Petr Kosheva was born on December 21, 1904 in the city of Alexandria, Kherson province (today - the Kirovograd region of Ukraine) in a peasant family. “He was only 15 when he volunteered to join the Red Army. He participated in the defense of Soviet Russia from Polish aggression, fought with the Petliurists and Makhnovists. After the end of the Civil and Soviet-Polish Wars, I decided to remain in the army and become a professional military man, ”Boris Sokolov, an employee of the scientific and methodological department of the Victory Museum, said in an interview with RT.

Cavalryman, tankman, shooter

According to the military historian Yuri Knutov, the leadership of the Red Army saw a promising commander in the young Peter Koshev. In 1922-1923 he was sent to the Crimean cavalry courses, after which he became the foreman of the squadron in the 3rd cavalry regiment of the Red Cossacks.

In 1925, Koshevo joined the CPSU (b). Two years later, he graduated from the Ukrainian cavalry school named after CM. Budyonny in the city of Zinovievsk (modern Kropyvnytsky), after which he led a platoon in the Special Cavalry Brigade named after I.V. Stalin, which was part of the Moscow Military District.

“For some time, Kosheva was a handler at the district headquarters and an employee of the 1st Soviet Joint Military School of the Red Army. But soon, among other talented cavalrymen, he was sent to master the fashionable and promising direction in those years in military affairs - armored. In 1932 he became a graduate of the Armored Advanced Training Courses of the Red Army command staff. The managerial and training stages that he went through created serious prerequisites for further professional growth, ”said Yuri Knutov in an interview with RT.

Until 1936, Kosheva was the head of the regimental school and assistant chief of the operational part of the headquarters of the Special Cavalry Division. I.V. Stalin, and then took the post of chief of staff of the regiment. With her, he was sent to a three-year study at the Military Academy of the Red Army. M.V. Frunze.

In 1939, Peter Kosheva was appointed chief of staff of the division in one of the most difficult at that time military districts of the USSR - Zabaykalsky. A year later, at the beginning of 1940, he became commander of the 65th Rifle Division in the same district.

The first years of the war

At the beginning of World War II, the Soviet command was expecting a strike in the Far East by Japanese troops. However, in the fall of 1941, thanks to the dedicated work of Soviet intelligence, the Soviet leadership learned that Japan was not going to attack the country of the Soviets in the foreseeable future. This made it possible to begin the transfer of Far Eastern divisions to the west in order to stop the advance of the Nazi troops.

As Peter Kosheva himself wrote in his memoirs, until the last moment he was sure that his divisions would participate in the defense of Moscow. However, in November 1941, the 65th Infantry Division, already in Moscow, was redirected to the Leningrad Region to take part in the hardest battles in the area of ​​the important transport hub - the city of Tikhvin. The Nazis tried to completely close the blockade ring around Leningrad, connecting with the Finnish troops, and cut off the railway leading to the city on the Neva. The Nazis could only partially achieve their goals - they entered Tikhvin and blocked the railway, but did not make their way to the Finns. The Soviet replenishment, who arrived from the east, was faced with the task of knocking out the invaders from their positions, restoring Leningrad's supplies, and ending the blockade of the city.

  • Leningrad Front. Ski battalion on the march in the area of ​​Tikhvin. 1941
  • © George Zelma / RIA News

According to Boris Sokolov, the Tikhvin strategic offensive operation, which began on November 10, 1941, was one of the first large-scale offensives of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War.

An important role was assigned to the 65th Infantry Division of Peter Koshevoy in these events. She was part of the Eastern Task Force and at the end of November 1941 was able to enter the suburbs of Tikhvin. And on December 9, the 65th and 191st rifle divisions completely liberated the city, forcing the Nazis to retreat to Volkhov.

“The persecution that unfolded along all roads did not allow the Nazis to commit another heinous crime. That night on the western outskirts of the city they drove into one of the sheds children, women and old people from families who were suspected of having partisans, pounded doors, put machine gunners to them. Prisoners were waiting for imminent death, but salvation came: at dawn, shooting started at the barn, cries of “cheers” rang out. Soviet people were released, ”Pyotr Kosheva writes in his memoirs“ During the Military Years ”.

As a result of the Tikhvin operation, Soviet troops did not allow the establishment of a complete blockade of Leningrad, restored railway traffic along the Tikhvin-Volkhov branch, and deprived the Nazis of strategic initiative in the region.

In the summer of 1942, Peter Kosheva was appointed commander of the 24th Guards Rifle Division, which in August - September took part in the Sinyavinsky operation. In September 1942, Koshevoy’s division was surrounded, but left it with fights. Although the Soviet troops failed at this time to completely break the blockade of Leningrad, they thwarted the Nazis' attempt to seize the city, fettered significant enemy forces and forced Hitler to transfer troops from the south to the north.

From Stalingrad to East Prussia

The 24th Guards Rifle Division, who suffered heavy losses in October 1942, was sent to the Tambov Region to understaff cadets of military schools and sailors of the Pacific Fleet. In mid-December, she was transferred to Stalingrad, on the Myshkova River.

At this time, the German command was preparing an operation to unblock the 6th Army of Friedrich Paulus, located in Stalingrad. According to Yuri Knutov, this task was assigned to Army Group Don under the command of Erich von Manstein.

The Soviet command knew that there would be a blow, but its direction was calculated incorrectly - Manstein decided not to move along the shortest path, but to bypass. Therefore, the plan of the Nazi command at first was a success. On December 20, the Nazis reached the Myshkova River, only 35-40 kilometers separated from the positions of Paulus. However, a counter strike by the Soviet troops halted their advance.

On December 21-23, 1942, the 24th Guards Rifle Division, with heavy fighting, liberated the Nizhnekumsky and Verkhnekumsky farms of great importance. On December 29, the division took part in the liberation of the village and Kotelnikovo station. Manstein’s attempt to unlock the 6th Army failed, the Nazi troops in Stalingrad were doomed.

Later, at the head of the 24th Guards Rifle Division, Peter Kosheva participated in the Rostov and Mius offensive operations. In August 1943, he was appointed commander of the 63rd Rifle Corps, who took part in the liberation of Donbass and southern Ukraine.

“In 1944, Peter Kosheva and his 63rd corps played a huge role in the expulsion of the Nazis from Crimea. Initially, the corps was supposed to play a supporting role, but its actions in early April were so successful that the command of the 51st army transferred the direction of the main attack to the offensive zone of the 63rd corps, ”said Yuri Knutov.

On April 11, Koshevoy’s operational-tactical formation entered Dzhankoy, and on April 13, Simferopol. Within a few days, the corps liberated about 200 settlements of the Crimea and went to the suburbs of Sevastopol. Here he was thrown to storm the heights, which occupied a central place in the defense of the city - the Sapun Mountains.

  • Assault on the Sapun Mountains, 1944
  • RIA News

“During the artillery preparation, the enemy was not broken. Six tiers of its defenses, each stone on the side of the mountain was fraught with danger and death. Will our fighters be able to overcome this fiery line? Such a short minute in a different setting seemed painfully long to us. We stuck to stereo tubes and binoculars, peered with excitement at the sea of ​​fire, lead and steel bubbling on the mountainside, ”Peter Kosheva describes the battles for Sapun-gora in his memoirs.

Nevertheless, the fighters of the 63rd Corps stubbornly moved forward along the slopes of the mountain. At the decisive moment of the offensive, Kosheva went to a military trick - he requested the support of aviation, which practically had no bombs left. Nevertheless, seeing the dive bombers, the Nazis lay in the trenches, so the Red Army burst into their positions.

On the evening of May 7, 1944, a fighter of the 63rd Corps Abdulaziz Kurbanov raised the Red Banner over Sapun Mountain. And two days later, Sevastopol was completely cleared of the Nazi occupiers.

Immediately after the liberation of Sevastopol, Kosheva was transferred to the post of commander of the 71st Rifle Corps and distinguished himself during the Belarusian strategic offensive operation Bagration.

At the beginning of 1945, Peter Koshevoi led the 36th Guards Rifle Corps. According to Yuri Knutov, the commander played an important role in the expulsion of the Nazis from East Prussia, distinguishing himself in capturing Königsberg (modern Kaliningrad) and Pillau (modern Baltiysk).

“The full leadership talent of Koshevoy was revealed in 1944-1945. The pearls in his military career were the battles for the Crimea and East Prussia. After the liberation of Sevastopol and the capture of Koenigsberg, he was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. At the Victory Parade, he personally commanded the combined regiment of the 3rd Belorussian Front, ”said Yury Knutov.

War after war

In 1946, Peter Kosheva was appointed commander of the 6th Guards Army, and a year later he was sent to study at higher academic courses at the K.E. Higher Military Academy Voroshilov. After completing his studies, he commanded the 5th, and then the 11th Guards Army.

In 1955, Kosheva became the first deputy commander in chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. And then - the commander of the Siberian and Kiev military districts.

“In 1965, Pyotr Kosheva was awarded high confidence - he was appointed commander of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. This was one of the key command posts in the system of the Soviet Armed Forces. In the event of aggression on the part of NATO, the GSVG had to take the first blow, stand up and go on the offensive. These were one of the most combat-ready parts of the USSR and all the forces of the Warsaw Pact. In the tense conditions of the Cold War, this position assumed enormous responsibility. In 1968, Koshevoy was awarded the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union, ”said Yuri Knutov.

In 1969, Kosheva was transferred to the post of inspector general of the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. From 1962 to 1970, in parallel with military service, he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

In 1974, Peter Koshev was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Sevastopol. And two years later, on August 30, 1976, the marshal died and was buried in the Novodevichy cemetery. Monuments to the legendary military leader are erected in many cities of the former Soviet Union.

  • Marshal of the Soviet Union Peter Kirillovich Kosheva with cadets
  • © diletant.media

“Peter Kosheva has always been at the forefront of the defense of the Soviet Union: in the most iconic battles of the Great Patriotic War, and then in Germany. He was a talented military leader and always tried to protect his soldiers. His experience should be studied today for new generations of young officers, ”concluded Yuri Knutov.