Editing Andrei Grechko (section)

== World War II ==
[[File:Comandante_del_1er_Ejército_de_Guardias_Andréi_Grechko_(segundo_desde_la_derecha).jpg|thumb|left|Grechko (center), commander of the 1st Guards Army, at the [[Árpád Line]] (1944)]]
In October 1938, he was appointed as chief of staff of the 62nd Cavalry Regiment. While serving in this position, he participated in the [[Soviet invasion of Poland]].<ref name=":2"/>

In the early days of the [[German invasion of the Soviet Union]], Grechko served in the Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Red Army. Grechko's first command during [[World War II]] was of the 34th Cavalry Division, which put up a valiant fight around [[Kremenchug]] near Kiev in [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukraine]] during the [[First Battle of Kiev]]. The division was assigned to the [[26th Army (Soviet Union)|26th]], [[38th Army (Soviet Union)|38th]] and [[6th Army (Soviet Union)|6th Armies]] on the [[Southwestern Front (Soviet Union)|Southwestern Front]].<ref name=":2"/>

On 15 January 1942, Grechko was put in command of the [[5th Cavalry Corps (Soviet Union)|5th Cavalry Corps]] and took part in the [[Barvenkovo–Lozovaya offensive]]. From March 1942, he was appointed as commander of the operational group of troops in the [[Southern Front (Soviet Union)|Southern Front]], which operated in the [[Donbas]]. Starting 15 April 1942, Grechko was placed in command of [[12th Army (Soviet Union)|12th Army]] and took part in the defense of [[Voroshilovgrad]] and from July, took part in the [[Battle of the Caucasus]]. In September 1942, Grechko commanded the [[47th Army]] and at the same time acting as commander of the Novorossiysk Defensive Region. He commanded the [[47th Army]] in the [[Transcaucasian Front]] from 19 October 1942 and took part in the [[Tuapse]] Operation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://xn--80achcepozjj4ac6j.xn--p1ai/articles/bitva-za-kavkaz-vospominaniya-marshala-andreya-grechko|title=БИТВА ЗА КАВКАЗ. ВОСПОМИНАНИЯ МАРШАЛА АНДРЕЯ ГРЕЧКО |newspaper=диктантпобеды.рф|access-date= May 25, 2022}}</ref>

From 5 January 1943, Grechko was commander of the [[56th Army (Soviet Union)|56th Army]] in the Transcaucasian Front, during which he took part in the North Caucasian Strategic Offensive Operation. After fierce battles in January, his unit broke through the heavily fortified enemy defenses and reached the approaches to Krasnodar. From February to March, as part of the [[North Caucasian Front]], he participated in the Krasnodar Offensive, and then in a number of local and mostly unsuccessful offensive operations of the front troops. In September 1943, the troops of the 56th Army, in cooperation with the [[9th Army (Soviet Union)|9th]] and the 18th Armies, liberated the [[Taman Peninsula]] from the direction of [[Novorossiysk]], during the Novorossiysk-Taman Strategic Offensive Operation.<ref name=":GT">{{cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/grechko.htm|title=Andrey Antonovich Grechko (1903-76)|newspaper=Global Security |access-date= May 25, 2022}}</ref>

Grechko served as the deputy commander of the [[Voronezh Front]] from 16 October 1943 and on 20 October, he was appointed as deputy commander of the [[1st Ukrainian Front]]. During this time, he fought in the [[Battle of the Dnieper]] and [[Battle of Kiev (1943)|Second Battle of Kiev]].<ref name=":GV">{{cite web|url=https://goaravetisyan.ru/dvazhdy-geroi-sovetskogo-soyuza-grechko-andrei-antonovich-dvazhdy-geroi/|title=Дважды герой советского союза гречко андрей антонович. Дважды герой советского союза гречко андрей антонович Биография гречко андрей антонович|newspaper=goaravetisyan.ru |access-date= May 25, 2022}}</ref>

Then, on 14 December 1943, he was made the Commanding General of [[1st Guards Army (Soviet Union)|1st Guards Army]], a position he held until the end of the war. The First Guards Army was a part of the [[4th Ukrainian Front]], which was led by Col.-Gen. [[Ivan Yefimovich Petrov]]. Grechko led the 1st Guards in a number of offensive operations, predominantly in [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Hungary]] and into [[Austria]].<ref name=":GV"/>