General Belov is an extraordinary personality, without whom it would be difficult to imagine the victorious march of the Soviet troops during the Great Patriotic War. This man has come a long way, full of hardships and overcoming difficulties, and he managed to receive many awards on it. The Soviet military leader bears the proud title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Pavel Belov in his life managed to earn the respect of not only his compatriots and fellow soldiers, but also enemies. And this characterizes him as a unique person, whose biography will interest many.
Brief information about the general
Pavel Alekseevich Belov lived a long sixty-five years, during which he managed to go through two wars. It was they who determined his future fate, showing the true purpose of this brilliant military leader.
Even in peacetime, General Belov did not leave his life's work. During this period, he graduated from the Higher Military Academy and was even a representative of the people in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. At the end of his life, Pavel Alekseevich actively wrote memoirs, butmanaged to cover only the initial period of the Great Patriotic War. A complete biography of Belov was written much later according to the memoirs of people who knew him well. The memoirs were published in a circulation of one hundred thousand copies a year after the death of the general.
It is noteworthy that for his services he received not only awards from the fatherland, but also from foreign countries. Most of them were assigned to the commander of the Polish People's Republic.
Biography of Belov P. A
The future hero was born on February 6, 1897 in Shuya. His parents were simple workers in a factory, so there were simply no big prospects that could radically affect his life.
However, at the age of nineteen, Belov Pavel Alekseevich entered the imperial army: his fate at that moment was already completely predetermined. For two years of service, he managed to learn and get a new rank.
In 1918 of the 20th century, he became part of the Red Army, and three years later he was able to rise to a commanding position. For several years he has come a long way, completing various courses and taking part in numerous campaigns of the Soviet army.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he came up as a commander of a cavalry regiment. Twelve months later, Soviet commander Pavel Belov assumed command of the 61st Army. During the war, he was wounded more than once, fought in the rear of enemy troops, left the encirclement and took a direct part in the offensive on the Dnieper. It was for his last actions that he was awarded title of Hero of the USSR.
In peacetime, Belov was active in his country's prosperity. Colonel-General Pavel Belov died at the age of sixty-five on December 3, 1962. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery, where to this day his grave and a modest monument are located.
Youth of Pavel Belov
The future General Belov, born in the family of a factory worker, always showed a penchant for military affairs. But he did not even imagine that the war would become his fate. At the age of sixteen, young Pavel graduated from elementary school and began working to help his family.
For three years, Belov changed many positions and professions. He worked as a messenger at his father's factory, as a clerk and telegrapher's apprentice. In 1916, he entered the army, which eventually became his life's work.
Service in the tsarist army
Little is known about this period in the life of the future General Belov. He rarely mentioned it himself, mentioning only dry facts. Historians know for certain that for more than a year he served as a private in a reserve regiment based in the Voronezh region.
Then, for four months, Pavel Alekseevich was sent to study in Rostov-on-Don, from where he was supposed to return with the rank of ensign. But the revolution radically changed the established life of a young man who did not want to take part in the clashes between the people and the imperial regiments.
Red Army: service to the young Soviet state
In order not toto get into the White Guard army, Belov hid for several months in a remote village far in the mountains. But by spring I decided to return to Ivanovo, which at that time was called Ivanovo-Voznesensk. Here Pavel again went to work at the telegraph office of the railway, where he was listed as a clerk before leaving for the service.
At the end of the summer, Belov joined the Red Army and immediately received the position of an instructor. His duties included training new fighters, which proved to be very useful in the difficult conditions of the Civil War.
From the summer of 1919, Pavel Alekseevich took command of a cavalry platoon and took an active part in hostilities.
The formation of a military career
Belov fought mainly on the Southern Front. He had a chance to face the troops of Denikin and participate in the suppression of the Tambov uprising. In the autumn of 1919, he was wounded for the first time and underwent a long treatment in the hospital. Then he was sent on vacation to his parents to go through a recovery period in a calm environment.
The next two years were very successful for Pavel Alekseevich, he very quickly climbed the career ladder, receiving titles and new appointments one after another:
- from spring to autumn of the twentieth year of the last century, he went from platoon commander to squadron commander;
- he spent the next twelve months as squadron commander of the second reserve cavalry regiment;
- in the twenty-first year, Belov was appointed commander of a cavalry regiment.
In the specified time period, the futurethe general personally liquidated armed gangs in different parts of the country. He managed to visit the Donbass, the North Caucasus and the Kuban.
On the eve of a new war
In the early 30s, Belov ended up in the Moscow Military District, where his successes were highly appreciated. He was sent to study first at cavalry courses, and then at the evening department of the Frunze Military Academy.
In between studies, he continued to serve the fatherland in various positions. The future hero was an assistant to the chief of staff and even carried out special assignments for S. M. Budyonny.
In the 40s he was transferred to the Belarusian military district and appointed commander of the seventh cavalry division. In a short period of time, the future hero served in various military districts and managed to take part in a military campaign in Bessarabia and Belarus.
The military leader met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War as commander of the second cavalry corps.
War years
During the years of the war, Belov managed to make war on almost all fronts:
- Southern;
- Western;
- Southwest;
- Bryansk;
- Belarusian;
- Central;
- B altic.
Cavalrymen of the corps of General Belov participated in the march on Red Square in 1941, which was documented in the form of photographs.
At the beginning of the war, Pavel Alekseevich distinguished himself in the defense of Moscow and nearby regions. In the winter of 1942, troops under hiscommand got into the rear of the enemy and managed to conduct successful subversive activities there for several months.
Literally immediately after that, Belov was appointed commander of the sixty-first army. It is difficult to list the operations in which he took part. The most significant were the following:
- Minskaya;
- Rizhskaya;
- Berlin.
In the autumn of 1943, the troops under his command made a heroic crossing of the Dnieper. The soldiers managed to capture a vast bridgehead and liberated more than twenty-one settlements from the enemy.
By the end of the war, Belov approached with the rank of lieutenant general, for skillful command and heroism in 1944 he received the Order of Lenin, the Gold Star medal and the honorary title of Hero of the USSR.
Post-war years
After the victory, Belov did not leave military service. He continued his career as commander of the Don Military District, and at one time commanded the North Caucasian Military District.
In the late forties, a talented military leader was trained at the Military Academy of the General Staff. After that he was assigned to the South Ural Military District, where he spent about six years.
In the fifty-fifth year, Belov got into the Central Committee of DOSAAF, where he worked as chairman for five whole years. In the sixtieth year, the colonel-general retired, starting to write memoirs about his difficult life. In parallel, the retired officer served as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. He did this until his death.
From his lifeleft in Moscow, where he lived happily all the last years.
Award sheet
Belov's list of awards is huge; over the years of service, he has more than once received high recognition of his services to the country. The general received five Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner and three Orders of Suvorov. The commander himself considered these awards the most significant and valuable.
He was also awarded a number of medals for the liberation and defense of various cities. In addition, the list of awards also includes anniversary awards.
Pavel Alekseevich Belov was awarded foreign orders and medals. Of the five awards, four were awarded to the general by the Polish People's Republic and one by the Mongolian People's Republic.
Memory of Colonel-General Belov
Today, streets in many cities of Russia are named in memory of the talented military leader. For example, General Belov Street is located in Moscow, Ivanov and Chernigov. In general, there are nine cities that honored the memory of Pavel Alekseevich in this way. Naturally, in his hometown Shuya st. General Belov also exists.
Also, several memorials have been erected in Russia in honor of the Soviet commander. The very first one was placed on the General's grave at the Novodevichy Cemetery. In addition, the name of the hero is carved on monuments in the Tula region, at the Trinity cemetery in Shuya and in Novomoskovsk. In the last settlement, the bust of this unique person was installed only about a year ago in a beautiful square.
