Chief marshal of the armored troops Pavel Alexeyevich Rotmistrov (russian: Павел Алексеевич Ротмистров; 6 July 1901 in Skovorovo – 6 April 1982) was a

Soviet military The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

commander of armoured troops in 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, afte ...

during and following

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 opposing ...

. he fought from the first days and was present in every major Soviet battle including Battle of Moscow, Battle of Stalingrad and for leading the

5th Guards Tank Army The 5th Guards Tank Army (Russian: 5-я гварде́йская та́нковая а́рмия) was a Soviet Guards armored formation which fought in many notable actions during World War II. The army was formed in February 1943. Until the afte ...

at the Battle of Prokhorovk at the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

. Rotmistrov became the first Marshal of the Soviet armoured troops .

Pre-War

Rotmistrov joined the Red Army in 1919, and served during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

, during which he was involved in the suppression of the

Kronstadt Rebellion The Kronstadt rebellion ( rus, Кронштадтское восстание, Kronshtadtskoye vosstaniye) was a 1921 insurrection of Soviet sailors and civilians against the Bolshevik government in the Russian SFSR port city of Kronstadt. Loc ...

and in the

Polish Soviet War Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

. He commanded a platoon and later rifle company in 31st Rifle Regiment of 11th Rifle Division. In 1928 he entered

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 ...

. From 1937 to 1940 he was an instructor at the Moscow Higher Military Academy. In May 1941 he became Chief of Staff of the 3rd Mechanised Corps.

Second World War

Rotmistrov commanded his first tank battalion during the Soviet-Finish war. He started the war against Germany with the 3rd Mechanised Corps, which was destroyed during

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 then commanded 8th tank brigade which was transferred to Kalinin front during the Battle of Moscow. After several successful battles in the summer of 1942 he was sent to Stalingrad to be part of the 1st Guards Army. He commanded

in the

Battle of Prokhorovka The Battle of Prokhorovka was fought on 12 July 1943 near Prokhorovka, southeast of Kursk, in the Soviet Union, during the Second World War. Taking place on the Eastern Front, the engagement was part of the wider Battle of Kursk and occurre ...

during the

, and in

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...

. The unit under his command, the 5th Guards Tank Army engaged in a brutal tank battle near Prokhorovka against the attacking Waffen SS divisions ''

Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler or SS Division Leibstandarte, abbreviated as LSSAH, (german: 1. SS-Panzerdivision "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler") began as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard unit, responsible for guarding ...

,'' '' Das Reich'' and ''

Totenkopf ''Totenkopf'' (, i.e. ''skull'', literally "dead person's head") is the German word for the skull and crossbones symbol. The "skull and crossbones" symbol is an old international symbol for death, the defiance of death, danger, or the dead, as ...

'' almost in a point-blank range of 100–200 meters. As the German advance was noticed, spearheaded by the three most elite Waffen SS divisions towards Prokhorovka advancing in force, Rotmistrov ordered direct counter-attack from the army that was prepared to go by radioing "Steel, Steel, Steel" against the Germans to get close to them as possible to make up for the better guns the German tanks had. In the ensuing battle, a close-quarter open field tank battle ensued so that most shots from both sides were a direct hit. The distance between the forces was such that tanks were shooting each other from left and right one after another and close enough to ram the German tanks to disable their relatively powerful guns from turning. As the battle ended, significant losses were reported from the 5th Guards Tank Army. He was removed from command following Bagration and became deputy head of armored troops at the General Staff. The manner in which he conducted the battle including the heavy losses the 5th Guards Tank Army took was not unnoticed by Joseph Stalin that he planned to have Rotimstrov court-martialed and sacked for the heavy losses. This did not occur since Aleksandr Vasilevsky interceded. It is possible that the high losses incurred by the 5th Guards Tank Army at the Battle of Minsk led to his removal from command. It is notable that he never held an active unit command again. He was promoted to colonel-general in October 1943 and became the first Marshal of Armoured Troops in February 1944.Указ Президиума Верховного Совета СССР «О присвоении генерал-полковнику бронетанковых войск Ротмистрову П. А. военного звания маршала бронетанковых войск» от 21 февраля 1944 года
// Ведомости Верховного Совета Союза Советских Социалистических Республик : газета. — 1944. — 29 февраля (№ 12 (272)). — С. 1

Post-War

Following the war he commanded the mechanized forces of the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupat ...

, and he became an assistant minister of defense. He became the first Chief Marshal of Armoured Troops on 28 April 1962.

Awards and Decorations

;Soviet Union ;Foreign

References

External links

Biography on Generals.dk

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotmistrov, Pavel 1901 births 1982 deaths Soviet Marshals of Tank Troops People from Selizharovsky District Heroes of the Soviet Union Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Frunze Military Academy alumni Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 3rd class