Golikov, General Filip

Golikov, General Filip (1900–80),Soviet Army officer who commanded the Sixth Army when it occupied eastern Poland during the Polish campaign, and in the Finnish–Soviet war in which he distinguished himself. In July 1940, when Timoshenko was appointed Defence Commissar in place of Voroshilov, Golikov became his deputy and head of Military Intelligence (see GRU). In that capacity he must take much of the blame for the Soviet Union's incorrect assessment of German intentions before and after they launched their invasion of the USSR in June 1941 (see BARBAROSSA), which included ignoring the warnings of the Soviet agent Richard Sorge. However, this débâcle did him no visible harm and in July 1941 he was chosen by Stalin to lead a three-month Lend-Lease mission to London and Washington. In October 1941 he was appointed to command the Tenth Reserve Army which took part in the successful counter-offensive outside Moscow that December. He was then given command of the Briansk front (army group) but failed to hold Voronezh during the German summer offensive (see German–Soviet war, 4) and was dismissed. He then served in an unspecified capacity around Stalingrad before returning to his post as deputy defence commissar in April 1943.

Bibliography

Shukman, H. (ed.), Stalin's Generals (London, 1993).