The rarest photo of the war hero, Major General V.I. Shvetsov, wearing a helmet mod. 1939

An original and extremely rare photograph in excellent collector's condition. The rarity is due to the presence of a helmet on the general's head: the fact is that this element of protective equipment was not required by the senior command staff, since he did not need to be directly on the front line. That is why it is almost impossible to find photos of generals in helmets even on the Web. The additional value of the image is given by the presence of a clearly visible star on the "three-rivet" and spurs on his boots, which indicates that the combat general was riding on the front line. The image size is 113*172 mm. A rarity!

Vasily Ivanovich Shvetsov (February 28 (March 12), 1898, Lykovskaya village, Novgorod Province — October 1, 1958, Leningrad) was a Soviet military commander and a participant in the Great Patriotic War. Colonel-General (1954).

On December 11, 1941, he assumed the post of commander of the 29th Army of the Kalinin Front. On December 16, two divisions of the 29th Army, in cooperation with the 256th Infantry Division of the 31st Army, liberated Kalinin (now Tver). In early 1942, he led the army's combat operations in the Rzhev-Vyazma offensive operation. During the battle, the army, in cooperation with other formations of the front, first cut off a large enemy group from the main forces of the 9th German Army, and then itself, as a result of a German counterattack, was surrounded. Acting in an exceptionally difficult situation, the army personnel showed high resilience and organization, thanks to which soon the army units and formations managed to break through to join the main forces of the front with intense battles. In late July — August 1942, the army took part in the offensive against the Rzhev-Sychev grouping of German troops. Having broken through the German defenses to a depth of 30 km and reached the Volga, the army troops pinned down large Wehrmacht forces and forced the German command to transfer 12 divisions from other sectors of the front to the battle area. Later, however, he was relieved of command for his miscalculations and inability to lead troops in the area of the Gridinsky salient. On September 8, 1942— he became Acting Deputy Commander of the 3rd Shock Army of the Kalinin Front. During the Velikiye Luki offensive, he commanded the northern task force advancing on Velikiye Luki. He was shell-shocked in subsequent battles and was hospitalized from February 15 to May 4, 1943. After completing his medical treatment, he was appointed commander of the 4th Shock Army on May 18, 1943. In early November 1943, the 4th Shock Army participated in the Nevel offensive operation. In the period from December 30, 1943 to February 25, 1944, he was at the disposal of the GUK NPO. From February to April 1944, he was commander of the 21st Army, which was in the Reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters. In July 1944, he was appointed commander of the 23rd Army of the Leningrad Front. Her troops conducted successful military operations to eliminate the enemy's foothold on the Vuoksa River, and after the cessation of hostilities with Finland, they were withdrawn to the state border on the Karelian Isthmus, where they remained until the end of the war.