Hamazasp Babadzhanian
Encyclopedia
Hamazasp Khachaturi Babadzhanian was Chief Marshal
of the Mechanized Forces of the USSR (from 1975) and Hero of the Soviet Union
.
peasant, in the village of Chardakhlu
near Yelizavetpol (later Kirovabad
, now Ganja
, Azerbaijan
), then part of the Russian Empire
, attending school there. Ivan Bagramyan, another Armenian Marshal of the Soviet Union
, was born in the same village.
In 1925, Babadzhanian joined the Red Army
when he was accepted into the Aleksandr Myasnikyan
Unified Military School (which was later relocated to Tbilisi and renamed the Transcaucasus United Infantry School) in Yerevan
. He first joined the Soviet Communist Party
in 1928. One year later, in 1929, he graduated from the military infantry school. He served as an assistant for the army corps based in the Transcaucasian Military District
. He then participated in the Finno-Soviet War of 1939-1940
. In the beginning of Operation Barbarossa
, he commanded a rifle regiment from June 1941 to April 1942. From September 1942, he was the commander of the Third Mechanized Brigade (starting from October 1943, Soviet Guards). The Third Brigade was part of Third Mechanized Corps
.
For the skillful management of the brigade during the retaking of the river Dniester
, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union
. From August 1944 through May 1945, he commanded the guard armored corps. He graduated from the military academy of the general staff in 1948, and was appointed with critical command posts.
In November 1956, Babadzhanian led the Eighth Mechanized Army in Budapest
, during the Soviet intervention that led to the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. From 1959, he was commander-in-chief of the forces in the Odessa Military District
. From 1967 to 1969, he was the head of the Rodion Malinovsky
Military Academy of Armored Forces and from May 1969, chief of the tank forces. Babadzhanian was a Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR during the sixth and seventh convocations.
He died in Moscow in 1977 and was buried with full honors at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis
.
three times, the Order of the Red Banner
four times, the Order of Suvorov
twice (one of the first degree and another of second degree), the Order of Kutuzov
of the first degree, the Order of the Patriotic War
of the first degree, the Order of the Red Star
two times, two Polish Orders, as well as countless other medals.
Chief Marshal
The ranks of Marshal of a branch and Chief Marshal of a branch were senior military ranks of the Soviet Armed Forces. Immediately above the rank "Marshal of a branch" is the rank "Chief Marshal of a branch". Both ranks are immediately above the rank "Colonel General" and equal to Soviet General...
of the Mechanized Forces of the USSR (from 1975) and Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
.
Biography
Babadzhanian was born in the family of an ArmenianArmenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
peasant, in the village of Chardakhlu
Çardaqli, Shamkir
Çardaqlı is a village in the Shamkir Rayon of Azerbaijan. Prior to the Karabakh War the village was populated by ethnic Armenians.- During World War II:...
near Yelizavetpol (later Kirovabad
Kirovabad
Kirovabad can refer to:* The former name of Ganja, the second largest city in Azerbaijan.* The former name of Panj or Pyandzh a city in Tajikistan.* Kirovabad pogrom - pogrom in Kirovabad formerly Ganja....
, now Ganja
Ganja, Azerbaijan
Ganja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of around 313,300. It was named Yelizavetpol in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name—Ganja—from 1920–1935 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again and...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
), then part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, attending school there. Ivan Bagramyan, another Armenian Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union was the de facto highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ....
, was born in the same village.
In 1925, Babadzhanian joined the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
when he was accepted into the Aleksandr Myasnikyan
Aleksandr Myasnikyan
Aleksandr Teodorosi Myasnikyan a.k.a. Aleksandr Fyodorovich Myasnikov was a prominent Bolshevik of Armenian descent....
Unified Military School (which was later relocated to Tbilisi and renamed the Transcaucasus United Infantry School) in Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
. He first joined the Soviet Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
in 1928. One year later, in 1929, he graduated from the military infantry school. He served as an assistant for the army corps based in the Transcaucasian Military District
Transcaucasian Military District
The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the USSR...
. He then participated in the Finno-Soviet War of 1939-1940
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
. In the beginning of Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, he commanded a rifle regiment from June 1941 to April 1942. From September 1942, he was the commander of the Third Mechanized Brigade (starting from October 1943, Soviet Guards). The Third Brigade was part of Third Mechanized Corps
3rd Mechanised Corps (Soviet Union)
The 20th Motor Rifle Division is a formation of the Russian Ground Forces, originally formed within the Soviet Red Army as the 3rd Mechanised Corps....
.
For the skillful management of the brigade during the retaking of the river Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
. From August 1944 through May 1945, he commanded the guard armored corps. He graduated from the military academy of the general staff in 1948, and was appointed with critical command posts.
In November 1956, Babadzhanian led the Eighth Mechanized Army in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, during the Soviet intervention that led to the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. From 1959, he was commander-in-chief of the forces in the Odessa Military District
Odessa Military District
The Odessa Military District was a military administrative division of the Imperial Russian military, the Soviet Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was known under such name from around 1862 to 1998. It was reorganized as part of the Military of Ukraine and the Military of Moldova in...
. From 1967 to 1969, he was the head of the Rodion Malinovsky
Rodion Malinovsky
Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky was a Soviet military commander in World War II and Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s. He contributed to the major defeat of Nazi Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Budapest...
Military Academy of Armored Forces and from May 1969, chief of the tank forces. Babadzhanian was a Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR during the sixth and seventh convocations.
He died in Moscow in 1977 and was buried with full honors at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolshevik victims of the October Revolution were buried in mass graves on Red Square. It is centered on both sides of Lenin's Mausoleum, initially built in wood in 1924 and rebuilt in granite in 1929–1930...
.
Commendations
He was awarded the Order of LeninOrder of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
three times, the Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
four times, the Order of Suvorov
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov is a Soviet award, named after Aleksandr Suvorov , that was established on July 29, 1942 by a decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This decoration was created to award senior army personnel for exceptional leadership in combat operations...
twice (one of the first degree and another of second degree), the Order of Kutuzov
Order of Kutuzov
The Order of Kutuzov is a Soviet and Russian military award, named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov ....
of the first degree, the Order of the Patriotic War
Order of the Patriotic War
The Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
of the first degree, the Order of the Red Star
Order of the Red Star
Established on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
two times, two Polish Orders, as well as countless other medals.