Mikhail Mitrofanovich Saizew
Mikhail Mitrofanowitsch Saizew ( Russian Михаил Митрофанович Зайцев ; born November 23, 1923 in the village of Savodsky Khutor, Ujesd Tschern , Tula Governorate ; † January 22, 2009 in Moscow ) was a Soviet army general . From 1980 to 1985 he was the Supreme Commander of the Group of the Soviet Armed Forces in Germany (GSSD).
Life
Saizew comes from a farming family from Zavodsky Chutor in what is now Tula Oblast . He attended middle school and joined the Red Army as a volunteer in 1941 .
Second World War
After Saizew had completed courses for special intelligence forces in 1942, he switched to the fighting army in May 1942. During the Great Patriotic War he was deputy chief of staff of a tank brigade and 1st deputy chief of a tank corps staff unit. He fought on the West , Voronezh , Brjansker , Central and 1st Ukrainian Fronts and participated in the battles for Kursk and on the Dnieper , the Lviv-Sandomierz operation , the Vistula-Oder operation , the Prague operation and the battle around Berlin .
post war period
After the war, Saizew served as chief of staff in an airborne and tank division , then as chief of staff and deputy commander of a tank division. In 1954 he graduated from the Military Academy of Armored Forces . After attending the Military Academy of the General Staff in 1965, he was appointed commander of an armored division. From November 1968 he served as chief of staff and from December 1969 as commander of a tank army. In August 1972 he continued his career as 1st Deputy Commander and from May 1976 as Commander of the Armed Forces of the Belarusian Military District . In 1980 he was transferred to the GDR and from October 22, 1980 to July 6, 1985, he was supreme commander of the GSSD. On November 4, 1980, Colonel General Saizew was promoted to Army General. By decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was awarded to him on November 22, 1983 for
"... the great contribution to increasing the combat readiness of the armed forces, their competent leadership as well as personal courage and bravery in the years of the Great Patriotic War and on the occasion of the 60th birthday ..."
the title Hero of the Soviet Union , associated with the presentation of the Order of Lenin . From July 1985 to 1989, Saizew was commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Southern Military Districts and commanded the troops in Afghanistan . From 1989 to 1992 he worked in the group of inspectors general of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR. Although he retired in 1992, he was still active in the management of the Russian Committee for War Veterans and Military Service.
In 1981 he became a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU and was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 1979 to 1989 .
He lived in Moscow and was buried in the Trojekurowo cemetery (section 7в).
Awards
- Hero of the Soviet Union
- Order of Lenin (2 ×)
- Order of the October Revolution
- Order of the Red Banner (2 ×)
- Order of the Great Patriotic War 1st class (2 ×)
- Order of the Great Patriotic War 2nd class (2 ×)
- Order of the Red Star (2 ×)
- other medals from the USSR and other countries
literature
- Герои Советского Союза. Краткий биографический словарь в 2 томах М.: Военное издательство, 1987–1988, Volume 1, p. 526.
- Военная энциклопедия в 8 томах , М.: Издательство Министерства обороны Российской Федерации, 1994-2004, volume 3
Web links
- Heroes of the Country (Russian), accessed April 13, 2011
Individual evidence
- ↑ This war has long been decided: Afghanistan's change to a socialist Soviet republic . In: Der Spiegel . No. 45 , 1985, pp. 180-199 ( online ).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Saizew, Michail Mitrofanowitsch |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Зайцев, Михаил Митрофанович (Russian) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | soviet army general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 23, 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Zavodsky Khutor |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 22, 2009 |
| Place of death | Moscow |