The name of Marshal of the Soviet Union Boris Shaposhnikov is inextricably linked with the heroic history of the country. Having devoted his life to the army back in the days of Tsarist Russia, the man went through the First World War, the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War, becoming an outstanding theorist and military leader, a master in operational and strategic matters.
Childhood and youth[]
Marshal was born on September 20, 1882 in the city of Zlatoust in the family of Mikhail Petrovich and Pelageya Kuzminichna Shaposhnikov. My father came from the Don Cossacks, and earned his bread by serving as a manager in factories and warehouses. The mother came from a count's family and worked at a school, teaching children. The head of the family managed to be married three times, where he had a total of 11 children, of whom 8 survived. A salary of 100 royal rubles covered the cost of their maintenance, and the man even managed to save up for a two-story house.
In his youth, Boris did not think about a military career, but went to study at an industrial school, first in Krasnoufimsk, and then in Perm. Having received secondary education by 1899, the guy began working at a wine warehouse in Belebey, where his father worked. However, the position of junior clerk did not satisfy the ambitions of the young man, who dreamed of a more prominent career.
The first attempt to enter the cadet school was unsuccessful: Shaposhnikov was unable to pass the competition due to illness. In 1901, Boris was enrolled in the Moscow Alekseevsky Infantry School, from which he graduated 2 years later with the rank of second lieutenant. Thus began the army career of a man who became an outstanding military figure of his time.
Having gained combat experience, in 1907 Boris entered the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff in St. Petersburg. Studying there turned out to be a difficult task: through strict discipline, difficult many-hour lectures and a dense flow of subjects, more than half of those enrolled in the course dropped out. Shaposhnikov not only remained among the steadfast students, but also graduated from the academy among the first, receiving a handshake from Emperor Nicholas II at the graduation ceremony in 1910.
Military career[]
Shaposhnikov's military biography started in the tsarist army, where he began serving as an officer in the Turkestan Military District. At the beginning of World War I, Boris fought on the Southwestern Front, received a shell shock, but continued to participate in hostilities on the Northwestern and Northern fronts, where he rose from adjutant to chief of staff. By the end of the war, the man had the rank of colonel and served as head of the Caucasian Grenadier Division.
During the Civil War, Shaposhnikov decided to join the Red Army, where he served as head of the intelligence department, drew up directives and orders, developed plans for military campaigns and planned a strategy for defeating the troops of General Anton Denikin.
In peacetime, Boris Mikhailovich worked in the military districts of Leningrad and Moscow, rising to the rank of Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army. Having become Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1940, the military leader began World War II on the Evacuation Council. Then he worked on the counteroffensive strategy of the Soviet army at the end of 1941 - beginning of 1942.
Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky replaced Shaposhnikov as Chief of the General Staff in the spring of 1942, after which Boris Mikhailovich worked in the administration of the Defense Committee and headed the Academy of the General Staff.
Death[]
The marshal did not live to see the end of the Great Patriotic War for 44 days. Having made a significant contribution to the victory, Boris Mikhailovich was unable to celebrate its triumph, dying on March 26, 1945. The cause of death was stomach cancer.