caption serviceyears branch commands death_date death_place birth_place unit battles birth_date rank article_title name
alexander rodimtsev 1927 -- 1977 soviet army deputy the northern military district commander of the eastern siberian military district and 13 april 1977 moscow , soviet union scharlyk . orenburg oblast , russian empire 13th , which included the 13th guards rifle division , the guards 66th guards rifle division , and the 6th guards airborne rifle division division ; 32nd guards rifle corps spanish world war , including the battle of kharkov , battle civil of stalingrad , the battle of kursk , and operation war bagration ; eastern front of the second 8 march 1905 colonel-general alexander rodimtsev
 alexander rodimtsev
alexander rodimtsev

aleksandr ilich rodimtsev -lrb- 1905 -- 1977 , -rrb- was a colonel-general in the soviet red army during world war ii and twice won the hero of the soviet union award -lrb- in 1937 and 1945 -rrb- .
rodimtsev joined the red army in the 1920s .
he fought in the spanish civil war on the side of the republicans against francisco franco in 1936-1937 , where he earned his first decoration as a hero of the soviet union .
during the course of the second world war , he is best remembered for his role in the battle of stalingrad , where he brilliantly commanded the 13th guards rifle division which earned him his second order of hero of the soviet union .
the division was charged to hold the germans between mamayev kurgan and tsaritsa gorge , which his outnumbered and outgunned force successfully did .
rodimtsev was vastly popular with his troops and was well known for his bravery .
in 1943 , after the battle of stalingrad , rodimtsev commanded the 32nd guards rifle corps , which included the 13th guards rifle division , the 66th guards rifle division , and the 6th guards airborne division .
the 32nd guards rifle corps was an element of the 5th guards army , which was a part of the steppe front -lrb- commanded by marshal ivan konev -rrb- , and engaged ss panzer divisions at the battle of kursk .
after the war rodimtsev served as the deputy commander of the eastern siberian military district , then served as a military attaché in albania , before serving again as a deputy commander for a military district , this time for the northern military district .
