Max Reyter
Encyclopedia
Max Andreyevich Reyter Alternative transliteration
s found in English-language sources include Reiter and Reuter. was an Imperial Russian
and Soviet
military officer of Latvia
n origin.
A lieutenant-general in the Red Army at the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union
, Reyter was a commander of the 20th Army
and the commander-in-chief for the Bryansk Front
in 1942 - 1943. Promoted to colonel-general in 1943, he headed the South Ural Military District September 1943 to July 1945.
Latvian
parents in Vindava
, Courland Governorate
, Russian Empire
(now Ventspils
, Latvia
) in 1886, Max Reyter joined the Imperial Russian Army
in 1906. He graduated from the Irkutsk
Military School in 1910 and served as an infantry
officer in World War I
.
A colonel
in the Russian Army at the time of its collapse before the advancing German Army
in 1917-1918, Reyter was captured by Germans at the front and taken to a German prisoner-of-war camp
in East Prussia
in February 1918. He sided with the Bolshevik
s after returning to Russia, and joined the Red Army
in 1919. A regiment
commander in the Russian Civil War
, he took part in the suppression of the 1921 Kronstadt Uprising and joined the Bolshevik Party in 1922.
Reyter joined the Red Army's General Staff
after graduating from the Frunze Military Academy in 1935. He served as head of the Red Army Training Directorate from 1936 to 1939.
Awarded the rank of lieutenant-general in June 1941, Reyter was deputy commander for the rear of the Central and Bryansk
Fronts from August to December 1941, assistant to the commander of the Western Front from February to March 1942, and commander of the 20th Army
of the Western Front from March to September 1942.
Reyter served as commander of the Bryansk Front from September 1942 until 5 June 1943 (temporarily re-designated the Reserve Front on 12-23 March 1943), and was promoted from lieutenant-general to colonel-general in 1943. He was the deputy commander of the Voronezh Front
from August to September 1943, and the commanding officer of the South Ural Military District from September 1943 to July 1945.
He headed the Vystrel Soviet Army
officers' training course from 1946 to January 1950.
He died in Moscow in 1950.
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
s found in English-language sources include Reiter and Reuter. was an Imperial Russian
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
military officer of Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n origin.
A lieutenant-general in the Red Army at the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, Reyter was a commander of the 20th Army
20th Army (Soviet Union)
The 20th Army was a field army of the Red Army that fought during the Great Patriotic War.-First formation:The Army was first formed in the Orel Military District in June 1941...
and the commander-in-chief for the Bryansk Front
Bryansk Front
The 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...
in 1942 - 1943. Promoted to colonel-general in 1943, he headed the South Ural Military District September 1943 to July 1945.
Biography
Born to peasantPeasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
Latvian
Latvians
Latvians or Letts are the indigenous Baltic people of Latvia.-History:Latvians occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of Latvji, which may have originated from the word Latve which is a name of the river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia...
parents in Vindava
Vindava
Vindava is a football club in Latvia.Vindava may also refer to:*Ventspils...
, Courland Governorate
Courland Governorate
Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland, Governorate of Kurland , and Government of Courland , was one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, that is now part of the Republic of Latvia....
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now Ventspils
Ventspils
Ventspils is a city in northwestern Latvia in the Courland historical region of Latvia, the sixth largest city in the country. As of 2006, Ventspils had a population of 43,806. Ventspils is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
) in 1886, Max Reyter joined the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
in 1906. He graduated from the Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
Military School in 1910 and served as an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
officer in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
A colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the Russian Army at the time of its collapse before the advancing German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
in 1917-1918, Reyter was captured by Germans at the front and taken to a German prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
in February 1918. He sided with the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s after returning to Russia, and joined the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in 1919. A regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
commander in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, he took part in the suppression of the 1921 Kronstadt Uprising and joined the Bolshevik Party in 1922.
Reyter joined the Red Army's General Staff
General Staff
A 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...
after graduating from the Frunze Military Academy in 1935. He served as head of the Red Army Training Directorate from 1936 to 1939.
Awarded the rank of lieutenant-general in June 1941, Reyter was deputy commander for the rear of the Central and Bryansk
Bryansk Front
The 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...
Fronts from August to December 1941, assistant to the commander of the Western Front from February to March 1942, and commander of the 20th Army
20th Army (Soviet Union)
The 20th Army was a field army of the Red Army that fought during the Great Patriotic War.-First formation:The Army was first formed in the Orel Military District in June 1941...
of the Western Front from March to September 1942.
Reyter served as commander of the Bryansk Front from September 1942 until 5 June 1943 (temporarily re-designated the Reserve Front on 12-23 March 1943), and was promoted from lieutenant-general to colonel-general in 1943. He was the deputy commander of the Voronezh Front
Voronezh Front
The Voronezh 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 town of Voronezh on the Don River....
from August to September 1943, and the commanding officer of the South Ural Military District from September 1943 to July 1945.
He headed the Vystrel Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
officers' training course from 1946 to January 1950.
He died in Moscow in 1950.
External links
- Max Reyter in the Great Soviet EncyclopediaGreat Soviet EncyclopediaThe Great Soviet Encyclopedia is one of the largest and most comprehensive encyclopedias in Russian and in the world, issued by the Soviet state from 1926 to 1990, and again since 2002 .-Editions:There were three editions...