Ivan Mefodyevich Managarov (; – 27 November 1981) was a

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

colonel general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

and a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

who held

field army A field army (also known as numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more corps. It may be subordinate to an army group. Air army, Air armies are the equivalent formations in air forces, and ...

command during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A decorated veteran of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

, Managarov fought as a cavalryman in the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

and rose to division command by the late 1930s. After commanding a rifle and cavalry corps in the

Soviet Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Eastern Fe ...

and front reserve in 1941–1942, Managarov briefly commanded the 41st Army before being appointed commander of the

53rd Army The 53rd Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army which was formed in August 1941, disbanded in December 1941, and reformed in May 1942. It fought throughout World War II before again being disbanded after the war in October 1945. Th ...

in early 1943. He led the army for most of the rest of the war, and commanded the Soviet forces fighting in the city during the

Siege of Budapest The siege of Budapest or battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet and Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the broader Budapest Offensive, the siege began when Budapes ...

. After the end of the war in Europe, he commanded the army in the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation or simply the Manchurian Operation () and sometimes Operation August Storm, began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet Union, Soviet invasion of the Emp ...

. Postwar, Managarov held army command, but retired in the early 1950s due to his health.

Early life, World War I, and Russian Civil War

A Russian, Ivan Mefodyevich Managarov was born on in the settlement of Yenakiyevo,

Yekaterinoslav Governorate Yekaterinoslav Governorate} was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yekaterinoslav. Covering an area of , and being composed of a inhabitant of 2,113,674 by the census of 1897, it bordere ...

. The son of a

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

coal miner, he worked at the Donetsk Mine No. 20 and the Yenakiyevo Metallurgical Plant after completing primary school. Joining the

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in September 1914, Managarov was assigned to the 5th Reserve Cavalry Regiment at

Balakleya Balakliia or Balakliya (, ; ) is a city in the Izium Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine, on the northeast side of the Siverskyi Donets river close to where it is joined by the , which runs through the town. It is an important railroad juncti ...

as a ''

ryadovoy () in the Army, Airborne troops, and Air Force of the Russian Federation is the designation of a member of the rank group of enlisted personnel. The rank is equivalent to ''matros'' () in the Russian Navy. In the armed forces of the Soviet Uni ...

''. He was then sent to the front, serving with the mounted reconnaissance platoon of the 9th Finland Rifle Regiment of the 22nd Army Corps. Managarov was wounded and invalided out in June 1915, awarded the Cross of St. George thrice for his actions. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

, Managarov joined the Yenakiyevo

Red Guard The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

Detachment, formed from miners, in August 1917, and was chosen as its commander due to his combat experience. Following the transfer of the Red Guards to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in February 1918, Managarov became commander of the Proletarian Regiment of the 1st Steel Rifle Division in May of that year. The division was merged with the 1st Don Soviet Cavalry Brigade in late November to form the 1st Consolidated Cavalry Division, which was renamed the 4th Cavalry Division in March 1919. With the division, Managarov continued as commander of the Proletarian Regiment before leading the 1st Ukrainian Steel Regiment from March 1919. Further reorganization of the division left him as assistant commander of its 22nd Cavalry Regiment in May. With the 4th Cavalry Division, Managarov fought on the Southern and Southeastern Fronts at

Tsaritsyn Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

and in the

Don Host Oblast Don Host Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Russian Empire which consisted of the territory of the Don Cossacks, coinciding approximately with present-day Rostov Oblast in Russia. Its administrative center was Cherkassk, and later Nov ...

. Managarov was transferred in July 1919 to serve as assistant commander of the 2nd Taman Cavalry Regiment, which joined the 2nd Stavropol Cavalry Division in November. With the regiment, he fought on the Southern, Southeastern, and Caucasian Fronts in the operations of the 9th Army and 2nd Cavalry Corps. Becoming a cadet at the 5th Cavalry School in

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

in July 1920, Managarov fought in the suppression of the

Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (; RIAU), also known as ''Makhnovtsi'' (), named after their founder Nestor Makhno, was an anarchist army formed largely of Ukrainian peasants and workers during the Russian Civil War. They protect ...

with a cadet detachment.

Interwar period

Upon his graduation from the cavalry school in September 1923, Managarov was appointed a platoon commander in the 21st Cavalry Regiment of the 4th Cavalry Division, now stationed in the

Petrograd Military District The Petersburg Military District (Питербургский вое́нный о́круг) was a Military District of the Russian Empire originally created in August 1864 following Order B-228 of Dmitry Milyutin, the Minister of War of the Russian ...

. Transferred to serve in the same position with the 46th Cavalry Regiment of the 8th Cavalry Division of the

Turkestan Front The Turkestan Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, which was formed on the territory of Turkestan Military District by Order of the Republic of Turkestan on February 23, 1919. It was formed a second time by the direc ...

in March 1925, he fought in the suppression of the

Basmachi movement The Basmachi movement (, derived from ) was an uprising against Imperial Russian and Soviet rule in Central Asia by rebel groups inspired by Islamic beliefs. It has been called "probably the most important movement of opposition to Soviet rul ...

. Managarov shifted to political work when he became secretary of the party bureau of the 47th Cavalry Regiment of the 11th Cavalry Division at

Troitsk Troitsk (, ''Tróick'') is the name of several types of inhabited localities in Russia, inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities *Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast; *Troitsk, Moscow, a town in Tro ...

in April 1926, and for further political education studied at the Military-Political Academy between 1928 and 1931. Following his graduation from the academy, he was appointed political commissar of the 7th Mechanized Regiment of the 7th Cavalry Division at

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

. Managarov soon returned to command positions, serving as commander and commissar of the 3d Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division at

Proskurov Khmelnytskyi (, ) is a city in western Ukraine. Located on the Southern Bug, it serves as the administrative centre of Khmelnytskyi Oblast as well as Khmelnytskyi Raion within the oblast. With a population of Khmelnytskyi is the second-largest ...

from 1932, and became a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1935 when the Red Army introduced personal military ranks. After a stint as a military advisor in

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

from January 1936 to June 1938, he returned to the Soviet Union to command the 8th Cavalry Division of the 1st Separate Red Banner Army of the

Far Eastern Front The Far Eastern Front (Russian: Дальневосточный фронт) was a front — a level of military formation that is equivalent to army group — of the Red Army during the Second World War. Early war service Тhe Far Eastern Front wa ...

. Promoted to ''

kombrig () is an abbreviation of Commanding officer of the brigade (), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR from 1935 to 1940. It was also the designation to military personnel appointed to command a brigade sized formation (X ...

'' on 20 November 1938, he became a major general on 4 June 1940 when the army introduced general officer ranks.

World War II

After

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

began, Managarov remained in the Far East with the division, and was appointed commander of the

26th Rifle Corps Sixth is the ordinal number, ordinal form of the number Six (number), six. * The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution * A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel * The fraction Mus ...

of the army in November 1941. Sent west in January 1942 to command the 16th Cavalry Corps of the front, forming in the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...

, he took command of the 7th Cavalry Corps of the

Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front () was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the World War II, Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it fi ...

on 27 March. The corps spent the rear in the front reserve and in December Managarov became commander of the 41st Army, which he led in the

Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive The Battles of Rzhev () were a series of Red Army offensives against the Wehrmacht between 8 January 1942 and 31 March 1943, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The battles took place in the northeast of Smolensk Oblast and the south of Tver ...

. In March he was transferred to command the

, which he led for most of the rest of the war in the Belgorod–Kharkov Offensive, the

Uman–Botoșani Offensive The Uman–Botoșani offensiveTsouras, p. 244 or Uman–Botoshany offensive () was a part of the Dnieper–Carpathian offensive, carried out by the Red Army in the western Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic against the German 8th Army (Wehrma ...

, the

Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

, the Budapest Offensive, and the Prague Offensive with the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943, the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In mid-May 1944 Malinovsky took over the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During t ...

. He was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

on 29 August 1943. While at the observation post of the 116th Rifle Division during fighting to the northeast of Kirovograd on 5 December, Managarov was severely wounded by a German shell that killed the army artillery commander and the chief of the operations department. After recovering, he returned to command of the army on 28 February 1944. In July, front commander Army General

Rodion Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (; ; – 31 March 1967) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He served as Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1967, during which he oversaw the strengthening of the Sov ...

evaluated Managarov as an "observant and disciplined commander" and a "brave and decisive general with strong willpower and steady character" who showed initiative in both defensive and offensive operations, but tempered this praise with the statement that Managarov exhibited "insufficient operational thinking". During the

, Managarov succeeded to command of the Budapest Operational Group, tasked with the assault on

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

, on 22 January 1945 following the wounding of Major General Ivan Afonin. The group, which was composed of the 75th Rifle and

37th Guards Rifle Corps The 37th Guards Airborne Corps was a Red Army airborne corps. The corps was established as the 37th Guards Rifle Corps on 19 January 1944. In August, it was converted into an airborne corps. On 18 December, it became an infantry corps again. The cor ...

, captured the city in brutal street fighting by 13 February. Managarov received the title

and was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

on 28 April for his "skillful command of the army" and "personal courage and heroism" in the fighting to break through German defenses in the area of

Hodonín Hodonín (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. Geography Hodonín is located about southeast of Brno, on the border with Slovakia. It lies in a flat landscape of the Lower Morava Va ...

and the crossing of the Morava, being promoted to

on 29 May. After the end of the war in Europe, Managarov and the 53rd Army were relocated to the Far East to participate in the

with the

Transbaikal Front The Transbaikal Front () 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 Army was added to the front, and, finally, in ...

. During the invasion, the army broke through the Japanese border fortifications to cross the

Greater Khingan The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range ( zh, s=大兴安岭, t=大興安嶺, p=Dà Xīng'ān Lǐng; IPA: ) is a volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China. It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, whi ...

, capturing

Dandong Dandong ( zh, s=丹东 , t=丹東 , p=Dāndōng; lit. "Red East"), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest ...

and Chaoyang.

Postwar

After the end of the war, Managarov was placed at the disposal of the Main Personnel Directorate when the army was disbanded in December 1945. After completing the Higher Academic Course at the Higher Military Academy between March 1946 and February 1947, he was appointed commander of the 4th Army of the

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 First Republic of Armenia, Armenia, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Azerbaijan, and Democratic Republic ...

. Relieved of command for health reasons in April 1949, Managarov was appointed commander of the Kiev

Air Defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...

Region two months later. Retiring for health reasons on 5 September 1953, Managarov lived in Yalta, giving speeches to students and other organizations. His memoirs, focusing on the part of the 53rd Army in the Belgorod–Kharkov Offensive, were first published in 1975. Managarov died in

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

on 27 November 1981, and was buried at the Old Cemetery of the city.

Awards and honors

Managarov was a recipient of the following decorations: * Gold Star Medal awarded to

Heroes of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both t ...

(3) *

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

(3) *

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

, 1st class *

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...

, 1st class * Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 1st class *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

* Medals * Foreign awards * Cross of St. George, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th classes (not worn after 1917)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Managarov, Ivan 1898 births 1981 deaths People from Yenakiieve Military personnel from Donetsk Oblast People from Yekaterinoslav Governorate Soviet colonel generals 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 Cross of St. George Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Lenin Military Political Academy alumni