Mikhail Georgyevich Khatskilevich (; 21 November 1895 – 25 June 1941) was a

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 ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. He fought in the Imperial Russian Army in World War I before going over to the Bolsheviks in the subsequent civil war. Khatskilevich commanded the 6th Mechanized Corps in Belarus at the outbreak 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 ...

, and was killed in action three days into the war during the

Battle of Białystok–Minsk The Battle of Białystok–Minsk was a German strategic operation conducted by the Wehrmacht's Army Group Centre under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock during the penetration of the Soviet border region in the opening stage of Operation Barbarossa, ...

Early life, World War I, and Russian Civil War

Khatskilevich was born to a Jewish family on 21 November 1895 in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

as a

one-year volunteer A one-year volunteer, short EF ( de: ''Einjährig-Freiwilliger''), was, in a number of national armed forces, a conscript who agreed to pay his own costs for the procurement of equipment, food and clothing, in return for spending a shorter-than-usu ...

between September 1916 and March 1917, becoming a clerk at the headquarters of the 10th Artillery Brigade. Drafted into the

in August 1918 during the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

, Khatskilevich was sent to study at the 1st Tver Soviet Cavalry Courses, and after graduating from them in 1919 served with the 1st Ukrainian Special Cavalry Brigade as a squadron commander and assistant regimental commander. From August 1919 he served as regimental commander and chief of staff of the brigade as part of the 9th and 17th Cavalry Divisions of the 12th Army. From May 1920 he was assistant commander and then commander of the Consolidated Cavalry Regiment and 10th Marching Cavalry Regiment of the 12th Army and the

1st Cavalry Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Cavalry Army (russian: Первая конная армия, Pervaya konnaya armiya) was a prominent Red Army military formation. It was also known as "Budyonny's Cavalry Army" or simply as ''Konarmia'' (Кона́рмия, "Horse ...

. Khatskilevich fought in battles on the

Southwestern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, and Southern Fronts. For distinguishing himself during the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

in 1920 he was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

twice in 1922.

Interwar period

Sent to study at the Military Academy of the Red Army in late 1920, upon graduation in August 1924 Khatskilevich was appointed chief of staff of the 11th North Caucasian Territorial Cavalry Division of the

North Caucasus Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also included the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla. It comprised the Republic of Adygeya, ...

in Armavir. Transferring to serve in the same position with the 1st Special Cavalry Brigade of the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military Di ...

in October 1926, he graduated from Courses of Improvement for Higher Officers at the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

in 1928. Appointed commander of the 63rd Cavalry Regiment of the brigade in November 1928, Khatskilevich became assistant inspector of the cavalry of the Red Army in February 1930. He served as chief of the Borisoglebsk-Leningrad Combined Cavalry School from November 1931, and continued as chief when the school was relocated to

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna and ...

in May 1932 and used to form the Combined Cavalry School. For his contributions to combat training at the school, Khatskilevich 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 ...

in May 1936. He returned to unit command in November 1936 as commander and military commissar of the 1st Cavalry Division in Ukraine from November 1936, then became commander of the 2nd Cavalry Corps at

Zhitomir Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...

in July 1937. Khatskilevich subsequently became chief of the Cavalry Commanders' Improvement Courses of the North Caucasus Military District before assuming command of the 6th Mechanized Corps of the

Western Special Military District Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

in Belarus in June 1940. When the Red Army introduced general officer ranks, he became a major general on 4 June.

World War II

At the outbreak of

on 22 June 1941, Khatskilevich led the corps as part of the 10th Army in the

. Between 24 and 25 June the corps counterattacked the German 3rd Panzer Group in the sector of

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

and

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

, in which Khatskilevich was killed in action near Białystok on 25 June, three days into the war.

Awards and honors

Khatskilevich was a recipient of the following decorations: *

(2) *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisan ...

, 1st class *

Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" The Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «XX лет Рабоче-Крестьянской Красной Армии») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Un ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *
Выступление М. Г. Хацкилевича на совещании высшего командного состава Красной Армии в декабре 1940 года
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khatskilevich, Mikhail 1895 births 1941 deaths Military personnel from Nizhny Novgorod Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of the Polish–Soviet War Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Soviet major generals Frunze Military Academy alumni