Habibullah Huseynov (russian: Габибулла Ейнуллаевич Гусейнов; 10 October 1910 16 April 1945) was an Iranian Azerbaijani Red Army colonel and a posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union. Huseynov emigrated to

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, working as a loader and a fitter. He was drafted into the Red Army on a

Komsomol direction The Komsomol direction () or Komsomol travel ticket was a mobilization document of in the Soviet Union issued by a Komsomol committee to a Komsomol member, which directed the member to temporary or permanent shock construction projects or militar ...

in 1928 and became an artillery officer. He was arrested and imprisoned as an Iranian spy during the Great Purge. He was released months later and became an anti-aircraft artillery battalion commander, serving in this role during World War II. After his unit, part of the 13th Rifle Division, was encircled in western Belarus after the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa, Huseynov led the remnants of his command in a breakout. The battalion was then reorganized and provided air defense for Kalinin and Rybinsk. In June 1942, Huseynov became commander of an anti-aircraft battalion defending

Ivanovo Ivanovo ( rus, Иваново, p=ɪˈvanəvə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Russia. It is the administrative center and largest city of Ivanovo Oblast, located northeast of Moscow and approximately from Yaroslavl, Vlad ...

. In October 1942, he became commander of an anti-aircraft artillery regiment, which transferred to the 1st Guards Army two months later. The regiment fought in the

Tatsinskaya Raid The Raid on Tatsinskaya was a Soviet armoured raid deep into the German rear conducted by 24th Tank Corps under the command of Major General Vasily Mikhaylovich Badanov in late December 1942. It took place during Operation Little Saturn, on the he ...

while attached to the

24th Tank Corps The 2nd Guards Tatsinskaya Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army that saw service during World War II on the Eastern Front of Europe. The unit's most notable moment was in the raid on Tatsinskaya during Operation Little Sa ...

. Between June and September 1943 Huseynov was chief of staff of the 4th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division. In September 1943, he took command of the 67th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division, which he led until his death. The division fought in the Baltic Offensive, Courland Pocket, East Prussian Offensive, and Samland Offensive. Huseynov was killed in action during the Samland Offensive on 16 April 1945.

Early life and interwar military service

Huseynov was born on 10 October 1910 in Ardabil in a working-class family. He worked as a loader at the port of Baku and studied and a night school for working youth, graduating from seventh grade. Huseynov then worked as an apprentice fitter at the

Lieutenant Schmidt Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt (russian: Пётр Петрович Шмидт; – ) was one of the leaders of the Sevastopol Uprising during the Russian Revolution of 1905. Early years Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt was born in 1867 in Odessa, Russian E ...

Plant. Huseynov was drafted into the Red Army in 1928 on a

. In 1929, he joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

. He graduated from the Transcaucasian Infantry School in June 1932 and from the Artillery Commanders Refresher Courses in Baku in September. In September Huseynov became a platoon commander in the 193rd Artillery Regiment of the Red Banner Caucasus Army, based in Baku. In April 1934, he became a battery commander of the 190th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment. In September he transferred back to the 193rd Regiment, becoming a battery commander, a ''divizion'' senior adjutant, and a ''divizion'' commander. He was promoted to Senior Lieutenant in 1936. On 3 July 1938 he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In 1938, Huseynov was arrested by the NKVD on charges of spying for Iran. He spent several months in prison and was released and restored to the Red Army at the end of the year. He became a battalion commander of the 188th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment of the Belorussian Military District in Minsk in May 1939. In February 1940, Huseynov became commander of the 312th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion of the 13th Rifle Division in the Western Special Military District at Zambrów.

World War II

Huseynov fought in World War II from 22 June 1941. The battalion was encircled in Western Belarus and broke out. In June 1941, the battalion reportedly shot down two German aircraft. In July, the battalion was reorganized and transferred to the Kalinin Air Defense Area. On 30 September Huseynov was wounded. In November 1941 he was promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. The battalion fought in the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January ...

. In February 1942, the battalion transferred to the Rybinsk-Yaroslavl Air Defense Area. In June 1942, Huseynov took command of the 38th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, defending

. In October, he became commander of the 658th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment of the

Moscow Air Defense Front The Moscow Air Defense Front () was an air defense front of the National Air Defense Forces, responsible for the air defense of Moscow during World War II. It was formed in April 1942 in response to predictions of a German bomber concentration a ...

. On 20 October he was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. In December the regiment became part of the 4th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. It soon became part of the 1st Guards Army. The regiment participated in Operation Little Saturn and the Millerovo-Voroshilovgrad Offensive, during which it was attached to the

. The regiment fought in the

in December 1942. From 16 December to 10 January 1943 the regiment's gunners reportedly shot down 21 aircraft, destroyed three tanks and killed numerous German soldiers. On 10 February Huseynov was wounded a second time. On 25 February, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In April 1943, the regiment became the 268th Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment. On 5 April he was awarded a second Order of the Red Banner. On 23 April, Huseynov was promoted to colonel. In June 1943, Huseynov became chief of staff of the 4th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division. He fought in the Donbas Strategic Offensive. In September 1943, he became commander of the new 67th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division in the Moscow Military District. The division defended the Moscow Industrial Region while conducting training. From July 1944 the division fought on the

1st Baltic Front The First Baltic Front (Russian language, Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenk ...

. The division fought in the Baltic Offensive's Riga Offensive and Battle of Memel, during which it reportedly shot down 59 German aircraft. On 3 November, Huseynov was awarded the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

. The division then fought in the Courland Pocket. During the East Prussian Offensive between January and April 1945, the division provided anti-aircraft cover for military units. On 24 January, Huseynov was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 1st class. During the Samland Offensive in April, the division advanced its guns to provide fire support to the infantry. Huseynov directed their fire from the forward area. On 16 April Huseynov was killed in action north of Fischhausen. He was buried in the Marijampolė Officers Cemetery. On 29 June 1945, he was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin.

Legacy

A trawler of the

Ministry of Fisheries An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

was named for Huseynov. In 1995, a memorial was built in his honor on I. Dadashov street in the Binagadi district of Baku.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huseynov, Habibullah 1910 births 1945 deaths Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Azerbaijani communists Iranian communists People from Ardabil Iranian emigrants to the Soviet Union Iranian military personnel killed in World War II Russian people of Iranian descent Soviet people of Iranian descent Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Russian people of Azerbaijani descent Soviet colonels