Mikhail Grigoryevich Yefremov

Who was Mikhail Grigoryevich Yefremov?

Lieutenant General Mikhail Grigoryevich Yefremov was a military commander of the Soviet Union. He took part in the October Revolution, joined the Bolshevik Party in 1919, and became a division commander in 1921. He also became a military advisor to the National Government of China in 1928. During World War II, he commanded the Soviet Central Front in August 1941, and the Soviet 33rd Army from October 1941. After that army was surrounded and partially destroyed at Vyazma in March–April 1942.The Russian high command ordered him to flee the unit by flying out but he refused, subsequently the 33rd army was destroyed and he committed suicide to avoid being taken prisoner by the Germans. There is a monument dedicated to him in Vyazma.