Vasily Mikhailovich Badanov (; 14 December 1895 – 1 April 1971) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

military officer and general, best known for his leadership in the

Tatsinskaya Raid The Raid on Tatsinskaya was a Soviet armoured raid deep into the German rear conducted by 24th Tank Corps under the command of Major General Vasily Mikhaylovich Badanov in late December 1942. It took place during Operation Little Saturn, on the ...

(1942) and subsequent command of the 4th Tank Army (1943–1944).

Early life, World War I and Russian Civil War

Vasily Mikhailovich Badanov was born in the village of Verkhnyaya Yakushka,

Simbirsk Governorate Simbirsk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 to 1928. Its administrative center was in the city of Simbirsk, renamed Ulyanovsk in 1924 (likewis ...

on 14 December 1895. Conscripted into 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 ...

in 1915 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 ...

, he graduated from the Chuguyev Military School as a ''

praporshchik (, , ) 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 the corresponding navies. It is usually equivalent to warrant officer class 1 or serge ...

'' in 1916, and fought as a platoon commander with the 493rd Klin Infantry Regiment on the Southwestern Front. In 1917 he was elected a member of the regimental committee. 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 ...

, Badanov was conscripted into 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 September 1919 and appointed assistant military instructor of the

Kurgansky Uyezd Kurgansky Uyezd (''Курганский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Tobolsk Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southwestern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Kurgan. Demographics At th ...

Military Commissariat A military commissariat (from , shortened as ), is an institution that is part of military service or law enforcement mechanisms in some European countries. As part of the British Army in the 19th century, military commissariats were used for ...

Tobolsk Governorate Tobolsk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, Russian Republic and Russian SFSR located in the Ural Mountains and Siberia. It existed from 1796 to 1920; its seat was in the city of Tobolsk, ...

. He became a company commander in the 27th Omsk Rifle Division in October of that year and with the division fought as part of the 5th Army against the forces of

Kolchak Kolchak, Kolçak or Kolčák is a surname from Turkish ''wikt:kolçak, kolçak''. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexander Kolchak (1874–1920), Russian naval commander, head of anti-Bolshevik White forces *Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Tu ...

near

Kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus (burial mound) constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons, and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into mu ...

, Petropavlovsk,

Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...

Barabinsk Barabinsk () is a town in Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, located in the Baraba steppe on the Trans-Siberian Railway between Omsk and Novosibirsk. Population: History It was founded at the end of the 19th century and was granted town status in 1917. ...

, and

Novonikolayevsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siberia and the third-mo ...

. From December of that year Badanov served as assistant military commissar of the Melekessky Uyezd Military Commissariat in

Samara Governorate Samara Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, located in the Volga Region. It existed from 1850 to 1928; its capital was in Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev ...

. While serving in this position he was imprisoned for "anti-Soviet activities" between 30 March and 19 July 1920. From February 1921 he was chief of staff of a rifle brigade of the supreme commander's reserve, fighting in the suppression of anti-Soviet resistance in Belorussia. Badanov joined the Communist Party in 1919.

Interwar period

Badanov served as temporary assistant chief of the school of the 21st Separate Brigade of the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...

from October 1921, soon transferring to serve in the same position with the 13th Separate Brigade of the Cheka. He became commander and military commissar of the 29th Separate Gomel Battalion of the

OGPU The Joint State Political Directorate ( rus, Объединённое государственное политическое управление, p=ɐbjɪdʲɪˈnʲɵn(ː)əjə ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əjə pəlʲɪˈtʲitɕɪskəjə ʊprɐˈv ...

Troops of the Western Front in June 1922. After serving as commander and military commissar of the 1st Rifle Regiment of the OGPU Troops from December 1923, Badanov entered 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 le ...

in October 1926. Upon graduation in November 1927 he was appointed commander and military commissar of the 26th Separate Chapayev Regiment of the OGPU Troops. After being sent to serve as chief of the machine gun course of the

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

Reserve Commanders' Retraining School 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 differen ...

during January 1930, he completed retraining at the Leningrad Armored Commanders' Improvement Courses between December 1930 and May 1931. After finishing the courses, Badanov became a battalion commander at the Saratov Armored School. Badanov completed the

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

Commanders Technical Improvement Course of the Volga Military District between March and September 1932 and entered the Commanders Academic Technical Improvement Course at the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization in March 1934. Upon completion of the course in July of that year, he became commander of a separate battalion of 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 ...

. Badanov served as assistant chief for the training and personnel section of the Military-Automobile Technical School of the Volga Military District from April 1936, and in January 1940 became chief of the

Poltava Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...

Military-Automobile Technical School. By then a colonel, he was appointed commander of the 55th Tank Division of the 25th Mechanized Corps of the

Kharkov Military District The Kharkov Military District () was a military district of the Russian Empire, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and the Soviet Union. Throughout its history, the district headquarters was located in the city of Kharkov in northeast ...

in March 1941.

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, Badanov led the division as part of the 21st Army in the Battle of Smolensk. The division was disbanded in September, and he was appointed commander of the 12th Tank Brigade on the Southwestern Front. The brigade was withdrawn to the front reserve on 22 October, and took part in the Barvenkovo–Lozovaya offensive from 18 January, assigned to the 57th Army. From March 1942, he served as acting deputy commander of the 56th Army for tank forces, fighting in the battles on the approaches to

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 ...

. Badanov took command of the

24th Tank Corps The 2nd Guards Tatsinskaya Tank Corps was a Tank corps (Soviet Union), tank corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army that saw service during World War II on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of Europe. The unit's most notable moment wa ...

of the Southern Front on 19 April. From July, he led it in heavy defensive battles in the Voronezh sector and in the Great Bend of the Don as part of the Bryansk and Voronezh Fronts. At the beginning of December, the corps took part in

Operation Little Saturn Operation Little Saturn () was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The success of Operation Uranus, lau ...

, with Badanov leading it in the

into the German rear. Badanov 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 normall ...

(a rank above major-general in the Soviet system) on 26 December 1942 and became the first recipient of the

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 ...

, second class, the same day. For its performance, the corps became the elite 2nd Guards Tank Corps. Badanov continued to command the 2nd Guards Tank Corps in

Operation Gallop Operation Gallop () was a Soviet Army operation on the Eastern Front of World War II. The operation was part of a series of counteroffensives after the encirclement of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) following the German Summer offensive in 1942 ...

in the

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 ...

in January 1943, and the repulse of the German counteroffensive in the

Third Battle of Kharkov The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Nazi Germany's Army Group South against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February ...

in March 1943. He was promoted to command the 4th Tank Army in July 1943, leading it during

Operation Kutuzov 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 ''Ger ...

and the battles for Right-bank Ukraine. The army was withdrawn to the

Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK () or RGK ( comprises reserve military formations and units; the ''Stavka'' ...

in September 1943, and in February 1944 joined the

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Wartime ...

. On 6 January 1944 he was awarded the United States

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

for "extraordinary heroism". Badanov was seriously wounded during the Proskurov-Chernivtsi Offensive during March 1944. After recovering, he served as chief of the Military Training Institutions Directorate of the Main Directorate for Formation and Combat Training of the Armored and Mechanized Forces of the Red Army from August of that year.

Postwar

After the end of the war, Badanov continued to serve in his previous position. He served as commander of the Armored and Mechanized Forces of the

Central Group of Forces The Central Group of Forces (Russian: Центральная группа войск) was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and tr ...

from June 1946. Beginning the Higher Academic Courses at the Voroshilov Higher Military Academy on 30 April 1949, Badanov was appointed chief of the Higher Educational Institutions Directorate of the Armored and Mechanized Forces of the Soviet Army after his graduation in July 1950. He retired on 8 June 1953 and died in Moscow on 1 April 1971, being buried in the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Honours and awards

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 ...

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 ...

, three times *

, 2nd 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 ...

, 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 ...

, 2nd 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 ...

Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin" A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" The Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" () was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union. Medal history The Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad" was established on December 22, 1942 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet o ...

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union established on May 9, 1945, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote military partici ...

Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" The Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" () was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on January 24, 1938 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote the twentie ...

Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" The Jubilee Medal "30 Years of the Soviet Army and Navy" () was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on February 22, 1948 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote the thirtieth annive ...

Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "40 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" () was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on December 18, 1957 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote the fortieth anni ...

Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" () was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on December 26, 1967 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote the fiftieth anniv ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Badanov, Vasily 1895 births 1971 deaths People from Ulyanovsk Oblast People from Simbirsk Governorate Bolsheviks Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet lieutenant generals Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)