Markian Mikhaylovich Popov was a
SovietThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
military commander,
Army GeneralFor the army rank of General, as opposed to the specific rank of Army General, see General officer.Army General is a title used in many countries to denote the rank of General nominally commanding an army in the field...
(26.8.1943), and
Hero of the Soviet UnionThe title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
(1965).
Life
During the German-Soviet War at various times he commanded a number of
ArmiesAn army, besides the generalized meanings of ‘a country's armed forces’ or its ‘land forces’, is a type of formation in militaries of various countries, including the Soviet Union. This article serves a central point of reference for Soviet armies without individual articles, and explains some of...
and a number of
FrontA front was a major military organization in the Soviet Army during many wars. It was roughly equivalent to an army group in the militaries of most other countries except Germany...
s. His career was uneven.
In June 1941 he was Commander of the
Leningrad Military DistrictThe Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:...
, then
Northern FrontThe Northern Front was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War.The Northern Front was created on June 24, 1941 from the Leningrad Military District. Its primary goal was the defense of the Kola Peninsula and the northern shores of the Gulf of Finland. On August 23, 1941, the Front's...
(24 June – 5 September). The Germans’ advanced with a terrific speed, but then they were halted just before
LeningradLeningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
. The army group was on 26 August renamed as
Leningrad FrontThe Leningrad Front was first formed on August 27, 1941, by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front, during the German approach on Leningrad .-History:...
.
Then he participated in
Zhukov’sMarshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
counteroffensive before
MoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Zhukov, who co-ordinated several fronts in this Moscow sector, tried to collect able commanders in the area. So for example the 16th Army (
Western FrontWestern Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the east and the Allies to the west...
) was headed by
General RokossovskyKonstantin Rokossovskiy was a Polish-origin Soviet career officer who was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, as well as Marshal of Poland and Polish Defence Minister, who was famously known for his service in the Eastern Front, where he received high esteem for his outstanding military skill...
, the 4th Shock Army’s commander was General Yeryomenko, the 5th Army was under
General GovorovLeonid Aleksandrovich Govorov was a Soviet military commander. An artillery officer, he joined the Red Army in 1920. He graduated from several Soviet military academies, including the Military Academy of Red Army General Staff. He participated in the Winter War as a senior artillery officer.In...
. On December 18 Popov was appointed Commander of the 61st Army (
Bryansk FrontThe Bryansk Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War.General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first formed in mid-late August 1941, comprising, in Erickson's words, 'on paper two armies, 50th and 13th, with eight rifle divisions each, three...
) and fought well during the counteroffensive.
He maintained this position until 28 June 1942. Then he was shifted to the Stalingrad area. He was Assistant Commander of the
Stalingrad FrontThe Stalingrad Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the city of Stalingrad on the Volga River....
(under Yeryomenko, 13 October – 20 November), then Commander of the 5th Shock Army (8 December – 28 December). On December 26 this army was switched to Vatutin’s
Southwestern FrontSouthwestern front may refer to one of the following.*A Southwestern front, a particular geographical area where armies are engaged in conflict* The Soviet Southwestern Front, one of the Soviet Fronts in World War Two...
. In 1943 firstly he commanded a larger panzer group, but in February his unit was badly thumped.
Then he was appointed Commander of the Bryansk Front (5 June – 10 October 1943). He participated in the
Battle of KurskThe Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
. During the battle, Bryansk Front was very successful in crushing German opposition, and was able to capture
OryolOryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
and
BryanskBryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: -History:The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk...
in August. He was promoted to
Army GeneralFor the army rank of General, as opposed to the specific rank of Army General, see General officer.Army General is a title used in many countries to denote the rank of General nominally commanding an army in the field...
(26 August 1943). After the Battle of Kursk he was sent north, to command the 2nd Baltic Front (20 October 1943 – 23 April 1944). He was demoted to
Colonel GeneralColonel General is a senior rank of General. North Korea and Russia are two countries which have used the rank extensively throughout their histories...
(20 April 1944) because of the denunciations of
Lev MekhlisLev Zakharovich Mekhlis was a Jewish-Soviet statesman and party figure.-Career:He however served incompetently as a party commissar at the front during World War II, among his mistakes being failures, in conjunction with General Dmitri Kozlov, which meant the Crimean Front was defeated and had to...
, who was commissar at the front. Until the end of the war he was Chief of Staff (Leningrad Front).
After the war he was promoted again to Army General (3 August 1953). In 1956-1962 he was Chief of the
General StaffA military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
of the Soviet Ground Forces.
He died April 22, 1969 in an accidental fire.
He was never given the rank Marshal of the Soviet Union (although
Marshal of the Aviation GolovanovAlexander Yevgeniyevich Golovanov was a Soviet pilot. On August 3, 1943 he became a Marshal of Aviation and on 19 August 1944 he was promoted to the rank of Chief Marshal of Aviation .-World War II:From the start of the German-Soviet War, he was the commander of an air...
and
Marshal VasilevskyAleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky was a Russian career officer in the Red Army, promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1943. He was the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces and Deputy Minister of Defense during World War II, as well as Minister of Defense from 1949 to 1953...
considered him very talented).