Pyotr Koshevoy | |
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 Koshevoy after 1968 | |
| Born | 21 December [O.S. 8 December] 1904 |
| Died | 30 August 1976(1976-08-30) (aged 71) Moscow,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |
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| Years of service | 1920–1969 |
| Rank | Marshal of the Soviet Union |
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| Signature |  |
Pyotr Kirillovich Koshevoy (Ukrainian:Петро Кирилович Кошовий;Russian:Пётр Кириллович Кошевой; 21 December [O.S. 8 December] 1904 – 30 August 1976) was a Soviet military commander and aMarshal of the Soviet Union.
Koshevoy was born to a Ukrainian peasant family and joined theRed Army in 1920, fighting in theRussian Civil War. During theinterwar period, he served as a junior commander in cavalry units and held staff positions from the late 1930s. By the beginning ofOperation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Koshevoy commanded the65th Rifle Division, which he led during theSiege of Leningrad. In mid-1942 he transferred to command the24th Guards Rifle Division, fighting in theBattle of Stalingrad and theNorth Caucasus.
Koshevoy commanded the63rd Rifle Corps during theCrimean Offensive, then transferred to command the 71st Rifle Corps before leading the 36th Guards Rifle Corps from early 1945, commanding it in theEast Prussian Offensive. He was awarded the title ofHero of the Soviet Union twice – in 1944, for the taking ofMount Sapun during the Crimean Offensive and in 1945, for his part in the capture ofKönigsberg.
Following the war, Koshevoy commanded the6th Guards, the5th, the11th Guards Armies, and theSiberian andKiev Military Districts. He became commander-in-chief of theGroup of Soviet Forces in Germany in 1965. Koshevoy was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1968, but was dismissed from command of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany in late 1969.
Koshevoy was born on 21 December [O.S. 8 December] 1904 inOleksandriia,Kherson Governorate to a Ukrainian peasant family. After graduating from primary school in 1919, he worked with his father, amiller, for a year and a half.[1] He joined theRed Army during theRussian Civil War on 13 February 1920[2] and was sent to the 2nd Red Cossack Regiment of the 8th Red Cossack Cavalry Division, with which he fought on theSouthwestern Front against Polish andUkrainian People's Army troops in the area ofChornyi Ostriv,Lityn,Proskurov,Horodok, andRohatyn, then against theRevolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine.[3]
After the end of the war, in August 1922, Koshevoy was sent to study at the Crimean Cavalry Courses, and upon graduation in October 1923 was appointed a squadronstarshina in the 3rd Red Cossack Cavalry Regiment of the1st Red Cossack Cavalry Division, stationed in theUkrainian Military District. Becoming akursant at the Ukrainian Cavalry School in August 1924, after graduation in September 1927 he served as a platoon commander with the 61st Cavalry Regiment of the Special Cavalry Brigade in theMoscow Military District. Temporarily transferred to the department of higher education institutions at the district headquarters to serve as officer for assignments of the 2nd category in November 1931, Koshevoy then served at theVTsIK Combined Military School as an assistant machine gun squadron commander.[3]
After attending the Armored Commanders' Advanced Training Courses (KUKS) inLeningrad between March and May 1932, he returned to the school to briefly become a platoon commander in the mechanized battalion. From September of that year, Koshevoy served as head of the regimental school of the 61st Regiment, part of the Special Cavalry Division (formed from the Special Cavalry Brigade). He became assistant chief of the 1st (operations) section of the staff of the regiment in May 1935, and from October of that year was regimental chief of staff. Koshevoy entered theFrunze Military Academy in May 1936 and upon graduation in January 1939 was appointed chief of staff of the 15th Cavalry Division, stationed in theTransbaikal Military District. He was transferred to command the65th Rifle Division of the district in February 1940.[3] Koshevoy was assigned the rank of colonel on 29 February when the Red Army adopted personal military ranks.[2]
AfterOperation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began in June 1941, Koshevoy remained with the division in the Transbaikal Military District. Under his command, the 65th was relocated to theVolkhov Front during November, and as part of the4th Army fought in theTikhvin Defensive Operation. For its "successful actions" in the latter, the 65th was awarded theOrder of the Red Banner. Transferred to command the24th Guards Rifle Division in the reserve on 2 July 1942, Koshevoy led the division as part of the8th Army from 7 August, fighting in theSinyavino Offensive. He was promoted tomajor general on 1 October.[2] The division was relocated toRasskazovo on 25 October 1942, where it joined the2nd Guards Army of theReserve of the Supreme High Command, receiving replacements and new equipment. Departing with the army in mid-December for theStalingrad Front, it fought in the repulse ofOperation Winter Storm, a German counterattack attempting to relieve surrounded troops inStalingrad. As part of theSouthern Front, the division fought in the Rostov Offensive, part of theNorth Caucasus Strategic Offensive in early 1943. It was in reserve inVoroshilovgrad oblast for rebuilding from March. During the summer, as part of the 2nd Guards Army of the Southern Front, Koshevoy led the division in theMius andDonbass Offensives.[3]
During the Donbass Offensive, Koshevoy was appointed commander of the63rd Rifle Corps of the51st Army on 28 August. He went on to lead the corps as part of the44th and 51st Armies of the4th Ukrainian Front in theMelitopol andCrimean Offensives, during which it capturedKakhovka,Simferopol, andSevastopol. For his "skillful leadership" of the corps in the Crimean Offensive, including in the crossing of theSivash and the taking ofMount Sapun, Koshevoy was made aHero of the Soviet Union and awarded theOrder of Lenin on 16 May 1944,[4] being promoted tolieutenant general a day later.[2] Transferred to command the 71st Rifle Corps on 27 May, he led the latter as part of the31st Army of the3rd Belorussian Front inOperation Bagration and theBaltic Offensive. For its "courage in battle", the 71st was awarded theOrder of the Red Banner. Koshevoy transferred to command the 36th Guards Rifle Corps of the11th Guards Army from 7 January 1945, leading it for the rest of the war. During theEast Prussian Offensive, the corps capturedInsterburg,Königsberg, andPillau. During the offensive, according to his superiors, Koshevoy personally organized the attacks of the corps and led from the front, in the "most critical and dangerous" areas of Insterburg. For his "skillful leadership" in the offensive, "courage and heroism", he received the title Hero of the Soviet Union a second time on 19 April.[3]
After the end of the war, Koshevoy continued to command the corps. He commanded the6th Guards Army in theBaltic Military District from July 1946, and studied at the Higher Academic Courses of theVoroshilov Higher Military Academy from March 1947 to April 1948. Upon completion of the courses, he was appointed commander of the5th Army of thePrimorsky Military District, which became part of theFar Eastern Military District in April 1953. Promoted to colonel general on 31 May 1954,[2] Koshevoy was transferred to command the 11th Guards Army in the Baltic Military District in June 1954 and became first deputy commander-in-chief of theGroup of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG) in July 1955. He commanded theSiberian Military District from July 1957 and theKiev Military District from April 1960, being promoted toarmy general on 13 April 1964. Koshevoy became commander-in-chief of the GSFG in January 1965. Although promoted toMarshal of the Soviet Union on 15 April 1968, he was transferred to theGroup of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defense as an inspector general in October 1969, a retirement post for aging senior officers. Koshevoy lived in Moscow, where he died on 30 August 1976. He was buried in theNovodevichy Cemetery.[3][2] His memoirs of his World War II service,In the war years (Russian:В годы военные), were published in 1978 byVoenizdat.[4]
Koshevoy was a recipient of the following awards and decorations:[2]
Koshevoy was a candidate member of theCentral Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1971, and a sixth and seventh convocation delegate of theSupreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.[3]
A bronze bust of Koshevoy was installed in Oleksandriia. In 1976, the Omsk Tank School was named in his honor.[3]
| Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (1945–54) |
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| Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (1954–89) |
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| Western Group of Forces (1989–94) |
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‡ Chief of theSoviet Military Administration in Germany | ||
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