Born in Odessa, after the death of his Catholic father of Polish descent, Malinovsky's mother left the city for the rural areas of Ukraine, and remarried.
Her husband, a poverty-stricken Ukrainian peasant, refused to adopt her son and expelled him when Malinovsky was only 13 years old.
The homeless boy survived by working as a farmhand, and eventually received shelter from his aunt's family in Odessa, where he worked as an errand boy in a general store.

After the start of World War I in July 1914, Malinovsky, who was only 15 years old at the time (too young for military service), hid on the military train heading for the German front, but was discovered.
He nevertheless convinced the commanding officers to enlist him as a volunteer, and served in a machine-gun detachment in the frontline trenches.
In October 1915, as a reward for repelling a German attack, he received his first military award, the Cross of St. George of the 4th class, and was promoted to the rank of corporal.
Soon afterwards, he was badly wounded and spent several months in the hospital.

After his recovery, he was sent to France in 1916 as a member of the Western Front Russian Expeditionary Corps.
Malinovsky fought in a hotly contested sector of the front near Fort Brion and was promoted to sergeant.
He suffered a serious wound in his left arm, and received a decoration from the French government.
After the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the French government disbanded some Russian units, but others were transferred to a newly created unit called the Russian Legion, which was attached to the Moroccan Division.
Malinovsky fought against the Germans until the end of the war.
During this time, he was awarded the French Croix de guerre and promoted to senior NCO.
Born in Odessa, after the death of his Catholic father of Polish descent, Malinovsky's mother left the city for the rural areas of Ukraine, and remarried. Her husband, a poverty-stricken Ukrainian peasant, refused to adopt her son and expelled him when Malinovsky was only 13 years old. The homeless boy survived by working as a farmhand, and eventually received shelter from his aunt's family in Odessa, where he worked as an errand boy in a general store. 
After the start of World War I in July 1914, Malinovsky, who was only 15 years old at the time (too young for military service), hid on the military train heading for the German front, but was discovered. He nevertheless convinced the commanding officers to enlist him as a volunteer, and served in a machine-gun detachment in the frontline trenches. In October 1915, as a reward for repelling a German attack, he received his first military award, the Cross of St. George of the 4th class, and was promoted to the rank of corporal. Soon afterwards, he was badly wounded and spent several months in the hospital.
After his recovery, he was sent to France in 1916 as a member of the Western Front Russian Expeditionary Corps. Malinovsky fought in a hotly contested sector of the front near Fort Brion and was promoted to sergeant. He suffered a serious wound in his left arm, and received a decoration from the French government. After the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the French government disbanded some Russian units, but others were transferred to a newly created unit called the Russian Legion, which was attached to the Moroccan Division. Malinovsky fought against the Germans until the end of the war. During this time, he was awarded the French Croix de guerre and promoted to senior NCO.
Rodion Malinovsky