Among the galaxy of bright military stars of the Great Patriotic War, one of the central places is occupied by the name of Marshal of the Soviet Union twice Hero of the Soviet Union R. Ya. Malinovsky. At least the fact that during the four years of the war he made a real career rise, adequate to his generalship talent, speaks about his merits: on the eve of the war, Major General Malinovsky was the commander of the rifle corps, and he met the victory with the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union.

The entire conscious life of this remarkable patriot was inextricably linked with military service to the Fatherland. As a sixteen-year-old boy, he put on his shoulder straps and did not take them off until his last hour. By the fateful turn in the fate of the Motherland - the beginning of the Great Patriotic War - Malinovsky managed to establish himself as a talented military professional.

In March 1941. Rodion Yakovlevich took command of the 48th Rifle Corps, whose divisions were located in the southern sector of the first strategic echelon of the Red Army.

The summer of the forty-first year was a black page in the history of the country and the Red Army. An unfavorable combat situation was developing on all fronts. The corps, which was commanded by Malinovsky, performed combat tasks with full effort. Yet he, like so many others, had to endure the bitterness of the retreat. Short-term defense of individual lines, fierce battles with superior forces of the advancing enemy, battles in the environment, breaking out of the enemy ring - such is the continuous chain of events of the first months of the war. It was necessary to go through this bitter streak of failures, losses, defeats in order to harden, survive and subsequently defeat the enemy.

Soviet troops not only " fought defensive battles, defending individual borders, settlements, and important communication hubs. Their activity was also manifested in the fact that they periodically launched counterattacks against the advancing enemy. General Malinovsky had already participated in the preparation and conduct of counter-attacks at the beginning of the war. For example, after the enemy captured Chisinau on July 16, 1941, Malinovsky's corps, in cooperation with the 2nd Mechanized Corps, was ordered to launch a counterattack from the Florenta area. As a result, Soviet troops liberated Dubno, Florenty, Katyuzhiny, and cut the Balti - Ribnica railway. This success was reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I. V. Stalin.

At the end of August 1941, Malinovsky was appointed commander of the 6th Army.

The time for the Red Army was extremely critical. The enemy pressed our troops. But the association under the command of Malinovsky was able to generally complete the operational tasks set. The army commander was promoted to Lieutenant General and awarded the Order of Lenin.

In December 1941, Malinovsky was entrusted with the post of commander of the Southern Front. This could be regarded as an official recognition of his military achievements. The southern front defended the 255-kilometer strip from Yampol to Taganrog. It then consisted of 30 divisions and 10 brigades.

At this time, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command planned to defeat the enemy's Donbass - Taganrog group. The troops of the adjacent wings of the Southern and Southwestern Fronts were to launch a powerful counterattack, break through the enemy's defenses between Balakia and Artemivsk, reach the Dnieper River line, and cut off the Fascist withdrawal routes to the west. It was, in essence, the design of a major counteroffensive in the south. Without going into the details of this operation, we note that the impact of two fronts, their breakthrough on Barvenkovo and Lozovaya forced the Nazis to go on the defensive in this area. In Moscow, this was noted as an important operational and strategic success.

During the defensive period of the Battle of Stalingrad, General Malinovsky had the difficult task of organizing a major counterattack north of Stalingrad. At the end of August, a group of fascist troops broke through to the Volga. The Soviet troops defending the city were cut off. The critical moment has arrived. At this time, the 66th Army under the command of Malinovsky is assigned the task of eliminating the enemy-occupied corridor north of Stalingrad. The counterattack was carried out.

In subsequent military campaigns, the strategic art of preparing and carrying out major offensive operations developed. It was then that the talent of the commander Malinovsky began to shine with new facets!

In March 1943, Rodion Yakovlevich assumed command of the Southwestern Front (renamed the 3rd Ukrainian Front on October 20, 1943). In the summer and autumn of that crucial year, the troops of this front delivered a series of crushing deep blows to the German-fascist troops in the south of Ukraine (Donbass, Zaporozhye operations). In the spring of 1944, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front under the command of Army General Malinovsky brilliantly carried out the Bereznegovato-Snegirevskaya (March 6-18) and Odessa (March 26 - April 14) offensive operations.

In May 1944, Malinovsky was appointed commander of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, which, in cooperation with the 3rd Ukrainian Front, defeated the enemy army Group "Southern Ukraine" in 10 days at the end of August (22 German divisions, almost all Romanian divisions were destroyed, Moldavia was liberated, Royal Romania and Tsarist Romania were withdrawn from the war Bulgaria, created favorable conditions for the subsequent defeat of the enemy in Hungary, Yugoslavia, Austria, Czechoslovakia). After a brilliant victory in the Iasi-Kishinev offensive, the 2nd Ukrainian Front won victories in the Debrecen, Budapest and Vienna offensive operations, followed by a historic raid on Prague. All this shows that the Marshal's star received by Malinovsky in the autumn of 1944 was well deserved by him.

The name of Marshal Malinovsky was forever inscribed in the history of winning victory in the war with militaristic Japan. And mainly due to the legendary rush of troops of the Trans-Baikal Front through Bolshoy Khingan into the depths of Manchuria. The task of delivering a deep dagger strike was set by the 6th Guards Tank Army, which at one time brilliantly proved itself in overcoming the Carpathians. And the Guards performed a miracle: in three days, Soviet tankers overcame the seemingly impregnable mountains of Greater Khingan, by the end of the eighth day of the operation, Soviet tanks, having fought more than 600 km, were already in the deep rear of the main forces of the Kwantung Army. Government

Japan was already forced on August 14 to declare its readiness to accept the terms of unconditional surrender. Malinovsky was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership of the Trans-Baikal Front operation.

The Great Patriotic War ended with the complete victory of the Soviet state. The motherland had a right to be proud of its outstanding military leaders. The long-awaited peace has arrived. Many military officers and generals had to retire or deal with the current problems of the transition of the Armed Forces to a peaceful state. The conquered world turned out to be fragile: a new formidable enemy appeared in the Far East.

By occupying Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines, establishing a network of military bases there, and concentrating large forces in China, the United States has openly demonstrated its intention to dictate the will of the peoples of Asia and oppose the Soviet Union. The USSR was faced with the practical task of strengthening the military security system in the Far East. In the autumn of 1945, three military districts were created on the basis of the 1st, 2nd Far Eastern and Trans-Baikal fronts: the Trans-Baikal-Amur, Primorsky and Far Eastern. Marshal Malinovsky was appointed commander of the largest Trans-Baikal-Amur Military District. This was a recognition of his place among the Soviet military elite of the post-war period. In May 1947, the Main Command of the Far East Troops was established on the basis of this military district. Malinovsky became the Commander-in-Chief.

In March 1956, Malinovsky was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces, First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. It was a time of important changes in the life of the country and the army. Fundamental changes have begun in military affairs, in the forms and methods of conducting armed struggle. In foreign policy, these were the years of the USSR's active struggle to preserve and consolidate peace, while international imperialism escalated tensions, threatening humanity with nuclear war. In domestic political terms, the situation in the USSR was characterized by the beginning of a reassessment of values in connection with the launched campaign to eliminate the consequences of the cult of Stalin's personality. Marshal Malinovsky was on top of the situation. It is no coincidence that he headed the Ministry of Defense of the USSR in October 1957.

As Minister of Defense, Malinovsky showed the talent of an outstanding military figure, solving the most difficult tasks of strengthening the Armed Forces and developing military science in the context of the military-technical revolution. Noting his great services to the state and the Armed Forces, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded Malinovsky the second Hero of the Soviet Union Star in November 1958.

For the last 10 years of his life (until his death in 1967), Marshal Malinovsky devoted all his strength, vast experience and bright talent to improving the military organization and ensuring the security of the Fatherland. He made a great personal contribution to the solution of such a historic task as achieving military-strategic parity with the United States by the Soviet Union. In particular, it was Malinovsky who directly supervised the fulfillment of the Soviet government's task-the creation of a new type of Armed Forces - the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces), the main means of deterring the aggressor: the myth of "America's geographical invulnerability"was permanently deleted from military strategy.

It fell to Malinovsky's lot to be the first of the Soviet-era military leaders, figuratively speaking, to keep his finger on the nuclear button. He had to survive the Caribbean crisis (1962). The world was one step away from nuclear war. It is safe to say that it was the firm will and unwavering determination of Marshal Malinovsky that were the most important "factors of deterrence" of the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N. S. Khrushchev from possible rash decisions.

To the heights of glory, warlords rise in different ways. This depends on many factors, and not just on the military merits and personal qualities of a particular military leader.

Malinovsky achieved the heights of military science and generalship deservedly and naturally. His entire dramatic life from the age of 16 to 69 was spent on military roads. For more than half a century, he marched in battle formation. And no one has ever been able to make him turn back.

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