Mikhail Petrovich Konstantinov (russian: Михаил Петрович Константинов; – 30 May 1990) was a

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

and a

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 ...

. Konstantinov joined 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 ...

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 ...

, becoming a junior commander at cavalry schools. A variety of positions at cavalry schools followed during the 1920s before Konstantinov served in command and staff positions with cavalry units in

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

in the 1930s. 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 ...

, he commanded a cavalry division in Belarus. Konstantinov's division was destroyed and he was severely wounded, fighting with partisans after he recovered. Flown back to Soviet lines in late 1942, he became commander of the

7th Guards Cavalry Corps The 7th Guards Cavalry Corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a Cavalry corps (Red Army), cavalry corps active during the World War II, Second World War. It was formed from the 8th Cavalry Corps in February 1943. Second World War 8th Cava ...

in October 1943, which he led for the rest of the war. Made a

for his leadership of the corps during the Vistula–Oder Offensive, Konstantinov continued in command of the corps after the end of the war. Postwar, he commanded the

Northern Group of Forces The Northern Group of Forces (; ) was the military formation of the Soviet Army stationed in People's Republic of Poland, Poland from the end of World War II, Second World War in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the fal ...

and ended his career as first deputy commander of the

Leningrad Military District The Leningrad Military District was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District. Hi ...

in the early 1960s.

Early life, Russian Civil War, and interwar period

Konstantinov was born on 4 November 1900 in Usman,

Tambov Governorate Tambov Governorate was an administrative unit of the Russian Empire, Russian Republic, and later the Russian SFSR, centred around the city of Tambov. The governorate was located between 51°14' and 55°6' north and between 38°9' and 43°38' east ...

. The son of an official, he graduated from a ''

realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

'' and worked as a ledger clerk at the ''

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd; rus, уе́зд, p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context ( uk, повіт), or Kreis in Baltic-German context, was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the ea ...

'' food committee in Usman. During the

, Konstantinov joined the

in May 1919 and was sent as a

Red Army man Red Army man () was the lowest military rank in the Red Army of the Soviet Union from 1918 to 1946. On 30 November 1917, after the October Revolution, the Military Revolutionary Committee cancelled all "officer and class ranks" in keeping with t ...

to the Borisoglebsk Cavalry Courses, and in July was enrolled as a student of the courses. After graduation, Konstantinov became a platoon commander at the courses in February 1920, fighting with consolidated cadet detachments on the

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

and

Turkestan Front The Turkestan Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, which was formed on the territory of Turkestan Military District by Order of the Republic of Turkestan on February 23, 1919. It was formed a second time by the directiv ...

s. In 1922 the courses were relocated to

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

and renamed the 3rd Orenburg Cavalry School. At the school in the same year, Konstantinov passed an external examination for the course of a secondary military school. With the school, he served as a platoon commander, assistant squadron commander and squadron commander. After the school was disbanded in late 1923, Konstantinov transferred to the VTsIK of the Kazakh Republic Kazakh Combined Military School. In October 1924 he was appointed an instructor of the 2nd rank at the Kyrgyz section of the school, and from July 1925 temporarily served as a squadron commander there. Between October 1925 and September 1926 Konstantinov studied at the Cavalry Officers Improvement Course (KUKS) in

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as t ...

, and upon graduation returned to his previous position. A month later, in October 1926, the school was disbanded, and Konstantinov became assistant chief of staff of the 8th Turkestan Cavalry Division of the

Volga Military District The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at different ...

. He subsequently served with the 47th Cavalry Regiment of the division as a squadron commander and assistant chief and acting regimental chief of staff. Konstantinov became a member of 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 ...

in 1929. Konstantinov was transferred to the 7th Turkestan Cavalry Brigade of the

Central Asian Military District The Red Banner Central Asian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, which existed in 1926–1945 and 1969–1989, with its headquarters at Tashkent (1926–1945) and Almaty (1969–1989). By USSR Order No.304 of 4 ...

Kulyab , image_skyline = Kulob 2700 th Anniversary monument - panoramio.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = The 2700th Anniversary monument, Kulob , image_flag = , image_seal = , ...

in November 1930, becoming chief of the regimental school of the 80th Turkestan Cavalry Regiment of the brigade. With this unit, he fought in against the Basmachi of

Ibrahim Bek Ibrahim Bek (1889 – 31 August 1931) was a leader of the Basmachi movement. He was a member of the Uzbek Lakai tribe in Eastern Bukhara and led an organized resistance against the Soviet military in the early 1920s. A religious conservative and ...

between April and May 1931. Again transferred to the 79th Cavalry Regiment of the brigade to serve as its chief of staff in February 1932, Konstantinov became acting regimental commander in April. The regiment, based at

Kattakurgan , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_seal = , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Uzbekistan , pushpin_label_po ...

, was transferred to the Separate Consolidated Uzbek Brigade in May, which was reorganized into the 6th Uzbek Mountain Cavalry Division in October. Konstantinov commanded 7th Uzbek Mountain Cavalry Regiment of the division from September 1933, which was soon renumbered as the 41st. He again completed the Novocherkassk Cavalry Officers Improvement Course in 1935. For successes in combat training of the regiment, he 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 1936, and that year received the rank of

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 ...

on 29 January 1936. Appointed assistant commander of the 20th Tajik Mountain Cavalry Division of the Central Asian Military District on 19 July 1937, Konstantinov temporarily served as division commander between October 1937 and March 1938. In September 1938 he was made commander of the 18th Mountain Cavalry Division of the same district, before being sent to 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 March 1941 to command the 6th Cavalry Division. Konstantinov was promoted to ''

kombrig (russian: комбриг) is an abbreviation of Commanding officer of the brigade (russian: командир бригады, komandir brigady; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR from 1935 to 1940. It was also the ...

'' on 31 January 1939 and was made a

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 ...

when the Red Army reintroduced generals' ranks on 4 June 1940.

World War II

On 22 June 1941, when

, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began, Konstantinov's division was part of the 6th Cavalry Corps of the 10th Army of the Western Front (the former Western Special Military District). 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, ...

on 29 June, 15 kilometers southwest of Minsk, Konstantinov was severely wounded, and after recovering fought with a partisan detachment in Belarus. In September 1942 he was flown out to Moscow and placed at the disposal of the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement. From December of that year Konstantinov studied at an accelerated course at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy, and upon completion of the course in February 1943 was appointed commander of the 19th Cavalry Corps. Serving as deputy commander-in-chief of the

Steppe Front The Steppe Front (russian: Степной фронт) was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War which existed from July to October 1943. History On 9 July 1943, Stavka designated a new Reserve Front in the Voronezh region, that had ...

for cavalry from July, Konstantinov took command of the

in October. He led the corps for the rest of the war, a period in which it fought as part of the 65th, 61st, 47th, and 69th Armies of the Belorussian, 1st and

2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front (Russian: Второй Белорусский фронт, alternative spellings are 2nd Byelorussian Front) was a military formation, of Army group size, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. Soviet army g ...

s in the Gomel–Rechitsa, Polesskoe, Belorussian, Vistula–Oder,

East Pomeranian East Pomeranian (''Ostpommersch'') is an East Low German dialect that is either moribund or used to be spoken in what was roughly Pomerania (now northwestern Poland; previously part of Germany until the end of World War II) and today is also sp ...

, and

Berlin Offensive The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major Offensive (military), offensives of the European theatre of World War II. ...

s. He was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

on 26 July 1944. For "courage, heroism, and timely fulfillment of front objectives" during the capture of

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

and the defeat of German troops in the area of

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975–1 ...

, Tomaszów, and Łódź in the January 1945 Vistula–Oder Offensive, Konstantinov received the title

and was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

on 6 April 1945.

Postwar

After the end of the war, in December 1945, Konstantinov was placed at the disposal of the commander-in-chief of the Red Army cavalry before being sent to take the Higher Academic Course at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy in May 1946. After completing the course in May 1947, he was appointed chief of the 2nd section of the Ground Forces Directorate of Combat Training Planning. From July 1948 he served as chief of the 2nd course of the special faculty of 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 ...

. Konstantinov became assistant commander-in-chief of the

in July 1951, succeeding to command of the group a year later. He transferred to become first deputy commander-in-chief of the

in April 1955, and in August 1958 he became a member of the district military council. Promoted to

on 18 February 1958, Konstantinov retired on 8 July 1964 due to ill health. He died in Leningrad on 30 May 1990, and was buried at the

Bogoslovskoe Cemetery Bogoslovskoe Cemetery (russian: Богословское кладбище) is a cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is located in the Kalininsky District of the city between and . The name comes from the church of John the Apostle, (russi ...

Awards and honors

(4) *

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 ...

(3) *

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 1942 ...

, 2nd class *

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 *

(3)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Konstantinov, Mikhail Petrovich 1900 births 1990 deaths People from Usman, Russia People from Usmansky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Soviet colonel generals Academic staff of the Frunze Military Academy Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Belarusian partisans Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Burials at Bogoslovskoe Cemetery