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General Batov biography. Batov Pavel Ivanovich. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union

Pavel Ivanovich Batov was born on May 20 (June 1), 1897 in the village of Filisovo, Rybinsk district, Yaroslavl province, into a poor peasant family. Russian. He graduated from the 2nd grade of a rural school. At the age of 13, due to the extreme poverty of his family, he left for St. Petersburg, where he was hired to work in the trading house of the Leonov brothers. For 5 years he worked as a loader and peddler of purchases and orders for the apartments of wealthy citizens. Despite the difficult working conditions, he passed exams for six classes as an external student and planned to continue his studies.

World War I

A year after the outbreak of the First World War, Pavel Batov entered the service in the tsarist army. In 1916 he graduated from the training team and was sent to the front, where he became the commander of a reconnaissance squad. For the difference in battles he was awarded two St. George's crosses and two medals. In the fall of 1916, returning with a "tongue", he was seriously wounded in the head and sent to Petrograd for treatment. In 1917 he graduated from the command for training in the school of warrant officers and in the same year, with the rank of junior non-commissioned officer, he completed his service in the imperial army.

Russian Civil War

In 1917, after being wounded and concussed, PI Batov came to his native village on vacation for three months.

After the October Revolution in August 1918, P.I.Batov voluntarily joined the Red Army and was first appointed commander of a machine-gun platoon of the 1st Soviet Rifle Regiment. Soon he was appointed assistant to the military leader for marching formations at the Rybinsk military registration and enlistment office, then assistant to the military leader of the reserve command staff of the Moscow Military District. Participated in the suppression of the Romanov-Borisoglebsk peasant uprising against Soviet power. Since 1919 he was the assistant to the company commander, then the company commander. As part of the 320th Infantry Regiment, he participated in battles against the troops of Baron Wrangel and the liberation of Crimea.

Interwar period

After the end of the Civil War, P.I.Batov commanded a battalion in the Moscow Proletarian Rifle Division. In 1927 he graduated from the Shooting-tactical advanced training course for the command personnel of the Red Army "Shot". In the same year he joined the ranks of the CPSU (b). Since 1931 - Chief of Staff, and since 1934 - Commander of the 3rd Rifle Regiment of the Moscow Proletarian Rifle Division. Hero of the Soviet Union G.V. Baklanov, who served at that time under the leadership of Batov, in his memoirs admitted that the latter influenced his choice of profession.

Spanish Civil War

From December 1936 to August 1937, under the pseudonym Pablo Fritz was on a business trip to Spain, where he participated in the fight against the Franco regime on the side of the Republicans. He held the post of military adviser to the 12th International Brigade of Mate Zalka, then adviser to the Teruel Front. During one of the reconnaissance, P.I.Batov was seriously wounded. Upon his return to the USSR, he was awarded the Orders of Lenin and the Red Banner and was appointed commander of the 10th Rifle Corps. Since August 1938, commander of the 3rd Rifle Corps. In this position he took part in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. and in the campaign to liberate the western regions of Belarus and Ukraine.

From April 1940 he was deputy commander of the troops of the Transcaucasian Military District.

The Great Patriotic War

A few days before the start of the Great Patriotic War P.I.Batov was urgently summoned to Moscow, where People's Commissar Defense S. K. Timoshenko informed him about the appointment "to the post of commander of the ground forces of the Crimea and at the same time the commander of the 9th corps." In this position, in the initial period of the war, he organized anti-amphibious defense. Crimean peninsula... By the decision of the Supreme Command Headquarters on August 14, 1941, the 51st Separate Army was created on the basis of the 9th Rifle Corps. Colonel-General F.I.Kuznetsov was appointed commander of the army, and P.I.Batov was appointed his deputy. In the second half of September, when the advanced units of the 11th German Army approached the Crimea from the north, by the decision of F.I.Kuznetsov, Batov headed an operational group designed to deliver counterstrikes. He supervised the actions of the troops in repelling the attempts of German troops to break through to the Crimea through the Perekop isthmus.

  • November 19 - December 1941 (after the evacuation of the army from the Crimea) - Commander of the 51st Separate Army. Supervised the preparation of the army for the Kerch-Feodosiya landing operation.

At the end of December 1941, after the death of PS Pshennikov, PI Batov was appointed commander of the 3rd Army of the Bryansk Front. At that moment, the army with the forces of five rifle divisions took up defenses east of Orel at the turn of the Zusha River. In January-February 1942, by order of the front commander, Ya. T. Cherevichenko, the 3rd Army undertook a number of offensive operations, however, having suffered heavy losses, it did not achieve success. In his memoirs, Batov writes about this period:

In February 1942, P.I.Batov was relieved of his post of army commander and appointed acting assistant to the commander of the Bryansk front for formations. In September of the same year, he was approved in this position. Since there were no other sources of replenishment at that time, his task was to check the front lines in order to identify the possibility of replenishing combat units. As a result of this work, several thousand fighters were assembled in the rear of the front, armies and divisions, who, without prejudice to the activities of the rear services, could be sent to combat positions.

In the fall of 1942, the Battle of Stalingrad flared up in the southwestern direction. On September 30, the Don Front was formed here under the command of Lieutenant General K. K. Rokossovsky. At his request, Batov was appointed commander of the 4th Panzer Army, which became part of the new front. Took command on October 14. By this time, the army occupied a defensive length of 80 km on a small bend of the Don from Kletskaya to Trekhostrovskaya and had nine divisions in its composition. The commander began his acquaintance with the subordinates by visiting the forward positions located on the Kletsky bridgehead. To check the battle formations and study his troops, he visited battalions of the first echelon for almost the entire next month. On October 22, 1942, the 4th Panzer Army was reorganized into the 65th Army, which Batov commanded until the end of the war.

In the second half of October, three fronts of the Red Army, Southwestern, Donskoy and Stalingrad, began preparing an operation to encircle the 6th German army, which was storming Stalingrad. Within the framework of the Don Front, the 65th Army was assigned the main role... She was to, advancing from the Kletsky bridgehead, break through the German defenses, reach the Peskovatka area and cover the Wehrmacht's orphan group from the south-west. Thus, the 65th Army was supposed to cover the left flank of the 21st Army of the neighboring Southwestern Front from a possible counterstrike, which was delivering the main blow of the entire operation.

In the course of preparing for the offensive, Batov tried to achieve a clear and clear understanding by each commander of his task in the upcoming operation, methods of interaction with neighbors, artillery, tanks, and infantry. Also, a method was introduced into the practice of working out the details of the upcoming operation on a box of sand, which was a model of the terrain with applied conventional signs tactical environment.

On November 19, 1942, the troops of the Don and Southwestern Fronts went on the offensive. By the end of the first day of the offensive, the troops of the 65th Army advanced 5-8 km, but could not completely break through the enemy's first line of defense. To increase the pace of the offensive, Batov decided to create a mobile strike group from all the tanks in the army and several rifle units in vehicles. The calculation of the commander fully justified itself. During the first day, the mobile detachment advanced 23 kilometers deep into the German defense. Sensing the threat of outreach, the enemy weakened the resistance in front of the army front. The shock divisions immediately took advantage of this and, having seized a number of large centers of resistance, began to move forward faster. They were assisted by a mobile group, striking the flank and rear of the enemy. For more efficient command and control of the troops, the army commander spent almost all the time from November 20 to 23 with a small group of officers in the units fighting.

Meanwhile, the neighboring 24th Army, which had the task of cutting off the enemy's escape routes to the eastern bank of the Don, acted unsuccessfully. Having met stubborn resistance, the army's troops were unable to break through the German defenses and were drawn into heavy fighting. Taking into account this circumstance, as well as the successful offensive of the 65th Army, the front commander adjusted the plan of the operation and set the task of capturing Vertyachy before the 65th Army. From 24 to 27 November, despite strong resistance and counterattacks of the enemy, her troops managed to advance another 25-40 km and reach the Don, and in battles from 28 to 30 November capture Vertyachy.

Subsequently, the 65th Army, as part of the Don Front, took part in the operation to destroy the encircled German group. In total, in the Battle of Stalingrad, the army destroyed over 30,000 and captured about 26,500 Nazis.

Shortly after completion Battle of Stalingrad The Don Front was abolished, and on its basis the Central Front was formed north-west of Kursk. The front headquarters was located in Yelets. On February 18, the administration of the 65th Army also arrived here. Here, Batov was given the task of as soon as possible in winter off-road conditions, gather troops, many of which were on the way to the place of concentration, and prepare them for a further offensive.

In February-March 1943, the army, together with other front troops, conducted the Sevsk offensive in the northern direction and advanced 30-60 kilometers to the west. During the Battle of Kursk, the 65th Army held its defenses on a ledge against the 20th Army Corps in the Sevsk region.

From August 26 to September 30, as part of the Central Front, she participated in the Chernigov-Pripyat operation, the defense in the Sevsk region, the crossing of the river. Desna, liberation of Novgorod-Seversky, passed with difficult battles about 300 kilometers and by September 30 reached the middle reaches of the river. Dnieper near the town of Loev.

Pavel Ivanovich Batov began to prepare troops for the crossing of the Dnieper, using non-standard and standard means of crossing. On October 15, 1943, by 10 o'clock, after a powerful artillery preparation of the 4th battalion, they seized a bridgehead on the right bank of the river and held it all day. At night, army formations began to cross the established crossings. Heated battles unfolded for the expansion of the bridgehead and by October 27, the formations of the 65th Army had recaptured it along the front by 35 kilometers and in depth by 20 kilometers. With the seizure of strategic bridgeheads on the Dnieper, conditions were created for an offensive in Belarus and the complete liberation of the right-bank Ukraine.

In the battle for the Dnieper, the troops displayed massive heroism and courage. 438 soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals of all branches of the armed forces were awarded the title of Hero. The Military Council of the 65th Army wrote a conclusion on each award sheet: "Worthy of conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union."

In the battle for the Dnieper, the army suffered significant losses in personnel and command personnel. Pavel Ivanovich Batov decided to send the 100 best Heroes of the Soviet Union to the army courses of junior lieutenants, and they made wonderful platoon commanders.

He took part in the Kalinkovichi-Mozyr operation and in the Bagration operation.

The troops of the army commander P.I.Batov as part of the 2nd Belorussian Front took part in the Vistula-Oder, Mlavsko-Elbing, East Prussian, East Pomeranian and Berlin offensive operations.

The army of PI Batov fought especially stubborn battles when crossing the Vistula and Oder rivers.

The last salvo at the enemy in the zone of the 65th Army was fired by Katyusha salvos at the garrison on Rügen Island.

Lieutenant General Batov was awarded the second Gold Star medal on June 26, 1945 for exemplary leadership of troops in the Belarusian operation, when crossing the river. Vistula, the storming of Danzig and the capture of Stettin.

After the war

V post-war time P.I.Batov commanded the 7th and 11th armies (1945-1950), was the first deputy commander-in-chief of the Group Soviet troops in Germany, commander of the Carpathian and Baltic military districts (1950-58), senior military specialist in the People's Liberation Army of China.

In 1962-65. Batov was appointed chief of staff of the Joint Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact member states, then transferred to the group of inspectors general of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In 1970-81. was the chairman of the Soviet Committee of War Veterans. He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 1-5 convocations. He actively collaborated with military publishing houses, wrote books: "In campaigns and battles", "Perekop 1941" and others. In the 70s. for some time he was the host of the Podvig television almanac.

Batov served in the Tsarist, Red and Soviet armies for 70 years.

Pavel Ivanovich Batov died on April 19, 1985. Buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

A family

PI Batov was married to Yuzefa Semyonovna. In marriage, two daughters were born - Margarita and Galina.

Awards

  • two Medals "Gold Star" of the Hero of the Soviet Union
  • eight Orders of Lenin
  • three Orders of the Red Banner
  • Order of the October Revolution
  • three orders of Suvorov 1st degree
  • Order of Kutuzov 1st degree
  • Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky 1st class
  • Order for Service to the Motherland in Armed Forces USSR "3rd degree
  • Order Badge of Honor
  • “For military valor. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin "
  • Medal "XX Years of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army"
  • Medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad"
  • Medal "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945."
  • Medal "For the Liberation of Warsaw", as well as jubilee medals of the USSR and an honorary weapon with a gold image of the State Emblem of the USSR.

Orders and medals of foreign states:

  • Order of the British Empire Commander's Cross
  • Order of Poland
    • Virtuti Militari
    • Order of the "Cross of Grunwald" II degree
    • Commander's

BATOV Pavel Ivanovich, Soviet military leader, general of the army (1955), twice Hero of the Sov. Union (10/30/1943, 2.6.1945).

Pavel Ivanovich Batov was born into a poor peasant family with many children. Most of the men from the area, including his father, went to the city to hunt, and the teenage boys gave themselves up to the people. So 12-year-old Pavel, who studied for only two years in an elementary school in the neighboring village of Sretenye, where he learned to read and write, went “to the people” in St. the Leontyev brothers' shop. As he grew older, he began delivering purchases to the addresses of wealthy clients and, in parallel, was actively engaged in self-education.

In 1915 P.I. Batov enters as a hunter (volunteer) for military service in the 3rd Life Guards Rifle Regiment of His Majesty, in the reserve battalion of which he received initial training in the intelligence training team. In October 1915, junior non-commissioned officer Pavel Batov arrived at the location of the regiment, which, after the Vilna operation of 1915, as part of the Guards Corps, was in the reserve of the High Command in the Northern Front zone, and was appointed a separate reconnaissance commander.


Private of the Life Guards of the 3rd Rifle Regiment P.I. Batov. 1916 g.

During the Brusilov breakthrough, the 3rd Life Guards Rifle Regiment, as part of the Guards Rifle Division, took part in bloody battles in the Kovel direction, and since September it defended itself from a superior enemy in the area of ​​the so-called "Square Forest" near the village of Voynin (Volyn province). In these battles, the junior non-commissioned officer Batov, acting in reconnaissance at the front line of the enemy, showed courage and courage, for which he was awarded the St. George Cross of the 4th degree and St. George medals "For Courage" of the 3rd and 4th degrees. In mid-October, when returning from reconnaissance, Batov was seriously wounded and sent for treatment to Petrograd, where he was presented with the St.George Cross of the 3rd degree.

After the demobilization of the Russian imperial army in March 1918, P.I. Batov returned to his homeland, where in August 1918 he voluntarily joined the Red Army and was appointed assistant platoon commander in one of the battalions of the 1st Rybinsk Soviet Rifle Regiment. Soon he was transferred as an assistant to the military leader for marching formations at the Rybinsk military registration and enlistment office, and then he was appointed assistant to the military leader of the reserve command staff of the Moscow military district. In 1918-1919. he participated in the suppression of the uprisings in Rybinsk and Yaroslavl. From 1919 - assistant company commander, then company commander. As part of the 320th Infantry Regiment, he took part in battles against the troops of Baron P.N. Wrangel and in the liberation of the Crimea.

After the Civil War P.I. Batov commanded a company, and in 1927, after completing the Comintern's Shooting-tactical advanced training course for the command personnel of the Red Army "Shot" named after the Comintern, he was appointed battalion commander. From 1931 - chief of staff of the regiment, and in 1934 he was appointed commander of the 3rd rifle regiment of the 1st Moscow Proletarian rifle division. For high performance in combat and political training, on May 14, 1936, he was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor. At the same time, he studied at the correspondence faculty of the Frunze Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1936.


Interbrigade members: from left to right Bulgarian Ferdinand Kozovsky, Hungarian Mate Zalka, Italian Galleani, Russian Pavel Batov. 1937 g.

From December 1936 to August 1937, under the name "Pablo Fritz", Batov was on a business trip in Spain. Military adviser to the commander of the 12th International Brigade, and later to the headquarters of the Teruel Front, he took part in the battles near Madrid, Guadalajara and Huesca. After being seriously wounded in June 1937, he was evacuated to the Soviet Union. For the successful completion of assignments, courage and heroism shown in Spain, brigade commander P.I. Batov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on January 3, 1937, and the Order of Lenin on July 4, 1937.

On August 8, 1937, Batov was appointed commander of the 10th Rifle Corps, and in August 1938 he took command of the 3rd Rifle Corps, which in September-October 1939, during the Red Army's campaign in Western Belarus, consisting of 10- 1st Army operated in the second echelon of the Belorussian Front on the Lida - Grodno - Bialystok direction. For the successful leadership of the corps, its commander on November 4, 1939 was awarded the rank of division commander.

In December 1939, during the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940. 3rd Rifle Corps, led by Batov, was redeployed to Northwestern front... When the Mannerheim Line was breached on the Karelian Isthmus, a corps of the 13th Army covered its left flank. For the skillful leadership of the corps on March 11, 1940, P.I. Batov was awarded the Order of Lenin.

In April 1940, Divisional Commander Batov was appointed deputy commander of the Transcaucasian Military District, and on June 4 of the same year he was promoted to lieutenant general.

The beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. P.I. Batov met in the Crimea, where from June 9, 1941 he took command of the 9th separate rifle corps, on the basis of which the 51st separate army was later formed with direct subordination to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (VGK). Colonel-General F.I. Kuznetsov, and P.I. Batov - his deputy.

The army was given the task of preventing the enemy from invading Crimea, but it was not possible to solve this task. At the end of September, the enemy launched an offensive on the Perekop Isthmus, broke through the defenses on the Turkish shaft and, repelling a counterattack led by Lieutenant General P.I. Batov task force, overcame the resistance of the 9th Rifle Corps in the Ishun positions and dismembered the grouping of Soviet troops. The remnants of the 51st Army were driven out to the Kerch Peninsula, from where they were evacuated to Taman in mid-November.

At the end of November, Lieutenant General Batov, appointed commander of the 51st Army, began preparing the army for the landing on the Kerch Peninsula. However, at the end of December, a new appointment followed - the commander of the 3rd Army of the Bryansk Front, which occupied the defenses east of Orel. In January - February 1942, the 3rd Army made attempts to go over to the offensive, however, having suffered heavy losses, it did not achieve success.

In February 1942 P.I. Batov was appointed Assistant Commander of the Bryansk Front for Formations. His duties included checking the front-line rear services in order to identify the possibility of replenishing combat units. As a result of this work, several thousand fighters were collected, who, without prejudice to the activities of the rear services, replenished the combat units.

October 14, 1942 Lieutenant General P.I. Batov was appointed commander of the 4th Panzer Army, which was soon reorganized into the 65th Army. During the Battle of Stalingrad, units and formations of the army were active fighting on the right bank of the Don, pinning down the enemy grouping advancing on Stalingrad.


The commander of the 65th Army of the Don Front, Lieutenant General P.I. Batov with officers in the Stalingrad area. Winter 1942/1943

With the transition of Soviet troops to the counteroffensive, the army by the beginning of December 1942 reached the approaches to the river. Rossoshka and, in cooperation with other armies, formed an internal front to encircle the German troops. In January - early February 1943, the 65th Army participated in offensive operation"Ring" of the Don Front for the elimination of the encircled enemy group. For the skillful leadership of the army during the Battle of Stalingrad, P.I. Batov was awarded the 1st degree Order of Suvorov on January 28, 1943.

At the beginning of February 1943, the 65th Army was withdrawn to the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters, and then redeployed to the newly created Central Front, in which in February - March it participated in the Sevsk offensive operation.


The commander of the 65th Army, Lieutenant General P.I. Batov presents the order to the wounded soldier. Summer 1943

During the defensive battle during the Battle of Kursk, the 65th Army repelled an enemy strike from the Sevsk region. In August - September, she took part in the Chernigov-Pripyat operation, during which she forced the Desna and Sozh rivers, liberated the cities of Sevsk and Novgorod-Seversky. For successful actions on September 16, 1943, the commander of the 65th Army was awarded the second Order of Suvorov, 1st degree.

Having resumed the offensive in October 1943, the 65th Army, in cooperation with the 61st Army in the Loev region, crossed the Dnieper and seized a bridgehead on its right bank. During the Gomel-Rechitsa operation, army troops liberated a number of settlements on the territory of Belarus, including the city of Rechitsa, and by the end of November they reached the border of the river. Berezina, where they went on the defensive.

On October 30, 1943, Lieutenant General P.I.Batov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and was awarded the Order of Lenin for organizing clear interaction of subordinate troops when crossing the Dnieper, firmly holding the bridgehead on the western bank of the river and showing personal courage. Together with him, 192 people from the 65th Army were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In the summer of 1944, the 65th Army, as part of the 1st Belorussian Front, took part in the Belorussian strategic offensive operation Bagration. June 29, 1944 P.I. Batov was awarded the rank of Colonel General.

Developing an offensive in the Baranovichi direction, the 65th Army, in cooperation with other armies of the front, in the course of intense battles in mid-July, reached the line south of Svisloch and Pruzhany. On July 23, 1944, the commander of the 65th Army was awarded the 1st degree Order of Kutuzov for his skillful leadership of the army during the liberation of Belarus.

At the final stage of World War II, the 65th Army, as part of the 2nd Belorussian Front, took part in the Mlavsko-Elbing and East Pomeranian offensive operations. She completed her combat path in the Berlin Offensive Operation, during which she crossed the Oder River south of Stettin and, developing the offensive, went to the coast Baltic Sea north of Rostock. For the initiative and courage shown in organizing the crossing of the Vistula and Oder rivers, the seizure of the city of Stettin P. On February 21, 1945, Batov was awarded the Order of Lenin, on April 10, 1945, the third Order of Suvorov, 1st degree, and on June 2, 1945, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the second time.

The combat successes of the 65th Army under his leadership were noted 23 times in the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Many formations and units of the army have been awarded orders and honorary titles. For feats of arms during the war, tens of thousands of soldiers of the 65th Army were awarded orders and medals, and 323 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

After the end of hostilities, the troops of the 65th Army under the command of P.I. Batova, as part of the Northern Group of Forces, guarded the coast of the Baltic Sea. In October 1946, the army was transformed into the 7th separate tank division.

From the post of commander of the 7th separate tank division P.I. Batov entered the higher academic courses at the Higher Military Academy named after K.E. Voroshilov, who graduated in March 1950 and was appointed commander of the 11th Guards Army of the Baltic Military District.

In June 1954, Colonel-General Batov was appointed first deputy commander-in-chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, in March of the following year he was awarded the rank of army general and appointed commander of the forces of the Carpathian military district. In the fall of 1956, due to the aggravation of the situation in Hungary, P.I. Batov, by decision of the political leadership of the Soviet Union, within a three-day period from the troops of the Carpathian Military District prepared the 38th and 8th Guards Mechanized Armies for the entry into the territory of Hungary. On December 18, 1956, he was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnytsky, 1st degree, for his initiative and timely preparation of troops to perform tasks.

In April 1958, General of the Army P.I. Batov was appointed commander of the Baltic Military District. Since November 1959, he has been on an overseas business trip as a senior advisor to the People's Liberation Army of China.

In January 1961, General of the Army P.I. Batov was appointed military inspector-adviser to the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Since August 1961 - Commander of the Southern Group of Soviet Forces in Hungary. In September 1962 P.I. Batov was appointed First Deputy Chief of the General Staff - Chief of Staff of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact member states. Since October 1965, he is an inspector of the Group of Inspectors General of the USSR Ministry of Defense.


The grave of General of the Army P.I. Batova at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

1970-1981 General of the Army P.I. Batov headed the Soviet Committee of War Veterans. During his leadership, the number of sections of the committee increased, the councils of veterans-fellow soldiers, councils of veterans at enterprises, collective farms, institutions and educational institutions... Their active work on the patriotic education of young people has acquired an unprecedented scale. May 6, 1975 Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, noting the great contribution of war veterans to the cause further development National economy USSR and patriotic education of youth was awarded the Soviet Committee of War Veterans with the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree.

Pavel Ivanovich Batov died on April 19, 1985 in Moscow and was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Igor Kopylov,
Senior Researcher, Research
institute military history Military Academy of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces,
Candidate of Historical Sciences

Batov Pavel Ivanovich

In campaigns and battles

Publisher's abstract: Twice Hero of the Soviet Union, General of the Army PI Batov began military service in the tsarist army. Participated in the civil war, fought in Spain. During the Great Patriotic War, he had a chance to command troops in the Crimea, and then he led the 65th Army, with which he marched from Stalingrad to Shchetsin. The author acquaints the reader with the concept and implementation of a number of outstanding operations, shares his thoughts on the qualities of a commander, on the art of military education, on the fiery party word that inspires people and leads to heroism. The new edition of the book was undertaken at the numerous requests of readers.

Before the great battle

Between Don and Volga

Operation Ring

From the Kursk Bulge to the west

You are wide, Dnipro!

In the swamps of Polesie

Operation Bagration

To the borders of Poland

Narevsky bridgehead

On the shores of the Baltic

Forcing the Oder

Instead of an epilogue

Notes (edit)

To my fighting friends

soldiers, officers, generals

I dedicate it with deep love and respect.

New appointment. - Separate 51st Army. - Crimean defense plan. September battles at Perekop. - Counterstrike of the task force. - Ten days in the inter-lake area. - The Chatyrlyk River. - Departure. - Evacuation of Kerch.

In the fall of 1941, I had to take part in the battles for the Crimea at Perekop and the Ishun positions. The Crimean peninsula was then defended by a separate 51st Army. She can be accused of many mortal sins: we did not hold the Crimea. However, the following must also be said: this army, created hastily, poorly armed, for thirty-four days held back one of the best armies of the Hitlerite Wehrmacht. The Germans suffered heavy losses, and most importantly, time was gained for the evacuation of the Odessa group of troops to Crimea, without which the long-term defense of Sevastopol would hardly have been possible.

The trouble with the 51st Army was that, firstly, it had no combat experience and was insufficiently technically equipped; secondly, the forces and capabilities that it had were sometimes used ineptly, without taking into account the prevailing situation. Nevertheless, her troops heroically defended the isthmus, honestly doing their duty. I mean, first of all, the 156th division under the command of General Platon Vasilyevich Chernyaev and the 172nd division (according to the Crimean account - the third), which was trained during the battles by an excellent officer, Colonel Ivan Grigorievich Toroptsev, and in the most difficult days for her he led the strong-willed , initiative and brave Colonel Ivan Andreevich Laskin. They did their best. Let me cite an excerpt from the letter of the former sergeant-artilleryman, and now the dean of the philological faculty of the Pedagogical Institute in Ordzhonikidze, G. I. Kravchenko: began the difficult days of the war, - a feeling of love for its commanders, political workers, who fully deserved the deepest respect of the people. " It is flattering for the officers to leave such a memory in the sensitive heart of a soldier ... And I took up my pen to present to the reader the testimonies of an eyewitness and participant in those fierce battles, bitter for us in their outcome, to tell about wonderful people who selflessly fought for their native land. There is also their share in the great victory of our people over Nazi Germany. Quite a lot!

By the way, I'll say right away: the commander in the fall of 1941 of the 11th German army Erich Manstein turned out to be an extremely biased and unscrupulous memoirist. In the Crimean chapters of the book "Lost Victories", he exaggerated at least four times the number of our troops defending the Isthmus of Perekop and Ishun positions; for example, he attributed to us three divisions from the 9th army, which was withdrawing from across the Dnieper along the northern bank of the Sivash (we would be happy if we actually received them at that time); especially played out his fantasy when describing the abundance of modern military equipment which our troops were supposedly equipped with. I will refer only to the following anecdotal information: in the battles for Perekop and Turetsky Val, the fascist general writes without hesitation, 10 thousand prisoners, 112 tanks and 135 guns were captured. If General Chernyaev had then such forces, it is unlikely that Manstein would have worn the short-term laurels of the "conqueror of the Crimea." The battles were indeed the most difficult for both sides, but in them the fascist troops in the main attack sector were opposed by only one of our divisions - the 156th with its own standard artillery means. She forced the enemy to respect himself so much that Manstein was forced to take advantage of an obvious falsification of facts to justify large losses. Below it will be seen how the events actually developed.

I ended up in Crimea unexpectedly, just before the start of the war. On June 13-17, 1941, exercises took place in the Transcaucasus, where I was the deputy commander of the district.

I just returned from them - I find out that I have been ordered to urgently arrive in Moscow. The chief of staff of the district, General F.I.Tolbukhin, prepared all the necessary information and materials on the needs of the Transcaucasian Military District for a report to the People's Commissar and a short memorandum. We had convincing evidence that large strike groups of German fascist troops were concentrated on the western borders of our country. As they say, it already smelled like a thunderstorm, so I found it necessary to dwell especially on the conclusions based on the situation and on the information we had about the situation on our borders.

After hearing the report, Marshal S.K. Timoshenko informed me that I was appointed commander of the ground forces of the Crimea and at the same time the commander of the 9th corps. At the same time, the marshal did not say a word about what should be the relationship with the Black Sea Fleet, what to do in the first place, if it is necessary to urgently alert Crimea as a theater of military operations. He only casually mentioned the mobilization plan of the Odessa Military District, which organizationally included the territory of Crimea, and dismissed me, saying goodbye warmly and wishing me success at my new duty station. It was June 20, 1941.

At the Simferopol airfield I was met by the chief of staff of the 9th rifle corps, Colonel N.P. Barimov, with several staff commanders. At a distance stood a prominent general with the Order of the Red Banner on his chest. As it turned out later, when he introduced himself, it was the commander of the 156th division, General P.V. Chernyaev.

The sun went down, and Simferopol was resting from the exhausting heat. Life in the city flowed serenely, in the behavior of both civilian and military people there was not the slightest sign of anticipation of disturbing events. So, at least it seemed at first glance. The chief of staff said that Chernyaev's division was the only unit of rifle troops that had been really put together and prepared.

Back in the Crimea, there was the 106th division, formed quite recently in the North Caucasus on the basis of territorial units and barely half-manned. The Crimean troops also included the 32nd Cavalry Division, commanded by a very experienced commander, Colonel A. I. Batskalevich, Simferopol Quartermaster military school, Kachin Air Force Military School. The rear units of the Odessa Military District and local authorities military control.

One hundred and sixth division in good standing, - reported Barimov. - Experienced commanders and political workers have gathered there, to match their divisional commander, Colonel Pervushin. Despite his youth, he is a very capable and talented commander. General Chernyaev knows him better. Alexei Nikolaevich Pervushin not so long ago was his one hundred and fifty-sixth deputy ...

The division commander replied that he could only give a flattering review.

Batov Pavel Ivanovich, Interesting Facts from the life of which are presented below, for more than 65 years he served the Motherland as part of its armed forces. His contribution to the victory over fascism and to the cause of increasing the defense capability of our country was duly appreciated by the Soviet government, and his name was forever imprinted in the people's memory.

early years

Batov Pavel Ivanovich was born in 1897 in the small village of Felisovo, Yaroslavl province. His parents were poor peasants with many children, whose main dream was to have at least some horse in order to make it easier to cultivate a small piece of land, which is their only property. At the time of the birth of his son, nothing boded that this boy would be able to make a brilliant career.

Nevertheless, Pasha managed to finish the 2-grade primary school, where he learned to read and write.

At the age of 13, P. Batov went to St. Petersburg, where it was with great difficulty that he got a job at the famous store of the Leonov brothers as an errand boy. As he grew older, he began to deliver purchases to the addresses of wealthy clients, earn extra money as a loader, and in parallel with this he was engaged in self-education. As a result, he managed to pass exams for 6 classes as an external student.

World War I

In 1915, Pavel Ivanovich Batov, without waiting for his 18th birthday, volunteered for the army, as he dreamed of exploits on the battlefield and of gold shoulder straps. Despite the persuasion of the officer, who took pity on the undersized teenager, he insisted on his own, and he was sent to serve in the Life Guard. There he graduated from the training team and was assigned to command the intelligence squad. For courage in battles on the Northern Front, Batov was awarded 2 St. George's crosses and medals.

In 1916, the young squad leader was wounded and sent for treatment to Petrograd. After being discharged from the hospital, he was sent to a school for the training of warrant officers. However, he did not succeed in fighting in this rank, since at the end of his studies, having received the rank of junior non-commissioned officer, Batov was demobilized from the ranks of the Imperial Army.

During the Civil War

In 1918, Pavel Ivanovich Batov was drafted into the ranks of the RKK. Having proved himself to be a good organizer, he is in different time was appointed platoon commander, assistant to the military commissar of Rybinsk, deputy military leader of the reserve command staff of the Moscow Military District. Batov took an active part in suppressing anti-Soviet riots in several cities, including Poshekhonye and Yaroslavl. From 1919 he served as a castle, and then as a commander of a rifle company.

Since the mid-1920s, Pavel Ivanovich served as battalion commander in the capital's Proletarian Rifle Division.

In 1927, Batov graduated from the Shot course, raising the level of his tactical knowledge, and in 1929 he became a member of the CPSU (b).

4 years later he was appointed chief of staff, and in 1934 - the commander of one of the regiments of the Moscow rifle division.

Work in Spain

An unexpected turn in the fate of Batov took place in December 1935. When an anti-republican rebellion began in Spain, he was sent under the name of Pablo Fritz to this country to assist in the fight against the Francoists. There he was appointed military advisor to the 12th International Brigade, and then he advised the command of the Teruel Front.

In Spain, Batov met communists from different countries Europe, many of whom later became famous politicians and statesmen... According to some colleagues, Pavel Ivanovich even became one of the prototypes of the hero of the famous novel by Ernest Hemingway "A Farewell to Arms!"

Batov Pavel Ivanovich: biography (briefly) from 1937 to 1941

The young brigade commander, who returned home after a serious injury, was awarded the Orders of the Red Banner and Lenin. In August 1937 he was appointed commander of the 10th, in 1938 - the 3rd rifle corps. In this position, the military leader took part in the liberation of the territory of Western Ukraine and Belarus, and then in the Finnish War.

In November 1940, General Pavel Ivanovich Batov was sent to the Crimea. There he held various positions in the RKK and on June 20, 1941, just 2 days before the invasion of the Nazi army into the USSR, he was appointed commander of the ground forces stationed on the peninsula.

At the beginning of World War II

From the first days of the war, Pavel Ivanovich Batov organized an antiamphibious defense of the Crimean peninsula. In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Command Headquarters, in August 1941, he began to form the 51st Separate Army. Its command was entrusted to I. Kuznetsov, and P. Batov became his deputy.

When the advanced units of the 11th Army of the Wehrmacht approached the peninsula from the north, Batov led the task force, which was intended to deliver counterstrikes. Then he directed the actions of the troops that took up defensive positions in the area of ​​the Perekop Isthmus.

Until the end of 1941, Pavel Ivanovich Batov (a biography in his youth is presented above) commanded the 51st Separate Army and participated in the preparation of the landing during the Kerch-Feodosiya operation.

Participation in the Battle of Stalingrad

After the death of Lieutenant General P. Pshennikov, Batov was appointed commander of the Third Army of the Bryansk Front. During the winter of 1942, the units entrusted to him undertook a number of offensive operations. However, heavy losses did not allow them to achieve the expected success.

At the end of September 1942, the commander of the Don Front K. Rokossovsky petitioned for the appointment of PI Batov as the head of the Fourth (later 65th) Tank Army. Soon after the signing of the corresponding order, Pavel Ivanovich was instructed to prepare an operation to encircle the Sixth Army of the Wehrmacht, which fought in Stalingrad.

On November 19, 1942, parts of the RKK, including the 65th Army under the command of P. Batov, went on the offensive. During the first day of the operation, they advanced 5-8 km forward. To break through the enemy's defenses, the general decided to create a mobile strike group, including all the tanks of his army, as well as several rifle units in vehicles. This mobile detachment was able to advance 23 km deep into the enemy defense in 24 hours. Sensing the threat of encirclement, the enemy withdrew his units from the 65th Army's offensive zone, which allowed the Soviet shock divisions to quickly achieve the solution of almost all the tasks assigned to them.

Operation "Ring"

Taking into account the successes of the military units under the leadership of Batov, the front commander K. Rokossovsky instructed him to capture Vertyachy, which was done as a result of fierce battles that were fought from 28 to 30 November 1942. Then the 65th Army took part in the operation to destroy the German group surrounded at Stalingrad.

At the end of the historic battle on the banks of the Volga, which has crucial role for the successful completion of the Second World War, King George the Sixth of Great Britain awarded PI Batov "Order of the British Empire", giving him the title of Knight-Commander.

As part of the Central Front

The future Hero of the Soviet Union, Batov Pavel Ivanovich, in February 1943, together with his headquarters, arrived in Yelets. The higher command assigned him the task of gathering troops and preparing them for the upcoming offensive. In the following months, the 65th Army, as part of the Central Front, participated in the Sevsk offensive operation and advanced 30-60 km, and also took part in the Battle of Kursk.

At the end of September, Pavel Ivanovich Batov, whose biography you already know in the pre-war years, began to prepare the troops under his command for the crossing of the Dnieper. In mid-October, four battalions of the 65th Army captured a bridgehead on the west bank and held it throughout the day. The crossing was a success, and by October 27, the 65th Army had advanced 20 km in depth and 35 km in width along the front.

After the battle, P.I.Batov sent 100 of the most distinguished Heroes of the Soviet Union to officer courses. The lieutenant general himself was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for organizing the successful crossing of the Dnieper.

On the 2nd Belorussian Front

Until early 1945, units of the 65th Army were preparing for new operations. When they were near Warsaw, it was decided to transfer them to the 2nd Belorussian Front. At that time, they were commanded by Batov's longtime comrade K. Rokossovsky. The 2nd Belorussian Front was to liberate Eastern Pomerania. Overcoming the perfectly prepared enemy defenses, the 65th Army advanced in the direction of Danzig and Gdynia and took part in Kalinkovichsko-Mozyr, in the famous Operation Bagration and in a number of other operations.

When organizing the actions of the military units entrusted to them, Pavel Ivanovich showed his talent as a leader and repeatedly received gratitude and high awards from the Supreme Command Headquarters. In particular, after the successful completion of the Berlin offensive operation, Colonel-General Batov was awarded the 2nd Gold Star medal. The title of twice Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to him for exemplary leadership of military units when crossing the Vistula River and during the storming of important defensive lines of the Nazis near the cities of Danzig and Stettin.

Career after the war

After the end of World War II, Batov Pavel Ivanovich was appointed commander of the 7th mechanized army, and a year later - the 7th separate tank division. Then he graduated from the Higher Academic Courses at the V.V. K. Voroshilov.

In subsequent years, Batov P.I. held positions:

  • commander of the Eleventh Guards Army (since March 1950);
  • the first deputy commander-in-chief of a group of Soviet troops in Germany (since June 1954);
  • commander of the troops of the Carpathian Military District (since March 1955) and the Baltic Military District (since the spring of 1958).

In addition, in March 1955, Batov was awarded the next military rank - army general.

His career was no less brilliant in the next decade. So, in November 1959, General of the Army P. Batov went to the PRC and took up the post of senior military adviser, and after returning home, from the beginning of 1961 he was a military inspector-adviser to the Group of General Inspectors of the USSR Ministry of Defense. After 8 months, he was appointed commander of the South-Eastern Front, and a year later - chief of staff of the United Armed Forces of the states that are parties to the Warsaw Pact.

Pavel Ivanovich Batov (see photo above) completed his military career as a military inspector-adviser in the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Since 1970, he has been involved in community service. In particular, before last days life PI Batov led the Soviet Committee of Veterans.

Death and memory

(army general) died in 1985 in Moscow. He was 87 years old. The hero was buried in the 7th section of the Novodevichy cemetery.

The streets in the city of Rybinsk, as well as in Bryansk, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, Svetlogorsk, Bobruisk, Makeevka, Donetsk and Zheleznogorsk, are named after the famous Soviet commander Batov.

In addition, there are bronze busts of the hero in the Rybinsk Memorial Complex "Fire of Glory", in Gomel and in the commander's small homeland. Moscow school N 390 bears his name.

In memory of himself, the commander himself left his memoirs, designed in the form of an autobiographical book under the title "In campaigns and battles." In it you can find details of military operations and stories about front-line meetings, including with ordinary soldiers, who made an indelible impression on Pavel Ivanovich.

There is also a chapter dedicated to the general in Konstantin Simonov's documentary book "Forty-third".

Batov Pavel Ivanovich: family

The general was married twice. His first wife was Yulia Semyonovna Batskevich. In the marriage, the couple had two daughters: Galina and Margarita. At the front, during the Battle of Stalingrad, the commander met a young signalman Nina, who served in the 129th regiment, which was part of the 65th army. Despite the big difference in age (26 years), the general and the blonde beauty - senior sergeant fell in love and got married after the Victory Parade. Nina Fedorovna Batova, who was a faithful friend to her husband until the last days of his life, gave birth to two girls: Natalia and Elena.

Awards

Along with the orders and medals mentioned above, Pavel Ivanovich Batov (Hero of the Soviet Union) had a number of other awards. Most of them were received for military exploits on the fronts of the three wars in which he took part.

Among them are the orders:

  • October revolution;
  • Suvorov First Degree;
  • "Badge of honor";
  • World War I, 1st degree, etc.

In addition, he proudly wore 8 Orders of Lenin and was a holder of a number of the highest awards of a foreign state:

  • Polish Virtuti Militari, "Grunwald Cross" second class and the Order of the Renaissance;
  • "For services to the Fatherland";
  • Romanian Order of Tudor Vladimirescu of the first degree;
  • Hungarian Order of the Banner;
  • and etc.

Now you know who Pavel Ivanovich Batov is. You also know the biography of this famous military leader. She is an example of selfless service to the Motherland in the most difficult periods of its history, and the hero himself certainly earned the respect and gratitude of his descendants.

Who was Pavel Ivanovich Batov by birth? His biography began in a family of Yaroslavl peasants in a village near Rybinsk. After studying for a couple of years in a rural school, as a 13-year-old teenager, Pavel was forced to start earning a living. He goes to St. Petersburg, where he works, as they would say now, in the service sector - he delivers various purchases to addresses. At the same time, he manages to engage in self-education, so that he takes exams for 6 grades of school as an external student.

Early military career

Pavel Batov began his military career on the battlefields of the First World War. As an 18-year-old volunteer, in 1915 he was enrolled in the training team of the 3rd Life Guards Rifle Regiment. He went to the front the next year, served as the commander of the intelligence squad, showed courage and was twice awarded the St. George's Crosses. After being wounded and cured in a hospital in Petrograd, he was assigned to the training team for training in the school of warrant officers, where the agitator A. Savkov introduced him to the political program of the Bolsheviks.

Civil war and interwar period

Batov Pavel Ivanovich served for four years in the Red Army during civil war, first as a platoon commander of machine gunners, then as an assistant to the chief of the Rybinsk military registration and enlistment office, served in the apparatus of the military district in Moscow. Beginning in 1919, he commanded a company in the combat units of the Red Army.

In 1926 he graduated from the officer courses "Shot" and was appointed to command a battalion of an elite military unit - the 1st Infantry Division. He will serve in this unit for the next nine years, rising to the position of regiment commander. During this period, Pavel Ivanovich Batov graduated from the Frunze Academy in absentia.

Spanish Civil War

Colonel Pavel Ivanovich Batov in 1936, under the name of Pablo Fritz, was sent as a military adviser to the Spanish Republican Army, to the 12th International Brigade under the command of the famous General Lukacs, under whose name the Hungarian revolutionary Mate Zalka fought. In June 1937, Batov and Zalka, while traveling in a car for reconnaissance in the area of ​​the city of Huesca, came under fire from enemy artillery. At the same time, Zalka was killed, and Batov, who was sitting next to him in the back seat and was seriously wounded, still survived.

Strange as it may seem, but probably this tragic episode played a role in the fact that Batov was not touched during the period of "Yezhovism", when, after being wounded, he returned to his homeland in August 1937. It is no secret that almost all military advisers who visited Spain, together with their leader Antonov-Ovseenko, were destroyed upon returning home. Stalin's satraps really did not like people who fought side by side with anarchists, Trotskyists, adherents of bourgeois democracy, of whom there were many in the Spanish international brigades. But Batov, as they say, passed this cup, since it was politically unprofitable to blame a man whose blood literally mixed with the blood of General Lukach, who became one of the symbols of resistance to fascism.

Pre-war time

Since August 1937, Batov consistently commanded the 10th and 3rd rifle corps, took part in the campaign to Western Ukraine in September 1939, then the commander's military merits were marked by his promotion to division commander, and then to lieutenant general. In 1940 he was appointed deputy commander of the Transcaucasian Military District.

The initial period of the Second World War

Batov began the war as the commander of the Crimean 9th Corps, later reorganized into the 51st Army, in which he became deputy commander. The army fought desperately with the Germans at Perekop and in the Kerch region, but was defeated, and in November 1941 its remnants were evacuated to the Taman Peninsula. Batov, promoted to army commander, was entrusted with its reorganization.

In January 1942, he was sent to the Bryansk Front as commander of the 3rd Army, and then transferred to the front headquarters as an assistant commander.

Battle of Stalingrad and subsequent battles of the Second World War with Batov's participation

On October 22, 1042, Batov became the commander of the 4th Panzer Army on the outskirts of Stalingrad. This army, which was soon renamed the 65th Army, became part of the Don Front, which KK Rokossovsky was appointed to command. Batov remained its commander until the end of the war.

He helped plan the Soviet counteroffensive during Operation Uranus to encircle the 6th German Paulus. His army was a key striking force in this offensive and the subsequent Operation Ring to destroy the German group encircled in Stalingrad.

After this victory, the 65th Army was redeployed to the northwest into the new Central Front, which was commanded by the same Rokossovsky. In July 1943, Batov's army fought in the gigantic Battle of Kursk, repelling the enemy's offensive in the Sevsk region. After the defeat of the Germans during the offensive from August to October, the 65th Army fought over 300 kilometers and reached the Dnieper, which it crossed on October 15 in the Loev area in the Gomel region.

In the summer of 1944, Batov's army took part in a major strategic operation in Belarus during the destruction of the enemy's Bobruisk grouping. Within a few days, the German 9th Army was surrounded and almost completely destroyed. After that Batov received the rank of colonel-general.

After the war

During this period, Batov held various leadership positions. He commanded the 7th Mechanized Army in Poland, the 11th Guards Army headquartered in Kaliningrad. In 1954 he became the first deputy commander of the FGP in Germany, the next year - the commander of the Carpathian military district. During this period, he participated in the suppression in 1956. Later he commanded the Southern Group of Forces, was the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. Batov retired as an active general Soviet army in 1965, but continued to work in the group of military inspectors of the Ministry of Defense, and from 1970 to 1981 he headed the Soviet Committee of Veterans. He remained a close friend of Marshal Rokossovsky until the latter's death in 1968, and was tasked with editing and publishing the memoirs of his former commander.

Batov Pavel Ivanovich, whose books on military theory have become widely known, is also the author of interesting memoirs. During its long and interesting life he has accumulated considerable military and human experience. How did Pavel Ivanovich Batov call his memoirs? "In campaigns and battles" - this is the name of his book, which during the life of the author withstood 4 editions.

Russia continues to remember its faithful son. The seas and oceans are plowed by "Pavel Batov" - a ship built in 1987 and assigned to the port of Kaliningrad.