Pavle Abramidze ( ka, პავლე აბრამიძე; russian: Павел Ивлианович Абрамидзе; 19 March 1901 – 3 April 1989) was a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

commander in the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

military. Promoted to

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 ...

in 1940, he commanded the 72nd Mountain Rifle Division 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 oc ...

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 ...

. He was taken

prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 ...

in August 1941 and remained in captivity until May 1945, when he was repatriated to the Soviet Union.

Early life and prewar service

Abramidze was born to a peasant family on 19 March 1901 in

Vani Vani ( ka, ვანი) is a town in Imereti region of a western Georgia, at the Sulori river (a tributary of the Rioni river), 41 km southwest from the regional capital Kutaisi. The town with the population of 3,744 (2014) is an administra ...

Kutais Governorate The Kutaisi or Kutais Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of western Georgia throughout most of its existence, and most of the Artvin Province (except th ...

and graduated from the village school in 1914. After working in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

for two years, he returned to Vani to work on his father's farm. Conscripted into the Red Army on 27 April 1923, he was sent to the Separate Artillery Battalion of the Georgian Rifle Division at

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

. In October he was sent to become an officer cadet at the Georgian Combined Military School, and while there participated in the suppression of the

August Uprising The August Uprising ( ka, აგვისტოს აჯანყება, tr) was an unsuccessful insurrection against Soviet rule in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic from late August to early September 1924. Aimed at restoring the in ...

and anti-Soviet rebels with a cadet detachment that included students from the school. After his graduation in September 1926, Abramidze was sent to the 5th Caucasian Red Banner Regiment of the 2nd Caucasian Rifle Division at Baku, where he served as a platoon commander in the regimental school. Following his completion of the Tbilisi Machine Gun Command Course during October and November 1930, he resumed his previous position with his regiment, later becoming a company commander, acting chief of the regimental ammunition store, and chief of staff and commander of the regimental training battalion. Appointed commander and commissar of the 6th Caucasian Rifle Regiment of the 2nd Caucasian Rifle Division, now stationed in the

Ukrainian Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

, in October 1934, Abramidze became assistant commander of the 99th Rifle Division at

Tulchyn Tulchyn (, Romanization of Ukrainian, translit. ''Tul’chyn'', old name ''Nesterwar'' (from Hungarian language, Hungarian ''Nester'' - Dniester and ''war'' -town), Latin Tulcinum, pl, Tulczyn, yi, טולטשין, ro, Tulcin) is a town in Vinn ...

in April 1938. He commanded the 187th Rifle Division from September 1939 and in November transferred to command the

130th Rifle Division Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

at Mogilev-Podolsky, being 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 4 November. While with the 187th Abramidze participated in the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

. He was appointed commander of the 72nd Rifle Division in January 1940 and led it 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 ...

. During the latter, his division became part of the 15th Army and fought in attempts to relieve the Soviet troops in the Lemetti pocket. For his courage, Abramidze 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 ...

, being promoted to

on 4 June 1940 when the Red Army introduced general officer ranks. After the end of the war the 72nd was relocated to Dobromil, where it was reorganized as a mountain rifle division in early 1941.

World War II

After

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 ...

began, Abramidze led the division as part of the 26th Army in defensive battles in the

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; uk, Вінниця, ; yi, װיניצע) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast and the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. A ...

sector, and in July it joined the

8th Rifle Corps The 8th Estonian Rifle Corps (2nd formation) (russian: 8-й Эстонский стрелковый корпус, et, 8. Eesti Laskurkorpus) was a formation in the Red Army, created on 6 November 1942, during World War II. An 8th Rifle Corps ( ...

of the 12th Army for the

. He was captured along with many other high-ranking Soviet officers on 8 August 1941 in the area of Podvysokoye, southeast of

Uman Uman ( uk, Умань, ; pl, Humań; yi, אומאַן) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the historical region of the eastern Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River ...

. Abramidze was imprisoned at

Zamość Zamość (; yi, זאמאשטש, Zamoshtsh; la, Zamoscia) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. ...

Hammelburg Hammelburg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It sits in the district of Bad Kissingen, in Lower Franconia. It lies on the river Franconian Saale, 25 km west of Schweinfurt. Hammelburg is the oldest winegrowing town (''Weinstadt'') in Franconi ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, and Weißenburg castle. He was liberated by Allied troops on 29 April 1945. On 27 May, he was repatriated to the Soviet Union, where he was arrested, but soon cleared of charges.

Postwar

Reinstated in the Red Army and placed at the disposal of the Personnel Directorate on 31 December, Abramidze completed the Improvement Course for Rifle Division Commanders 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 ...

between March 1946 and January 1947. He then became chief of the military department at the Tbilisi Physical Culture Institute and later served in the same position at the Georgian Agricultural Institute from May 1947 and the

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი ''Ivane Javaxishvi ...

from October 1949. After being retired for health reasons on 2 August 1956, Abramidze lived in Tbilisi until his death there on 3 April 1989.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abramidze, Pavle 1901 births 1989 deaths People from Vani People from Kutais Governorate Soviet major generals Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel of World War II People of World War II from Georgia (country) Soviet Georgian generals Prisoners of war from Georgia (country) Soviet prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner