Vatutina Street
In December 1958 one of the new streets in the area of the former collective farm named after Menzhinsky was named after N. F. Vatutin. It is unknown why Tyumen residents remembered the army general, who had never been to Tyumen and fought very far from it.
Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin did not have time to be made a marshal — the war took him away too soon. But it was his calculating mind that was behind the Stalingrad "Uranium", it was his will that broke the back of the Wehrmacht on the Kursk Bulge, it was his troops who were the first to reach the pre-war border of the USSR. He did not live to see the Victory salute for only a year.
Nikolai Vatutin was born on December 3, 1901 in the village of Chepukhino, Voronezh province (now the village of Vatutino, Belgorod region) into a large peasant family. His father, Fyodor Grigorievich, was a well-to-do middle peasant, his mother, Vera Yefimovna, was engaged in household chores and the upbringing of nine children.
The future commander’s childhood was spent in difficult conditions. From an early age, he learned peasant labor — he helped his parents in the field, grazed cattle, and worked on a threshing machine. And he was drawn to knowledge. A local priest, noticing the child’s abilities, persuaded his parents to send him to the Valuysky Zemstvo College, from which Nikolai graduated with honors in 1915.
In 1917, the Vatutin family faced famine. 16-year-old Nikolai was forced to temporarily leave his studies and work at the volost board to help his family. However, already in 1920, when the Civil War was raging in the country, he volunteered to join the Red Army.
Vatutin began his service in Kharkov, in a reserve rifle regiment, and a few months later he was sent to study at the Poltava Infantry School, from which he graduated with honors in 1922.
Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin did not have time to be made a marshal — the war took him away too soon. But it was his calculating mind that was behind the Stalingrad "Uranium", it was his will that broke the back of the Wehrmacht on the Kursk Bulge, it was his troops who were the first to reach the pre-war border of the USSR. He did not live to see the Victory salute for only a year.
Nikolai Vatutin was born on December 3, 1901 in the village of Chepukhino, Voronezh province (now the village of Vatutino, Belgorod region) into a large peasant family. His father, Fyodor Grigorievich, was a well-to-do middle peasant, his mother, Vera Yefimovna, was engaged in household chores and the upbringing of nine children.
The future commander’s childhood was spent in difficult conditions. From an early age, he learned peasant labor — he helped his parents in the field, grazed cattle, and worked on a threshing machine. And he was drawn to knowledge. A local priest, noticing the child’s abilities, persuaded his parents to send him to the Valuysky Zemstvo College, from which Nikolai graduated with honors in 1915.
In 1917, the Vatutin family faced famine. 16-year-old Nikolai was forced to temporarily leave his studies and work at the volost board to help his family. However, already in 1920, when the Civil War was raging in the country, he volunteered to join the Red Army.
Vatutin began his service in Kharkov, in a reserve rifle regiment, and a few months later he was sent to study at the Poltava Infantry School, from which he graduated with honors in 1922.
In 1924, Vatutin continued his education at the Kiev Higher Unified Military School. And he literally swallowed books on the art of war, especially fascinated by the works of Svechin and Triandafillov. In 1926, after graduating from high school, he was assigned to the 7th Chernigov Rifle Division, where he commanded first a platoon, then a company and a battalion.
In 1929, Vatutin entered the Frunze Military Academy, the forge of Soviet military personnel. Here he studied with future marshals Rokossovsky, Yeremenko, and Golikov. He had a particularly close relationship with Georgy Zhukov, who later praised Vatutin's military talents.
After graduating from the academy in 1934, Vatutin's career skyrocketed: from 1935 to 1937, Nikolai Fedorovich headed the headquarters of the 78th Infantry Division and proved himself a capable organizer and strategist. In 1937, he was given command of the 133rd Rifle Corps, and a year later he was appointed chief of Staff of the Kiev Special Military District, one of the most important strategic formations of the Red Army. In this position, he participated in the planning of large—scale exercises, an experience that later came in handy during the Great Patriotic War. Despite massive repression in the army, Vatutin escaped arrest, which historians attribute both to his impeccable service and to the support of influential military leaders (Zhukov and Shaposhnikov). By 1940, his competence and operational-strategic thinking were so obvious that he was promoted to the post of Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, becoming one of the key developers of military plans on the eve of the coming war. This period marked the time of Vatutin's formation as one of the most promising Soviet military leaders.
In 1929, Vatutin entered the Frunze Military Academy, the forge of Soviet military personnel. Here he studied with future marshals Rokossovsky, Yeremenko, and Golikov. He had a particularly close relationship with Georgy Zhukov, who later praised Vatutin's military talents.
After graduating from the academy in 1934, Vatutin's career skyrocketed: from 1935 to 1937, Nikolai Fedorovich headed the headquarters of the 78th Infantry Division and proved himself a capable organizer and strategist. In 1937, he was given command of the 133rd Rifle Corps, and a year later he was appointed chief of Staff of the Kiev Special Military District, one of the most important strategic formations of the Red Army. In this position, he participated in the planning of large—scale exercises, an experience that later came in handy during the Great Patriotic War. Despite massive repression in the army, Vatutin escaped arrest, which historians attribute both to his impeccable service and to the support of influential military leaders (Zhukov and Shaposhnikov). By 1940, his competence and operational-strategic thinking were so obvious that he was promoted to the post of Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, becoming one of the key developers of military plans on the eve of the coming war. This period marked the time of Vatutin's formation as one of the most promising Soviet military leaders.
Николай Ватутин, фото Израиль Озерский / РИА Новости
In February 1941, Nikolai Vatutin was appointed to the key post of chief of the operational Directorate of the General Staff, where he, along with other military leaders, participated in the development of strategic plans in the event of war with Germany. Like many Soviet commanders, he underestimated the timing of a possible attack, believing that the Wehrmacht would not risk starting a war in the near future.
From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Vatutin proved himself to be a brilliant strategist. In June and July 1941, he developed plans for counterattacks near Soltsy and Yelnya, the first successful operations of the Red Army, which briefly slowed down the German offensive. In August and September, as chief of staff of the Northwestern Front and then its commander, he played a key role in disrupting the Wehrmacht’s plans to completely encircle Leningrad, organizing the successful defense of Tikhvin.
In July 1942, Vatutin was appointed commander of the Voronezh Front, developed and conducted the Ostrogozhsko-Rossoshanskaya and Voronezh-Kastornensky operations, creating the prerequisites for a future victory at Stalingrad. But his main contribution is considered to be his participation in the development of Operation Uranus, which ended with the encirclement and defeat of Paulus' 6th Army.
In 1943, the troops of the Voronezh Front on the southern face of the Kursk Bulge not only withstood the blows of the elite tank formations of the Wehrmacht, but also inflicted a crushing defeat on the 4th Panzer Army of the Gotha in the legendary battle of Prokhorovka. In the autumn of the same year, commanding the 1st Ukrainian Front, he brilliantly organized the crossing of the Dnieper, the liberation of Kiev and the subsequent Zhytomyr-Berdichev operation.
The last major victory of Army General Vatutin was the Korsun-Shevchenko operation, where ten German divisions were surrounded and destroyed.
On February 29, 1944, while returning from the headquarters of the 13th Army, Vatutin’s motorcade was ambushed by Ukrainian nationalists (UPA) near the village of Milyatin in the Rivne region. The general was seriously wounded in the thigh with damage to the femoral artery. Despite the efforts of the doctors, Vatutin’s condition began to deteriorate, and gas gangrene developed. On April 15, 1944, Nikolai Fedorovich Vatutin died in a Kiev hospital.
His contemporaries described him as a man of exceptional efficiency (he slept three to four hours a day), but modest in everyday life, a meticulous and demanding commander, an excellent analyst and strategist.
He was awarded the Order of Lenin for exemplary performance of combat missions and skilful leadership of troops in the first months of the war, and the Order of the Red Banner for the defense of Leningrad, the Order of Suvorov I degree for the successful conduct of the Ostrogozhsko—Rossoshan operation, the Order of Kutuzov I degree for his brilliant command in the Battle of Kursk, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky I degree, posthumously — for the Korsun-Shevchenko operation.
Vatutin was presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but the award did not take place due to bureaucratic delays. All of his orders were military — not a single jubilee or "ceremonial" award. After his death, his family received a special pension, appointed by Stalin’s personal order. Vatutin became the only commander who received all three of the highest military orders of the USSR during the war. His awards are a chronicle of the most important battles of the Great Patriotic War.
From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, Vatutin proved himself to be a brilliant strategist. In June and July 1941, he developed plans for counterattacks near Soltsy and Yelnya, the first successful operations of the Red Army, which briefly slowed down the German offensive. In August and September, as chief of staff of the Northwestern Front and then its commander, he played a key role in disrupting the Wehrmacht’s plans to completely encircle Leningrad, organizing the successful defense of Tikhvin.
In July 1942, Vatutin was appointed commander of the Voronezh Front, developed and conducted the Ostrogozhsko-Rossoshanskaya and Voronezh-Kastornensky operations, creating the prerequisites for a future victory at Stalingrad. But his main contribution is considered to be his participation in the development of Operation Uranus, which ended with the encirclement and defeat of Paulus' 6th Army.
In 1943, the troops of the Voronezh Front on the southern face of the Kursk Bulge not only withstood the blows of the elite tank formations of the Wehrmacht, but also inflicted a crushing defeat on the 4th Panzer Army of the Gotha in the legendary battle of Prokhorovka. In the autumn of the same year, commanding the 1st Ukrainian Front, he brilliantly organized the crossing of the Dnieper, the liberation of Kiev and the subsequent Zhytomyr-Berdichev operation.
The last major victory of Army General Vatutin was the Korsun-Shevchenko operation, where ten German divisions were surrounded and destroyed.
On February 29, 1944, while returning from the headquarters of the 13th Army, Vatutin’s motorcade was ambushed by Ukrainian nationalists (UPA) near the village of Milyatin in the Rivne region. The general was seriously wounded in the thigh with damage to the femoral artery. Despite the efforts of the doctors, Vatutin’s condition began to deteriorate, and gas gangrene developed. On April 15, 1944, Nikolai Fedorovich Vatutin died in a Kiev hospital.
His contemporaries described him as a man of exceptional efficiency (he slept three to four hours a day), but modest in everyday life, a meticulous and demanding commander, an excellent analyst and strategist.
He was awarded the Order of Lenin for exemplary performance of combat missions and skilful leadership of troops in the first months of the war, and the Order of the Red Banner for the defense of Leningrad, the Order of Suvorov I degree for the successful conduct of the Ostrogozhsko—Rossoshan operation, the Order of Kutuzov I degree for his brilliant command in the Battle of Kursk, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky I degree, posthumously — for the Korsun-Shevchenko operation.
Vatutin was presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but the award did not take place due to bureaucratic delays. All of his orders were military — not a single jubilee or "ceremonial" award. After his death, his family received a special pension, appointed by Stalin’s personal order. Vatutin became the only commander who received all three of the highest military orders of the USSR during the war. His awards are a chronicle of the most important battles of the Great Patriotic War.
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