German Tarasov
Soviet general (1906-1944)
German Fyodorovich Tarasov (Russian: Ге́рман Фёдорович Тара́сов; 29 March [O.S. 16 March] 1906 – 19 October 1944) was a Red Army major general during World War II.
An officer in the NKVD Border Troops before World War II, Tarasov was given command of the 249th Rifle Division after Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began in June 1941. He led the division during the Battle of Moscow and the Toropets–Kholm Offensive, and was decorated for his leadership of the 249th, which was converted into the 16th Guards Rifle Division. Tarasov was appointed commander of the 41st Army in May 1942, but was relieved of command for his performance during Operation Mars in November and December. He was given command of the 70th Army, formed from NKVD personnel, and led the army during the failed Dmitriyev-Sevsk Offensive in February and March 1943. He was relieved of command again and transferred to command the 24th Army (converted into the 4th Guards Army in April), then in reserve. However, Tarasov was swiftly demoted to army deputy commander, and successively held that position in the 4th Guards Army and the 7th Guards Army during the rest of the year. After the 53rd Army's commander was wounded in December, he briefly took command of the army but was demoted again to deputy commander in January 1944. Tarasov was killed in action during the Battle of Debrecen in October of that year.
Early life and interwar period
Tarasov was born on 29 March 1906 in the village of Mokrousovo in Tobolsk Governorate. From the fall of 1923 he studied at the Tyumen Road Construction Institute, but did not graduate due to its closure, after which he worked as a teacher at the first-stage (primary) school in the village of Poloy.
“German Tarasov” enters the record as soviet general (1906-1944). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what German, Tarasov and Soviet can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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