Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov (russian: Дми́трий Тимофе́евич Козло́в; October 23 (November 4) 1896, Razgulyayka, now in

Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (russian: link=no, Нижегородская область, ''Nizhegorodskaya oblast''), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,310,5 ...

– December 6, 1967,

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

) was a Soviet military commander.

Life

1914–1941

Born in the village of Razgulyayka, he left school in 1915 and joined the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

at the rank of

Praporshchik ( rus, Пра́порщик, 3=ˈprapərɕːɪk, ) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in navies. It is usually equivalent to Warrant ...

. He served in the

First World War 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 ...

and graduated from officer training school in 1917. He moved to 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 ...

in 1918, commanding a battalion then a regiment in 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 ...

. In December 1922 he became the commander of the 4th Turkestan Regiment, then of the 109th Regiment in September 1924. He moved to the staff in 1928, then to head the Kiev Infantry School in 1930. He then became the commander and commissar of 44th Rifle Division in January 1931. Next he became a general tactical lecturer at the RKKA Military Academy in December 1935, deputy commander of the troops in

Odessa Military District The Odesa Military District (russian: Одесский военный округ, ОВО; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operat ...

in April 1940, head of the Main Directorate of Red Army Air Defence in December 1940. 1940 also saw him promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. He also fought in the Russo-Finnish War.

1941–1967

In January 1941 he was appointed commander of the troops of

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the Soviet Union. It was disbanded by being redesignated as a Grou ...

and when the Germans invaded in August that year he was put in command of the

Transcaucasian Front Transcaucasian Front or Transcaucasus Front (russian: Закавказский Фронт) was a front of the Soviet Red Army—a military formation comparable to an army group, not a geographic military front—during the Second World War. Th ...

, where he led the Soviet contingent in the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. He moved to command the Caucasian Front in December 1941 and the

Crimean Front The Crimean Front ( uk, Кри́мський фронт, Krýms’kyj front) was one of the Red Army fronts of World War II, which existed from January-May 1942. Composition It was commanded throughout its existence by Dmitr Timofeyevich K ...

in January 1942. He commanded the Kerch Peninsula landings but, despite initial successes, the operation ended in disaster, with the Soviets losing over 176,000 men, 37 tanks, around 3,500 guns and mortars and 400 aircraft and losing the bridgehead to the Germans in Operation Trappenjagd. On 4 June 1942 he was demoted to major general and removed from command of the front. In August that year he was transferred to command 24th Army and from October 1942 was assistant deputy commander of 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 ...

. Kozlov headed

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

's defence and was one of the last Russians to leave it before the Germans recaptured it on 14 March 1943. From 14 to 21 March 1943 Soviet divisions were constantly withdrawing through the woods northeast of Mokhnachev, and Kozlov took the same route away from Kharkov. From May to August 1943 he was given a post on the Leningrad Front and from August 1943 was made deputy commander of the

Transbaikal Front The Transbaikal Front (russian: Забайкальский фронт) was a front formed on September 15, 1941, on the basis of the Transbaikal Military District. Initially, it included the 17th and 36th armies, but in August 1942 the 12th Air ...

, where he took part in the Soviet offensives against Japan. From 1946 until his retirement in 1954 he was made deputy commander of Transbaikal. He died in 1967 in Minsk.

Sources

* KA Zaleski, ''Империя Сталина. Биографический энциклопедический словарь.'' (Stalin's empire. Biographical Encyclopaedia.) Moscow, Veche, 2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kozlov, Dmitry Timofeyevich 1896 births 1967 deaths People from Semyonov, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast People from Nizhny Novgorod Governorate Soviet lieutenant generals Frunze Military Academy alumni Military personnel of the Russian Empire Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil 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