Andrei Smirnov

Andrey Kirillovich Smirnov (August 27, 1895, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire – October 8, 1941, near the village of Popovka (according to other sources, near the village of Alekseevka), Zaporozhye Oblast) was a Soviet military commander, commander of the 18th Army, during Great Patriotic War, lieutenant general (June 4, 1940). Biography Smirnov was born on August 27, 1895, in Saint Petersburg to nobles. World War I and Civil War In 1915, he was called up for military service in the Russian Imperial Army. He graduated from the Vladimir Military School in 1916. He took part in the battles of the First World War from January 1916, when, with the rank of warrant officer, he was sent to the post of junior officer in the 138th Infantry Bolkhov Regiment. As part of the regiment, he fought in the 35th Infantry Division of the 8th and in the 11th (from May 1916) Armies of the Southwestern Front. For military distinctions, he received the military ranks of second lieutenant and lieutenant out of turn. On October 14, 1916, the company commander, Smirnov, was wounded in a battle near the village of Zvyzhen near Brody. In November 1917, he was demobilized and immediately entered the Red Guard, was an instructor in combat training of the Red Guard detachments.