Mikhail Petrovich Konstantinov (; – 30 May 1990) 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 ...

. Konstantinov joined 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 ...

during 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 ...

, becoming a junior commander at cavalry schools. A variety of positions at cavalry schools followed during the 1920s before Konstantinov served in command and staff positions with cavalry units in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

in the 1930s. At the outbreak of

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 ...

, he commanded a cavalry division in Belarus. Konstantinov's division was destroyed and he was severely wounded, fighting with partisans after he recovered. Flown back to Soviet lines in late 1942, he became commander of the

7th Guards Cavalry Corps The 7th Guards Cavalry Corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a Cavalry corps (Red Army), cavalry corps active during the World War II, Second World War. It was formed from the 8th Cavalry Corps in February 1943. Second World War 8th Cava ...

in October 1943, which he led for the rest of the war. Made a

for his leadership of the corps during the Vistula–Oder Offensive, Konstantinov continued in command of the corps after the end of the war. Postwar, he commanded the

Northern Group of Forces The Northern Group of Armed Forces (; ) was the military formation of the Soviet Army (Russian Ground Forces starting 1992) stationed in Poland from the end of Second World War in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the fa ...

and ended his career as first deputy commander of the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

in the early 1960s.

Early life, Russian Civil War, and interwar period

Konstantinov was born on 4 November 1900 in Usman,

Tambov Governorate Tambov Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, the Russian Republic, and the Russian SFSR, with its capital in Tambov. It was located between 51°14' and 55°6' north latitude, north and betwee ...

. The son of an official, he graduated from a ''

realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...

'' and worked as a ledger clerk at the ''

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the R ...

'' food committee in Usman. During the

, Konstantinov joined the

in May 1919 and was sent as a

Red Army man Red Army man () was the lowest military rank in the Red Army of the Soviet Union from 1918 to 1946. On 30 November 1917, after the October Revolution, the Military Revolutionary Committee cancelled all "officer and class ranks". Henceforth, the ...

to the Borisoglebsk Cavalry Courses, and in July was enrolled as a student of the courses. After graduation, Konstantinov became a platoon commander at the courses in February 1920, fighting with consolidated cadet detachments on the Southern and

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 ...

s. In 1922 the courses were relocated to

Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

and renamed the 3rd Orenburg Cavalry School. At the school in the same year, Konstantinov passed an external examination for the course of a secondary military school. With the school, he served as a platoon commander, assistant squadron commander and squadron commander. After the school was disbanded in late 1923, Konstantinov transferred to the VTsIK of the Kazakh Republic Kazakh Combined Military School. In October 1924 he was appointed an instructor of the 2nd rank at the Kyrgyz section of the school, and from July 1925 temporarily served as a squadron commander there. Between October 1925 and September 1926 Konstantinov studied at the Cavalry Officers Improvement Course (KUKS) in

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...

, and upon graduation returned to his previous position. A month later, in October 1926, the school was disbanded, and Konstantinov became assistant chief of staff of the 8th Turkestan Cavalry Division of the

Volga Military District The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at differen ...

. He subsequently served with the 47th Cavalry Regiment of the division as a squadron commander and assistant chief and acting regimental chief of staff. Konstantinov became a member of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

in 1929. Konstantinov was transferred to the 7th Turkestan Cavalry Brigade of the

Central Asian Military District The Red Banner Central Asian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, which existed in 1926–1945 and 1969–1989, with its headquarters at Tashkent (1926–1945) and Almaty (1969–1989). By USSR Order No.304 of 4 ...

Kulyab Kulob or Khatlon is a city in Khatlon Region in southern Tajikistan. Located southeast of the capital Dushanbe on the river Yakhsu (a right tributary of Panj), it is one of the largest cities in the country. Its population is estimated at 106 ...

in November 1930, becoming chief of the regimental school of the 80th Turkestan Cavalry Regiment of the brigade. With this unit, he fought in against the

Basmachi 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 ...

Ibrahim Bek Ibrahim Bek or Ibrahim Beg (; 1889 – 31 August 1931) was a leader in the Basmachi movement, a liberation movement in Central Asia, which fought against the Red Army. He was a member of the Uzbek Lakai tribe in Eastern Bukhara and led an organiz ...

between April and May 1931. Again transferred to the 79th Cavalry Regiment of the brigade to serve as its chief of staff in February 1932, Konstantinov became acting regimental commander in April. The regiment, based at

Kattakurgan Kattakurgan () is a city in the Samarqand Region of Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Ingichka. It has 90,600 inhabitants (2021). It is located on the road and railway between Bukh ...

, was transferred to the Separate Consolidated Uzbek Brigade in May, which was reorganized into the 6th Uzbek Mountain Cavalry Division in October. Konstantinov commanded 7th Uzbek Mountain Cavalry Regiment of the division from September 1933, which was soon renumbered as the 41st. He again completed the Novocherkassk Cavalry Officers Improvement Course in 1935. For successes in combat training of the regiment, he was awarded the

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 ...

in 1936, and that year received the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on 29 January 1936. Appointed assistant commander of the 20th Tajik Mountain Cavalry Division of the Central Asian Military District on 19 July 1937, Konstantinov temporarily served as division commander between October 1937 and March 1938. In September 1938 he was made commander of the 18th Mountain Cavalry Division of the same district, before being sent to the

Western Special Military District Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

in March 1941 to command the 6th Cavalry Division. Konstantinov was 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 31 January 1939 and was made a major general when the Red Army reintroduced generals' ranks on 4 June 1940.

World War II

On 22 June 1941, when

, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began, Konstantinov's division was part of the 6th Cavalry Corps of the 10th Army of the Western Front (the former Western Special Military District). During the

Battle of Białystok–Minsk The Battle of Białystok–Minsk was a German strategic operation conducted by the Wehrmacht's Army Group Centre under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock during the penetration of the Soviet border region in the opening stage of Operation Barbaros ...

on 29 June, 15 kilometers southwest of Minsk, Konstantinov was severely wounded, and after recovering fought with a partisan detachment in Belarus. In September 1942 he was flown out to Moscow and placed at the disposal of the

Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement The Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement () was the central organ of military control of the Soviet partisans, resistance movements who fought against German occupation in World War II. Located at the Headquarters of the Headquarters of ...

. From December of that year Konstantinov studied at an accelerated course at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy, and upon completion of the course in February 1943 was appointed commander of the

19th Cavalry Corps 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics Nineteen is the eighth prime number. Number theory 19 forms a twin prime with 17, a cousin prime with 23, and a sexy prime with 13. ...

. Serving as deputy commander-in-chief of the

Steppe Front The Steppe Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War which existed from July to October 1943. History On 9 July 1943, Stavka designated a new Reserve Front in the Voronezh region, that had been effective since 30 April.G ...

for cavalry from July, Konstantinov took command of the

in October. He led the corps for the rest of the war, a period in which it fought as part of the 65th, 61st, 47th, and 69th Armies of the Belorussian,

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front (, ''Vtoroi Belorusskiy front'', also romanized "Byelorussian SSR, Byelorussian"), was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. I ...

s in the Gomel–Rechitsa, Polesskoe, Belorussian, Vistula–Oder,

East Pomeranian East Pomeranian (') or Farther Pomeranian (') is an East Low German dialect moribund in Europe, which used to be spoken in the region of Farther Pomerania when it was part of the German Province of Pomerania, until World War II, and today is ...

, and

Berlin Offensive The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

s. 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 26 July 1944. For "courage, heroism, and timely fulfillment of front objectives" during the capture of

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

and the defeat of German troops in the area of

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship. Radom is the fifteenth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in its province w ...

, Tomaszów, and Łódź in the January 1945 Vistula–Oder Offensive, Konstantinov 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 6 April 1945.

Postwar

After the end of the war, in December 1945, Konstantinov was placed at the disposal of the commander-in-chief of the Red Army cavalry before being sent to take the Higher Academic Course at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy in May 1946. After completing the course in May 1947, he was appointed chief of the 2nd section of the Ground Forces Directorate of Combat Training Planning. From July 1948 he served as chief of the 2nd course of the special faculty of the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), 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 (), was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces ...

. Konstantinov became assistant commander-in-chief of the

in July 1951, succeeding to command of the group a year later. He transferred to become first deputy commander-in-chief of the

in April 1955, and in August 1958 he became a member of the district military council. Promoted to

on 18 February 1958, Konstantinov retired on 8 July 1964 due to ill health. He died in Leningrad on 30 May 1990, and was buried at the

Bogoslovskoe Cemetery Bogoslovskoe Cemetery () is a cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is located in the Kalininsky District, Saint Petersburg, Kalininsky District of the city between and . The name comes from the church of John the Apostle, (, Ioann Bogoslov) ...

Awards and honors

(4) *

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 ...

, 2nd class *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

, 1st class *

(3)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Konstantinov, Mikhail Petrovich 1900 births 1990 deaths People from Usman, Russia People from Usmansky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Soviet colonel generals Academic staff of the Frunze Military Academy Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Belarusian partisans 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, 2nd class Burials at Bogoslovskoe Cemetery