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As we know, history is made by people. Not every one of us is given the opportunity to make any significant contribution to the development of science, technology, sports, culture and other areas of life. However, there are individuals life path which should be considered in detail and in detail. And one of these heroes of our time is Vasily Margelov.

Milestones in the life of a commander

Personal life

The first wife of Vasily Filippovich Margelov is Maria. She became his legal wife in 1930. And a year later their son Gennady was born.

Not all of Vasily Margelov’s sons, of which there are five, followed in their father’s footsteps. But none of them disgraced him. In particular, Margelov's son Vasily Filippovich Alexander was an Airborne Forces officer, and in 1996 he became a Hero of Russia. And in 2003, already retired, together with his brother Vitaly, he wrote a book about his dad.

Hero Rewards

General Margelov was awarded a great many awards during his life, which are extremely difficult to list. Among them are not only the regalia of the USSR, but foreign orders and medals. The highest title he was awarded is, of course, Hero of the Soviet Union.

In addition, monuments to Vasily Filippovich were erected in his native Dnepropetrovsk, as well as in Omsk, Tula, Ryazan, St. Petersburg, Ulyanovsk and other cities and villages.

Today, the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation has the “Army General Margelov” medal.

In February 2010, a bust of the general was erected in Kherson as an eternal tribute to his memory. Also, a memorial plaque has now been hung on the house in which he lived for twenty years in the capital of the Union.

The date of death of the famous military man is March 4, 1990. He was interred at the Novodevichy cemetery, which is located in Moscow.

Author and initiator of creation technical means Airborne Forces and methods of using units and formations of airborne troops, many of which personify the image of the Airborne Forces of the USSR Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces that currently exists. Among the people associated with these troops, he is considered Trooper No. 1.

Biography

Youth years

V. F. Markelov (later Margelov) was born on December 27, 1908 (January 9, 1909 according to the new style) in the city of Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine), in a family of immigrants from Belarus. By nationality - Belarusian. Father - Philip Ivanovich Markelov, metallurgist. (Vasily Filippovich’s surname Markelov was subsequently written down as Margelov due to an error in the party card.)

In 1913, the Margelov family returned to the homeland of Philip Ivanovich - to the town of Kostyukovichi, Klimovichi district (Mogilev province). V.F. Margelov’s mother, Agafya Stepanovna, was from the neighboring Bobruisk district. According to some information, V.F. Margelov graduated from the parochial school (CPS) in 1921. As a teenager he worked as a loader and carpenter. In the same year, he entered the leather workshop as an apprentice and soon became an assistant master. In 1923, he became a laborer at the local Khleboproduct. There is information that he graduated from a rural youth school and worked as a delivery driver postal items on the line Kostyukovichi - Khotimsk.

Since 1924 he worked in Yekaterinoslav at the mine named after. M.I. Kalinin as a laborer, then as a horse-driver.

In 1925 he was sent again to Belarus, as a forester at a timber industry enterprise. He worked in Kostyukovichi, in 1927 he became the chairman of the working committee of the timber industry enterprise, and was elected to the local Council.

Start of service

Drafted into the Red Army in 1928. Sent to study at the United Belarusian military school(OBVSH) named after. Central Election Commission of the BSSR in Minsk, enrolled in a group of snipers. From the 2nd year - foreman of a machine gun company. In April 1931 he graduated with honors from the Minsk Military School (formerly OBVSh).

After graduating from college, he was appointed commander of a machine gun platoon of the regimental school of the 99th rifle regiment 33rd Territorial Rifle Division (Mogilev, Belarus). Since 1933 - platoon commander at the Minsk Military Infantry School. M.I. Kalinina. In February 1934 he was appointed assistant company commander, in May 1936 - commander of a machine gun company. From October 25, 1938, he commanded the 2nd battalion of the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 8th Infantry Division. Dzerzhinsky Belarusian Special Military District. He headed the reconnaissance of the 8th Infantry Division, being the head of the 2nd division of the division headquarters.

During the wars

During the Soviet-Finnish War (1939-1940) he commanded the Separate Reconnaissance Ski Battalion of the 596th Infantry Regiment of the 122nd Division. During one of the operations he captured officers of the Swedish General Staff.

After the end of the Soviet-Finnish War, he was appointed to the position of assistant commander of the 596th regiment for combat units. Since October 1940 - commander of the 15th separate disciplinary battalion (15odisb). On June 19, 1941, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the 1st Motorized Rifle Division (the core of the regiment was made up of soldiers of the 15th Division).

During the Great Patriotic War - commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Regiment, chief of staff and deputy commander of the 3rd Guards Rifle Division. Since 1944 - commander of the 49th Guards Rifle Division of the 28th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. He led the division's actions during the crossing of the Dnieper and the liberation of Kherson, for which in March 1944 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Under his command, the 49th Guards Rifle Division took part in the liberation of the peoples of South-Eastern Europe.

In the airborne troops

After the war in command positions. Since 1948, after graduating from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR named after K. E. Voroshilov, he was the commander of the 76th Guards Chernigov Red Banner Airborne Division.

In 1950-1954 - commander of the 37th Guards Airborne Svir Red Banner Corps (Far East).

From 1954 to 1959 - Commander of the Airborne Forces. In 1959-1961 - appointed with demotion, First Deputy Commander of the Airborne Forces. From 1961 to January 1979 - returned to the post of Commander of the Airborne Forces.

On October 28, 1967 he was awarded military rank"army General". He led the actions of the Airborne Forces during the entry of troops into Czechoslovakia (Operation Danube).

Since January 1979 - in the group of inspectors general of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He went on business trips to the Airborne Forces and was the chairman of the State Examination Commission at the Ryazan Airborne School.

During his service in the Airborne Forces he made more than 60 jumps. The last of them is at the age of 65.

“Anyone who has never in his life left an airplane, from where cities and villages seem like toys, who has never experienced the joy and fear of a free fall, a whistle in his ears, a stream of wind hitting his chest, will never understand the honor and pride of a paratrooper...”

Lived and worked in Moscow. Died March 4, 1990. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

Contribution to the formation and development of the Airborne Forces

General Pavel Fedoseevich Pavlenko:

Colonel Nikolai Fedorovich Ivanov:

Margelov’s contribution to the formation of the airborne troops in their current form was reflected in the comic decoding of the abbreviation Airborne Forces - “Uncle Vasya’s Troops.”

Theory of combat use

In military theory, it was believed that in order to immediately use nuclear strikes and maintain a high rate of attack, widespread use of airborne assaults was necessary. Under these conditions, the Airborne Forces had to fully comply with the military-strategic goals of the war and meet the military-political goals of the state.

According to Commander Margelov: “To fulfill our role in modern operations, it is necessary that our formations and units be highly maneuverable, covered with armor, have sufficient fire efficiency, are well controlled, capable of landing at any time of the day and quickly proceed to active combat operations after landing. This, by and large, is the ideal to which we should strive.”

To achieve these goals, under the leadership of Margelov, a concept of the role and place of the Airborne Forces in modern strategic operations in various theaters of military operations was developed. Margelov wrote a number of works on this topic, and also successfully defended his candidate's dissertation (he was awarded the title of Candidate of Military Sciences by decision of the Council of the Military Order of Lenin, Red Banner Order of Suvorov Academy named after M.V. Frunze). In practical terms, Airborne Forces exercises and command meetings were regularly held.

Armament

It was necessary to overcome the gap between the theory of the combat use of airborne forces and the existing organizational structure troops, as well as the capabilities of military transport aviation. Having assumed the post of Commander, Margelov received troops consisting mainly of infantry with light weapons and military transport aviation (as an integral part of the Airborne Forces), which was equipped with Li-2, Il-14, Tu-2 and Tu-2 aircraft. 4 with significantly limited landing capabilities. In fact, the Airborne Forces were not capable of solving major problems in military operations.

Margelov initiated the creation and serial production at the enterprises of the military-industrial complex of landing equipment, heavy parachute platforms, parachute systems and containers for landing cargo, cargo and human parachutes, parachute devices. “You cannot order equipment, so strive to create in the design bureau, industry, during testing, reliable parachutes, trouble-free operation of heavy airborne equipment,” Margelov said when setting tasks for his subordinates.

Modifications of small arms were created for paratroopers to make them easier to parachute - lighter weight, folding stock.

Especially for the needs of the Airborne Forces in the post-war years, new military equipment was developed and modernized: airborne, self-propelled artillery installation ASU-76 (1949), light ASU-57 (1951), amphibious ASU-57P (1954), self-propelled gun ASU-85, tracked combat vehicle of the Airborne Forces BMD-1 (1969). After the first batches of the BMD-1 entered service with the troops, a family of weapons was developed on its basis: Nona self-propelled artillery guns, artillery fire control vehicles, R-142 command and staff vehicles, R-141 long-range radio stations, anti-tank systems, and a reconnaissance vehicle. Anti-aircraft units and units were also equipped with armored personnel carriers, which housed crews with portable complexes and ammunition.

By the end of the 50s, new An-8 and An-12 aircraft were adopted and entered into service with the troops, which had a payload capacity of up to 10-12 tons and a sufficient flight range, which made it possible to land large groups of personnel with standard military equipment and weapons. Later, through the efforts of Margelov, the Airborne Forces received new military transport aircraft - An-22 and Il-76.

At the end of the 50s, parachute platforms PP-127 appeared in service with the troops, designed for parachute landing of artillery, vehicles, radio stations, engineering equipment, etc. Parachute-jet landing equipment was created, which, due to the jet thrust created by the engine, made it possible to increase the speed landing load to zero. Such systems made it possible to significantly reduce the cost of landing by abandoning large quantity domes large area.

On January 5, 1973, for the first time in world practice, the USSR carried out a parachute-platform landing in the Centaur complex from an An-12B military transport aircraft of a BMD-1 tracked armored combat vehicle with two crew members on board. The crew commander was the son of Vasily Filippovich, senior lieutenant Margelov Alexander Vasilyevich, and the driver-mechanic was Lieutenant Colonel Zuev Leonid Gavrilovich.

On January 23, 1976, also for the first time in world practice, a BMD-1 landed from the same type of aircraft and made a soft landing on a parachute-rocket system in the Reaktavr complex, also with two crew members on board - Major Alexander Vasilyevich Margelov and Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Shcherbakov Ivanovich. The landing was carried out at great risk to life, without individual funds salvation. Twenty years later, for the feat of the seventies, both were awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

Family

• Father - Philip Ivanovich Markelov - a metallurgist, became a holder of two St. George's Crosses in the First World War.
• Mother - Agafya Stepanovna, was from Bobruisk district.
• Two brothers - Ivan (eldest), Nikolai (younger) and sister Maria.

V. F. Margelov was married three times:

• The first wife, Maria, left her husband and son (Gennady).
• The second wife is Feodosia Efremovna Selitskaya (mother of Anatoly and Vitaly).
• Last wife- Anna Aleksandrovna Kurakina, doctor. I met Anna Alexandrovna during the Great Patriotic War.

Five sons:

• Gennady Vasilievich (born 1931) - Major General.
• Anatoly Vasilyevich (1938-2008) - Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, author of more than 100 patents and inventions in the military-industrial complex.
• Vitaly Vasilyevich (born 1941) - professional intelligence officer, employee of the KGB of the USSR and the SVR of Russia, later - a social and political figure; Colonel General, Deputy State Duma.
• Vasily Vasilyevich (1943-2010) - reserve major; First Deputy Director of the Directorate of International Relations of the Russian State Broadcasting Company "Voice of Russia" (RGRK "Voice of Russia")
• Alexander Vasilyevich (born 1943) - Airborne Forces officer. On August 29, 1996, “for the courage and heroism shown during testing, fine-tuning and development of special equipment” (landing inside the BMD-1 using a parachute-rocket system in the Reactavr complex, carried out for the first time in world practice in 1976) he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. After retiring, he worked in the structures of Rosoboronexport.

Vasily Vasilyevich and Alexander Vasilyevich are twin brothers. In 2003, they co-authored a book about their father - “Paratrooper No. 1, Army General Margelov.”

Awards and titles

USSR awards

• Medal "Gold Star" No. 3414 Hero of the Soviet Union (03/19/1944)
• four Orders of Lenin (03/21/1944, 11/3/1953, 12/26/1968, 12/26/1978)
• Order of the October Revolution (4.05.1972)
• two Orders of the Red Banner (02/3/1943, 06/20/1949)
• Order of Suvorov, 2nd degree (1944)
• two Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (01/25/1943, 03/11/1985)
• Order of the Red Star (3.11.1944)
• two Orders “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” 2nd (12/14/1988) and 3rd degree (04/30/1975)
• medals

Awarded twelve Commendations from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief (03/13/1944, 03/28/1944, 04/10/1944, 11/4/1944, 12/24/1944, 02/13/1945, 03/25/1945, 04/3/1945, 04/5/1945, 04/13/1945, 04/13/1945, 05/08/1945).

Awards from foreign countries

• Order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, 2nd degree (20.09.1969)
• four Bulgarian anniversary medals (1974, 1978, 1982, 1985)

Hungarian People's Republic:

• star and badge of the Order of the Hungarian People's Republic, 3rd degree (04/04/1950)
• medal "Brotherhood in Arms" gold degree (09/29/1985)

• Order "Star of Friendship of Peoples" in silver (02/23/1978)
• Arthur Becker medal in gold (05/23/1980)

• medal "Sino-Soviet Friendship" (02/23/1955)

• two anniversary medals (1978, 1986)

Mongolian People's Republic:

• Order of the Red Banner of Battle (06/07/1971)
• seven anniversary medals (1968, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1982)

• medal “For the Odra, Nisa and the Baltic” (05/07/1985)
• medal "Brotherhood in Arms" (10/12/1988)
• Officer of the Order of the Renaissance of Poland (11/6/1973)

SR Romania:

• Order of Tudor Vladimirescu 2nd (10/1/1974) and 3rd (10/24/1969) degrees
• two anniversary medals (1969, 1974)

• Order of the Legion of Honor, commander degree (05/10/1945)
• medal "Bronze Star" (05/10/1945)

Czechoslovakia:

• Order of Klement Gottwald (1969)
• Medal "For Strengthening Friendship in Arms" 1st class (1970)
• two anniversary medals

Honorary titles

• Hero of the Soviet Union (1944)
• Laureate of the USSR State Prize (1975)
• Honorary citizen of Kherson
• Honorary Soldier of the Airborne Forces Military Unit

Proceedings

• Margelov V.F. Airborne troops. - M.: Knowledge, 1977. - 64 p.
• Margelov V.F. Soviet Airborne Forces. - 2nd ed. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1986. - 64 p.

Memory

• By order of the USSR Minister of Defense dated April 20, 1985, V. F. Margelov was enrolled as an Honorary Soldier in the lists of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division.

• Monuments to V. F. Margelov were erected in Tyumen, Krivoy Rog (Ukraine), Kherson, Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine), Chisinau (Moldova), Kostyukovichi (Belarus), Ryazan and Seltsy (training center of the Airborne Forces Institute), Omsk, Tula, St. Petersburg , Ulyanovsk. Officers and paratroopers, veterans of the Airborne Forces every year come to the monument of their commander at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow to pay tribute to his memory.

• The Ryazan Military Institute of Airborne Forces, the Airborne Forces Department of the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, and the Nizhny Novgorod Cadet Boarding School (NKSHI) are named after Margelov.

• A square in Ryazan, streets in Vitebsk (Belarus), Omsk, Pskov, Tula and Western Litsa are named after Margelov.

• During the Great Patriotic War, a song was composed in V. Margelov’s division, one verse from it:

• By Order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation No. 182 of May 6, 2005, the departmental medal of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation “Army General Margelov” was established. In the same year, a memorial plaque was installed on a house in Moscow, in Sivtsev Vrazhek Lane, where Margelov lived for the last 20 years of his life.

• In honor of the centenary of the birth of the Commander, 2008 was declared the year of V. Margelov in the Airborne Forces.

• In 2009, the television series “Dad” was released, telling about the life of V. Margelov.

• On February 21, 2010, a bust of Vasily Margelov was erected in Kherson. The bust of the general is located in the city center near the Youth Palace on Perekopskaya Street.

• On June 5, 2010, a monument to the founder of the Airborne Forces (Airborne Forces) was unveiled in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. The monument was built with funds from former paratroopers living in Moldova.

• On June 25, 2010, the memory of the legendary commander was immortalized in the Republic of Belarus (Vitebsk). The Vitebsk City Executive Committee, headed by Chairman V.P. Nikolaikin, in the spring of 2010 approved a petition from Airborne Forces veterans of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation to name the street connecting Chkalov Street and Pobedy Avenue General Margelov Street. On the eve of City Day, a new house was put into operation on General Margelov Street on which a memorial plaque was installed, the right to open which was given to the sons of Vasily Filippovich.

• Monument to Vasily Filippovich, a sketch of which was made from a famous photograph in the division newspaper, in which he, being appointed division commander of the 76th Guards. Airborne Division, preparing for the first jump, is installed in front of the headquarters of the 95th separate airmobile brigade (Ukraine).

• The Blue Berets ensemble recorded a song dedicated to V.F. Margelov, appreciating current state Airborne Forces, after his resignation as commander, which is called “Forgive us, Vasily Filippovich!”

Suvorov of the twentieth century

“Suvorov of the twentieth century” - this is how Western historians (Soviet) began to call Army General Vasily Filippovich Margelov (1908 - 1990) during his lifetime for a long time It was forbidden to mention this name in the press for reasons of secrecy).

Having commanded the Airborne Forces for a total of almost a quarter of a century (1954 - 1959, 1961 - 1979), he turned this branch of troops into a formidable striking force that had no equal.

But Vasily Filippovich was remembered by his contemporaries not only as an outstanding organizer. Love for the Motherland, remarkable leadership abilities, perseverance and selfless courage were organically combined in him with greatness of soul, modesty and crystal honesty, and a kind-hearted, truly fatherly attitude towards the soldier.

Youth years

V. F. Markelov (later Margelov) was born on December 27, 1908 (January 9, 1909 according to the new style) in the city of Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk , Ukraine), in a family coming from Belarus. By nationality - Belarusian. Father - Philip Ivanovich Markelov, metallurgist. (Vasily Filippovich’s surname Markelov was subsequently written down as Margelov due to an error in the party card.)

In 1913, the Margelov family returned to the homeland of Philip Ivanovich - to the town Kostyukovichi Klimovichi district (Mogilev province). V.F. Margelov’s mother, Agafya Stepanovna, was from the neighboring Bobruisk district. According to some information, V.F. Margelov graduated from the parochial school (CPS) in 1921. As a teenager he worked as a loader and carpenter. In the same year, he entered the leather workshop as an apprentice and soon became an assistant master. In 1923, he became a laborer at the local Khleboproduct. There is information that he graduated from a rural youth school and worked as a forwarder delivering mail on the Kostyukovichi - Khotimsk .

Since 1924 he worked in Yekaterinoslav at the mine named after. M.I. Kalinin as a laborer, then as a horse-driver.

In 1925 he was sent again to Belarus, as a forester at a timber industry enterprise. Worked in Kostyukovichi, in 1927 he became chairman of the working committee of the timber industry enterprise and was elected to the local Council.

Start of service

Drafted into the Red Army in 1928. Sent to study at the United Belarusian Military School (UBVSH) named after. Central Executive Committee of the BSSR Minsk, enlisted in the sniper group. From the 2nd year - foreman of a machine gun company. In April 1931 he graduated with honors from the Minsk Military School (formerly OBVSh).

After graduating from college, he was appointed commander of a machine gun platoon of the regimental school of the 99th Infantry Regiment of the 33rd Territorial Rifle Division ( Mogilev, Belarus). Since 1933 - platoon commander at the Minsk Military Infantry School. M.I. Kalinina. In February 1934 he was appointed assistant company commander, in May 1936 - commander of a machine gun company. From October 25, 1938, he commanded the 2nd battalion of the 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 8th Infantry Division. Dzerzhinsky Belarusian Special Military District. He headed the reconnaissance of the 8th Infantry Division, being the head of the 2nd division of the division headquarters.

How a paratrooper got a vest

During the Soviet-Finnish War of 1940, Major Margelov was the commander of the Separate Reconnaissance Ski Battalion of the 596th Infantry Regiment of the 122nd Division. His battalion made daring raids on enemy rear lines, set up ambushes, inflicting great damage on the enemy. In one of the raids, they even managed to capture a group of officers of the Swedish General Staff, which gave grounds for the Soviet Government to make a diplomatic demarche regarding the actual participation of the supposedly neutral Scandinavian state in hostilities on the side of the Finns. This step had a sobering effect on the Swedish king and his cabinet: Stockholm did not dare to send its soldiers into the snows of Karelia...

The experience of ski raids behind enemy lines was remembered in the late autumn of 1941 in besieged Leningrad. Major V. Margelov was assigned to lead the First Special Ski Regiment of sailors of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, formed from volunteers.

A veteran of this unit, N. Shuvalov, recalled:

As you know, sailors are a peculiar people. In love with the sea element, they do not particularly favor their land-based counterparts. When Margelov was appointed commander of a marine regiment, some used to say that he would not fit in there, that his “brothers” would not accept him.

However, this prophecy did not come true. When the regiment of sailors was assembled to be presented to the new commander, Margelov, after the command “Attention!” seeing many gloomy faces looking at him not particularly friendly, instead of the usual words of greeting “Hello, comrades!” in such cases, without thinking, he shouted loudly:

Hello, claws!

A moment - and not a single gloomy face in the ranks...

Sailors-skiers under the command of Major Margelov performed many glorious feats. The tasks were personally assigned to them by the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral Tributs.

Vladimir Filippovich Tributs

The deep, daring raids of skiers along the German rear in the winter of 1941-42 were an ongoing headache for the command of Hitler's Army Group North. What was the cost of the landing on the coast of Ladoga in the direction of Lipka - Shlisselburg, which alarmed Field Marshal von Leeb so much that he began to withdraw troops from near Pulkovo, who were tightening the noose of the blockade of Leningrad, to eliminate it.

Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb

Two decades later, the commander of the Airborne Forces, Army General Margelov, ensured that paratroopers received the right to wear vests.

The daring of the “brothers” sank into my heart! - he explained. “I want the paratroopers to adopt the glorious traditions of their older brother, the Marine Corps, and continue them with honor. This is why I introduced vests to the paratroopers. Only the stripes on them match the color of the sky - blue...

When, at a military council chaired by the Minister of Defense, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S.G. Gorshkov, began to blame that paratroopers were stealing vests from sailors, Vasily Filippovich sharply objected to him:

I'm in Marine Corps I fought and I know what paratroopers deserve and what sailors deserve!

And Vasily Filippovich fought with his “Marines” famously. Here's another example. In May 1942, in the Vinyaglovo area near the Sinyavinsky Heights, about 200 enemy infantry broke through the defense sector of a neighboring regiment and went to the rear of the Margelovites. Vasily Filippovich quickly gave the necessary orders and himself lay down behind the Maxim machine gun. Then he personally destroyed 79 fascists, the rest were finished off by reinforcements that arrived in time.

By the way, during the defense of Leningrad, Margelov always had a heavy machine gun at hand, from which in the morning he carried out a kind of shooting exercise: “trimming” the tops of trees with bursts. Then he sat on the horse and practiced chopping with a saber.

In offensive battles, the regiment commander more than once personally raised his battalions to attack, fought in the front ranks of his fighters, leading them to victory in hand-to-hand combat, where he had no equal. Because of such terrible battles, the Nazis nicknamed the Marines “striped death.”

Officer's rations - into the soldiers' cauldron

Caring for a soldier was never a secondary matter for Margelov, especially in war. His former fellow soldier, Guard Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Shevchenko, recalled that, having accepted the 13th Guards Rifle Regiment in 1942, Vasily Filippovich began to increase its combat effectiveness by improving the organization of nutrition for all personnel.

At that time, officers in the regiment ate separately from soldiers and sergeants. Officers were entitled to enhanced rations: in addition to the general military norm, they received animal oil, canned fish, biscuits or cookies, and “Golden Fleece” or “Kazbek” tobacco (non-smokers were given chocolate). But, in addition to this, some battalion commanders and company commanders also had personal cooks in the common catering unit. It is not difficult to understand that some part of the soldier’s pot went to the officer’s table. This is what the regiment commander discovered while touring the units. He always started it with an inspection of the battalion kitchens and sampling the soldiers' food.

On the second day of Lieutenant Colonel Margelov's stay in the unit, all its officers had to eat from a common boiler along with the soldiers. The regiment commander ordered his supplementary ration to be transferred to the general cauldron. Soon other officers began to do the same. “Dad set a good example for us!” - recalled veteran Shevchenko. Surprisingly, Vasily Filippovich’s name was Batya in all the regiments and divisions that he happened to command...

God forbid if Margelov noticed that a fighter had leaky shoes or shabby clothes. This is where the business executive got the full benefit. Once, noticing that the machine-gunner sergeant at the front line was “asking for porridge,” the regiment commander called the head of the clothing supply to him and ordered him to exchange shoes with this soldier. And he warned that if he sees something like this again, he will immediately transfer the officer to the front line.

Vasily Filippovich could not stand cowards, weak-willed people, and lazy people. Theft was simply impossible in his presence, because he punished it mercilessly...

Hot Snow

Anyone who has read Yuri Bondarev’s novel “Hot Snow” or seen the film of the same name based on this novel should know: the prototype of the heroes who stood in the way of Manstein’s tank armada, which was trying to break the encirclement ring around Paulus’s 6th Army in Stalingrad, were Margelov’s men. It was they who found themselves in the direction of the main attack of the fascist tank wedge and managed to prevent a breakthrough, holding out until reinforcements arrived.

In October 1942, Guard Lieutenant Colonel Margelov became the commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Regiment, which was part of the 2nd Guards Army of Lieutenant General R. Ya. Malinovsky, which was formed specifically to complete the defeat of the enemy who had broken through into the Volga steppes. For two months, while the regiment was in reserve, Vasily Filippovich intensely prepared his soldiers for fierce battles for the Volga stronghold.

Near Leningrad, he had to engage in single combat with fascist tanks more than once; he knew their vulnerabilities well. And now he personally taught tank destroyers, showing armor-piercing soldiers how to dig a trench in full profile, where and at what distances to aim with an anti-tank rifle, how to throw grenades and Molotov cocktails.

When the Margelovites held the defense at the turn of the river. Myshkov, having taken the blow of the Goth tank group, which was advancing from the Kotelnikovsky area to join the Paulus breakthrough group, they were not afraid of the newest heavy Tiger tanks, and did not flinch in front of the many times superior enemy. They did the impossible: in five days of fighting (from December 19 to 24, 1942), without sleep or rest, suffering heavy losses, they burned and knocked out almost all enemy tanks in their direction. At the same time, the regiment retained its combat effectiveness!

In these battles, Vasily Filippovich was severely shell-shocked, but did not leave the formation. He celebrated the New Year of 1943 with his soldiers, with a Mauser in his hand, leading the attacking chains to storm the Kotelnikovsky farm. This rapid rush of units of the 2nd Guards Army in the Stalingrad epic put an end to it: the last hopes of Paulus’s army for the relief of the blockade melted away like smoke. Then there was the liberation of Donbass, the crossing of the Dnieper, fierce battles for Kherson and “Iasi-Kishinev Cannes”... The 49th Guards Kherson Red Banner Order of Suvorov rifle division - Margelov's division - earned thirteen thanks from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief!

The final chord is the bloodless capture in May 1945 on the border of Austria and Czechoslovakia of the SS Panzer Corps, which was breaking through to the West to surrender to the Americans. This included the elite of the Reich's armored forces - the SS divisions "Greater Germany" and "Totenkopf".

As the best of the best guards, Major General Hero of the Soviet Union V. F. Margelov (1944), the leadership of the 2nd Ukrainian Front entrusted the honor of commanding a front-line combined regiment at the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945.

V.F. Margelov - right flank

Upon graduating from the Higher Military Academy in 1948 (since 1958 - the Military Academy of the General Staff), Vasily Filippovich accepted the Pskov Airborne Division.

This appointment was preceded by a meeting between Major General V. Margelov and the USSR Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union Nikolai Bulganin. There was another general in the office, also a Hero of the Soviet Union.

The Minister of Defense began the conversation with kind words about the Airborne Forces, their glorious combat past, and the fact that a decision had been made to develop this relatively young branch of the military.

We believe in them and consider it necessary to strengthen them with military generals who distinguished themselves during the Great Patriotic War. What is your opinion, comrades?

He, the second general, began to complain about the wounds received at the front and said that doctors did not recommend that he make parachute jumps. In general, I refused the minister’s proposal.

General Margelov, who had many wounds over three wars, including serious ones, and even in the legs, asked a single question in response:

When can I go to the troops?

“Today,” answered the Minister of Defense and firmly shook his hand.

Margelov understood that he would have to start from scratch and, as a beginner, comprehend the tricky science of landing. But he also knew something else: there is a special attraction in this type of troops - audacity, a strong masculine bond.

Years later, he told a correspondent of the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper:

Until the age of 40, I had a vague idea of ​​what a parachute was; I never even dreamed of jumping. It happened on its own, or rather, as it should be in the army, by order. I am a military man, if necessary, I am ready to take the devil in my teeth. That’s how I had to, already being a general, make my first parachute jump. The impression, I tell you, is incomparable. A dome opens above you, you soar in the air like a bird - by God, you want to sing! I started singing. But you won’t get away with enthusiasm alone. I was in a hurry, didn’t pay attention to the ground, and ended up having to walk for two weeks with my leg bandaged. Learned a lesson. Parachute business is not only romance, but also a lot of work and impeccable discipline...

Then there will be many jumps - with weapons, day and night, from high-speed military transport aircraft. During his service in the Airborne Forces, Vasily Filippovich committed more than 60 of them. The last one was at the age of 65.

Anyone who has never left an airplane in his life, from where cities and villages seem like toys, who has never experienced the joy and fear of a free fall, a whistle in his ears, a stream of wind hitting his chest, he will never understand the honor and pride of a paratrooper - Margelov will say one day.

“Uncle Vasya” before the jump

What did Vasily Filippovich see when he received the 76th Guards Airborne Chernigov Division? The material and technical base of combat training is at zero. The simplicity of the sports equipment was discouraging: two diving boards, a cradle for a balloon suspended between two posts, and the skeleton of an aircraft vaguely reminiscent of an airplane or glider. Injuries and even deaths are common. If Margelov was a novice in the airborne business, then in the organization of combat training, as they say, he ate the dog.

In parallel with combat training, no less important work was going on to equip the personnel and families of officers. And here everyone was surprised by Margelov’s persistence.

A soldier must be well-fed, clean in body and strong in spirit, - Vasily Filippovich liked to repeat Suvorov’s saying. It was necessary - and the general became a real foreman, as he called himself without any irony, and on his desktop, mixed with plans for combat training, exercises, landings, there were calculations, estimates, projects...

Working in his usual mode - day and night - a day away, General Margelov quickly ensured that his formation became one of the best in the airborne forces.

In 1950, he was appointed commander of the airborne corps at Far East, and in 1954, Lieutenant General V. Margelov headed the Airborne Forces.

And he soon proved to everyone that he was not a simple-minded campaigner, as some perceived Margelov, but a man who saw the prospects of the Airborne Forces and had a great desire to turn them into the elite of the Armed Forces. To do this, it was necessary to break stereotypes and inertia, win the trust of active, energetic people, and involve them in joint productive work. Over time, V. Margelov formed a carefully selected and nurtured circle of like-minded people. And the commander’s outstanding sense of the new, combat authority and ability to work with people allowed him to achieve his goals.

The year is 1970, the operational-strategic exercise “Dvina”. Here is what the newspaper of the Belarusian Military District “For the Glory of the Motherland” wrote about them: “Belarus is a country of forests and lakes, and it is incredibly difficult to find a landing site. The weather was not pleasant, but did not give reason for despondency. Fighter-attack aircraft ironed the ground, and from the commentary booth the following sounded: “Attention!” - and the eyes of those present turned upward.

Large dots separated from the first planes - these were military equipment, artillery, cargo, and then paratroopers fell like peas from the hatches of the An-12. But the crowning achievement of the drop was the appearance of four Anteys in the air. A few minutes - and now there’s a whole regiment on the ground!

AN-22 “Antey”

When the last paratrooper touched the ground, V.F. Margelov stopped the stopwatch on the commander's watch and showed it to the Minister of Defense. It took just over 22 minutes for eight thousand paratroopers and 150 units of military equipment to be delivered to the rear of the “enemy.”

Brilliant results at major exercises “Dnepr”, “Berezina”, “South”... It has become common practice: to launch an airborne assault, say, in Pskov, make a long flight and land near Fergana, Kirovabad or in Mongolia. Commenting on one of the exercises, Margelov told a Krasnaya Zvezda correspondent:

The use of airborne assault has become virtually unlimited. For example, we have this type of combat training: a point is randomly selected on the map of the country where troops are dropped. Warrior-paratroopers jump into completely unfamiliar terrain: into the taiga and deserts, onto lakes, swamps and mountains...

It was after the Dvina exercises, declaring gratitude to the guards for their courage and military skill, that the commander casually asked:

Margelov could understand: there was a need to reduce the time required to prepare airborne units for battle after landing. Landing military equipment from one aircraft and crews from another led to the fact that the dispersion was sometimes up to five kilometers. While the crews were looking for equipment, it took a lot of time.

A little later, Margelov returned to this thought again:

I understand that this is difficult, but no one but us will do this.

Moreover, when the fundamental decision to conduct the first such experiment was made rather difficultly, Vasily Filippovich proposed his candidacy to participate in the first test of this kind, the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff were categorically against it.

However, even without this, legends circulated about the military leader’s courage. It manifested itself not only in a combat situation. At one of the festive receptions, where they could not help but invite the disgraced Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, Vasily Filippovich, standing at attention, congratulated him on the holiday. Zhukov, as Minister of Defense, repeatedly observed the actions of paratroopers during exercises and expressed satisfaction with their high training, admired their courage and bravery. General Margelov was proud of the respect such military leaders had for him, and therefore did not change his attitude towards honored people to please temporary workers and high-ranking sycophants.

The troops of “Uncle Sam” and the troops of “Uncle Vasya”

At the end of the spring of 1991, the USSR Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union, D.T. Yazov, made an official visit to the United States.

Dmitry Timofeevich Yazov

Returning to Moscow, the minister met with officers from the Information Directorate of the Ministry of Defense.

Subsequently, reflecting on this meeting that lasted more than two hours in the hall where meetings of the Board of the Ministry of Defense usually took place, I came to the conclusion that communication with us, ordinary employees of the department, was primarily aimed at conveying to the general public through officers who, on duty, maintain contacts with the press, his very skeptical opinion about the merits military equipment the richest power in the world and about the level of preparedness of the American “pros”, who were then enthusiastically admired by the Ogonyok magazine and publications related to it in spirit.

While visiting the military base at Fort Bragg, the Soviet Minister of Defense was invited to a demonstration exercise of one of the parachute battalions of the famous “Devil Regiment” - the US 82nd Airborne Division.

Fort Bragge

This division became famous for participating in almost all post-war conflicts in which the United States intervened ( Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, etc.). She was the first to land in the Middle East before the start of the anti-Iraq Desert Storm in 1990. In all operations, the “devils” were at the forefront of the attack as the most dexterous, courageous, and invincible.

And it was these “understudies of Satan” who were tasked with surprising the Soviet minister with their class of training and fearlessness. They were parachuted in. Part of the battalion landed in combat vehicles. But the effect of the “show off” turned out to be the opposite of what was expected, because Dmitry Timofeevich could not talk about what he saw in North Carolina without a bitter smile.

What grade would I give you for such a landing? - the Minister of Defense asked, with a sly squint, the then deputy commander of the Airborne Forces for combat training, Lieutenant General E. N. Podkolzin, who was part of the Soviet military delegation.

You would have torn my head off and I..., Comrade Minister! - Evgeniy Nikolaevich minted.

It turns out that almost all of the American paratroopers thrown out of planes in combat vehicles received serious injuries and mutilations. There were also deaths. Having landed, more than half of the cars never moved...

It’s hard to believe, but even in the early 90s, the vaunted American professionals did not have the same equipment as ours and did not know the secrets of safely landing “winged infantry” units using equipment that was mastered in “Uncle Vasya’s troops” (as fighters of the Airborne Forces called themselves, hinting at a special warmth of feelings for the commander) back in the 70s.

And it all began with Margelov’s courageous decision to place the responsibility of a pioneer on his shoulders. Then, in 1972, testing of the newly created Centaur system was in full swing in the USSR - for landing people inside an airborne combat vehicle on parachute platforms. The experiments were risky, so they started on animals. Not everything went smoothly: either the parachute canopy was torn, or the active braking engines did not work. One of the jumps even ended in the death of the dog Buran.

Something similar happened among Western testers of identical systems. True, they experimented on people there. A person sentenced to death was placed in a combat vehicle that was dropped from an airplane. It crashed, and for a long time the West considered it inappropriate to continue development work in this direction.

Despite the risk, Margelov believed in the possibility of creating safe systems for landing people on equipment and insisted on complicating the tests. Since dog jumping went well in the future, he sought a transition to a new phase of R&D - with the participation of warriors. At the beginning of January 1973, he had a difficult conversation with the USSR Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union A. A. Grechko.

Anton Andreevich Grechko

Do you understand, Vasily Filippovich, what you are doing, what you are risking? - Andrei Antonovich convinced Margelov to abandon his plan.

I understand perfectly well, that’s why I stand my ground,” answered the general. “And those who are ready for the experiment also understand everything perfectly well.”
On January 5, 1973, the historic jump took place. For the first time in the world, a crew was parachuted inside the BMD-1 using parachute-platform means. It included Major L. Zuev and Lieutenant A. Margelov - in the car next to the experienced officer was the youngest son of the commander, Alexander, at that time a young engineer of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Airborne Forces.

Only a very courageous person would dare to send his son to such a complex, unpredictable experiment. This was an act akin to the feat of Lieutenant General Nikolai Raevsky, when Kutuzov’s favorite in 1812, near Saltanovka, fearlessly led his young sons in front of the front of the battalions that flinched from the French grapeshot and with this stunning example inspired steadfastness in the discouraged grenadiers, held his position, deciding the outcome of the battle. Sacrificial heroism of this kind is a unique phenomenon in world military history.

N. Raevsky with his sons

A combat vehicle was dropped from the AN-12, five domes were opened, recalled the details of the unprecedented jump, Alexander Vasilyevich Margelov, now an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations. - Of course, it’s dangerous, but one thing was reassuring: the system was successfully used for more than one year. True, without people. We landed normally then. In the summer of 1975, at the base of the parachute regiment, which was then commanded by Major V. Achalov, Lieutenant Colonel L. Shcherbakov and I inside the BMD and four officers outside, in the joint landing cabin, jumped again...

Vasily Filippovich was awarded the USSR State Prize for this bold innovation.

The “Centaur” (not least thanks to the commander of the Airborne Forces, who persistently proved to the highest party and government authorities of the country the promise of a new method of delivering fighters and equipment to the target, its speedy development to enhance the mobility of the “winged infantry”) was soon replaced by a new, more perfect system "Reactavr". The rate of descent on it was four times higher than on the Centaur. Psychophysically, it is correspondingly more difficult for the paratrooper (deafening roar and roar, very close flames escaping from the jet nozzles). But the vulnerability from enemy fire and the time from the moment of ejection from the aircraft to bringing the BMD into combat position have sharply decreased.

From 1976 to 1991, the Reactavr system was used about 100 times, and always successfully. Year after year, from training to training, the “blue berets” gained experience in its use and polished their skills own actions at various stages of landing.

For more information about the creation of the “Centaur” and “Reactavr” systems, see the website: Spurs on OVS - Combat vehicles- Taming the "Centaur".

Since 1979, Vasily Filippovich was no longer with them, having handed over the post of commander of the Airborne Forces and transferred to the Group of Inspectors General of the Ministry of Defense. 11 years later, on March 4, 1990, he passed away. But the memory of Paratrooper number one, his testaments to the blue berets are imperishable.

Name of Army General V.F. Margelov is worn by the Ryazan Higher Command School of the Airborne Forces, the streets, squares and gardens of St. Petersburg, Ryazan, Omsk, Pskov, Tula... Monuments have been erected to him in St. Petersburg, Ryazan, Pskov, Omsk, Tula, the Ukrainian cities of Dnepropetrovsk and Lvov, and the Belarusian Kostyukovichi.

Airborne soldiers and veterans of the Airborne Forces come every year to the monument of their commander at the Novodevichy cemetery to honor his memory.

But the main thing is that Margelov’s spirit is alive in the troops. The feat of the 6th parachute company of the 104th Guards Regiment of the 76th Pskov Division, in which Vasily Filippovich began his career in the Airborne Forces, is eloquent confirmation of this. He is also in other accomplishments of the paratroopers last decades, in which the “winged infantry” covered itself with unfading glory.

Family

• Father - Philip Ivanovich Markelov - a metallurgist, became a holder of two St. George's Crosses in the First World War.
• Mother - Agafya Stepanovna, was from Bobruisk county
• Two brothers - Ivan (eldest), Nikolai (younger) and sister Maria.

V. F. Margelov was married three times:

• The first wife, Maria, left her husband and son (Gennady).
• The second wife is Feodosia Efremovna Selitskaya (mother of Anatoly and Vitaly).
• The last wife is Anna Aleksandrovna Kurakina, a doctor. I met Anna Alexandrovna during the Great Patriotic War.

Five sons:

• Gennady Vasilyevich (born 1931) - Major General.
• Anatoly Vasilyevich (1938-2008) - Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, author of more than 100 patents and inventions in the military-industrial complex.
• Vitaly Vasilievich(born 1941) - professional intelligence officer, employee of the KGB of the USSR and the SVR of Russia, later - social and political figure; Colonel General, Deputy of the State Duma.
• Vasily Vasilyevich (1943-2010) - reserve major; First Deputy Director of the Directorate of International Relations of the Russian State Broadcasting Company "Voice of Russia" (RGRK "Voice of Russia")
• Alexander Vasilievich(born 1943) - Airborne Forces officer. On August 29, 1996, “for the courage and heroism shown during testing, fine-tuning and development of special equipment” (landing inside the BMD-1 using a parachute-rocket system in the Reactavr complex, carried out for the first time in world practice in 1976) he was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. After retiring, he worked in the structures of Rosoboronexport.

Vasily Vasilyevich and Alexander Vasilyevich are twin brothers. In 2003, they co-authored a book about their father, “Paratrooper No. 1, Army General Margelov.”

Awards and titles

USSR awards

• Medal "Gold Star" No. 3414 Hero of the Soviet Union (03/19/1944)
• four Orders of Lenin (03/21/1944, 11/3/1953, 12/26/1968, 12/26/1978)
• Order of the October Revolution (4.05.1972)
• two Orders of the Red Banner (02/3/1943, 06/20/1949)
• Order of Suvorov, 2nd degree (1944)
• two Orders of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (01/25/1943, 03/11/1985)
• Order of the Red Star (3.11.1944)
• two Orders “For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR” 2nd (12/14/1988) and 3rd degree (04/30/1975)
• medals

Awarded twelve Commendations from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief (03/13/1944, 03/28/1944, 04/10/1944, 11/4/1944, 12/24/1944, 02/13/1945, 03/25/1945, 04/3/1945, 04/5/1945, 04/13/1945, 04/13/1945, 05/08/1945).

Awards from foreign countries

• Order of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, 2nd degree (20.09.1969)
• four Bulgarian anniversary medals (1974, 1978, 1982, 1985)

Hungarian People's Republic:

• star and badge of the Order of the Hungarian People's Republic, 3rd degree (04/04/1950)
• medal "Brotherhood in Arms" gold degree (09/29/1985)

• Order "Star of Friendship of Peoples" in silver (02/23/1978)
• Arthur Becker medal in gold (05/23/1980)

• medal "Sino-Soviet Friendship" (02/23/1955)

• two anniversary medals (1978, 1986)

Mongolian People's Republic:

• Order of the Red Banner of Battle (06/07/1971)
• seven anniversary medals (1968, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1982)

• medal “For the Odra, Nisa and the Baltic” (05/07/1985)
• medal "Brotherhood in Arms" (10/12/1988)
• Officer of the Order of the Renaissance of Poland (11/6/1973)

SR Romania:

• Order of Tudor Vladimirescu 2nd (10/1/1974) and 3rd (10/24/1969) degrees
• two anniversary medals (1969, 1974)

• Order of the Legion of Honor, commander degree (05/10/1945)
• medal "Bronze Star" (05/10/1945)

Czechoslovakia:

• Order of Klement Gottwald (1969)
• Medal "For Strengthening Friendship in Arms" 1st class (1970)
• two anniversary medals

Honorary titles

• Hero of the Soviet Union (1944)
• Laureate of the USSR State Prize (1975)
• Honorary citizen of the city Kherson
• Honorary Soldier of the Airborne Forces Military Unit

Proceedings

• Margelov V.F. Airborne troops. - M.: Knowledge, 1977. - 64 p.
• Margelov V.F. Soviet Airborne Forces. — 2nd ed. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1986. - 64 p.

Memory

• By order of the USSR Minister of Defense dated April 20, 1985, V. F. Margelov was enrolled as an Honorary Soldier in the lists of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division.
Ulyanovsk Western Litsa.

monument to V.F. Margelov in Dneprpetrovsk

memorial plaque in Moscow

medal V.F. Margelova

MOSCOW, December 27 - RIA Novosti, Nikolai Protopopov. He fought in the Great Patriotic War, commanded the Airborne Forces for a quarter of a century, received many state awards and, no less important, the kind nickname Uncle Vasya among his charges - December 27 marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Soviet military leader, founder of the modern Airborne Forces Vasily Margelov. Read about how he went down in history in the RIA Novosti article.

Soldier's Road

Margelov was called up to serve in the Red Army in September 1928 and was immediately sent to study at the United Belarusian Military School in Minsk. Having graduated with honors in 1931, Vasily received command of a machine gun platoon in Mogilev. By the end of 1938, he was already a battalion commander and headed divisional intelligence.

IN Soviet-Finnish war Margelov distinguished himself by capturing officers of the Swedish General Staff (officially, Sweden did not participate in the war, but there were many volunteers). He met the Great Patriotic War as the commander of a rifle regiment. From chief of staff and deputy division commander by 1944, Margelov rose to division commander of the Ukrainian Front. With his 49th division he crossed the Dnieper and liberated Kherson, for which he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. His fighters liberated Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Austria.

New landing

The first combat parachute units appeared in the Red Army in the mid-1930s, even before Margelov. The fact that the paratroopers call him the founder of the Airborne Forces, first of all, speaks of their endless respect for the merits of “Uncle Vasya” before this independent kind troops.

Try yourself in new role he was offered it in 1948. After graduating from the General Staff Academy, Margelov was given command of the 76th Guards Airborne Division in Pskov. The difficulty was that during the war the division fought as a rifle division and only had to “attach its wings.” And from this moment it begins new stage in the history of the Airborne Forces.

Margelov, despite his high position and military merits, along with his subordinates, mastered the skill of a paratrooper, learned from experienced soldiers the details of his new profession and the nuances of special training. I made my first parachute jump in my life and learned how to stow it. Later, in an interview, he admitted that until the age of forty he had a vague idea of ​​what a parachute was. During his service, Margelov jumped with a parachute more than 60 times, the last time at the age of 65.

In 1954, he was appointed commander of the Airborne Forces. At that time, in the military strategy of the USSR, in the event of a large-scale war, paratroopers were assigned the role of supporting high rates of offensive with the massive use of nuclear missile weapons. Therefore, the Airborne Forces required appropriate aviation and armored equipment.

“To fulfill our role in modern operations, it is necessary that our formations and units be highly maneuverable, covered with armor, have sufficient fire efficiency, be well controlled, capable of landing at any time of the day and quickly proceed to active combat operations after landing. That’s, by and large account, the ideal to which we must strive,” - this is how Margelov defined the tasks of the Airborne Forces. The Airborne Forces demonstrated their capabilities and ability to operate with lightning speed and efficiency already in 1956 during the Hungarian uprising.

The commander worked closely with the military-industrial complex. Most of the developments were created with his direct participation, and he personally tested some types of weapons. Thanks to the efforts of Margelov, the Airborne Forces received the BMD-1 airborne combat vehicle, revolutionary at that time, the BTR-D armored personnel carrier, amphibious armored vehicles, and modern An-8 and An-12 transport aircraft. And later - the “workhorses” An-22 and Il-76. The latest equipment was sent to the troops weapon, portable anti-aircraft systems, grenade launchers, communication systems and engineering equipment. The paratroopers were equipped with more reliable parachutes. And in connection with the adoption of armored vehicles for the Airborne Forces, multi-dome and parachute-jet landing systems were developed.

It was under the leadership of Vasily Filippovich that the Airborne Forces learned to land equipment with a crew inside. Moreover, during the tests, the general’s son Alexander, who also connected his life with the airborne troops, was part of the BMD crew. He externally graduated from the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School and the Military Academy of Armored Forces. In the winter of 1973, Alexander parachuted from an An-12 aircraft inside a BMD-1 combat vehicle. No one in the world has ever done this before. The release was personally supervised by the father, Vasily Margelov. Colleagues later recalled that “Uncle Vasya” smoked continuously throughout the entire operation and kept a loaded pistol ready to shoot himself if something happened to his son. Margelov took this step in order to convince the USSR Minister of Defense, Marshal Andrei Grechko, of the safety of landing equipment with people on board.

In January 1976, Margelov’s son set another record: a BMD-1 with its crew thrown out of a plane made a soft landing for the first time in history using the Reaktavr parachute-rocket system. Major Margelov Jr. was in the car with Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Shcherbakov. The BMD was parachuted at great risk to life, without personal means of rescue. Twenty years later, both crew members were awarded the title of Hero of Russia for their feat.

Airborne for life

Vasily Margelov commanded the Airborne Forces until 1979. Over the years of his leadership, the Airborne Forces have become a truly independent branch of the military and one of the most combat-ready military formations in the world. The Airborne Forces participated in all wars and local conflicts of the USSR and Russia.