Babayan, Amayak Grigorievich

Amayak Babayan was born in 1901 in the village of Zyrchi ^{[3] of the} Kagizman district of the Kars region of the Russian Empire (now Turkey ), according to other sources, was born in the city of Kars ^[4] , in a large family of a worker. Armenian During the Armenian Genocide, his parents were killed, and he and his brother fled from Kars to Armenia.

In May 1918, as a volunteer ^[4] he entered the army of the Republic of Armenia and participated in the Armenian-Turkish war of 1918, including the fateful Sardarapat battle . In May 1920, he deserted from the Armenian army.

With the establishment of Soviet power in Armenia in November 1920, he voluntarily joined the Red Army . He served as a Red Army soldier in a special detachment of Voronovich, then in the 4th Lori Armenian Rifle Regiment of the 20th Rifle Division of the 11th Red Army . He participated in the hostilities of the Civil War in Transcaucasia, including the suppression of the Dashnak uprising in February-March 1921. In the same March he was sent to study. In 1923 he graduated from a division training school, and in 1924 he graduated with honors from command courses at the Alexander Myasnikyan Yerevan Joint Military School . In the same year he joined the CPSU (b) . From February to December 1923 he served as foreman of the 1st Armenian Rifle Regiment of the 76th Armenian Mountain Rifle Division . From October 1924 to November 1926 - platoon commander of the 3rd Armenian Rifle Regiment in the same division.

In 1928 he graduated from the Kiev Higher United School of Commanders of the Red Army of the S. S. Kamenev . Since August of this year, he continued his service in the 76th Armenian Mountain Rifle Division : platoon commander of the 2nd Armenian Rifle Regiment, from December 1931 - the company commander of the 4th Armenian Mountain Rifle Regiment, from January 1935 - deputy chief and chief of supply and clothing supply 2- of the Armenian Rifle Regiment , from September 1937 - head of the school of the junior command staff of the 227th Armenian Mountain Rifle Regiment. In June 1938 he was transferred to the 100th Infantry Division of the Belarusian Military District, where he served as the head of the school of the junior command personnel of the 85th Infantry Regiment and from November 1938 he was an assistant commander of this regiment for combatant unit ( Minsk ). Since August 1939 - commander of the 383rd Infantry Regiment of the 121st Infantry Division of the same district ( Rogachev ). He participated in the campaign of the Red Army in Western Belarus in September 1939.

At the front from the first day of World War II . In the Bialystok-Minsk battle, the division as part of the 13th Army of the Western Front held the defenses along the Shchara River, with battles departed through Baranavichy and Starye Dorogi . By July 7, with a part of the division, Major Babayan left the encirclement near the town of Novozybkov , where the division was restored and re-included in the 13th army of the Central Front , participated in the Smolensk defensive battle .

Since September 1941 - commander of the guard regiment of the headquarters of the Bryansk Front . At the beginning of October 1941, with the beginning of the German attack on Moscow, he was again surrounded in the Bryansk cauldron , but broke through from there, was appointed commander of the 654th Infantry Regiment of the 148th Infantry Division of the 13th Army, and led defensive battles at the head of the regiment south of Moscow. In December 1941, he particularly successfully acted in the Yelets offensive operation . In early December 1941, by order of the commander of the Southwestern Front, Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko , without any operational pause , a powerful counterattack of our troops unexpectedly began for the German command. The German command, having decided that the goal of our troops' offensive was Yelets , already from December 6 began to draw all its free forces in this direction, trying to keep the city in their hands. There were heavy battles for the city, which on December 8 spread directly to the territory of Yelets. The 148th rifle division conducted street battles in the center of Yelets, gradually freeing block after block. An extraordinary talent for street fighting was shown by the commander of the 654th infantry regiment, Lt. Col. Amayak Grigorievich Babayan. His regiment with a decisive attack burst into the area of ​​factory buildings (currently the Hydroprivod factory). December 13 in a battle near the city of Livny was seriously injured.

After being cured in February 1942, he was appointed commander of the 158th cadet rifle brigade, which was formed in the Moscow Military District and then arrived with it on the North-Western Front . Since April 1942, Amayak Babayan commanded the 390th Armenian Rifle Division of the Crimean Front ^[5] . Soon the front troops suffered a brutal defeat in the Kerch defensive operation , and Colonel Babayan himself was seriously wounded in a battle on May 13 near the village of Mikhailovka near Kerch and was evacuated through the Kerch Strait to the Taman Peninsula . The division almost completely died in these battles and was soon disbanded.

After recovering in October 1942, he was appointed commander of the 27th separate ski brigade of the Siberian Military District . From April 1, 1943 - the commander of the 87th separate rifle brigade, from April 20 - the commander of the 76th rifle division , which was formed in the Moscow military district . In July 1943 he arrived with the division in the 21st Army of the Western Front and soon participated in the Smolensk offensive . In this operation, the division successfully operated on the Yelninskaya direction and distinguished itself on August 30, 1943 during the liberation of the city of Yelnya , for which the next day it was given the honorary name "Yelninskaya" ^[6] But Colonel Babayan himself was not lucky again - he was already in battle on September 15 the third time was seriously injured. Until January 1944 he was cured in the evacuation hospital in Yaroslavl . After treatment, he was sent to study at the Higher Military Academy named after K.E. Voroshilov , at the end of March he graduated from her crash course.

March 29, 1944 he was appointed commander of the 338th Infantry Division of the 5th Army of the Western Front (from April 1944 the 3rd Belorussian Front ). He led the division perfectly in the Belarusian strategic operation , conducting offensive battles during the Vitebsk-Orsha , Vilnius and Kaunas offensive operations. The division of Colonel Babayan in this grand battle thrice crossed the Viliya River and twice the Neman , broke through several lines of German defense. For this operation, the division was given the honorary name "Neman", and its commander on July 15, 1944 was awarded the title of Major General ^[7] . In October 1944, the division again attacked during the Memel operation and entered the border with East Prussia . However, on October 25, 1944, General Babayan was removed from command of the division and sent to the disposal of the Military Council of the 3rd Belorussian Front.

On February 19, 1945 he was appointed commander of the 35th Mechanized Brigade of the 1st Mechanized Corps of the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the 1st Belorussian Front . During the East Pomeranian operation at the head of the brigade took part in the liberation of Poland .

During the Berlin offensive operation, the brigade under his command successfully advanced from the Oder to Berlin , providing the right flank of the 1st mechanized corps . On April 20, 1945, the brigade took the city of Bernau , on April 21 broke into the suburbs of Berlin, Weissense (district of Berlin) . From April 16 to 21, the brigade destroyed 14 tanks, 22 artillery pieces, up to 350 soldiers and officers, 11 tanks, 22 guns, 49 vehicles, 42 prisoners were captured. ^[8] On the same day, April 21, 1945 ^[1] died the death of the brave in the battle for the Lichtenberg region ^[9] near the northwestern outskirts of the capital of Nazi Germany , Berlin , before the war ended only a couple of weeks.

He was buried in the town square of Zoldin ^[4] , now the city of Mysliborz, West Pomeranian Voivodeship , Poland .

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 31, 1945 ^{[2] [5]} for exemplary execution of the combat missions of the command on the front of the struggle against the German invaders and the valor and courage of the guard shown to this, Major General Amayak Grigoryevich Babayan was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union .

• Hero of the Soviet Union (05/31/1945, posthumously) ^[2]
• Order of Lenin (05/31/1945, posthumous)
• Three Orders of the Red Banner (02.21.1942, 09.24.1944, 11.3.1944)
• Order of Kutuzov II degree (09/28/1943) ^[5]
• Order of the Patriotic War I degree (05/11/1945) ^[10]
• Medal "XX years of the Red Army" (1938) ^[5]

• The Pioneer detachments of the secondary and 8-year-old schools in the village of Kazaki, Yelets district, Lipetsk region , and the tanker are named after the Hero.
• Streets in the village of Solidarity of the Yelets district , Myslibuzh and Yerevan are named after him.
• A memorial plaque in honor of A. G. Babayan was installed in Yerevan .

• List of Armenians of the Great Patriotic War Heroes
• 390th Infantry Division (1st formation)

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1987.- T. 1 / Abaev - Lyubichev /. - 911 p. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN comp., Reg. RCP No. 87-95382.
• Team of authors . World War II: Divisional Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary / Ed. Coll .: N. B. Akberdin, I. I. Basik, S. A. Botzvin, n. I. Nikiforov, I. A. Permyakov, M. V. Smyslov . - M .: “Kuchkovo Field”. Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation , General Directorate of Personnel, State Institution for Work with Personnel, Institute of Military History of the General Staff Military Academy The Central Archive ., 2014 .-- T. III. Commanders of rifle, mountain rifle divisions, Crimean, polar, Petrozavodsk divisions, Rebolsky divisions, fighter divisions. - S. 151-153. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-9950-0382-3 , UDC 94, BBK 63.3 (3) 722.78.
• Ghazaryan A. V. “War, people, fate”. - Prince 1. - Yerevan, 1975.
• Amirkhanian M.D. Armenians - Heroes of the Soviet Union. - Er. , 2005 .-- 202 p. - ISBN 99930-4-342-7 .
• Battle stars of Lipans. - Lipetsk, 1995 .-- P.453.
• Lipetsk Encyclopedia. In 3 vol. T. 1: A-E. - Lipetsk, 1999 .-- P.71.
• Ogryzkov K. T. In memory and in the heart forever. - Lipetsk: YULIS, 2005 .-- 412 p. - p. 200.

• Babayan, Amayak Grigorievich (Russian) . Site " Heroes of the country ".
• About A. G. Babayan on the website of the Lipetsk Regional Universal Scientific Library .