Aleksandr Borisovich Rodionov

Aleksandr Borisovich Rodionov (; 12 September 1902 – 19 July 1944) was a Red Army colonel who held division commands during World War II.

A veteran of the final stages of the Russian Civil War, Rodionov rose to command and staff positions between the wars. He began World War II as a division chief of staff and spent more than a month behind German lines. After a series of staff assignments, Rodionov commanded a brigade in the Battles of Rzhev. In mid-1943 he became acting commander of the 32nd Rifle Division, which he led in the Smolensk operation. From late December 1943 to early May 1944 he commanded the 91st Guards Rifle Division in eastern Belorussia, but was relieved for excessive drinking. Demoted to deputy commander of another division, Rodionov was mortally wounded during Operation Bagration.

Early life and Russian Civil War Rodionov was born on 12 September 1902 in the city of Troitskosavsk, Transbaikal Oblast to a working-class family. He graduated from a four-year city school in 1917 and worked as an unskilled laborer. Conscripted into the Red Army in September 1921, he was sent to serve as a Red Army man in the guard company of the border troops headquarters in Chita, but was discharged from service for family reasons in November of that year. During early 1943 the division defended positions northeast of Rzhev, and in March participated in the Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive, the Soviet advance during the German retreat from the Rzhev salient. Elements of the 215th entered Rzhev on 3 March. Shortly afterwards, Rodionov was sent to the front reserve. In July he was appointed chief of the Operations Department of the headquarters of the 39th Army of the Kalinin Front.

Rodionov served as acting commander of the 39th Army's 32nd Rifle Division, part of the 5th Guards Rifle Corps, from 25 August. He led it in the Dukhovshchina-Demidov offensive of the Smolensk strategic offensive, during which it captured Dukhovshchina and Rudnya. For his performance during the offensive, Rodionov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, his first decoration, on 24 September. The citation read:

In the battles in the area of the Tsarevich river the 32nd Rifle Division, under the command of Colonel Rodionov, broke through the strongly fortified enemy defensive zone and inflicted numerous serious defeats on the enemy. In the subsequent offensive on Dukhovshchina and during the pursuit of the enemy, the 32nd Rifle Division skillfully operated to smash the intermediate lines of the enemy and eliminate his strongpoints, not giving the enemy the opportunity to use them to delay the advance.

Comrade Rodionov displayed skill, ability, and personal courage. In the strenuous period of the battle Comrade Rodionov time and again under strong enemy fire appeared in the decisive sectors and oversaw the progress of the battle in his zone through personal leadership.

To the southwest of Liozno the enemy attempted to halt the advance of our units on the Moshna river. Comrade Rodionov made a bold decision: he sent one regiment of his division through a swamp, where the enemy did not expect our operations. The regiment reached the enemy rear and wiped out the enemy strongpoint of Goreliki. The thrust against the enemy was felt so much that the enemy began to hurriedly retreat from the line of the Moshna on the entire front of the corps.

For skillful leadership of units in battle and for displaying in this personal courage Colonel Rodionov is deserving of a state award: the Order of the Red Banner.

He was relieved of command on 19 October due to the poor state of his health and was sent to the rear for treatment. After recovering, Rodionov returned to the 39th Army and was appointed commander of the 91st Guards Rifle Division of the 5th Guards Rifle Corps on 20 December. When he arrived to take command, the division was involved in the Gorodok offensive, a series of unsuccessful attacks towards Vitebsk from the east. The division took part in repeated unsuccessful attacks towards Vitebsk that began on 8 January 1944. Another offensive towards Vitebsk began on 3 February and continued until 17 February, inflicting significant casualties and reducing the German salient around Vitebsk. As a result of his performance in these actions, Rodionov was evaluated in combat characteristics as "tactically competent and correctly able to manage battle, which he demonstrated during the breakthrough of German defensive lines in the area of Goloburdy and Bondari on 3 February 1944." Despite this positive assessment, Rodionov became known for his heavy drinking, and one of his regimental commanders, Moisei Mdinaradze, recalled that corps commander Ivan Bezugly was always trying to catch him drunk. After a March incident when Rodionov showed up drunk to Mdinaradze's command post, Rodionov began drinking with his stableman. Rodionov was relieved on 2 May for what the 91st Guards' war diary described as "regular drinking binges" and sent to the front reserve. On 5 May he returned to duty as deputy commander of the 220th Rifle Division, then in the reserve of the 31st Army. In early June the division and its army were relocated to the 3rd Belorussian Front in the area east of Goroshkovo on the left bank of the Dnieper, where they trained for the upcoming offensive.

The 220th fought in the Vitebsk–Orsha offensive from 23 June, with Rodionov leading the division forward mobile detachment, its vanguard. On 27 June Rodionov's detachment advanced into the eastern part of Orsha and captured the sole surviving railway bridge before it could be blown up, conducted an assault crossing of the Dnieper, and ensured the crossing of the remainder of the army. Continuing the offensive, it reached the eastern bank of the Berezina in the Novoselki area, assault-crossing the river and on 2 July reached the Moscow-Minsk highway in the area of Zhodino. In the morning of 3 July the vanguard of the division mounted on motor vehicles in cooperation with the 2nd Guards Tank and Cavalry Corps entered Minsk during the Minsk offensive. After the capture of the city, the division continued the pursuit towards Rakov. The division entered Ivenets on 8 July, Ivye on 10 July, and was in battle for Lida on 11 July. On 14 July the vanguard of the division, under the command of Rodionov, assault-crossed the Neman in the area of Zaritsa and Berzhany, 6-7 km north of Grodno, and for two days repulsed German attacks. During the fighting to expand the bridgehead, Rodionov was mortally wounded on 16 July, and died of his wounds two days later on 19 July. Rodionov, survived by his wife, He was posthumously awarded a second Order of the Red Banner on 30 October for his performance during the Vitebsk–Orsha offensive. The citation read:

Guards Colonel Rodionov, during the breakthrough of the strongly fortified zone of the enemy on 23 June 1944 in the area of the city of Dubrovna, was with the forward units the entire time, and at the forward observation point. He assisted the regimental commanders in the organization of the battle and in the implementation of the decisions of the division commander. Commanding the mobile detachment of the division he forced a crossing of the Berezina river and his detachment together with tank units were first to enter the city of Minsk and capture it. In the battles, he conducted himself firmly and courageously and skillfully fulfilled combat missions with urgency. Guards Colonel Rodionov is deserving of a state award: the Order of the Red Banner.