Mikhail Alexandrovich Batorsky (; 25 January 1890 8 February 1938) was a Red Army Komkor. The son of an officer and a member of the nobility, Batorsky fought in World War I as a staff officer, ending the war with the rank of

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 ...

. He sided with the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War, serving as a staff officer. During the Polish–Soviet War Batorsky served as chief of staff for the 16th Army and was decorated for his leadership. After the end of the war he became a cavalry commander and was head of a cavalry school. Batorsky was executed during the Great Purge and posthumously acquitted after Stalin's death.

Early life and World War I

Batorsky was born on 25 January 1890 in Saint Petersburg, the son of an officer and a member of the nobility. In 1909, he graduated from the Page Corps with honors and became a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

on 6 August, serving in

Her Majesty's Lifeguard Cuirassier Regiment Her is the objective and possessive form of the English-language feminine pronoun she. Her, HER or H.E.R. may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Music * H.E.R. (born 1997), American singer ** ''H.E.R.'' (album), 2017 * HIM (Finnish ...

. On 6 August 1913 he was promoted to lieutenant. In 1914, Batorsky graduated from the General Staff Academy in the second class, with a transfer for an additional course. After the announcement of mobilization for World War I in August 1914, he was seconded to his unit. He fought in World War I on the Northern Front and the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. On 6 October Batorsky was awarded the Order of Saint Anna 4th class. He received the Order of Saint Vladimir 4th class with Swords and Ribbon on 15 March 1915. Between 20 April 1915 and 19 March 1916, he served as the senior adjutant of headquarters of the 23rd Army Corps. From 19 March to 17 April, Batorsky was the assistant senior adjutant of the General Department of the 5th Army's Quartermaster General staff. On 17 April, he became senior adjutant of the headquarters of the Guards Cavalry Corps, a position he held until March 1917. On 14 July 1916, he was promoted to staff captain, and was later 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 ...

with seniority for 19 July 1914. On 6 December 1916, Batorsky was awarded the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

, 3rd class, with Swords. The

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...

in March 1917 overthrew the Tsar and established the Russian Provisional Government, in whose army Batorsky continued to serve. Between 12 March and 26 August, he was a staff officer for assignments at the headquarters of the same corps. Between August and November, Batorsky was senior adjutant of the operations department of the

Special Army The Russian Special Army was a World War I Russian field army that fought on the Eastern Front. Field management was established in August 1916. The Army was named ''Special'' because it was thought that the name ''13th Army'' would bring bad luc ...

's Quartermaster General. In November, the October Revolution overthrew the Provisional Government and replaced it with Soviet Russia, after which the disintegration of the Imperial Army began to accelerate. Between November 1917 and January 1918, he was senior adjutant of the operations office department in the same army's Quartermaster General. On 25 January 1918, Batorsky transferred to become assistant chief of the Main Staff of the General Staff, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Russian Civil War

In April 1918, Batorsky joined the Red Army.
He served mostly in staff functions. Between 7 June 1921 and 23 November 1921, he was Chief of Staff of the

. After the War he became commander of the

4th Cavalry Corps The 4th Cavalry Corps was a cavalry corps of the Soviet Red Army, formed three times. The corps first existed between 1928 and 1938 in the North Caucasus as a territorial unit, and was a Cossack unit for the last two years of its existence. Refor ...

(January 1928 – October 1929).
He was arrested on July 17, 1937, sentenced on February 7, 1938 on charges of espionage and shot the next day. He was buried in the Kommunarka shooting ground.

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* 1890 births 1938 deaths Soviet komkors {{DEFAULTSORT:Batorsky, Mikhail Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Great Purge victims from Russia Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Russian Provisional Government military personnel Imperial Russian Army personnel Soviet rehabilitations Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class