Boris Shaposhnikov

Born	2 Oct 1882
Died	26 Mar 1945
Country	Russia
Category	Ground

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

Boris Mikhailovitch Shaposhnikov was born on 2 Oct 1882 (or 20 Sep 1882 in the old style calendar) in Zlatoust, Russia in Central Asia. He joined the Russian army in 1901 and graduated from the Imperial Nicholas Military Academy in 1910 in Sankt-Peterburg (later Petrograd, Leningrad, and then back to Sankt-Peterburg/Saint Petersburg), Russia. By WW1, he had reached the rank of colonel and served with the Caucasus Grenadiers division. In 1917, he expressed support for the revolutionary sentiment, and in the following year he joined the Red Army. Between 1921 and 1925, he served with the Army General Staff. In 1925, he was named the commanding officer of the Leningrad Military District. Between 1928 and 1932, he was the commanding officer of the Moscow Military District and then the Privolzhsk (Volga) Military District. His book, Mozg Armii ("The Brain of the Army"), was published in 1929; it was a required reading for a generation of Soviet army officers. In 1930, he finally joined the Communist Party. In 1932, he was appointed commandant of the Frunze Military Academy in Moscow, Russia. Between 1935 and 1937, he was once again the commander of the Leningrad Military District. In 1937, he was named the Chief of the General Staff. In 1940, he was made a Marshal of the Soviet Union. Shaposhnikov first involvement in WW2 came in the form of planning the invasion of Finland, the mediocre result of each resulted in his resignation from his position as the Chief of the General Staff in Aug 1940 with the excuse of poor health. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, he was reappointed as the Chief of the General Staff and held that position until Nov 1942. For several months in 1943, he was the Deputy People's Commissar for Defense, resigning due to declining health. Until his death in 1945, he was the commandant of the Voroshilov Military Academy of the USSR Army General Staff in Moscow. He was buried at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow.

Source: Wikipedia

Boris Shaposhnikov Timeline

2 Oct 1882	Boris Shaposhnikov was born in Zlatoust, Russia.
26 Oct 1914	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 4th Class.
2 Nov 1914	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th Class with Swords and Bow.
22 Jul 1916	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd Class with Swords and Bow.
1 Nov 1916	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 2nd Class.
14 Oct 1921	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded his first Order of the Red Banner.
15 Jan 1934	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded his first Order of the Red Star.
22 Feb 1938	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded his second Order of the Red Star.
31 Dec 1939	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded his first Order of Lenin.
3 Oct 1942	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded his second Order of Lenin.
22 Feb 1944	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded the Order of Suvorov.
1 May 1944	Boris Shaposhnikov received the Medal for the Defense of Moscow.
3 Nov 1944	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded his second Order of the Red Banner.
21 Feb 1945	Boris Shaposhnikov was awarded his third Order of Lenin.
26 Mar 1945	Boris Shaposhnikov passed away in Moscow, Russia.