Since March 1941, Colonel Lizyukov was the deputy commander of the
17th Mechanized Corps (commanded by Major General
M. P. Petrov) of the
36th Tank Division in the
Western Special Military District, On 22 June 1941, at the start of
Operation Barbarossa,
Nazi Germany's invasion of the
Soviet Union during
World War II, Lizyukov's 17th Mechanized Corps was stationed near
Slonim, and was opposed by the
German Army Group Center. For courage in action, he was awarded the title of
Hero of the Soviet Union, with a Gold Star, on 5 August 1941, along with the
Order of Lenin, in lieu of the award of the Order of the Red Banner.
Moscow (1941) From 30 September 1941 until 10 October 1941, Colonel Lizyukov's 1st Guards Motor Rifle Division participated in a holding action around the town of
Sumy as part of the mechanized cavalry group of the
21st Army, in some of the first action of the
First Battle of Kharkov. On 6 October 1941,
Southwestern Front decided to attempt to attack into the German right flank, resulting in the collapse of the defensive line and the breakthrough of the German
29th Infantry Division into Sumy on 10 October 1041. The division was subsequently withdrawn into the reserve around
Moscow. Now part of
33rd Army, which covered the
Naro-Fominsk area southwest of Moscow, the division was tasked with taking the offensive to the south and west of Naro-Fominsk. It ran squarely into elements of the German
4th Army on 22 October 1941, and was pushed back into the city, and was involved in running street battles between 23 and 25 October, losing about 70% of its strength. On 26 October, the division retrenched on the left bank of the
Nara River and stopped the German advance. On 28 October, Lizyukov was ordered to assault the city, but was pushed back amidst heavy losses. In November, Colonel Lizyukov was recalled to Moscow, and was replaced by Colonel Timofey Novikov. On November 27, 1941, Colonel Lizyukov was named deputy commander of the newly re-formed
20th Army, under the command of General
A. A. Vlasov. The 20th Army was tasked on 2 December 1941 to defend Moscow on the
Leningrad highway to the northeast of Moscow, and was ordered to counter-attack against the advancing German troops. On 12 December, a brigade under the command of A. I. Lizyukov liberated
Solnechnogorsk.
Demyansk Pocket (1942) On 10 January 1942 Colonel Lizyukov was awarded the rank of major-general, and was appointed commander of the
2nd Guards Rifle Corps, which was assigned to the
Northwestern Front in the
Kalinin region. 2nd Guards Rifle Corps, along with
1st Guards Rifle Corps,
34th Army, and
1st Shock Army, were tasked with cutting the main communications line of the Leningrad-Volkhov elements of the enemy in the
Pskov area. By the end of February 1941, 2nd Guards Rifle Corps had moved from
Staraya Russa to the west of the
Demyansk Pocket to encircle about 95,000 German troops. Major-General Lizyukov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for his actions. In mid-April 1942 Major-General Lizyukov was ordered to form the
2nd Tank Corps, which was subsequently included in the setup of the
5th Tank Army, and in June 1942, Major-General Lizyukov was appointed its commander. 5th Tank Army was deployed in the
Bryansk Front, first in the area south-west of
Yelets and then north-west of
Yefremov.
Battle of Voronezh (1942) During the early stages of the
Battle of Voronezh (1942), the command of the Bryansk Front selected 5th Tank Army under Major-General Lizyukov to organize a counter-attack on the flank and rear of the German troops advancing on
Voronezh. On 5 July 1942 the army was ordered to immediately break through to the
Don River at Voronezh. Given the scattered locations of his corps and the tight schedule of the order, Lizyukov started his movements without the ability to fully concentrate his forces, but sent the 7th Tank Corps on 6 July, followed by the other units on 7 and 10 July 1942. In addition, instead of cutting into the flanks of the enemy, 5th Army faced
24th Panzer Division frontally, as this unit had moved south instead of east in accordance to the planning for
Case Blue, and not as expected by the
Stavka. By the time the counter-offensive ended, the 5th Tank Army only had 27% of its tanks still operational, and had suffered nearly 8,000 casualties, and Major General Lizyukov was demoted on 15 July 1942 to command the
2nd Tank Corps, after the Stavka disbanded 5th Tank Army. On 23 July 1942 Major General Lizyukov received orders from General
Chibisov to locate and to counter-attack with his corps' two tank brigades. He commandeered a
KV tank to rescue his two brigades from encirclement, but was immobilized just short of the German prepared defensive positions, and was killed in action. ==External links==