Pavel Semenovich Rybalko

The Early Years

Pavel Rybalko was born in 1894 in the Kharkov province of the Ukraine, where he grew up and received his education. At the outset of the first world war he enlisted as a private in an infantry Regiment, serving on the Galician Front. Following the start of the Revolution he joined the Red Guards and during the Civil War served as a political officer working with Partisan Groups fighting against German forces in the Ukraine. In 1919 he was promoted and served as a political officer on the Turkestan Front where he met his future wife, Nadezhda Denisova. In 1920 he was transferred to the 1st Cavalry Army in Poland, where he took command of the 80th Cavalry Regiment. It was during his service there that he first met other prominent officers such as Budenny and Timashenko. In the last months of the Civil War he commanded the 61st Cavalry Regiment of the Special Cavalry Brigade, gaining valuable experience of mobile operations. In 1926 he attended a senior officers course at the Frunze Military Academy. He graduated with distinction the following year and was posted to the Mongolian-Chinese border acting as an advisor to the Mongolian Army. In 1928 he was appointed Commander of the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the Chervon Cossack Division serving on the Polish border. In 1931 he attended a further course at the Frunze Military Academy. In his graduation report, the head of the Academy noted his 'thirst for knowledge, widening military erudition and breadth of view', and marked him as one of the best students on the course. Following his graduation in 1934 he was initially sent as an advisor to a Cavalry Division serving in China and in 1935 returned to Moscow serving in the Auto-Armored Tank Directorate, where he was converted to the concept of armoured warfare. In 1937 he moved again, this time serving as a Military attaché in Warsaw, a move which fortunately saw him avoid the worst of Stalin's purges. In 1940 he was recalled to Russia to serve as an instructor in tactics at the Kazan Tank School.

The War Years

Following the start of the campaign he made repeated requests to be transferred to an active command. Finally following a letter to his old friend Yeramenko, then commanding the Bryansk Front, he was given a post as deputy commander of the 3rd Tank Army. Following a brief spell as commander of the 5th Tank Army, he returned as commander of the 3rd Tank Army in September 1942. He set about reorganising the Army's retraining and re-equipping. In January the Army was transferred to the Voronezh Front and took part in the Ostrogozh-Rossoshan operation and the recapture of Kharkov. For his part in the operation, Rybalko was rewarded with promotion to Lieutenant General and awarded with the Order of Suvorov. However the triumph was short lived as Manstein's counter offensive broke up the offensive and recaptured Kharkov in March. However, the defensive operation employed during the withdrawal saw Rybalko handle the Army well, adapting his tactics and deploying mobile groups to help stall the German offensive.
In May 1943, the Army was re-designated as 3rd Guards Tank Army and deployed initially as part of the Bryansk Front and then the Central Front. In August the Army was withdrawn into the STAVKA reserve in preparation for the drive into the Ukraine and the recapture of Kiev. During the redeployment for this operation, the Army was required to move some 60 miles north, mostly at night, from Bukrin to the Lyutezh bridgehead and then force a crossing of the Dnepr River there. The repositioning of the Army and subsequent crossing of the river was again handled by Rybalko with great skill and was a resounding success.
Following the successful conclusion of the Dnepr crossing, the Army was involved in the Zhitomir-Birdichev operation between December 1943 and January 1944, the Proskurov-Chernovits operation in March and April and finally the Lvov-Sandomir operation in July and August. This series of operations concluded the liberation of the Ukraine and provided Russian forces with a firm foothold in southern Poland. The Liberation of Lvov saw Rybalko display outstanding skill as his Army completed an encircling movement, which trapped the German garrison, compelling them to surrender on the 27th of July.
The Army was then rested until it took part in the Sandomir-Silesian operation during January and February of 1945. After breaking through the German line on the first day of the operation, Rybalko went on to establish a bridgehead on the Oder.
As part of the final assault on Berlin, Rybalko, supported by the 4th Guards Tank Army, formed the spearhead of the 1st Ukranian Fronts drive into the south of the city. In late April, the Army was ordered to disengage from the battle in the city, reorganize itself and then move south into Czechoslovakia and liberate Prague. The move into Czechoslovakia, through difficult and mountainous terrain, was handled with Rybalko's usual skill and the operation to liberate the City lasted only three days, with the garrison surrendering on the 9th of May.

The Post War Years

At the end of 1945, Rybalko was promoted to Marshal of Armored Tank Troops and in April 1946 was recalled to Moscow as the Deputy Commander of Armored Tank Troops. During his time in these posts he performed great work in the improvement of combat training for the armored and mechanized troops. However the stresses of the war had taken their toll on his health and on August 28th 1948, he died suddenly. During his career he received many awards including being twice honored with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and also receiving two Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, three Orders of Suvorov, the Order of Kutuzov and also with various foreign orders.