Yakov Kreizer Yakov Grigorevich Kreizer ( ; 4 November 1905 , Voronezh – 29 November 1969 , Moscow ) was a Soviet field commander . Before the war . Kreizer ' s Jewish parents were granted permission to live outside the Jewish pale of settlement because his grandfather was a cantonist soldier in the Russian imperial army . Kreizer enlisted in the Red Army in 1921 , volunteered to the school for infantry officers in Voronezh ( 1923 ) and rose to Colonel and commander of 172nd Rifle Division ( 1939 – 1940 ) . His rapid promotion , like that of other senior Soviet officers of his generation , was made possible because Stalin ' s great purge had decimated the Red Army officers of the Civil War generation . During these years Kreizer continued his military education : in 1931 he graduated from the Higher Officer Training School " Vystrel " and in 1941 from the elite Frunze Military Academy . In March 1941 Kreizer was appointed commander of 1st Moscow Motorized Rifle Division . Battles in Belorussia . At the start of World War II the Red Army was notorious for its poor battlefield quality because a large number of its newly appointed commanders lacked initiative and skill . Kreizer was among a few senior officers who prepared his troops adequately for the requirements of the modern mobile war . In July 1941 Kreizer became the first Red Army General to outfight the Wehrmacht in a large - scale engagement . Kreizer ' s division took position along the Minsk - Moscow highway and faced the main brunt of German Army Group Center in its drive to Moscow , spearheaded by Heinz Guderian . Guderian , who in that time was widely considered the world ' s best commander of armoured forces , had at his disposal forces that were far superior to those of Kreizer in manpower , in number of tanks and in air support . In the battle of Borisov Kreizer stalled the advance of Guderian ' s elite panzer corps for two days , killed more than one thousand German troops , and destroyed several dozen tanks and twelve warplanes . When German numerical superiority made further defense of Borisov impossible , Kreizer skilfully conducted a fighting retreat along the highway to Orsha . In the subsequent battle of Orsha Kreizer stalled Guderian ' s panzers for twelve days . His resistance gave the Red Army enough time to bring up reserves to take up defensive positions along the river Dnieper . The battlefield skills and valor of Kreizer ' s troops and his ability to prevent Wehrmacht domination of the unfolding battle , in spite of German superiority in numbers and materiel , delivered a blow to the myth of German invincibility . The action of Kreizer and his men inspired Soviet confidence in the Red Army ' s capacity to defeat the Germans . At 35 years old Kreizer was promoted to Major - General ; from being a divisional commander , he was promoted to commander of the 3rd Army , without ever having served at the corps level . On 21 July 1941 Stalin awarded Kreizer the distinction of Hero of the Soviet Union . Kreizer was the first General to receive this award during World War II ; his division was among the first military formations to be awarded the title of Guards , the highest honorific title in the Soviet army . From Smolensk to the Baltics . Kreizer commanded the Soviet Third Army in the battle of Smolensk , which effectively brought about the strategic end to the German Blitzkrieg , as well as in the momentous battle of Moscow . In October 1942 Stavka entrusted Kreizer with the formation of the powerful Soviet Second Guards Army , trained for decisive action in the battle of Stalingrad . During the battle in the winter 1942 - 1943 Kreizer was a deputy commander of that army under the more experienced Rodion Malinovsky and contributed to defeating Manstein ' s attempt to save the German 6th Army , surrounded in Stalingrad . For victory over Manstein , Kreizer was promoted to Lieutenant General . In February 1943 , after Malinovsky was appointed the Front Commander , Kreizer resumed command of the Second Guards Army . From August 1943 until the end of the war he commanded the 51st Army . Kreizer played one of the key roles in defeating the Wehrmacht in Ukraine , Crimea , Belorussia , the Baltics and was one of the few commanders of Field Armies to be promoted to Colonel General . He was twice wounded during the war . After the war . After the war , Kreizer ' s advancement was stalled . For ten years he remained commander of 45th Army and Colonel - General while less distinguished Generals were getting higher promotions . In 1953 , during the ( Doctors Plot ) Kreizer refused to sign a letter in favor of the campaign . The change came with a consolidation of power by Nikita Khrushchev who knew Kreizer from the battle of Stalingrad and had a high opinion of him . Under Khrushchev , Kreizer commanded several Military Districts , the highest Soviet territorial units , each consisting of several armies : South Ural Military District ( 1955 – 1958 ) ; Transbaikal Military District ( 1958 – 1960 ) and Ural Military District ( 1960 – 1961 ) . With the worsening of Soviet relations with China , resulting from the Sino - Soviet split , the Soviet government became apprehensive of Chinese militancy . To strengthen the security of the Soviet borders and as a warning signal to the Chinese , the Kremlin appointed Kreizer to Commander - in - Chief of the Soviet armies in the Far East ( Far East Military District ) ( 1961 – 1963 ) . Following this promotion in 1962 Kreizer received the rank of General of the Army , equivalent to British and German Field Marshal and General of the Army ( United States ) . He was the only Jewish officer who achieved such high rank in the Soviet post - Great Purge military . To confirm his status in the Soviet Party - state hierarchy , Kreizer was selected with a few others from the top Soviet military to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR ( 1962 – 1966 ) . It appears that the Kremlin foresaw Kreizer for future higher promotion , but he became ill and in 1963 moved to a less demanding command of the Higher Officer Training school " Vystrel . " He served there until May 1969 when he joined the senior Group of General Inspectors of the Ministry of Defense , an honorific office for the most outstanding military commanders on their virtual retirement . He died half a year later .