Alexei Radzievsky Alexei Ivanovich Radzievsky , transliterated in several different ways , including Aleksei , Aleksey , Alexey , and Radzievskii , Radzievskiy ( born 31 July old style , or 13 August new style , 1911 , died 1978 ) , was a professional soldier of the Soviet Union who fought in the Second World War , commanding the 2nd Guards Tank Army during the Lublin – Brest Offensive and afterwards . He later rose to the rank of full Army General and was the author of works on military strategy . From 1969 to 1978 Radzievsky was Commandant of the M . V . Frunze Military Academy and in February 1978 was made a Hero of the Soviet Union , the highest Soviet award . Life . Born in Uman , now in the Cherkasy region of central Ukraine , Radzievsky left school in 1927 to work as a moulder in a silica plant in his home town of Uman . In 1929 he joined the Red Army and graduated from the Cavalry School in 1931 , going on to command first a platoon , later a squadron . In 1938 he attended the M . V . Frunze Military Academy and in 1941 passed the Military Academy of the General Staff . With the outbreak of hostilities with the Axis Powers in July 1941 , he joined the newly formed 53rd ( 4th Guards ) Cavalry Division and saw fighting in the Demidov , Dukhovshchina , and the Battle of Moscow , then with the Cavalry Corps fought at Kharkov , in the crossing of the Dnieper , and in the liberation of Kiev , Zhytomyr , and other cities . On 28 February 1944 Radzievsky was appointed Chief of staff of the 2nd Guards Tank Army with the rank of Major General . In July 1944 , during the Lublin – Brest Offensive , the Army ' s commanding officer , Lieutenant - General Semyon Bogdanov , was seriously wounded , and Radzievsky took over his command , which he retained until January 1945 . His forces took a leading role in the liberation of a string of Polish cities , including Lublin , Siedlce , Łuków , Skierniewice , Lovech , and Lodz . At the end of July 1944 Radzievsky ' s 2nd Guards Tank Army routed the German 73rd Infantry Division at Garwolin , capturing its commander , Friedrich Franek , and in the next four days the army advanced to the edge of Warsaw , with five hundred tanks still operational . However , the Warsaw Uprising had begun on 1 August , and the Soviets did not seek to take the Polish capital until January 1945 . On 2 November 1944 Radzievsky was promoted Lieutenant General . After the war , Radzievsky ' s combat experience made him a good soldier for training officers . He served as commanding officer of the Army KA ( 1945 – 1947 ) , of the Northern Armed Forces Group ( 1950 – 1952 ) , the Turkestan Military District ( 1952 – 1953 ) , the Odessa Military District ( 1954 – 1959 ) . From 1959 to 1968 he was first deputy Commandant of the Military Academy of the General Staff , then from 1968 to 1969 commander of the Control Office of Military Studies . His last posting , from July 1969 to February 1978 was as Commandant of the M . V . Frunze Military Academy . Radzievsky was twice awarded the Order of Lenin and was also appointed as a member of the Order of the Red Banner , the Order of Kutuzov ( 1st class ) , the Order of Suvorov ( 2nd class ) , and of many other Soviet and foreign Orders . In 1972 he achieved the rank of Army General and in 1978 was made a Hero of the Soviet Union .