February 26, 1910 in the city of Kamenetz-Podolsky, Sergei Gorshkov was born into a family of teachers. He spent his childhood in Kolomna near Moscow. In 1926 he entered the Physics and Mathematics Department of Leningrad University. Sergey combined his studies with work in the port, where he was imbued with marine romance. A year later, Gorshkov left the university and entered the Frunze Naval School. He practiced marine practice on the legendary cruiser Aurora.

Combat Command Experience

Actual military service for Sergei Gorshkov began in 1931 on the Black Sea - as a watch commander, and then as a navigator on the destroyer destroyer Frunze. However, already in 1932, the young officer was transferred to the Pacific Fleet. Soon he took the first independent command post. In 1934, Gorshkov led the patrol ship Burun, and in 1937 the destroyer Shattering. In the same year, he graduated from special courses of the command staff of the Navy, became the chief of staff, and later - the commander of the brigade of destroyers of the Pacific Fleet.

“Sergey Gorshkov gained experience in combat control during battles with Japanese militarists near Lake Khasan,” military historian Yuri Knutov told RT.

In 1939, Gorshkov returned to the Black Sea Fleet as commander of the destroyer squadron brigade. He met the Great Patriotic War already as the commander of a cruiser brigade. The ships under his leadership were among the first to repulse Nazi aggression - early in the morning of June 22, 1941, they participated in repelling an air attack on Sevastopol.

In August - October 1941, the brigade under the command of Gorshkov took an active part in the defense of Odessa. The ships supported the defenders of the city with artillery fire from the sea against the Romanian-German troops. And on September 22, Gorshkov commanded the landing of the Grigoryevsky landing, which contributed to the defeat of two Romanian divisions and captured a battery of long-range artillery, which fired on Odessa.

In October 1941, Gorshkov led the Azov military flotilla. He participated in the Donbass-Rostov defensive and Kerch-Feodosia landing operations, played an important role in the defense of the Caucasus coast.

  • Monument in honor of the sailors of the Azov Flotilla, Berdyansk
  • © Nataliya Shestakova / wikimedia.org

“In 1942, Gorshkov became deputy commander of the Novorossiysk defensive area. For some time he commanded the troops of the 47th army. This is the only case during the years of World War II when the sailor officially led the combined-arms army, ”said Yuri Knutov.

Gorshkov left the western part of the Novorossiysk Bay during the withdrawal of Soviet troops on the last boat.

Pursuit of the enemy

According to the historian, the sailors Gorshkov contributed to the defense of the Caucasus. Particularly due to their efforts, the Nazis were not able to break off the Soviet Union’s ties with Iranian territory and the Caucasian oil fields.

In 1943, the previously disbanded Azov Flotilla was revived, and Gorshkov again headed it.

“At the head of the flotilla, he participated in the Donbass, Novorossiysk-Taman and Kerch-Eltigen operations. The ships under his command landed troops on the coast occupied by the enemy and provided their support from the sea, ”Knutov said.

  • Soviet monitors on the Danube
  • © statehistory.ru

In the spring of 1944, Gorshkov was appointed commander of the Danube Flotilla. In this position, he, according to Knutov, played an important role in the expulsion of the Nazis from the southwestern regions of the USSR, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Hungary. Moreover, sailors often marched at the forefront of the offensive.

"Where the ground forces did not immediately succeed in breaking through or gaining a foothold, the ships of the Danube Flotilla landed," the historian noted.

At the beginning of 1945, Sergei Gorshkov, who by that time had the military rank of vice admiral, was transferred to the post of commander of a squadron of the Black Sea Fleet. Three years later, he headed the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, and in 1951 he was appointed to the post of commander of the Black Sea Fleet.

Era Gorshkova

In July 1955, Gorshkov became deputy commander in chief of the Navy of the USSR, and in January 1956, commander in chief and deputy minister of defense. He was entrusted with leading the Soviet Navy for 29 years.

“Sergey Gorshkov is the only admiral whose period of activity was recognized as a separate era. “The Era Gorshkova” was what the Western media wrote about his time as commander in chief, ”stressed Konstantin Strelbitsky, chairman of the Moscow Fleet History Club, in an interview with RT.

According to the expert, the Soviet, and to a certain extent, the modern Russian ocean fleet are “the brainchild of Gorshkov.”

“He went down in history as a brilliant organizer, administrator, manager. He not only sent groups of ships to certain regions of the oceans, he created a strategy. This man was literally everything for the Russian fleet. With him, in the main, a land power, the fleet became one of the key and most powerful instruments for protecting national interests, ”Strelbitsky emphasized.

According to him, Gorshkov was a supporter of the development of the ocean and submarine fleet, long-range military campaigns.

“Ships flying the Soviet naval flag appeared in almost all the seas of the world. The fleet became a nuclear missile, turning into one of the key components of ensuring the country's security and changing the balance of forces in the world due to nuclear missile carriers. In addition, importantly, Soviet ships, both surface and submarine, received nuclear power plants at that time, acquiring an almost unlimited cruising resource, ”the historian continued.

  • Admiral Sergey Gorshkov with sailors of the Danube military flotilla
  • RIA News

The specialist noted that with the advent of Gorshkov to the post of commander-in-chief of the Navy, scientific research in the interests of the fleet sharply intensified. Many research institutes and design bureaus designed new ships, airplanes, and developed modern weapon systems.

At the same time, while working on the fleet development strategy, Sergey Gorshkov did not forget about his current needs, he tried to understand all aspects of the activities of his subordinates. He conducted personal interviews with the commanders of the first Soviet nuclear submarines and participated in the testing of new submarines, although this, of course, was associated with a risk to life.

“Evaluations of Gorshkov’s activity as an individual sometimes sound ambiguous. First of all, this is due to the complex nature of the admiral. However, none of those who understand the problems of the fleet will say that he was out of place, ”Strelbitsky emphasized.

  • USSR Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrei Grechko (left), Head of the Main Political Directorate of the USSR Armed Forces Alexei Epishev (right) and Navy Commander Sergei Gorshkov during operational-strategic exercises
  • RIA News
  • © Valery Shustov

According to Yuri Knutov, “Americans in the tabloid newspapers, playing in public, could call the Soviet fleet of the Gorshkov era“ rust troughs, ”but in expert publications and special reports they sounded the alarm, literally shouting that the land fleet was catching up, and what and it surpasses the fleet of the "great maritime power" of the United States. "

“In the media, both Western and post-Soviet, one can find critical allegations that there were too many types of ships in the USSR under Gorshkov, the development strategy of aircraft carriers was incorrect, and too much emphasis was placed on submarines and naval aviation. But in practice, it must be noted that the Soviet Navy did its job brilliantly. But it was not a fleet of peacetime. He perfectly solved his tasks during the Caribbean crisis, Middle East conflicts, the war in Vietnam, ”Knutov said.

Sergei Gorshkov served as commander in chief of the Navy until 1985, after which he was transferred to the group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He was repeatedly elected deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, during his lifetime he became an honorary citizen of a number of cities. He was twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, many orders and medals of the USSR and other states.

Sergey Gorshkov died on May 13, 1988. After himself, he left several books containing the memoirs of the naval commander and his assessment of the events of Soviet naval history. Monuments to him are installed in various cities of the USSR. His name was given to two warships. In 2013, the Russian Ministry of Defense established the departmental medal “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S. G. Gorshkov”.

“He was a war hero, the creator of the Soviet ocean fleet, a block man. Many of his plans in the field of naval affairs remain relevant in our days, ”concluded Yuri Knutov.

  • Admiral Sergey Gorshkov
  • © mil.ru