Hovhannes Baghramyan was a Soviet Armenian military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, Baghramyan was the first non-Slavic military officer to become a commander of a Front.
He was among several Armenians in the Soviet Army who held the highest proportion of high ranking officers in the Soviet military during the war, and one of fifty Armenians who attained the rank of General in the same period. With the creation of the newly established Democratic Republic of Armenia in 1918, Baghramyan enlisted in the 3rd Armenian Regiment of that country's armed forces.
After the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 3, 1918) with the Russian SFSR, from April 1, 1918 he was in the 1st Armenian Cavalry Regiment, which helped stave off the Ottoman 3rd Army's offensives intent on conquering the remains of the republic in the regions of Karaourgani and Sarýkamýþ.[4] He most notably participated in the May 1918 battle of Sardarapat, where the Armenian military secured a crucial victory against Turkish forces. He remained in the regiment until May 1920.
In June, 1917 he graduated from the Tiflis military academy with the rank of praporshchik in the Imperial Russian Army. His unit was demobilized the same year, following the overthrow of the Russian Provisional Government in the Bolshevik October Revolution.
Baghramyan's experience in military planning as a chief of staff allowed him to distinguish himself as a capable commander in the early stages of the Soviet counter-offensives against Nazi Germany. He was given his first command of a unit in 1942, and in November 1943 received his most prestigious command as the commanding officer (CO) of the 1st Baltic Front. As the CO of the Baltic Front, he participated in the offensives which moved westward and pushed German forces out of the Baltic republics. In early 1945, Baghramyan's army, under the overall command of Vasilievsky, took part in the advance into East Prussia.
In Operation Samland, Baghramyan's First Baltic Front, now known as the Samland Group, captured Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) in April. On May 9, 1945, he accepted the surrender of the German forces penned up in Latvia, capturing a total of 158 aircraft, 18,000 vehicles, 500 tanks and assault guns among other weaponry.
Marshal Baghramyan was awarded with numerous Soviet and foreign Orders and medals for his service including with two Orders of the Hero of the Soviet Union, seven Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, three Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of Suvorov and the Order of Kutuzov. Among the other commendations he received were the Polish Virtuti Military, the Medal for the Victory over Germany and the Medal for the Victory over Japan.
After the death of Marshal Vasily Chuikov on March 18, 1982, he was the last Soviet Marshal who held a high command in World War II who remained alive. However, only several months later, Baghramyan died, on September 21, 1982, from illness at the age of 84, and was buried with full military honors at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow. A town (Latitude: 40.1933333 Longitude: 44.3686111), a military firing range and an army training brigade, and a subway station and street in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, are named in his honor.
On May 11, 1997, the government of Armenia established the commemorative 100th Anniversary of Marshal Baghramyan medal. It is awarded to service and civilian personnel who participated in the Second World War.
published: 2006-01-01 00:00:00 last updated:2010-02-02 17:58:50
