Pyotr Nikolayevich Akhlyustin (; 12 June 1896 – 28 July 1941) was a

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. Akhlyustin fought in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

as a cavalryman and joined the Red Army during 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 ...

, becoming a junior commander. He held command positions in cavalry units between the wars and commanded a cavalry division in the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subs ...

and the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

. At the outbreak of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

, he commanded the 13th Mechanized Corps, destroyed during the Battle of Białystok–Minsk in late June and early July 1941. Akhlyustin escaped, but was killed while trying to reach Soviet lines in late July.

Early life, World War I, and Russian Civil War

Akhlyustin was born on 12 June 1896 in Kaslinsky Zavod, the son of a worker, and graduated from primary school. During

, he was drafted into 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 ...

in August 1915 and sent to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

, where he fought with the

2nd Pavlograd Life Hussar Regiment The 2nd Pavlograd Life Hussar Regiment () was a cavalry regiment of the Imperial Russian Army. The regiment was originally formed in 1783 as the Pavlograd Light Horse Regiment from the Dnepr and Yekaterinoslav Regiments of Pikemen, although it tra ...

as a private, junior '' unter-ofitser'' and assistant platoon commander. Akhlyustin received two Crosses of St. George for his actions. Demobilized in December 1917 after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, he returned to his hometown to work as a fireman at the Kasli metallurgical plant. Akhlyustin joined the Red Army on 24 June 1918 during the

, serving with the cavalry '' sotnya'' of the 267th Mountain Rifle Regiment as a platoon commander and assistant ''sotnya'' commander. On 11 June 1920 he was appointed chief of the machine gun detachment of the 3rd Special Purpose Battalion of the Southern Front, and in May 1921 returned to the 267th Rifle Regiment to serve as a rifle company and ''sotnya'' commander. During the war he saw action on the Eastern and Southern Fronts.

Interwar period

Akhlyustin served with the

30th Rifle Division The 30th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union, formed three times. The final full name of its first formation was the 30th Rifle Irkutsk Order of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, Order of the Red Banner of Labour Di ...

from December 1922 as commander of a training platoon of the divisional school, and from August 1923 served successively as a platoon commander, and assistant commander and acting commander of a squadron. He transferred to the separate cavalry squadron of the

51st Rifle Division The 51st Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Army, formed twice. Its first formation was formed during the Russian Civil War and fought in the Perekop-Chongar Offensive in 1920. It also fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland, Wi ...

, part of the

Ukrainian Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

, in November 1924, serving successively as assistant commander and commander of the squadron. After graduating from the Simferopol Command Course in 1926, Akhlyustin was sent to study at the

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known ...

Cavalry Officers Improvement Course in October 1927, from which he completed in August 1928. He became head of the economic section at the Budyonny Ukrainian Cavalry School in November 1929, and from January 1931 served as assistant commander and then commander of the 2nd Reserve Cavalry Regiment of the district. Transferred to the 26th Cavalry Division to command its 104th Cavalry Regiment in April 1935, Akhlyustin later became commander of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the

23rd Cavalry Division Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * High ...

, being promoted to colonel on 24 January 1936. He took command of the division, part of the 7th Cavalry Corps of the

Kiev Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

, in September 1937, and was promoted to ''

kombrig (russian: комбриг) is an abbreviation of Commanding officer of the brigade (russian: командир бригады, komandir brigady; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR from 1935 to 1940. It was also the ...

'' on 17 February 1938. Another transfer to command the 24th Cavalry Division of the 13th Cavalry Corps of the Belorussian Special Military District in June of that year followed as the Red Army expanded its cavalry force. Akhlyustin commanded the division in the

and the

, and became a major general on 4 June 1940 when the Red Army reintroduced general officer ranks. An order of 15 February 1941 appointed Akhlyustin commander of the 39th Rifle Corps of the

1st Red Banner Army The 1st Red Banner Army () was a Red Army field army of World War II that served in the Soviet Far East. Before 1941 The 1st Army was created in July 1938 under the name of the 1st Coastal Army (or, depending on translation, 1st Maritime Army) i ...

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 ...

, but on 27 February it was rescinded and instead he became commander of the 13th Mechanized Corps of the 10th Army of the Western Special Military District (the former Belorussian Special Military District).

World War II

After

, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began, Akhlyustin's corps fought in the Battle of Białystok–Minsk and was almost completely wiped out, encircled in the Bialystok pocket. Akhlyustin escaped to positions held by the

13th Army Thirteenth Army or 13th Army may refer to: *Thirteenth Army (Japan) *Japanese Thirteenth Area Army *13th Army (Russian Empire), unit in World War I *13th Army (RSFSR), a unit in the Russian Civil War *13th Army (Soviet Union) *13th Air Army The 76 ...

on the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine ...

and continued east when these too collapsed. On 28 July, while organizing the breakout from the encirclement of the corps, which had run out of ammunition, fuel, and lubricants, Akhlyustin was killed while attempting to cross the

Sozh River The Sozh, or Sož ( be, Сож, ; russian: Сож, uk, Сож) is an international river flowing in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It is a left bank tributary of the Dnieper. The Sozh passes through Gomel, the second largest city in Belarus. T ...

near Propoysk. He was survived by his wife, Mariya Nikolayevna, who lived in

Magnitogorsk Magnitogorsk ( rus, Магнитого́рск, p=məɡnʲɪtɐˈɡorsk, ) is an industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Its populat ...

Awards and honors

Akhlyustin received the following awards and decorations: *

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisa ...

, 1st class (posthumous) *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) 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 193 ...

(2) * Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (1938) * Cross of St. George 3rd and 4th class (not worn after 1917)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Akhlyustin, Pyotr 1896 births 1941 deaths People from Kaslinsky District People from Yekaterinburgsky Uyezd Soviet major generals Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Recipients of the Cross of St. George Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner