| Hamazasp Babadzhanian | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 18, 1906 Chardakhlu, Russian Empire |
| Died | November 1, 1977 (aged 71) Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Buried at | Kremlin Wall Necropolis |
| Allegiance | Soviet Union |
| Service/branch | Armored Corps |
| Years of service | 1925 – 1977 |
| Rank | Chief Marshal of the Mechanized Forces of the Soviet Union |
| Unit | Third Mechanized Brigade (1942) Eighth Mechanized Army |
| Battles/wars | Soviet-Finnish War World War II |
| Awards | Order of Lenin (3) Order of the Red Star (2) |
Hamazasp Khachaturi Babadzhanian (Armenian: Համազասպ Խաչատուրի Բաբաջանյան; Russian: Амазасп Хачатурович Бабаджанян, Amazasp Khachaturovich Babadzhanian; February 18, 1906 – November 1, 1977) was Chief Marshal of the Mechanized Forces of the USSR (from 1975) and Hero of the Soviet Union.[1]
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Babadzhanian was born in the family of an Armenian peasant, in the village of Chardakhlu near Yelizavetpol (later Kirovabad, now Ganja, Azerbaijan), then part of the Russian Empire, attending school there.[1] Ivan Bagramyan, another Armenian Marshal of the Soviet Union, was born in the same village.
In 1925, Babadzhanian joined the Red Army when he was accepted into the Aleksandr Myasnikyan Unified Military School (which was later relocated to Tbilisi and renamed the Transcaucasus United Infantry School) in Yerevan.[1] He first joined the Soviet Communist Party in 1928. One year later, in 1929, he graduated from the military infantry school. He served as an assistant for the army corps based in the Transcaucasian Military District. He then participated in the Finno-Soviet War of 1939-1940. In the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, he commanded a rifle regiment from June 1941 to April 1942. From September 1942, he was the commander of the Third Mechanized Brigade (starting from October 1943, Soviet Guards). The Third Brigade was part of Third Mechanized Corps.[1]
For the skillful management of the brigade during the retaking of the river Dniester, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. From August 1944 through May 1945, he commanded the guard armored corps. He graduated from the military academy of the general staff in 1948, and was appointed with critical command posts.
In November 1956, Babadzhanian led the Eighth Mechanized Army in Budapest, during the Soviet intervention that led to the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. From 1959, he was commander-in-chief of the forces in the Odessa Military District.[1] From 1967 to 1969, he was the head of the Rodion Malinovsky Military Academy of Armored Forces and from May 1969, chief of the tank forces. Babadzhanian was a Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR during the sixth and seventh convocations.
He died in Moscow in 1977 and was buried with full honors at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.[2]
He was awarded the Order of Lenin three times, the Order of the Red Banner four times, the Order of Suvorov twice (one of the first degree and another of second degree), the Order of Kutuzov of the first degree, the Order of the Patriotic War of the first degree, the Order of the Red Star two times, two Polish Orders, as well as countless other medals.[1]