Pavel Semyonovich Rybalko (23 October 1894 – 28 August 1948; russian: Па́вел Семёнович Рыба́лко, uk, Павло Семенович Рибалко) was a 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, after ...

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 opposin ...

Early life and career

Pavel Rybalko served in the Russian and later the Soviet Army from 1914. He served 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 ...

as a soldier, as an assistant commander of the partisan squadron 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 ...

, and as a

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 ...

commander and a commander and instructor during the Polish-Soviet War. After attending the Frunze Military Academy in 1931 to 1934, he served in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

in 1935 and was afterwards assigned to the Auto-Armoured Tank Directorate in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. During that period, he studied intensively the principles of modern armoured warfare, as developed by the western theorists (Generals

von Kleist The House of Kleist is the name of an old and distinguished Pomeranian Prussian noble family, whose members obtained many important military positions within the Kingdom of Prussia and later in the German Empire. Notable members *Henning Alexan ...

Guderian Guderian is a German surname. Other spellings are ''Guderjahn'' and ''Guderjan''. It is present in Greater Poland and Mazovia in the 19th century. Notable people with the surname include: *Heinz Guderian, Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (1888–1954), Germa ...

and Fuller), as well as the doctrine of "

deep operations Deep operation (, ''glubokaya operatsiya''), also known as Soviet Deep Battle, was a military theory developed by the Soviet Union for its armed forces during the 1920s and 1930s. It was a tenet that emphasized destroying, suppressing or disorga ...

," as theorized by Triandafillov and Tukhachevsky. His next assignments were as

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

in Poland, where he was the last military attaché and left a few days before the Soviet invasion, and in China. He then took a post of lecturer in tactics at the

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

tank school.

World War II

Very surprisingly and to his extreme frustration, Rybalko spent the first year of the war as a lecturer in Kazan. He finally got an operational assignment in May 1942, as deputy commander of the 3rd Tank Army of the

Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK ( ru , РВГК)) comprises reserve military formations and units; the Sta ...

. Throughout the war, Rybalko's name was closely associated with the 3rd Tank Army. In the winter of 1942–1943, included in the

Voronezh Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

, his army spearheaded the different operations that tried to exploit and transform the Germans' defeat in Stalingrad into a large-scale strategic victory in the southern theater of operations. That included

Operation Star Operation Star or Operation Zvezda (russian: Звезда, lit=Star) was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II begun on 2 February 1943. The attack was the responsibility of the Voronezh Front under the command of Filipp Goliko ...

in February, which was aimed at the liberation of

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

, one of the first major Soviet cities to be reconquered by the Red Army. However,

Erich von Manstein Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein (born Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Lewinski; 24 November 1887 – 9 June 1973) was a German Field Marshal of the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes and ...

's counteroffensive recaptured the city and inflicted serious damages to the exhausted and overextended 3rd Tank Army. Refitted and renamed the 3rd Guards Tank Army, Rybalko's army played crucial roles in the strategic counteroffensives that followed 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. ...

(

Operation Kutuzov Operation Kutuzov was the first of the two counteroffensives launched by the Red Army as part of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation. It commenced on 12 July 1943, in the Central Russian Upland, against Army Group Center of the German '' He ...

), in the recapture of Kiev (6 November 1943). The winter and the spring of 1944 saw a succession of large operations, aiming at the destruction of the southern wing of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

. Operations ( Zhitomir-Berdichev in December 1943 to January 1944 and Proskurov-Chernivtsi in March to April 1944) succeeded at least in the complete liberation of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

by the end of the summer. During the various operations, Rybalko showed impressive tactical and operational skills, particularly during the Lvov-Sandomierz Operation. Still in command of his

3rd Guards Tank Army The 3rd Guards Tank Army (russian: 3-я гвардейская танковая армия) was a tank army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. The 3rd Tank Army was created in 1942 and fought in the southern areas of ...

, Rybalko took a major place in the various operations that were launched in North Ukraine: Galicia (summer 1944) and

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

(late 1944 and winter 1945). Finally, as part of

Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, link=no, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf; – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forces on the E ...

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

, Rybalko's army was one of the four Guards Tank armies engaged in the giant

Battle for Berlin 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 offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–O ...

. Immediately after the capture of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Rybalko and his tank army were tasked with the assault on the city in the

Prague offensive The Prague offensive (russian: Пражская стратегическая наступательная операция, Prazhskaya strategicheskaya nastupatel'naya operatsiya, lit=Prague strategic offensive) was the last major military ...

and on 9 May liberated

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Postwar

After the war, he became commander of the mechanized forces of the Red Army. He emerged from the war as one of the most brilliant Soviet tank commanders. He fully understood the nature of armoured warfare and mastered the operational aspects of armoured armies command.

Legacy

The

Tashkent Higher Tank Command School The Chirchiq Higher Tank Command and Engineering School (), formerly the Tashkent Order of Lenin Higher Tank Command School named after Pavel Rybalko () is a military academy of the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan, responsible for training armor ...

is named after him.

Awards and decorations

Soviet Union

Foreign

External links

*
Biography on Generals.dk
*
Biography
* ''Stalin's Generals'', Harold Shukman Ed, Richard Woff, Phoenix Book, 2001 * ''Red Army Tank Commanders'', Richard N. Armstrong, Schiffer Publishing, 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rybalko, Pavel 1892 births 1948 deaths People from Sumy Oblast People from Kharkov Governorate Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet Marshals of Tank Troops Soviet military attachés Soviet military personnel of World War II Ukrainian people of World War II 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, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Soviet Union), 1st class Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Recipients of the Virtuti Militari (1943–1989) Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Knights of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 3rd class Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion Recipients of the Military Order of the White Lion