Ivan Khristoforovich Bagramyan

The Early Years

Ivan Bagramyan was born in Elizavetpol, in the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1897. He joined the Russian Army in 1915 and was a junior officer by 1917. He joined the Red Army at the outbreak of the Russian Civil War. In 1923 he became the commander of a Cavalry Regiment in the Transcaucasus. In 1924 he attended the Higher Cavalry School in Leningrad, where he first met other prominent, upcoming officers, such as Zhukov, Rokassovsky and Yeremenko. Following his graduation he returned to the Transcaucasus, where he eventually became the Divisional Chief of Staff. He attended the Voroshilov General Staff Academy from 1931 to 1934 and in 1936, following his unprecedented appointment direct from pupil to lecturer, he began a four-year appointment at the Frunze Military Academy in Moscow.
In 1940, having been promoted to Colonel, he became Head of Operations at 12th Army in the Western Ukraine. Only three months later he was recalled to Moscow and appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to the Kiev Military District. He did not get on well with the District Commander, Colonel General Kirponos. The two were at odds over the defence of the frontiers. Kirponos favored a light defence, with a large reserve, which could counter any German attack. Bagramyan however favored a strong defence, citing the conduct of previous German campaigns in Western Europe where they had attacked quickly and forcefully.

The Early War Years

When the German attack came in June 1941, Bagramyan was proved correct as German forces broke through the weakly defended frontiers. Kirponos's unquestioning efforts to carry out STAVKA's unrealistic orders caused further friction between the two. During August the whole Front was in danger of becoming encircled at Kiev, if it failed to abandon the city. Bagramyan was dispatched into the pocket by Timoshenko to order Kirponos to withdraw his forces from the pocket. However, Kirponos refused to take action without written orders and the pocket was closed with huge losses in men and material. Bagramyan managed to lead his staff out of the pocket on foot and reach the safety of the Russian lines. Bagramyan was then appointed to Timoshenko's staff as Chief of Operations and took part in the planning of the Russian winter counter offensive. He also formed the staff of an operational group to control three Army Fronts the southern, southwestern and Bryansk. During December he was promoted to Lieutenant General and was instrumental in orchestrating the successful offensive by the Southwestern Front against German forces in the Elets area.

Debacle at Kharkov

In March 1942 he presented the plan for offensive action in the Kharkov region, which he had helped prepare, to Stalin. It was his first meeting with Stalin and the two gained a mutual respect for each other following the meeting. However, the report failed to recognize the significance of reconnaissance reports outlining German troop strengths in the area and also concurred with the view held by STAVKA that the main German effort during the summer would fall against Moscow. Bagramyan later admitted that his opinion turned out to be mistaken.
Bagramyan was appointed Chief of Staff of the Southwestern Front and then in May, Chief of Staff of the southwestern Direction for the Kharkov operation. However the offensive stalled as it ran into German forces assembling for 'Operation Friderikus', designed to eliminate Russian forces in the Barvenkovo salient. As the offensive broke down, the Russian forces were rapidly threatened with encirclement. German documents captured on the 17th of May led Bagramyan to 'the logical conclusion that the enemy intended to encircle all of our forces in the salient'. His memoirs state that on the 18th of May, he unsuccessfully urged Timoshenko to halt all offensive action. Despite Timoshenko's refusal he persisted and asked Khrushchev to approach Stalin and voice his fears. However, Stalin refused to act, the encirclement was completed and three Armies were destroyed. However, despite this, on the 19th May, he, Timoshenko and Khrushchev approved a report to STAVKA, which mentioned nothing about abandoning the operation. In June, following the operation, Bagramyan was relieved of his post.

Return to Favour

He immediately wrote a letter to Stalin, offering to serve at the front in any capacity, however modest. Despite his fears that he was in disgrace, Stalin still held him in high regard and at the end of June he was made Deputy Commander of 61st Army on the Western Front. In the middle of July, he was given command of the 16th Army following Rokassovsky's promotion. His Army was soon in action, when in August, the Western and Kalinin Fronts initiated the Rzhev-Sychev operation against the German 9th army. The operation began well, but on the 11th of August, German forces attacked elements of the Western Front, broke through the front of 61st Army and threatened Bagramyan's flank. He was quick to react to the danger and block the threat.
In February 1943, Bagramyan's 16th Army took part in the offensive at Bryansk, in support of the Bryansk and Central Fronts. Its performance in this operation earned it a change in title to 11th Guards Army prior to the Kursk operation.
At Kursk his Army was assigned the task of breaching the German defences to the south of Kozelsk and then advancing south to link up with forces of the Central Front. However, Bagramyan felt the plan was over ambitious and voiced his concerns to both his and the Bryansk Fronts commanders, who both dismissed his ideas for a more modest operation to destroy German forces at Bolkhov. However at a meeting with STAVKA in April, he seized his chance and again voiced his concerns and his proposal was accepted. On the 11th of July, his Army attacked the German 41st Panzer Corps north of Orel and advanced 45 miles in six days. When the operation concluded successfully on the 28th of July, he was promoted to Colonel General.

On to Victory

In October, his Army was redeployed to the newly established 2nd Baltic Front in Belorussia. The following month, Bagramyan was given command of the 1st Baltic Front and promoted to the rank of Army General. In December, Bagramyan was tasked with the capture of Gorodok, which he successfully completed, despite delays caused by poor ground conditions, on the 24th. In April 1944, his front supported Belorussian Partisan forces threatened by the German anti Partisan operation, 'Spring Festival'. His Front provided air support against German ground forces, air drops of supplies and evacuation of wounded.
In June 1944, Bagramyan's Front took part in 'Operation Bagration', the elimination of Army Group Center in Belorussia. His Front was tasked with executing a pincer movement, in conjunction with the 3rd Belorussian Front, crossing the Dvina River and destroying German forces in the Vitebsk area. The Partisan forces, which Bagramyan had supported earlier in the year, repaid his help by providing extensive reconnaissance and attacking German communication centers and lines of supply. The offensive opened on the 22nd of June and progressed well, capturing Polotsk at the beginning of July. His Front was then tasked, in conjunction with the 3rd Belorussian Front with advancing as rapidly as possible to the East Prussian frontier in order to prevent Army Group North from retreating back into Germany. In July he was awarded the title of 'Hero of the Soviet Union' for his achievements. By the end of July, both Daugavpils and Shyaulyay had been captured and by the 23rd of September the leading elements of the Front were only 12 miles from the Latvian capital Riga.
However, his Front was then ordered to change direction, move westwards to the Baltic and capture Memel, which it did on the 27th of January, sealing Army Group North in the Courland pocket. Bagramyan's Front remained in positions along the Baltic coast between Libau and Memel until the end of the war.

The Post War Years

Following the war he served as the head of the Baltic Military District from 1945 to 1954, Inspector of the Ministry of Defense from 1954 to 1955, Deputy Minister of Defense from 1956 to 1958 and commander in chief of the Rear of the Armed forces of the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1968. In 1955 he was awarded the title Marshal of the Soviet Union. He was also awarded the Order of Lenin seven times, the Order of the Red Banner three times. Following his retirement in 1968, he wrote his memoirs, published in 1973 and entitled 'Thus the War Began' and 'As we went on to Victory'. He died in 1982 and was buried with full military honors in the Kremlin wall in Moscow.