Mikhail Batorsky
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Mikhail Batorsky | |
|---|---|
 Batorsky as a cadet before World War I | |
| Born | 25 January 1890 |
| Died | 8 February 1938 (aged 48) |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch | |
| Service years |
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| Rank | Komkor |
| Commands | |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Order of the Red Banner |
Mikhail Alexandrovich Batorsky (Russian: Михаил Александрович Баторский; 25 January 1890 – 8 February 1938) was a Red Army Komkor.
The son of an officer and a member of the nobility, Batorsky fought in World War I as a staff officer, ending the war with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He sided with the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War, serving as a staff officer. During the Polish–Soviet War Batorsky served as chief of staff for the 16th Army and was decorated for his leadership. After the end of the war he became a cavalry commander and was head of a cavalry school. Batorsky was executed during the Great Purge and posthumously acquitted after Stalin's death.
Batorsky was born on 25 January 1890 in Saint Petersburg, the son of a General Staff officer Aleksander Batorsky (1850–1897), later the governor of Yekaterinoslav Governorate. In 1909, he graduated from the Page Corps with honors and became a cornet on 6 August, serving in Her Majesty's Own Cuirassier Regiment. On 6 August 1913 he was promoted to lieutenant. In 1914, Batorsky graduated from the General Staff Academy[1] in the second class, with a transfer for an additional course.[2]
After the announcement of mobilization for World War I in August 1914, he was seconded to his unit. He fought in World War I on the Northern Front and the Western Front. On 6 October Batorsky was awarded the Order of Saint Anna 4th class. He received the Order of Saint Vladimir 4th class with Swords and Ribbon on 15 March 1915. Between 20 April 1915 and 19 March 1916, he served as the senior adjutant of headquarters of the 23rd Army Corps. From 19 March to 17 April, Batorsky was the assistant senior adjutant of the General Department of the 5th Army's Quartermaster General staff. On 17 April, he became senior adjutant of the headquarters of the Guards Cavalry Corps, a position he held until March 1917.[1] On 14 July 1916, he was promoted to staff captain, and was later promoted to captain with seniority for 19 July 1914. On 6 December 1916, Batorsky was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd class, with Swords.[2]
The February Revolution in March 1917 overthrew the Tsar and established the Russian Provisional Government, in whose army Batorsky continued to serve. Between 12 March and 26 August, he was a staff officer for assignments at the headquarters of the same corps. Between August and November, Batorsky was senior adjutant of the operations department of the Special Army's Quartermaster General. In November, the October Revolution overthrew the Provisional Government and replaced it with Soviet Russia, after which the disintegration of the Imperial Army began to accelerate. Between November 1917 and January 1918, he was senior adjutant of the operations office department in the same army's Quartermaster General. On 25 January 1918, Batorsky transferred to become assistant chief of the Main Staff of the General Staff, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.[2][1]
Russian Civil War
In April 1918, Batorsky joined the Red Army.[1]
He served mostly in staff functions, where he served under Mikhail Tukhachevsky, among others.
Between 7 June 1921 and 23 November 1921, he was Chief of Staff of the Western Front.
From October 8 1920 - Assistant Chief, then Chief of Staff of the Western Front. During this period, he served under the command of M. N. Tukhachevsky, and played a significant role in the decisive phase of the Soviet-Polish War, for which he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. From the order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic No. 343 of 12 December 1921:
"Comrade Mikhail Aleksandrovich Batorsky is awarded the Order of the Red Banner... for the fact that, as Chief of Staff of the 16th Army, he skillfully developed a plan for the preparation and execution of the upcoming operation to force the Berezina River and the further offensive movement of the army, which was crowned with complete success. During the offensive of the 16th Army on the way to Warsaw, Batorsky, in fact being the direct assistant to the army commander, brilliantly coped with the difficult and responsible work of organizing and streamlining the rear and communications, despite the lack of roads and the difficult conditions for their repair. In parallel with this, Batorsky completely bore the burden of operational work, developing his own ideas and projects for the army command, which always responded to the situation, and then selflessly implementing them. During the difficult period of the 16th Army's retreat from the walls of Warsaw and beyond the Bug (August - September 1920), due to the measures taken in advance and the personal energy of Batorsky, full mutual communication was ensured, which gave the army command the opportunity to organize the defense of Volkovysk and Pruzhany, on the line of which the army fought for a month, fighting off the advancing enemy".