Soviets
Born 14 October 1892 to a peasant family in Markovka. During the Russian Civil War he organized a partisan unit which fought on the Bolshevik side; he later joined the ranks of the Red Army cavalry. After the Civil War he continued in his military career. In the early stages of the German invasion of the USSR in 1941 Yeremenko fought to defend the city of Smolensk and to keep control of the access roads to Moscow. He later excelled elsewhere on the front. Towards the end of the war, as the Commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front, he played an active role in the liberation of southern Poland and Czechoslovakia. He was injured three times during the war. He continued in his military career after the German surrender. In April 1970 he was present at the foundation-laying ceremony for the war memorial in Hrabyně, commemorating the operation to liberate Ostrava. He died later the same year, on 17 November.
Born 28 April 1902 in the village of Grishino near Donetsk. As the Commander of the Soviet 38th Army he played a key role in the defence of Kharkov in 1942. He also excelled at the Battle of Stalingrad. In September 1944 Moskalenko’s 38th Army – which included the Czechoslovak forces – took part in the Carpathian (Dukla) operation. In the spring of 1945 his forces – part of the 4th Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshal Yeremenko – played an important role in the battle to liberate Ostrava. After the war Moskalenko held several major military and political positions. He died on 17 June 1985
