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August Ivanovich Kork (, also Аугуст Яанович Корк; 12 June 1937) was an Estonian Red Army commander (Komandarm 2nd rank) who was tried and executed during the Great Purge in 1937.
Kork became an officer of the Imperial Russian Army and graduated from the General Staff Academy. He served as a staff officer during World War I and in February 1917 was at the Western Front headquarters. Kork became a Bolsheviks and joined the Red Army. He fought in the Russian Civil War, initially as chief of staff of the Bolshevik-sponsored Estonian Red Army and then as assistant commander of the 7th Army. In July 1919 Kork became commander of the 15th Army, defeating Nikolai Yudenich's Northwestern Army and defending Petrograd. He led the army in the Polish–Soviet War and in October 1920 became commander of the 6th Army, which defeated the last White army in Crimea, led by Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel.
After the end of the campaign, Kork took command of the Kharkov Military District and later became the assistant commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Crimea. In October 1922 he took command of the Turkestan Front, fighting against Basmachi rebels. During the late 1920s, Kork commanded the Caucasus Army, several military districts, and was the Soviet military attaché in Weimar Germany between 1928 and 1929. Returning from Germany, Kork became commander of the Moscow Military District. In 1935 he became head of the Frunze Military Academy with the rank of Komandarm 2nd rank. At this time he was the highest-ranking Estonian Red Army officer. During the Great Purge, Kork was arrested and shot as part of the Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization. He was acquitted twenty years later.
Kork fought in World War I on the Northwestern Front and the Western Front. In October 1914, he was awarded the Order of Saint Anna 3rd class with Swords. On 1 April 1915, he was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus 2nd class with Swords. Kork became an adjutant on the staff of the 3rd Siberian Army Corps and was promoted to Staff captain on 14 June. On 16 November, Kork received the Order of Saint Anna 4th class. At the same time, he became an adjutant at the headquarters of the 8th Siberian Rifle Division. On 25 or 30 December he was transferred to the 10th Army headquarters. He also served with the 20th Army Corps and the Office of the Quartermaster General on the Staff of the Western Front. On 15 August 1916, he was promoted to captain. In 1917, he graduated from the Observer-Pilot Military School. On 25 February, Kork became an officer for Aircraft Orders on the Staff of the Western Front. He was promoted to Podpolkovnik. On 31 March, Kork was awarded the Order of Saint Anna 2nd class with Swords. Between August 1917 and February 1918 he was chairman of the Soldiers' Committee of the Western Front.
Kork led the 15th Army in the Polish–Soviet War. On 17 May 1920, the army attacked Minsk. By 23 May, the army had crossed the Berezina River, advancing . Polish resistance stiffened the next day, stopping the army's advance. After Polish counterattacks had pushed back the 15th Army and other Red Army units, Mikhail Tukhachevsky launched a second Soviet offensive. By 22 July the army had crossed the Neman. After the Polish counteroffensive, two of the army's divisions were interned in East Prussia. For actions in the Polish-Soviet War in July 1920 Kork was awarded a second Order of the Red Banner.
He became commander of the 6th Army on 26 October 1920, fighting against the last White Army led by Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel in Crimea. The 6th Army's attack began two days later. On 29 October it had captured Perekop in an attempt to encircle White forces north of the isthmus, but the Soviet cavalry units that were to complete the encirclement failed and many of Wrangel's troops escaped. On 8 November the 6th Army captured the Turkish Wall and began its advance south. Wrangel issued evacuation orders and by 16 November most of the White troops had evacuated. Kork was awarded an Honorary Revolutionary Weapon on 30 December 1920 for the capture of Perekop and Yushunskaya positions and the occupation of Crimea.
Kork was arrested on 12 May (16 May according to Robert Conquest) 1937. Kork initially denied the charges but signed a confession on 18 May. The confession stated that Avel Enukidze had involved him in a "rightist conspiracy" connected to Vitovt Putna and Vitaly Primakov's "Trotskyite group". Four days later, Robert Eideman was arrested for signing Kork's party recommendation. After the arrest of Ieronim Uborevich on 29 May, Kork had a confrontation session with him. At the secret trial on 11 June, known as the Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization, Kork did not answer when asked if he had conducted spying. He was convicted of "involvement in a military conspiracy in the Red Army and in preparing to overthrow Soviet power through an armed uprising and the defeat of the Soviet Union in a future war." He was shot in Moscow the next day and buried in the Donskoye Cemetery. The Frunze Military Academy was purged. On 31 January 1957 Kork was "rehabilitated" (acquitted) for "lack of evidence."
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