Nikolay Nikanorovich Belov
Encyclopedia
Nikolay Nikanorovich Belov was a Red Army
World War II
major-general who commanded the 15th Motorized Rifle Division / 15th Rifle Division
.
Belov was wounded during the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 4 August 1941, but chose to remain with his men rather than escape by aircraft.
He was killed by a German shell fragment on 9 August 1941.
) in 1896, Nikolay Nikanorovich Belov was conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army
in August 1915 and saw action on the Eastern Front of World War I
. He joined the newly formed Red Army
after the October Revolution
, fought in the Russian Civil War
, and became a member of the Bolshevik Party in 1919.
A cavalry commander in the 1930s, he led the 9th Cavalry Division during the Soviet campaign into Polish western Ukraine
in 1939 and into Romanian-ceded Bessarabia in 1940.
Belov became a major-general in June 1940 and was assigned to command the mechanized 15th Motorized Rifle Division of the 2nd Mechanized Corps
in March 1941.
Badly mauled in July 1941 by the advancing Germans after their surprise attack on the Soviet Union
, Belov's 15th Motorized Rifle Division was reorganized on 6 August as the 15th Rifle Division
.
Belov was wounded on 4 August 1941. An airplane was dispatched to bring him out, Belov chose to remain with his men in the German circlement.
The major-general was killed in combat by a German shell fragment near the village of Podvysokoye in the Kirovograd Oblast of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on 9 August 1941.
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...
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
major-general who commanded the 15th Motorized Rifle Division / 15th Rifle Division
15th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 15th Rifle Division was a military formation of the Red Army formed by renaming the Red Army's Inzensk Revolutionary Division on 30 April 1919...
.
Belov was wounded during the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 4 August 1941, but chose to remain with his men rather than escape by aircraft.
He was killed by a German shell fragment on 9 August 1941.
Biography
Born to a poor working family in Kharkov (KharkivKharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
) in 1896, Nikolay Nikanorovich Belov was conscripted into the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
in August 1915 and saw action on the Eastern Front of World War I
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
. He joined the newly formed 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...
after the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, fought in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, and became a member of the Bolshevik Party in 1919.
A cavalry commander in the 1930s, he led the 9th Cavalry Division during the Soviet campaign into Polish western Ukraine
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
in 1939 and into Romanian-ceded Bessarabia in 1940.
Belov became a major-general in June 1940 and was assigned to command the mechanized 15th Motorized Rifle Division of the 2nd Mechanized Corps
2nd Mechanized Corps (Soviet Union)
The 2nd Mechanised Corps was a formation in the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War.Initially formed in June 1940 in response the German victories of 1940 it was attached to the Odessa Military District, & attached to the 9th Army in the Odessa fortified region in Soviet Union It was under...
in March 1941.
Badly mauled in July 1941 by the advancing Germans after their surprise attack on the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, Belov's 15th Motorized Rifle Division was reorganized on 6 August as the 15th Rifle Division
15th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 15th Rifle Division was a military formation of the Red Army formed by renaming the Red Army's Inzensk Revolutionary Division on 30 April 1919...
.
Belov was wounded on 4 August 1941. An airplane was dispatched to bring him out, Belov chose to remain with his men in the German circlement.
The major-general was killed in combat by a German shell fragment near the village of Podvysokoye in the Kirovograd Oblast of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on 9 August 1941.