Grigory Shtern | |
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| Born | 6 August [O.S. 24 July] 1900 Smila,Russian Empire |
| Died | 28 October 1941(1941-10-28) (aged 41) Kuibyshev,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union |
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union |
| Service | Red Army |
| Years of service | 1919–1941 |
| Rank | Colonel General |
| Commands | 1st Red Banner Army Far Eastern Front 8th Army |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union |
Grigory Mikhailovich Shtern (Russian:Григорий Михайлович Штерн; 6 August [O.S. 24 July] 1900 – 28 October 1941) was aSoviet officer in theRed Army and military advisor during theSpanish Civil War. He also served with distinction during theSoviet-Japanese Border Wars and theWinter War. The Soviet authorities accused him of treason and had him shot during Stalin'smilitary purge of 1941.
Shtern was born into aJewish family inSmila,Kiev Governorate in 1900. He started his military career as aCommissar of aRed Armybrigade in 1919, the same year he joined theCommunist Party. Shtern graduated from theMilitary Academy of the Red Army in 1929 and worked for thePeople's Commissariat for Military Affairs. He was appointed commander of the7th Cavalry Division in 1936. Shtern served as a Sovietmilitary advisor to theSpanish Republican Army during theSpanish Civil War between January 1937 to April 1938.[1]
After returning from Spain, Shtern became chief of staff of theFar Eastern Front,[2] commanded byVasily Blyukher, who would soon be executed in theGreat Purge. During the July and August 1938Battle of Lake Khasan, Shtern was given command of operations after Blyukher's initial counterattack failed. He attacked the Japanese troops on the disputed ridge with numerically superior forces and slowly pushed them back. The pressure of the Soviet attack forced the Japanese to a cease-fire on 11 August as they could not hold the ridge without widening the conflict. On 31 August Stalin decided to abolish the Far Eastern Front as he felt it had not "proved its worth", and Shtern was given command of the new1st Red Banner Army.[3] On 9 February 1939 he was promoted toKomandarm 2nd rank.[2]
After a series of border incidents in the spring and early summer of 1939 escalated into theBattles of Khalkhin Gol, Shtern was given command on 5 July of a "front group", which coordinated all Soviet forces in the Far East. The front group oversaw future World War II commanderGeorgy Zhukov's 57th Special Rifle Corps, fighting at Khalkhin Gol, but on 19 July the corps was converted into the 1st Soviet Mongolian Army Group and given operational independence from Shtern's command, in order that Zhukov could act without interference from Shtern and on direct orders from theGeneral Staff.[4] According to British military historianGeoffrey Roberts, Shtern played a central role in planning the Soviet counterattack in August, but Zhukov was its chief organizer and executor. Shtern was awarded the titleHero of the Soviet Union on 29 August 1939, for his "courage and bravery in the performance of military duties"[2] at Khalkhin Gol.[5]
During theWinter War betweenFinland and the Soviet Union, Shtern became commander of the8th Army on 12 December 1939. After the Winter War, the Red Army restored traditionalmilitary ranks, and Shtern was promoted toColonel General on 5 June 1940. He was appointed commander of the Far Eastern Front on 22 June 1940.[1]
Shtern was arrested on 7 June 1941 during anew purge of the Red Army. After being struck by the notorious torturerLev Shvartzman with an electric cable with such force that it severed his right eye,[6] he "confessed" that he had belonged to aTrotskyist conspiracy within the Red Army from 1931, and that he was aGerman spy. He was shot without trial on 28 October. Shtern was posthumouslyrehabilitated in August 1954.[1][7]
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