Viktor Viktorovich Tsyganov (November 19, 1896 [Old Style: November 7], Nizhny Novgorod — June 25, 1944, Moscow) was a Soviet military commander, lieutenant general (1943), and candidate of military sciences (1941). He took part in World War I, the Civil War, and the Great Patriotic War; during the Great Patriotic War he commanded the 38th and 56th Armies.[1]
Early Years and Education
He was born in Nizhny Novgorod. He graduated from a theological seminary, after which he worked as an entertainer, performing songs in places of amusement.[1] In 1914 he went to the front as a volunteer in World War I and was sent to the Kazan Military School, from which he graduated in 1916 with the rank of poruchik (lieutenant).[1] He fought on the Northern Front, commanded a squadron, and served as an adjutant at the headquarters of a cavalry brigade.[2]
The Civil War and the Interwar Period
In 1918 he voluntarily joined the Red Army. During the Civil War he served as chief of staff of a brigade and then of a division; he fought on the Southern Front against Wrangel's forces and on the Western Front in Belarus.[1]
From 1922 to 1931 he served in various staff positions in the Western (later Belorussian) Military District. In 1931 he moved into teaching: first as military instructor at the Vyatka Pedagogical Institute, then at the Lesgaft Institute of Physical Culture in Leningrad.[1] In 1933 he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy.[2] After the academy he commanded a rifle regiment, served as chief of staff of a rifle division, and in 1935 became assistant head of the Tambov Red Banner Infantry School.[1]
From 1937 he taught at the Kharkov Military Economic Academy of the Red Army: in 1939 he became head of a department, and in February 1941 head of the quartermaster faculty. In that same year, 1941, he defended his dissertation and received the degree of candidate of military sciences.[1]
The Great Patriotic War
From July 1941, Tsyganov served as Deputy Commander of the Southwestern Front for Rear Services. In the fall of that same year, he was appointed commander of the 38th Army on the Southwestern Front: the army took part in the defense of Kharkov, and in November 1941 it carried out a number of successful operations.[1] In late 1941, Tsyganov took command of the 56th Army and in that capacity took part in the Barvenkovo–Lozovaya Operation.[2] In March 1942, the army went on the offensive with the aim of destroying the enemy's Taganrog grouping and liberating Taganrog, but after a month of fighting with heavy losses it failed to achieve success. From April to July 1942, units under Tsyganov's command defended the Rostov Fortified Region; in late July the enemy took Rostov, and Tsyganov was relieved of command of the army.[1]
From late July 1942, he held the post of Deputy Commander of the Moscow Military District for military educational institutions.[2] In 1943, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.[3]
Awards and Legacy
Viktor Tsyganov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner (November 6, 1941) and the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class (February 22, 1944).[2] He died on June 25, 1944, in Moscow; he is buried at Novodevichy Cemetery.[2]
Sources
- cyclowiki.org — Tsyganov, Viktor Viktorovich — Cyclowiki
- names52.ru — Tsyganov Viktor Viktorovich
- divizia-rkka.ru — Archives: TSYGANOV Viktor Viktorovich — Red Army Divisions in the Years of the Great Patriotic War