Rank: Lieutenant General. Troop type: Land Forces, Air Force (except Naval Aviation), Coastal Service, NKVD troops, Border Guard Mikhail Grigoryevich Efremov - Commander of the Civil War, the Great Patriotic War, Hero of Russian Federation (1996; posthumous), Lieutenant General (1940). He was born on 27 February (11 March) 1897 in the city of Tarusa, Kaluga Province. He was in the Russian Imperial army since September 1915. At first he joined the 55th reservist regiment, but soon seconded to the ensign school in the city of Telavi (Georgia). In spring 1916 he graduated from the Telavi Ensign School and was sent into the active army. In 1920 he completed the higher military studies. From February 1921 he commanded the 33rd separate rifle division, which was stationed in Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk. In February 1921 the 33rd Division of M. G. Efremov together with a detachment of Ossetian partisans crossed the snow of the Mamison and GEB passes of the Caucasus Mountains and attacked the troops of Georgian Menshevik. Soon a Bolshevik uprising broke out in Georgia and the 33rd Division began patrolling the streets. From July 1921 - head of the infantry courses of the Second Moscow Command, from February 1924 - deputy commander and head of the political department of the 14th Infantry Division. In April 1924 he commanded the 19th Infantry Division in Tambov. By the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of USSR of June 4, 1940 M. G. Efremov was awarded the military rank of Lieutenant General. In January 1941 he was appointed 1st Deputy Inspector General of the Red Army Infantry. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Lieutenant General M. G. Efremov was appointed commander of the 21st Army, which, as part of the Western Front, fought fierce battles in the direction of Mogilev. At the end of July, the army formations chained a significant number of German troops and delayed their advance towards the Dnieper. On August 7, 1941 he was appointed commander of the Middle Front. Until the end of August, the front troops under the leadership of M. G. Efremov held back the enemy's offensive and prevented him from attacking the flank and rear of the front South-Western In September he was appointed deputy commander of the Bryansk Front. From October 1 to 17, 1941, he led the 10th Army. From October 1941 he was commander of the 33rd Army on the Western Front. Defender of Moscow, liberator of Naro-Fominsk, Verey and Borovsk, hundreds of villages and towns in Moscow, Kaluga and Smolensk regions. Surrounded by the enemy in the territory of the. Zhary, Smolensk region, seriously wounded to escape capture, committed suicide on April 19, 1942. The Germans found the body of a brave general and identified him. By order of the enemy command, Jefremov was buried with military honors: The Fuehrer's soldiers showed due respect to a worthy enemy. There is a legend about a German general who was in Slobodka that day and told his soldiers about it: "You must fight for Germany as bravely and courageously as this general fought for his country! There is a suspicion that it was none other than Walter Model himself, the future Field Marshal General, an ambitious and proud military leader. He was buried in the city of Vyazma in the cemetery of Catherine. During the encirclement, Efremov had repeated opportunities to escape in person - a plane was sent for him and he was offered to be taken out by detours, but he remained with his army until the end. On December 31, 1996, Lieutenant General Efremov was awarded the title of "Hero of Russia" by presidential decree.