Grigory Nikolaevich Oriol was a Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 armored corps general.

Early life

Oriol joined the Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

 in 1924. At the mid-1930s, he attended the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization (now part of the Combined Arms Academy

Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

The Combined Arms Order of Lenin Order of the October Revolution Red Bannered Order of Suvorov Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation-Center for Military Education and Science of the Russian Ground Forces is a military academy in Moscow which prepares commissioned officers for...

), where he became close friends with General Sergei Shtemenko

Sergei Shtemenko

Sergei Matveevich Shtemenko was a Soviet general, who served as the Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces' General Staff from 1948 to 1952.-Early life:...

. After graduation, he was assigned to the 22nd Maxim Gorky Cavalry Division, commanding the mechanized regiment and later the armored regiment.

World War II

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War he headed the Armoured Automobiles department in the General Staff, and later became the commander of the armored and mechanized divisions in the 16th Army

16th Army (Soviet Union)

The 16th Army was a Soviet field army active from 1940 to 1945.-First Formation, 16th Army:Before Operation Barbarossa, HQ 16th Army was formed in July 1940 in the Transbaikal Military District . General Lieutenant М. F. Лукин took command...

, under General Rokossovsky

Konstantin Rokossovsky

Konstantin Rokossovskiy was a Polish-origin Soviet career officer who was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, as well as Marshal of Poland and Polish Defence Minister, who was famously known for his service in the Eastern Front, where he received high esteem for his outstanding military skill...

. As such, he took part in the battle of Moscow. Oriol remained the commander of Rokossovsky's tanks, and headed the Mechanized and Armored Formations of the Bryansk Front

Bryansk Front

The Bryansk Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War.General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first formed in mid-late August 1941, comprising, in Erickson's words, 'on paper two armies, 50th and 13th, with eight rifle divisions each, three...

, which later was re-formed as the Don Front

Don Front

The Don Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name refers to Don River, Russia....

. While stationed in the Don Front, he participated in the Battle of Stalingrad

Battle of Stalingrad

The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...

. On 17 November 1942, he was given the rank of a Major General. After the Don Front was renamed Central Front, Oriol supervised its armored units during the Battle of Kursk

Battle of Kursk

The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...

. Oriol remained in his post as the Central Front became the 1st Belorussian Front

1st Belorussian Front

The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...

. At 5 November 1943, he was promoted to Lieutenant General. When Marshal Georgy Zhukov

Georgy Zhukov

Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...

 replaced Rokossovsky, Oriol headed the tank formations under his command during Vistula-Oder Offensive

Vistula-Oder Offensive

The Vistula–Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January and 2 February 1945...

 and the Battle of Berlin

Battle of Berlin

The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....

.

Post-war years

After the war, Oriol was appointed inspector-general the armored and mechanized forces stationed in the all the USSR's Military Districts

Military district (Soviet Union)

In the Soviet Union, a military district was a territorial association of military units, formations, military schools, and various local military administrative establishments...

. At 1961, he became an inspector in the Ministry of Defense and was given his final promotion to Colonel-General on 1962. He retired from the Armed Forces during 1969.

External links

• Grigory Oriol's picture on Generals.Dk.