenko (
May 11 ,1902 –June 17 ,1985 ) was born in the village of Grishino, nearDonetsk inUkraine . He joined theRed Army in 1920, and fought on various fronts during theRussian Civil War . He attended a number of Military Academies. During theSoviet-Finnish War , he was the commander of artillery for the 51st (Rifle?) Division. He became theMarshal of the Soviet Union , Commander in Chief Strategic Missile Forces, Inspector General Ministry of Defense,When
Operation Barbarossa began in June 1941, Moskalenko was the commander of an anti-tank brigade. Between June 1941-March 1942, Moskalenko held the following commands, in this order: 1st Anti-Tank Brigade, 15th Rifle Corps, 6th Army, and 6th Cavalry Corps. He was the commander of the newly reformed 38th Army from March-July 1942. He was then appointed commander of1st Tank Army (Soviet Union) (July-August 1942),1st Guards Army (Soviet Union) (August-October 1942), before finally receiving command of40th Army (Soviet Union) which was separate from theVoronezh Front , a position he held until October 1943. Moskalenko led his troops during the winter counteroffensive and during theBattle of Kursk . Because of his contributions to a large number of key battles, such as Moscow, Stalingrad, and Kursk, Moskalenko was given the rank ofHero of the Soviet Union .From October 1943 until the end of the war, Moskalenko was the commander of
38th Army (Soviet Union) . He led his troops as they helped drive the Germans from theUkraine ,Poland , andCzechoslovakia . After the war, Moskalenko served in various capacities in theMoscow Military District , before being appointed the Commander in Chief in 1953.In 25th July 1953, Khrushchev secretly asked him to arrest Beria, which was done the next day during a Presidium meeting with the help of Marshal Zhukov. Because of the fear that the Soviet government had about the rising popularity of Zhukov, he could not carry a gun into the
Kremlin . Moskalenko sneaked into the Kremlin with the gun to arrest Beria. During the next 6 months, he and Rudenko investigated the "Beria Case". In December 1953 the Soviet Supreme court found Beria guilty, after a 5 day proceeding. On the 23rd of December Beria was shot.On
March 11 ,1955 , Moskalenko, along with five other noteworthy commanders were given the rank ofMarshal of the Soviet Union . Moskalenko remained in theMoscow Military District until 1960, when he was made the Commander in Chief of theStrategic Rocket Forces . In 1962, he was made an Inspector General Ministry of Defense. He died onJune 17 ,1985 and is buried in theNovodevichy Cemetery .
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