Pavel Batov

Pavel Ivanovich Batov was a senior Red Army general during the Second World War and afterwards, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Batov fought in World War I, where he was awarded the Cross of St. George twice. After being wounded in 1917, he was sent to a school in Petrograd and joined the Bolsheviks. He fought in the Russian Civil War and became an advisor with the XII International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. During World War II, Batov commanded the 51st Army in the Crimea. In 1942, he became the commander of the 3rd Army and then the 4th Tank Army, which was renamed the 65th Army. Postwar, Batov commanded the Carpathian Military District.