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Sergey Gorshkov

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Not to be confused withSergey Gorshkov (general).
For the football player, seeSergey Gorshkov (footballer).

Sergey Gorshkov
Gorshkov between 1982 and 1983
Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy
In office
5 January 1956 – 9 December 1985
Preceded byNikolai Kuznetsov
Succeeded byVladimir Chernavin
Personal details
Born(1910-02-26)26 February 1910
Kamianets-Podilskyi,Russian Empire(modern-dayUkraine)
Died13 May 1988(1988-05-13)(aged 78)
Moscow,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union(twice)
Military service
AllegianceSoviet Union
Branch/serviceSoviet Navy
Years of service1927–1985
RankAdmiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union
Commands
Battles/wars

Sergey Georgyevich Gorshkov(‹See Tfd›Russian:Серге́й Гео́ргиевич Горшко́в;26 February 1910 – 13 May 1988) was anadmiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union.Twice awarded the titleHero of the Soviet Union,he oversaw the expansion of theSoviet Navyinto a global force during theCold Waras itsCommander-in-Chieffrom 1956 to 1985.

Early life and prewar service

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Born inKamianets-Podilskyito a Russian family, Gorshkov grew up inKolomna.After joining the Soviet Navy in 1927, he entered theM.V. Frunze Naval SchoolinLeningradduring October of that year. Gorshkov began his service with theBlack Sea Fleet(then known as the Black Sea Naval Forces) upon graduation in November 1931 as a watch officer aboard the destroyerFrunze.He quickly became its navigator a month later and in March 1932 transferred to thePacific Fleetto serve in the same position aboard the minelayerTomsk.Promoted to become flagship navigator of the minelaying and minesweeping brigade of the fleet in January 1934, Gorshkov was given command of theUragan-class guard shipBuranin November of that year. He studied at courses for destroyer commanders between December 1936 and March 1937, becoming commander of the destroyerRazyashchyfollowing completion. After becoming chief of staff of the Pacific Fleet Destroyer Brigade in October, Gorshkov was appointed its commander in May 1938. During this period he participated in theBattle of Lake Khasanbefore being transferred west to command the Black Sea Fleet Cruiser Brigade in June 1940.[1]

World War II

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Gorshkov during World War II

From the first days after the beginning ofOperation Barbarossa,the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Gorshkov's destroyer brigade participated in the Black Sea Fleet's operations. Gorshkov was promoted torear admiralon 16 September. During theSiege of Odessa,Gorshkov led a landing in the area of Grigorievka before taking command of theAzov Flotillain October. In late December and early January 1942 he commanded thelandingson the north coast of theKerch Peninsula.In August, Gorshkov commanded 150 warships of the flotilla in a breakout from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea after the withdraw of Soviet troops toNovorossiysk.After the resulting disbandment of the flotilla, he became deputy commander of naval forces and a member of the military council of the Novorossiysk Defense District. Gorshkov temporarily commanded the troops of the47th Armydefending the region in November during theBattle of the Caucasus.[1]

After taking command of the reformed Azov Flotilla in February 1943, he led the unit during landings atTaganrog,Mariupol,andOsipenko,before supporting the troops of theNorth Caucasian Frontin the capture of theTaman Peninsula.During the November 1943Kerch–Eltigen Operation,Gorshkov personally supervised the preparations and the landing of troops for the main attack. For his leadership of amphibious operations, he was awarded theOrder of Kutuzov,1st class, while receiving theOrder of Ushakov,2nd class, for his command of the flotilla during the recapture of Crimea.[1]

After being made commander of theDanube Flotillain April 1944, Gorshkov led the unit during the AugustJassy–Kishinev Offensive,supporting the troops of the3rd Ukrainian Frontin the crossing of theDniesterand the entry into theDanube Delta.Between September and November, the flotilla went on to support the troops of the2ndand 3rd Ukrainian Fronts during theBelgradeandBudapest Offensives.Gorshkov was promoted tovice admiralin September 1944 and was transferred in December to command the Black Sea Fleet squadron, ending the war in that position. He was mentioned seven times in the orders ofJoseph Stalinin the latter's capacity of Supreme Commander of theSoviet Armed Forces.[1]

Cold War

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Following the end of the war, Gorshkov continued to command the squadron until becoming Chief of Staff of the Black Sea Fleet in November 1948. He became the commander of the fleet in August 1951 and was promoted toadmiralon 3 August 1953. Following his July 1955 appointment as First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy,Nikita Khrushchevmade him Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy in January 1956, succeedingNikolai Kuznetsov.As Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy, Gorshkov simultaneously served as a DeputyMinister of Defense of the Soviet Union,receiving the rank ofadmiral of the fleeton 24 April 1962. UnderLeonid BrezhnevGorshkov oversaw a massive naval build-up of surface and submarine forces, creating a force capable of challenging Western naval power by the late 1970s. This included the adoption of nuclear weapons, which were carried by ballistic missile submarines and aircraft, as well as the development of nuclear submarines and shipboard helicopters. In order to project Soviet military power, Gorshkov sent ships on lengthy cruises and formed operational squadrons in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, building ablue-water navy.He received the titleHero of the Soviet Unionon 7 May 1965 and was promoted toadmiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union– the highest Soviet naval rank – on 22 October 1967.[1]

Gorshkov meetingEast GermanleaderErich Honecker,1980

Gorshkov was again awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 21 December 1982. Transferred to theGroup of Inspectors Generalof the Ministry of Defense in December 1985, a retirement post for elderly senior officers, he was succeeded byVladimir Chernavin.Gorshkov died in Moscow on 13 May 1988. He was buried in theNovodevichy Cemetery.[1]

Gorshkov is often associated with the phrase "'Better' is the enemy of 'Good Enough'" ( "Лучшее - враг хорошего" ) which is reputed to have hung on the wall of his office as a motto. Similar sentiments have been attributed toClausewitzandVoltaire.The motto appears in theTom Clancynovel,The Hunt for Red October.The phrase is also attributed to Admiral Gorshkov in Norman Polmar'sGuide to the Soviet Navy(1983, 3rd edition).[2]

Awards, honours and decorations

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Soviet awards

[1] Gorshkov has been commemorated by various monuments and namesakes:

Foreign awards

References

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Citations

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  1. ^abcdefgLurye 2001,pp. 59–60.
  2. ^Polmar, N:Guide to the Soviet Navy,p. xii (upper left corner), 1983.

Bibliography

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  • Lurye, Vyacheslav (2001).Адмиралы и генералы Военно-Морского флота СССР в период Великой Отечественной и советско-японской войн (1941—1945)[Admirals and Generals of the Soviet Navy during the Great Patriotic and Soviet-Japanese Wars (1941–1945)] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Russo-Baltic Information Center BLITs.ISBN5-86789-102-X.
  • Monakov, Mikhail (2008).Главком (Жизнь и деятельность Адмирала флота Советского Союза С. Г. Горшкова)[Glavkom: The Life and Work of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S.G. Gorshkov] (in Russian). Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole.ISBN978-5-9950-0008-2.
  • Polmar, Norman; Brooks, Thomas; Fedoroff, George (2019). Admiral Gorshkov - The Man Who Challenged the U.S. Navy (in English). Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press.ISBN978-1-68247-330-6
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Military offices
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy
1956-1985 		Succeeded by
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