Grigoriy Plaskov | |
|---|---|
| Григорий Пласков | |
 Plaskov duringWorld War Two | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Grigoriy Davydovich Plaskov December 8 or 20, 1898 Minsk,Russian Empire |
| Died | November 2, 1972 Moscow,Soviet Union |
| Resting place | Vvedenskoye Cemetery |
| Spouse | Dora Grigorievna |
| Children | Yuri and Asya |
| Awards | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Years of service | 1917–1952 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General of Artillery |
| Commands | |
| Battles/wars | |
Grigoriy Davydovich Plaskov (Russian:Григорий Давидович Пласков), also known asG.D. Plaskov andHirsch Plaskov,[a] was a Lieutenant General of Artillery for theSoviet Union. He is known for being one of the most prominent Jews in theRed Army.
Plaskov was born in December 1898 inMinsk to a Jewish family. Plaskov's father was a brewer. In 1911, he graduated from the localyeshiva and was employed as a metal worker in "Mateushik and Sons," an iron foundry.[1]
Plaskov joined the Red Guard in October 1917[2] and, after joining theRed Army in May 1918, fought in theRussian Civil War for theBolsheviks.[3]
In the years following the war, Plaskov attended an advanced artillery school, graduating in 1925, as well as attending theFrunze Military Academy in Moscow, graduating in 1932, and the Military Academy of Chemical Protection, graduating in 1938.
Plaskov saw action duringWorld War Two, beginning in July 1941, when he assistedIvan Flyorov by firing one of the firstKatyushas at theWehrmacht inOrsha.[4] Roughly a month later, Plaskov would attempt to defend Zhlobin alongsideLeonid Petrovsky.
Plaskov then helped to defend Moscow from the German Forces and participated in the counter-offensive that repelled them from the city. In the winter of 1942, Plaskov was promoted to Major General of Artillery of the 10th Army under Lieutenant GeneralFilipp Golikov. During his time in the army, Plaskov would frequently be reprimanded by theSoviet High Command for "indiscreet actions," but would remain a Major General of Artillery for the remainder of the war. During theBattle of Berlin,[5] Plaskov proudly exclaimed to Lieutenant GeneralSemyon Krivoshein:
Look, Sema, just look! Jew Grigory Plaskov beatsHitler, beats this bitch right on the head! Beat, beat him, lads! Beat forBabi Yar, for the torment of our people! Fire, more fire, more fire! Indeed, a symbolic episode...[6]
Following the war's conclusion, Plaskov was promoted to Lieutenant General of Artillery and nominated forHero of the Soviet Union but ultimately never received the latter. Plaskov would later say that he never consideredanti-Semitism to be a factor in this event. Plaskov did, however, receive theOrder of the Red Banner four times, theOrder of Lenin two times, theOrder of Kutuzov, theOrder of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, the Medal for the Defense of Moscow, the Medal for the Liberation of Warsaw, the Medal for the Capture of Berlin, and the Medal for Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945.[7] Regarding Plaskov's service in the Soviet military,Marshal Zhukov said, "I don't know of any soldier more valiant than General Plaskov."[8]
In the early 1950s, Plaskov was the Deputy Military Commander of theTaurida Military District, but this changed during "the anti-Semitic year of 1952",[9] when widespread anti-Semitism led to Plaskov's demotion and subsequent appointment as the Head of the Military Department of theState University of Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold. Shortly afterward, in 1956, Plaskov would retire.[10]
Plaskov wrote his memoir,Under the Roar of the Cannonade, in 1969.[11] That same year, the village council ofCosăuți in Moldova awarded Plaskov the title of "Honorary Citizen of Kosouts."[12] Plaskov died three years later in Moscow and was buried inVvedenskoye Cemetery.
In 2010, a memorial was erected inSheremetevsky that commemorated Plaskov and eighty-one other former residents of the officer's village that contributed to the Soviet war effort in the Second World War.[13] Among the other officers who were commemorated areVasily Glazunov andYuri Rykachev.