Dmitry Mikhaylovich Karbyshev | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 26 [O.S. October 14] 1880 |
| Died | 18 February 1945(1945-02-18) (aged 64) |
| Allegiance | Russian Empire Soviet Union |
| Branch | Russian Imperial Army,Red Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant General of Engineer Corps (1940) Lieutenant Colonel (1916) |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union |
| Alma mater | Military engineering-technical university,St. Petersburg |
Dmitry Mikhaylovich Karbyshev (Russian:Дмитрий Михайлович Карбышев; October 26 [O.S. October 14] 1880 — 18 February 1945) was aRed Army general, professor of theSoviet General Staff Academy (Doctor of Military Sciences), andHero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).
Karbyshev was born inOmsk to the well-knownSiberian CossackStarshyna family of Kryashen Tatar origin and spoke bothRussian and Tatar of Kryashen accent .[1] His father died when he was twelve, and he was raised by his mother. Despite financial difficulties, he graduated from the SiberianCadet Corps (today Omsk Cadet Corps of Ministry of Defense) in 1898 and went on to attend the Saint-Petersburg Nikolaev Military Engineering College (Uchilishche), from which he graduated in 1900. He was assigned to serve in the 1st East Siberian Sapper Battalion, in charge of battlefield telegraph operations (chief of cable section of a telegraph company), and was stationed inManchuria.
During theRusso-Japanese War (1904 to 1905), Karbyshev was responsible in building bridges, and conductingreconnaissance patrols, as well as telegraph operations. He was at theBattle of Mukden and was decorated for bravery. He was promoted to Lieutenant (poruchik) at the end of the war.
Karbyshev subsequently served inVladivostok. He returned to St. Petersburg to graduate from the Nikolaev Military Engineering Academy in 1911 (present-daySaint Petersburg Military Engineering-Technical University). Promoted toStaff Captain, he was then sent toBrest-Litovsk as commander of asapper company, and participated in the construction of fortifications for theBrest Fortress.
At the start ofWorld War I, Karbyshev was involved in combat operations in theCarpathians under GeneralAleksei Brusilov’s 8th Army on theSouthwestern Front. At first he was the divisions' engineer for the 78th and the 69th Infantry Divisions, later chief of engineer service for the 22nd Finland Riflemen Corps. In early 1915, he was at theSiege of Przemyśl, where he was wounded in the leg. He was decorated with theOrder of St. Anne for bravery and promoted tolieutenant colonel. In 1916, he participated in theBrusilov Offensive. With theFebruary Revolution and the collapse of the Russian Empire, Karbyshev joined the localRed Guard in December 1917 while stationed atMogilev-Podolsky (todayUkraine). From 1918, he was an officer in theBolshevikRed Army.
During theRussian Civil War, Karbyshev oversaw the construction of numerous fortifications, particularly theKakhovka Platzdarm, and held senior positions at the headquarters of theNorth Caucasus Military District. In 1920, he was chief engineer of the Soviet 5th Army and the assistant of chief engineer of the Southern Front (second formation). Karbyshev supervised engineering support for the assaults on Chongar fortifications andPerekop against theWhite movement in theCrimea.
From 1923 to 1926, Karbyshev was the Chairman of the Engineering Committee of the Main Military Engineering Administration of the Red Army. In 1926, he became an instructor at theM. V. Frunze Military Academy, and in 1936, he joinedthe General Staff Academy. In 1929, Karbyshev was appointed to designStalin line andMolotov line. In February 1934, he was appointed the Head of Department of Military-Engineering Science of General Staff Academy. Since 1936, Karbyshev was an assistant to the Head of Department of Large Formations' Tactics of the Academy. He was promoted to Professor in 1938, and to the military rank oflieutenant general in the Corps of Engineers in 1940. In 1941, Karbyshev was awarded doctorate in military sciences.[2] He published over 100 research papers in military engineering and military history. He specialized in the construction and demolition of obstacles, and in the issues involved in crossing rivers and other water obstacles. His articles and manuals on the theory of engineering and battlefield operations and tactics were mandatory for reading by Red Army commanders in the pre-war years. He also served as a consultant for the restoration of theTrinity Lavra of St. Sergius outside ofMoscow.
During theWinter War of 1939–40 between theSoviet Union andFinland, as a member of the group to the assistant of chief of the Main Military-Engineering Administration in fortification construction Karbyshev travelled to the front lines to advise troops on engineering support in breaching theMannerheim Line.
In early June 1941, Karbyshev was sent on the inspection trip toWestern Special Military District. The German invasion occurred while he was at the headquarters ofSoviet 3rd Army inGrodno. Two days later, he moved to the headquarters of theSoviet 10th Army. On June 27, 1941, the army became surrounded and eventually destroyed during theBattle of Białystok–Minsk. In August 1941, Karbyshev suffered frompost-concussion syndrome in combat at the Dnieper River in what is now theShklow Raion,Mogilev Region, and while unconscious was captured by theNazis.
Karbyshev was held at a succession ofconcentration camps, includingHammelburg,Flossenbürg,Majdanek,Auschwitz,Sachsenhausen and, in February 1945,Mauthausen. Refusing repeated offers from the Nazis to solicit his cooperation, and despite his advanced age, he was one of the most active leaders of the camp resistance movement.
On the night of 17 February 1945, he was one of 500 prisoners undressed, doused with cold water and left to expire in the frost. According to the literary testimony of a camp survivor, Karbyshev stayed upright facing his executioners and shouted encouragements to his fellow prisoners.[3]
After the end of the war, on 16 August 1946, he was posthumously awarded theHero of the Soviet Union medal. A white-marble monument of Karbyshev by the sculptorVladimir Tsigal stands at the Mauthausen concentration camp.
He was married twice. He met his first wife Alisa Karlovna Troyanovich (1874-1913) of German descent, while serving inVladivostok. After six years of married life Alisa died in 1913 and was buried inBrest at the Trishin's Cemetery.[4]
While in Belarus, in 1916 Karbyshev married again amilitary nurse Lidiya Vasilyevna Opatskaya (1891–1976), who outlived her husband by 30 years. They had three children together - Yelena (1918-2006), Tatiana (1926—2003), and Aleksey (1929—1988).[5]
Yelena followed in her father's footsteps and became a military engineer,[6] having been awarded several orders and medals for her outstanding contributions.[7] Tatiana worked as an economist, whereas Aleksey earned a Ph.D. in Economics and was a chairholder at the Moscow Financial Institute.[5]
Aminor planet1959 Karbyshev discovered in 1972 by Soviet astronomerLyudmila Zhuravlyova is named after him.[8]
The Soviet Union issued acommemorative postage stamp in his honor in 1961 and in 1980. There are also streets in numerous cities in the former Soviet Union named after Karbyshev.
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