Chuikov and Krylov: A Vital Partnership
- Maria A. Kithcart
- Aug 31, 2021
- 2 min read
I enjoy WW2 history and spent much time during COVID reading the memoirs by Marshal Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov. He was a Lieutenant-General during the war at Stalingrad, which is considered to be one of the most decisive victories against the Nazis and a turning point of the war. His Chief of Staff, Major-General Nikolai Krylov, was indispensable to the 62nd Army's success. In an excerpt from Michael Jones' book Stalingrad: How the Red Army Triumphed, an officer who served at the Army HQ on the banks of the Volga River shared his memory of the two leaders working together.
Pictured L-R: Major-General Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov, Chief of Staff; Lieutenant-General Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov, Commander; Major-General Kuzma Akimovich Gurov, Commissar; Major-General Alexander Ilych Rodimtsev, Commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Division
"Chuikov and his Chief of Staff Krylov formed an indispensable partnership. [Anatoly] Mereshko recalled:
'They worked together as a team at Stalingrad, and became almost indivisible, like two soldier's boots marching together to the same step. Krylov was a big, strong man--like Chuikov--and once he had worked as a porter on the Volga, which was tough, physical strong work. That kind of physical toughness was so important at Stalingrad. He was also a very calm person and in difficult situations, he always managed to retain his self-control--he could appear relaxed even in the most terrible crisis. On many occasions, he calmed Chuikov down. When the oil went up in flames above our HQ, and some were panicking and running around inside, it was Krylov who kept his head. He saw the danger--the surrounding trenches were quickly flooding with burning oil--and told everyone to stay where they were: he ordered them to stay in their dugouts and continue working. A lot of lives were saved by his quick thinking.'"
