Background
Ivan Chystyakov was born on September 27, 1900 Tver', Russian Federation.
Ivan Chystyakov was born on September 27, 1900 Tver', Russian Federation.
Ivan Chystyakov was educated locally.
A colonel when the Germans invaded in June 1941, he was soon commanding a rifle corps in the Kiev district with the rank of general major. At Stalingrad he took over the 1st Guards Army Hq on 28 September 1942, but on 15 October 1942 this was disbanded to form the cadre of Vatutin's Southwest Front Hq. Again promoted, Gen Lt Chistyakov headed this front’s 21st Army, which made the main effort on the eastern flank of the Stalingrad counteroffensive. Chistyakov’s troops broke out of three bridgeheads, then worked closely with Moskalenko's 1st Tank Army to complete encirclement of Romanian forces on 21 November 1942. On 26 January 1943 he made contact with Chuykov’s 62d Army of the western wing. M. Ye. Katukov’s 1st Guards Tank Army now was formed from the disbanded 1st Tank Army, and Chistyakov took part with Katukov in routing Knobelsdorff’s crack 48th Pz Corps.
The 21st Army was in the High Command Reserve until March 1943, when released to help Zhukov stabilize the Voronezh Front. His formation redesignated the 6th Guards Army at this time, Chistyakov was in Vatutin’s Voronezh Front. In the Battle of Kursk, he and Katukov were hit on 4 July by their old enemy Knobelsdorff who achieved tactical surprise by jumping off late on an oppressively hot day, at 3 PM, ignoring the threat of rain (that would hamper tank movement). According to some accounts, Chistyakov’s front-line infantry and hundreds of Katukov’s dug-in tanks were quickly overrun as artillery defensive barrages were slow in coming, and the Germans advanced for more than a week before losing momentum. But Mellenthin does not support this dramatic view of what Knobelsdorff achieved.
Still in Vatutin’s front, the 6th Guards Army helped capture Belgorod on 5 August 1943. Chistyakov was promoted to colonel general shortly after his army jumped off on 22 June 1944 with Bagramyan’s 1 st Baltic Front in Opn Bagration, the offensive that destroyed AG Center and liberated Belorussia and East Poland. In June 45, Chistyakov took command of the 25th Army of the 1st Far Eastern Front. He led this against the Japanese in the Manchurian campaign that started on 9 August 1945.