Pavel Grigoryevich Ponedelin (russian: Па́вел Григо́рьевич Понеде́лин; 4 March 1893 Moscow 25 August 1950) was a Soviet general executed after World War II for being taken prisoner by the Germans.

Early life

He fought in

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 ...

in the Imperial Russian Army before going over to the Bolsheviks. During the Russian Civil War, he fought against the Poles and was wounded. In the following years he commanded a regiment and then a brigade. In 1926 he graduated from 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 Moscow. In 1938 he 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 ...

and became chief of staff of the

1st Rifle Corps First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

. In 1939-1940, he participated in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

. Due to the defeat of his troops, he was moved to command the 139th Rifle Division. In 1940, he was appointed Major General major and from July that year, he was the chief of staff 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 ...

World War II and death

In March 1941, he became commander of the 12th Army of the Kiev Special Military District, which he still commanded at the start of

Soviet-German War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sou ...

. In early August, during the

Battle of Uman The Battle of Uman (15 July – 8 August 1941) was the World War II German offensive in Uman, Ukraine against the 6th and 12th Soviet Armies. In a three-week period, the Wehrmacht encircled and annihilated the two Soviet armies. The battle occ ...

, his army was decisively beaten and together with General

Nikolai Kirillov Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to: People Royalty * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or Nik ...

, he was captured by the Germans. For this, he was sentenced to death by Stalin in

Order No. 270 Order No. 270, issued on 16 August 1941, by Joseph Stalin during the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, ordered Red Army personnel to "fight to the last," virtually banned commanders from surrendering, and set out severe penalties for senior office ...

. He remained in a German POW camp until late April 1945, when he was liberated by the Americans, and handed over to the Soviets. At the end of December that year he was arrested and imprisoned in the Lefortovo Prison in Moscow. On 25 August 1950, after a trial, he was sentenced to death and shot the same day. He was rehabilitated in 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponedelin, Pavel 1893 births 1950 deaths People from Ivanovo Oblast People from Yuryevetsky Uyezd Soviet major generals Imperial Russian Army officers Frunze Military Academy alumni Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War People of the Polish–Soviet War Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Russian people executed by the Soviet Union Soviet rehabilitations