Pyotr Fyodorovich Malyshev (; 28 August 1898 – 10 December 1972) was a

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

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 ...

who held field army command during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Early life, World War I, and Russian Civil War

Pyotr Fyodorovich Malyshev was born on 28 August 1898 in the village of Seleznevo, Kopninskoy volost, Pereslavl-Zalessky Uyezd,

Vladimir Governorate {{Commons cat, Governorates of the Russian Empire Subdivisions of the Russian Empire Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across la ...

. He studied at the Petrovskoy Teacher Seminary from October 1913 to January 1917. During

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, ...

, Malyshev entered the Alexandrovskоye Military School as a

junker Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...

on 4 February 1917, taking a course in the special machine-gun section of the school. On 17 March he took the oath of allegiance to the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediatel ...

, and on 26 May he received the rank of ''unter-ofitser''. After graduating from the school, Malyshev was promoted to ''

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 Warran ...

'' with seniority on 1 June and placed on the rolls of the 197th Reserve Infantry Regiment as a junior officer of the 14th company. In August he was sent to the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-cr ...

, where he served as chief of the machine gun detachment of the 480th Danilovsky Infantry Regiment of the 120th Infantry Division. Demobilized, Malyshev began work as an assistant ticket clerk at the Berendeyevo station of the Yaroslavl railway in February 1918. 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 ...

, Malyshev joined the

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 ...

in March 1919 and was sent to the 7th Rifle Division, with which he served as chief of the machine gun detachment of the 30th and 58th Rifle Regiments. The division was sent to the Eastern Front with the 2nd Army, fighting against the forces of

Kolchak Kolchak, Kolçak or Kolčák is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Iliash Kolchak ("Kolchak-Pasha") (fl. before 1710–1743), Moldavian mercenary and military commander * Alexander Kolchak Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (rus ...

in battles in the

Votkinsk Votkinsk (russian: Во́ткинск; udm, Вотка, ''Votka'') is an industrial town in the Udmurt Republic, Russia. Population: History It was established in April 1759, initially as a center for metallurgical enterprises, and the economic ...

area and in the capture of Votkinsk and

Izhevsk Izhevsk (russian: Иже́вск, p=ɪˈʐɛfsk; udm, Ижкар, ''Ižkar'', or , ''Iž'') is the capital city of Udmurtia, Russia. It is situated along the Izh River, west of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. It is the 21st-largest c ...

. In the summer of 1919 the division was sent to the Southern Front, where it fought in battles against the

Armed Forces of South Russia The Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR or SRAF) () were the unified military forces of the White movement in southern Russia between 1919 and 1920. On 8 January 1919, the Armed Forces of South Russia were formed, incorporating the Volunteer Arm ...

in the area of

Oboyan Oboyan (russian: Обоя́нь) is a town and the administrative center of Oboyansky District in Kursk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Psyol River at its confluence with the Oboyanka River, south of Kursk, the administrative cen ...

and

Sudzha Sudzha (russian: Суджа) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Urban localities *Sudzha, Kursk Oblast, a town in Sudzhansky District of Kursk Oblast Rural localities *Sudzha, Republic of Buryatia, a settlement under the adm ...

. In the fall the division fought in the

Orel–Kursk operation The Orel–Kursk operation (known in Soviet historiography as the Orel–Kromy operation) was an offensive conducted by the Southern Front of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic's Red Army against the White Armed Forces of South Rus ...

and the capture of

Dmitrovsk Dmitrovsk (russian: Дмитро́вск) is a town and the administrative center of Dmitrovsky District in Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Obshcheritsa River near its confluence with the Nerussa, southwest of Oryol, the administrative cent ...

, and in January 1920 in the suppression of anti-Soviet resistance in the area of Glukhov, Putivyl, and

Konotop Konotop ( uk, Конотоп ) is a city in Sumy Oblast in northeastern Ukraine. Konotop serves as the administrative center of Konotop Raion. Konotop is located about 129 km from Sumy, the oblast administrative center. It is host to K ...

. In April Malyshev was appointed assistant commander for personnel of the 58th Rifle Regiment, fighting in the

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

on the Western Front, then in the suppression of the forces of

Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz, russian: link=no, Станисла́в Була́к-Балахо́вич (12 November 1883 – 10 May 1940) was a notable general, military commander and veteran of World War I, the Russian Civil War, Estonian W ...

in the area of

Ovruch Ovruch ( uk, Овруч, pl, Owrucz, yi, , russian: О́вруч) is a city in Korosten Raion, in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, it was the administrative center of the former Ovruch Raion (district). It ha ...

and the

Makhnovists The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine ( uk, Революційна Повстанська Армія України), also known as the Black Army or as Makhnovtsi ( uk, Махновці), named after their leader Nestor Makhno, was a ...

Poltava Governorate The Poltava Governorate (russian: Полтавская губерния, Poltavskaya guberniya; ua, Полтавська Губернія, translit=Poltavska huberniia) or Poltavshchyna was a gubernia (also called a province or government) in ...

. For distinguishing himself in battle, Malyshev was awarded the

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 ...

in May 1920.

Interwar period

After the end of the war, Malyshev continued to serve with the 7th Rifle Division 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 ...

Chernigov Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within t ...

and

Nezhin Nizhyn ( uk, Ні́жин, Nizhyn, ) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It ...

as assistant commander for personnel of the 58th Rifle Regiment, battalion commander in the 20th Rifle Regiment, chief of the divisional school for junior commanders, from October 1924 as assistant chief of the operations section of the division staff, from April 1926 as assistant commander for logistical support of the 19th Rifle Regiment, and from October 1927 as chief of the operations section of the division staff. During this period, Malyshev completed the

Vystrel course The Vystrel course () was the popular name for an officer training course of the Soviet Armed Forces, later part of the Russian Armed Forces, located in Solnechnogorsk. The training course had a one year curriculum to train battalion and regiment l ...

between August 1922 and September 1923, and together with the division fought in the suppression of anti-Soviet forces in Ukraine during 1926 and 1927. In August 1929 he returned to the Vystrel course and upon graduation in May 1930 returned to the division, now in 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 different ...

. Malyshev served as chief of staff of the division until April 1931, when he transferred to the 34th Rifle Division as its assistant chief of staff. In March 1934 he was appointed commander of the 210th Rifle Regiment of the

70th Rifle Division The 70th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Red Army and briefly of the Soviet Army, formed twice. Formed in 1934 at Samara, the division was transferred to the Leningrad Military District in the late 1930s and fought in the Wint ...

, and graduated from the correspondence department of the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), 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 (rus ...

in 1935. Malyshev was arrested in June 1937 during the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secreta ...

, dismissed from the army, and placed under investigation. He was released in February 1940, reinstated in the army and placed at the disposal of the Red Army Personnel Directorate while awaiting assignment. In April he was appointed deputy commander of the

64th Rifle Division The 64th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army which existed between 1942 and 1945. History There was a previous 64th Rifle Division active between July 1925 and 26 September 1941, which it was renamed the 7th G ...

of the Kalinin Military District, which was transferred 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 id ...

. In early June 1941 he transferred to command the 3rd Reserve Rifle Brigade at

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

World War II

After

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 ...

began on 22 June, Malyshev continued to command the brigade. On 13 July he was appointed commander of the 64th Rifle Division, but did not take command of the unit and was tasked with defending the city of Smolensk as head of the city garrison. After the city fell to the German advance, Malyshev was arrested and placed under investigation until March 1942, when he was released for lack of evidence and placed at the disposal of the Military Council of the Western Front. Malyshev was appointed deputy commander of the 238th Rifle Division on 20 April 1942 but did not actually take this position and instead took temporary command of the

217th Rifle Division The 217th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the ''shtat'' (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. It was formed at Vo ...

on 3 May. He led the 217th in defending positions on the east bank of the Ugra near Pavlovo as part of the

49th Army "Thank God for Mississippi" is an adage used in the United States, particularly in the South, that is generally used when discussing rankings of U.S. states. Since the U.S. state of Mississippi commonly ranks at or near the bottom of such rankin ...

of the front. On 20 August the division handed over its sector to the

194th Rifle Division 194th may refer to: *194th Armored Brigade (United States), assigned to the US Army's Combat Developments Command to test new materiel at Fort Ord, California *194th Battalion (Edmonton Highlanders), CEF, a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force ...

and joined the 16th Army. Having marched to the

Sukhinichi Sukhinichi (russian: Сухи́ничи) is a town and the administrative center of Sukhinichsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, a large railway junction on the Moscow – Kyiv line, situated on the Bryn River southwest of Kaluga, the admi ...

region, its units entered defensive battles against the attacks of the German 134th Infantry Division and

17th Panzer Division The 17th Panzer Division (german: 17. Panzer-Division) was a formation of the Wehrmacht in World War II. It was formed in November 1940 from the 27th Infantry Division. It took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in Jun ...

, tasked with eliminating the threat of the German advance on

Kozelsk Kozelsk (russian: Козе́льск) is a town and the administrative center of Kozelsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra River ( Oka's tributary), southwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Popul ...

and Sukhinichi. By decisive actions, they inflicted heavy losses on the German forces and drove them back to the southern bank of the

Zhizdra Zhizdra (russian: Жи́здра, lt, Žizdra) is a town and the administrative center of Zhizdrinsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Zhizdra River southwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: H ...

. In October Malyshev was transferred to serve as deputy commander of the 16th Army, during which it fought in heavy defensive battles on the left wing of the Western Front in the area of Sukhinichi. From 3 May 1943 Malyshev was appointed temporary commander of the

8th Guards Rifle Corps 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

. With the

11th Guards Army The 11th Guards Army () was a field army of the Red Army, the Soviet Ground Forces, and the Russian Ground Forces, active from 1943 to 1997. History World War II For its prowess in battle, the second formation of the 16th Army was redesigna ...

, the corps fought in the

Orel Offensive Operation Operation Kutuzov was the first of the two counteroffensives launched by the Red Army as part of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation. It commenced on 12 July 1943, in the Central Russian Upland, against Army Group Center of the German ''He ...

, the

Bryansk offensive The second Smolensk operation (7 August – 2 October 1943) was a Soviet strategic offensive operation conducted by the Red Army as part of the Summer-Autumn Campaign of 1943. Staged almost simultaneously with the Lower Dnieper Offensive (13 Aug ...

, and the

Gorodok Offensive Gorodok may refer to: ;Places * Gorodok, Russia, several inhabited localities in Russia * Gorodok Stadium, part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, Moscow, Russia *Haradok (''Gorodok''), a town in Belarus * Horodok (''Gorodok''), a town located in Lv ...

, capturing

Karachev Karachev (russian: Карачев) is an ancient town and the administrative center of Karachevsky District in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. Population: History First chronicled in 1146, it was the capital of one of the Upper Oka Principalities in ...

and Gorodok. For "skillful command" of the corps in these operations Malyshev was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

on 27 August. Malyshev commanded the

4th Shock Army The 4th Shock Army was a combined arms army of the Soviet Armed Forces during World War II. The Army was formed from the 27th Army on 25 December 1941 (1st formation) within the Northwestern Front. On 1 October 1942 it included the 249th, ...

from 30 December 1943 to the end of the war. Its troops entered the region southwest of

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

by the end of 1943, where they went on the defensive. In summer 1944 the army fought in the recapture of Belorussia and the drive into the Baltics. Malyshev especially distinguished himself in his leadership of the army during the Polotsk offensive. Acting on the main direction of the

1st Baltic Front The First Baltic Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenko, succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It ...

, the troops of the army broke through German fortified defenses, destroyed elements of the German 16th Army and reached the area northwest of

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

. In the second half of 1944 the army as part of the 2nd and 1st Baltic Fronts fought in the Rezhitsa–Dvinsk offensive, the Riga offensive, and the

Memel Offensive The Battle of Memel or the siege of Memel (german: Erste Kurlandschlacht) was a battle which took place on the Eastern Front during World War II. The battle began when the Red Army launched its ''Memel offensive operation'' (russian: Мемел ...

, and subsequently blockaded the

Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...

until the end of the war.

Postwar

After the end of the war, Malyshev was placed at the disposal of the Main Personnel Directorate in October 1945. After completing the Higher Academic Course at the

Voroshilov Higher Military Academy The Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (russian: Военная академия Генерального штаба Вооруженных Сил Российской Федерации) is the ...

between March 1946 and June 1947, Malyshev was appointed assistant commander-in-chief of the

Belorussian Military District , image = Soviet Union Belorussian Military District.svg , image_size = 300px , caption = The territory of the Byelorussian Military District in 1991. , dates = 28 November 1918 – 6 May 1992 , country = (1918–1920) (1920–1991) (1922� ...

for personnel. He served as chief of staff and first deputy commander-in-chief of the district from November 1948. Malyshev transferred to hold the same position for the

East Siberian Military District The East Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, which existed between 1865—1884, 1920—1923 and 1945—1953. Between 1884-1919, it was known as the Irkutsk Military District. History Th ...

in March 1950 and the

South Ural Military District The South Ural Military District (YuUrVO(ЮУрВО)) was a military administrative division of the Soviet Armed Forces. It existed from 1 December 1941 to 15 January 1958. History According to the directive No. 0444 of People's Commissar of Def ...

in July 1953. He was again placed at the disposal of the Main Personnel Directorate in September 1954, then appointed deputy commander-in-chief of the

for

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

in January 1955. Malyshev retired on 4 March 1959 and died in Moscow on 10 December 1972.

Awards

Malyshev was a recipient of the following decorations: *

(2) *

(3) *

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established du ...

, 1st class *

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 award established on July 29, 1942 ...

, 2nd class (2) *

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 ...

* Medals * Foreign orders

References

Citations

Bibliography

* 1898 births 1972 deaths People from Vladimir Governorate Soviet lieutenant generals Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Russian Provisional Government military personnel Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War People of the Polish–Soviet War Soviet military personnel of World War II Frunze Military Academy alumni {{DEFAULTSORT:Malyshev, Pyotr