Khavazi Muhamed-Mirzaev (russian: Хаваджи Мухамед-Мирзаев; 1910 – 4 October 1943) was a Chechen

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

soldier during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

who was posthumously awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

on 15 January 1944.

Biography

Muhamed-Mirzaev was born in 1910 to a Chechen peasant family in Alkhazurovo,

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

, of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. After graduating from the Novocherkassk Pedagogical School he was drafted into the Red Army.

Military service

In the early 1930s, after being drafted into the Army he was deployed in the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

as part of the Border Guards Service of the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

. While serving as a border guard he was injured in a fight with a trespasser and demobilized. In 1940 he graduated from two years of training from the Chief Fire Directorate in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

; he was then assigned as an inspector for the Leninabad city fire department.

World War II

After Germany invaded the Soviet Union with the launch of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

in 1941, Muhamed-Mirzaev was again drafted into the ranks of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. He was sent to the Eastern Front as an assistant platoon commander of the 60th Guards Chernigov Cavalry Regiment in the 16th Guards Chernigov Cavalry Division of the 7th Cavalry Corps in the 61st Army on the

Central Front The Central Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War formed on July 24, 1941. The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first entity existed for just a month during th ...

in September that same year. He fought in the Battle of Stalingrad. While approaching the Mensky settlement of Chernigov on 18 September, Muhamed-Mirzaev picked put his machine gun and led his regiment in an attack. On 28 September 1943, Muhamed-Mirzaev was among the first group of soldiers to cross the right bank of the Dnieper in the Gomel region of Belarus. After entering the right bank he opened fire on enemy troops in order to provide cover to other members of his regiment. After being injured in battle he died of wounds on 4 October 1943 and was buried in a mass grave. On 15 January 1944 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet for heroism in battle.Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР «О присвоении звания Героя Советского Союза генералам, офицерскому, сержантскому и рядовому составу Красной Армии» от 15 января 1944 года
// Ведомости Верховного Совета Союза Советских Социалистических Республик : газета. — 1944. — 23 января (№ 4 (264)). — С. 1. His name is written on a memorial plaque in Bashkortostan among the 78 Heroes of the Soviet Union from the 60th Guards Chernigov Cavalry Regiment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhamed-Mirzaev, Khavazi 1910 births 1943 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Chechen military personnel of World War II

Biography

Military service

World War II

See also

References