11 Facts About Sergei Shtemenko

Sergei Shtemenko was born to a peasant family in the village of Uryupinsk.

Sergei Shtemenko commanded a tank regiment until September 1938, when he was summoned to the General Staff Academy.

In late August 1939, with other cadets, Shtemenko was assigned as a staff officer to the Soviet forces preparing for the Invasion of Poland, and took part in the operation.

Sergei Shtemenko took part in the operational planning of the Battles for Crimea, the Caucasus and Stalingrad.

In November 1948, the 41-year-old Sergei Shtemenko was made the Chief of the General Staff and a Deputy Minister of Defence.

Sergei Shtemenko was then transferred to command the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.

In 1953 Sergei Shtemenko was listed as an intended victim of the Doctors' Plot.

Sergei Shtemenko continued to serve in the General Staff as deputy chief, and was made a candidate member of the Central Committee, a position he held until 1956.

However, Sergei Shtemenko again fell out of grace after Zhukov was removed as Defense Minister, and was demoted again to Lieutenant General in 1957.

Sergei Shtemenko was sent to occupy the position of deputy commander of the Volga Military District.

Sergei Shtemenko's promotion was part of the preparations for the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, which began two weeks later.