Nikolai Pukhov

In this name that followsEastern Slavic naming customs,thepatronymicisPavlovichand thefamily nameisPukhov.

Nikolai Pukhov
Born	January 25, 1895 Grishovo village, Tyrnovskaya Volost,Peremyshlsky Uyezd,Kaluga Governorate,Russian Empire
Died	March 28, 1958(1958-03-28)(aged 63) Moscow,Soviet Union
Buried	Novodevichy Cemetery
Allegiance	Russian Empire(1916–1917) Soviet Union(1918–1958)
Service/branch	Imperial Russian Army Red Army(later theSoviet Army)
Years of service	1916–1958
Rank	Colonel general
Commands	304th Rifle Division 13th Army 8th Tank Army Odessa Military District Western Siberian Military District Siberian Military District
Battles/wars	World War I Russian Civil War Polish–Soviet War World War II
Awards	Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin(4) Order of the Red Banner(3) Order of Kutuzov,1st class (3) Order of Suvorov,1st class (2) Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 1st class

Nikolay Pavlovich Pukhov(Russian:Никола́й Па́влович Пу́хов;January 25 [O.S.January 13] 1895–March 28, 1958) was aSoviet Armycolonel generaland aHero of the Soviet Unionwho commanded troops duringWorld War II.

Pukhov fought inWorld War Ias a junior officer, afterwards joining theRed Armyand fighting in theRussian Civil War,rising to become chief of staff of a division. During the interwar period he served as an instructor at several military academies, and following theOperation Barbarossa,the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he was given command of the304th Rifle Division.In January 1942 Pukhov was promoted to command the13th Army,which he led for the rest of the war. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership of the army during theBattle of the Dnieperin September and October 1943. Postwar, Pukhov commanded the8th Tank Armyand several military districts before becoming the head Soviet advisor to theRomanian People's Army,the last position he held before his death.

Early life and World War I

Pukhov was born on January 25, 1895, in the village of Grishovo inKaluga Governorate.The son of an official, he graduated from theKalugaTheological Seminary in 1915. He enrolled in theMoscow Universitybut did not attend it, working as a history and literature teacher at the higher primary schoolin the village of Plokhino inZhizdrinsky Uyezdof Kaluga Governorate from October,before being mobilized for service in theImperial Russian Armyin April 1916. He was sent to the 2ndPeterhofSchool ofPraporshchiks,receiving the rank of Praporshchik upon graduation in October. Pukhov became a junior officer in the 163rd Reserve Infantry Regiment, stationed inChelyabinsk.He was sent into combat on theNorthern Frontin June 1917 as a junior officer in the186th Infantry Division's744th Keidan Infantry Regiment.He served as chief of horse reconnaissance and intelligence for about two months but was gassed in theBattle of RiganearIkšķilein August. In January 1918, Pukhov was demobilized with the rank of Praporshchik.

Russian Civil War

Pukhov joined theRed Guardsin February 1918 atLiskias an adjutant in the headquarters for formation of Red Guard detachments, who conductedforced requisitioninginVoronezh Governorateand fought anti-Soviet forces. After the Red Guards were incorporated into theRed Armyin May, he became the adjutant of the 2nd Voronezh Regiment (formed from the Red Guard detachments), fighting against theWhite Armyled byPyotr Krasnovin Voronezh Governorate in the areas ofPavlovskandBobrov.In early March 1919, Pukhov transferred to the8th Armyas chief of staff of itsKalachGroup of Forces after the regiment was disbanded. In April, he became chief of staff of the 3rd Brigade of the1st Special Division,formed from the group, and was appointed chief of staff of theRyazan Infantry Division's 1st Brigade in October. The brigade was part of the screening force against White cavalry commanderKonstantin Mamontov'sraidinto the rear of theSouthern Front.In November, the brigade was sent to the7th Army,where it became part of the 1st Consolidated Division of the Karelian Combat Sector (redesignated the55th Rifle Divisionon 21 November), fighting theFinnish Whiteson theKarelian Isthmus.

Between January and February 1920 the brigade was renamed the 164th Brigade and was a separate unit, part of thePytalovogroup of the15th Army;it fought against Latvian troops in theLatvian War of Independencein the Pytalovo area. In March the brigade served with the 55th and11th Rifle Divisionsin battles against Polish troops aroundPolotsk.During thePolish–Soviet War,the brigade continued to fight in the Polotsk area with the Northern Group of the4thand 15th Armies. During July and August, with the Cavalry Corps of the 4th and3rd Armies,and subsequently theGrodno Group of Forces,the brigade launched attacks towardsVilno,Grodno,Łomża,Białystok,andBrest.After the defeat of the Red Army in September, the brigade was disbanded and Pukhov transferred to become chief of staff of the 61st and then the 63rd Brigades in the 3rd Army's21st Rifle Division,which retreated fromGrodnotoLidain heavy fighting. In January 1921, he was promoted to chief of staff of the division, covering theWhite Seacoast nearArkhangelsk.In April, the 21st was transferred toSiberia,where it eliminatedAndrey BakichandAlexander Kaygorodov's remnant White forces in theAltai Mountains.

Interwar period

Prior toWorld War II,Pukhov had little command experience. After the end of the Russian Civil War, he became chief of staff of the West Siberian Military District's35th Rifle Divisionin April 1923. Between January 1924 and 1929 Pukhov commanded the12th Rifle Division's 34th Rifle Regiment in theSiberian Military District.In September 1925, he entered theVystrelOfficers Improvement Course, graduating in October 1926, and in March 1930 was transferred to become aVystreltactics instructor himself. Pukhov then transferred to the Red Army's new and growing mechanized forces, and became assistant chief of the 1st Department of the Red Army Auto-Armored Division in July 1932. He was sent to Officers Technical Improvement Academic Courses at theMilitary Academy of Motorization and Mechanizationin March 1934 and graduated in January 1935, becoming senior head of the tactics department there following graduation. Pukhov was made a Colonel in December after the Red Army re-introduced regular military ranks.

In July 1936, Pukhov became assistant chief in charge of training at theGorky Armored School,which moved toKharkovin March 1938. At Kharkov, he became the head of the school.In April 1939, Pukhov transferred to become an instructor at theRed Army Military-Economic Academy,and was promoted to Kombrig in April 1940. He became a Major General on 4 June when the Red Army reintroduced generals' ranks.That year he received the academic title of assistant in the tactics department. In January 1941 Pukhov became chief of the Training Department of the Military Quartermaster Academy after it was renamed from the Military-Economic Academy.

World War II

On August 28, 1941, more than two months afterOperation Barbarossa,the German invasion of the Soviet Union began, Pukhov was ordered to replace the commander of the38th Army's304th Rifle Division;this was his first field command since the rifle regiment about 15 years earlier. At the beginning of September it was transferred to theKozelshchynaarea, where until September 17 it suffered heavy losses in heavy defensive fighting, retreating east to the area of Sanzhery,Reshetylivka,andPoltava.The 304th then fought in theDonbass Defensive Operationduring October, then was withdrawn to the reserve in theSnezhny Kutarea. Pukhov held this position until January 20, 1942, when he was given command of the13th Army,which he held until mid-1946. Until the middle of 1942 the army, part of theBryansk Front,held defensive positions on the line ofSkorodnoyeandKolpny.The army fought in theBattle of Voronezhin mid-1942 and theVoronezh-Kastornensk offensive operationin early 1943. On 14 February, following the latter, Pukhov was promoted toLieutenant General.During theBattle of Kurskin July, the army, holding positions on the northern face of the Kursk bulge, repulsed six days of German attacks in fierce fighting, preventing a German breakthrough and limiting the German advance to 10–12 kilometers. When the Soviet troops switched over to the attack after decisively defeating the German army, the 13th Army fought inOperation Kutuzov.

The army advanced into Ukraine in theChernigov-Pripyat Offensive.By 26 August, the army had advanced over 300 kilometers in less than a month. On 9 September, the army crossed theDesna Riverin the area of Obolonnaya and Spasskoye, repulsing German counterattacks for six days before resuming the advance. Between 15 and 16 September, the army crossed the bend of the Desna in theChernigovandMorovskarea. Expanding the bridgehead, the army captured Chernigov on 21 September. On 23 September, two corps from the army crossed theDnieperand on 30 September thePripyat River.On 16 October, Pukhov was awarded the titleHero of the Soviet Unionand theOrder of Leninfor his leadership in the offensive. Joining theVoronezh Front,which became the1st Ukrainian Fronton October 20, the army fought to recaptureRight-bank Ukraineand southeastern Poland. During theBattle of Kiev,Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive,Rovno–Lutsk Offensive,Proskurov–Chernovtsy Offensive,and theLvov–Sandomierz Offensivefrom the end of 1943 to mid-1944, the army advanced more than 750 kilometers. On 26 August 1944, Pukhov was promoted toColonel General.During the final stage of the war in 1945, the army fought in theVistula–Oder Offensive,theSandomierz–Silesian Offensive,theLower Silesian Offensive,theUpper Silesian Offensive,theBerlin Offensive,and thePrague Offensive.

Postwar

Postwar, Pukhov continued to command the 13th Army, and in June 1946 became the first commander of the8th Mechanized Armyin theCarpathian Military District.In February 1948, he was transferred to command theOdessa Military District.After graduating from Higher Academic Courses at theMilitary Academy of the General Staffin 1952, Voroshilov became commander of theNorth Caucasus Military Districtin April 1953 before being transferred to command theWest Siberian Military Districtin November of that year. He continued to command the Siberian Military District when it was recreated after the merger of the East and West Siberian Military Districts on January 4, 1956. In June 1957, Pukhov became the chief Soviet advisor to theRomanian People's Army.He died in Moscow on March 28, 1958, and was buried at theNovodevichy Cemetery.His unfinished memoirs were posthumously published in 1959 byVoenizdatas "Годы испытаний"orYears of Trialsin English.

Legacy

Streets inDonetsk,Chernigov, andKalugawere named for Pukhov. A memorial plaque dedicated to him was located in Kaluga.In June 2006, a monument to Pukhov was unveiled inZhitomir,the former headquarters of the 8th Mechanized Army.

Awards and honors

Pukhov was a deputy of theSupreme Soviet of the Soviet Unionat its 3rd and 4th convocations. He was awarded the following awards and decorations:

• Hero of the Soviet Union(Gold Star No. 1799)
• Order of Lenin(4)
• Order of the Red Banner(3)
• Order of Suvorov,1st class (2)
• Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky,1st class
• Virtuti Militari(Poland)
• Order of the Cross of Grunwald(Poland)
• Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945
• Order of the Republic(Tuvan People's Republic)

References

Bibliography

• Glantz, David M.; House, Jonathan M. (2009).To the Gates of Stalingrad: Soviet–German combat operations, April–August 1942.Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas.ISBN9780700616305.
• Tsapayev, D.A.; et al. (2014). Goremykin, V.P. (ed.).Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь[The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 5. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole.ISBN978-5-9950-0457-8.

External links

• Nikolai Pavlovich Pukhov