Nikolai Platonovich Zarubaev (russian: Никола́й Плато́нович Заруба́ев 1843–10 June 1912) was an

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

general in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, Romanization of Russian, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the earl ...

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym "Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East ( Outer ...

during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

Biography

Zarubaev was educated at the Mikhailovsky Voronezh Cadet Corps and Second Constantine Military Academy and commissioned as an officer in the

Imperial Guards An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...

Grenadier Regiment in 1868. He graduated from the General Staff Academy in 1870, and served in numerous staff positions. He was promoted to colonel in 1875. From 1885-1890, he commanded the 133rd Infantry Regiment. In 1890, Zarubaev was promoted to major general and in 1899 was promoted to lieutenant general and given command of the 9th Infantry Division from 1900-1903, when he was made Deputy Commander of the

Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...

.Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 437-438. At the start of the

(1904–1905), Zarubaev was made commander of the Fourth Siberian Army Corps, which was composed of the Second and Third Siberian Reserve Brigades. He successfully repulsed attacks by Japanese general Yasukata Oku during the Battle of Tashihchiao, but was ordered to retreat by General

Aleksey Kuropatkin Aleksey Nikolayevich Kuropatkin (russian: Алексе́й Никола́евич Куропа́ткин; March 29, 1848January 16, 1925) served as the Russian Imperial Minister of War from January 1898 to February 1904 and as a field command ...

rather than to follow up on his success. Likewise, at the

Battle of Liaoyang The (russian: Сражение при Ляояне) was the first major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, on the outskirts of the city of Liaoyang in present-day Liaoning Province, China. The city was of great strategic importance as the ...

, he successfully held his position against repeated Japanese attacks, but was again refused reinforcements by Kuropatkin and ordered to retreat. At the

Battle of Shaho The Battle of Shaho ( ja, 沙河会戦 (''Saka no kaisen''), russian: Сражение на реке Шахе) was the second large-scale land battle of the Russo-Japanese War fought along a front centered at the Shaho River along the Mukden– ...

, his forces were largely held in reserve, and were used to reinforce the line covering Kuropatkin's retreat. During the

Battle of Mukden The , one of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I and the last and the most decisive major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought from 20 February to 10 March 1905 between Japan and Russia near Mukden i ...

, Zarubaev's forces held their positions for ten days from 12–22 February. From 23 February, Zarubaev commanded a combined force of both the Fourth Siberian Army Corps and the First Siberian Army Corps. However, this combined force was cancelled on 25 February, and after Kuropatkin was replaced by General

Nikolai Linevich Nikolai Petrovich Linevich, also ''Lenevich'' and ''Linevitch'' (russian: Николай Петрович Линевич, uk, Ліневич Микола Петрович; – ) was a career military officer, General of Infantry (1903) and Ad ...

, Zarubaev was made temporary commander of the Russian First Manchurian Army. After the end of the war, Zarubaev was seen as one of the prominent generals of the war, and was promoted to Adjutant General of the Infantry, and was awarded the

Gold Sword for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery (russian: Золотое оружие "За храбрость") was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished ...

and Order of St. George, 4th degree. From 1906-1909, he served as Inspector-General of the Infantry and chaired a committee tasked to improve the personnel and officer corps of the army. He became commander of the

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 Opera ...

on 24 December 1909, and died at

Kislovodsk Kislovodsk (russian: Кислово́дск, lit. ''sour waters''; ; krc, Ачысуу) is a spa town, spa types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, in the North Caucasus region of Russia which is located between th ...

on 12 June 1912.

References

* Kowner, Rotem. ''Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War''. The Scarecrow Press (2006).

External links

Bio at Russo-Japanese War.com

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarubaev, Nikolai 1843 births 1912 deaths Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War