Under him, the air defense troops were at the zenith of their power.
June 27 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding military leader of our country Pavel Fedorovich Batitsky. In the ranks of the Armed Forces of the USSR, he went from a cadet in a cavalry school to Marshal of the Soviet Union.
On this long and difficult path, Pavel Fedorovich happened to command a cavalry platoon and squadron, study at the M. V. Frunze Military Academy, serve as an officer for especially important assignments in the General Staff, visit China as chief of staff of the chief military adviser, head the headquarters of a motorized brigade … And, finally, go through the crucible of the Great Patriotic War.
Colonel Batitsky met her while serving as chief of staff of the 202nd motorized division. Since November 1941, he has been in command of the 254th Infantry Division, which on the North-Western Front near Demyansk successfully repelled the fierce attacks of the enemy, depriving him of the opportunity to use the only highway connecting Staraya Russa with the German grouping semi-encircled in the Demyansk region.
Since July 1943, Pavel Fedorovich commanded rifle corps on the Voronezh, Steppe, 1st and 2nd Ukrainian, 1st and 3rd Belorussian fronts, skillfully organized military operations of subordinate troops when crossing the Dnieper, during the liberation of Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Poland and the defeat of large groups of the Wehrmacht in East Prussia, the storming of Berlin, rendering assistance to the insurgent Prague. That is why PF Batitsky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Victory.
In 1948, after graduating from the Higher Military Academy (now the Military Academy of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces), General Batitsky became chief of staff of the Moscow Air Defense District. From February to July 1950, he headed the operational group of the Soviet command for organizing the air defense of Shanghai - the largest industrial center and port of the PRC - based on aviation, radio engineering, searchlight units that arrived from the USSR, as well as Chinese anti-aircraft artillery units.
I will not list all the further stages of Pavel Fedorovich's career, because in the chronicle of the Armed Forces he was, is and will remain, first of all, the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces of the country - the Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR (at the same time he was the Commander of the Air Defense Forces of the United Armed Forces - Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the United Armed Forces of States - of the participants in the Warsaw Pact). On July 9, 1966, General of the Army Batitsky was appointed to this position, and on April 15, 1968, he was awarded the military rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
For 12 years, Pavel Fedorovich worked at the post entrusted to him. During this period, the country's Air Defense Forces reached a higher level of development. However, in July 1978, after Pavel Fedorovich's persistent attempts to bring to the military-political leadership of the USSR the inadmissibility of the planned reorganization of the Air Defense Forces, he submitted a report on his dismissal from the commander-in-chief …
P. F. Batitsky died on February 17, 1984, and was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery.
What did Pavel Fedorovich remember to his colleagues and what was so special about this man?
He attached paramount importance to the issues of constant combat readiness of units and command posts (CP) at all levels. Not a single case was noted when the commander-in-chief, having arrived at any unit, did not announce "Readiness No. 1". So the marshal tried to assess the training, the coherence of the actions of the personnel of the subunits himself. At the same time, Pavel Fedorovich always paid great attention to the issues of working out interaction between the branches of the armed forces.
The commander-in-chief understood well that the real state of affairs in the form of the Armed Forces under his leadership could be assessed only when he was in the army. Frequent trips, including to distant garrisons of the Far North and the Far East, were an integral part of the style of all his activities.
Pavel Fedorovich was characterized by strategic thinking and a state approach to solving the most important issues of building the country's air defense system. This can be seen in two examples.
In the late 60s - early 70s, the question was decided to whom to transfer the missile attack warning system. The Marshal foresaw the rapid development of aerospace attack weapons of a potential enemy, believed that the Air Defense Forces, as well as the anti-missile and anti-space defense forces, their means of warning should be "in the same hands" and to tear them apart is a crime. The Central Committee of the CPSU agreed with Batitsky's justifications and included the missile and space defense troops (early warning system, missile defense, anti-missile defense) into the country's Air Defense Forces. But Pavel Fedorovich's opponent in this matter was not just anyone, but the commander-in-chief of the Strategic Missile Forces, Marshal N. I. Krylov. Thus, the base was actually prepared for the creation of an aerospace defense system.
One more example. Batitsky categorically disagreed with the transfer of the country's air defense units to the border military districts in 1978 and argued for the viciousness of this decision, in which the unified air defense system collapses and the command and control of troops is sharply deteriorating. Life has proved that Pavel Fedorovich was right. A few years later, the country's air defense units from the military districts were returned to the Air Defense Forces.
The characteristic features of the marshal's activities were firm leadership of the troops, the adoption of drastic measures (without looking upward) to solve acute large-scale problems.
Pavel Fedorovich played an exceptional role in equipping the Air Defense Forces with the latest weapons. The marshal closely followed all stages of their development - from consideration of tactical and technical characteristics to state and military tests. Batitsky took part in the work of many important meetings of the Military-Industrial Commission of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The commander-in-chief was highly respected by the heads of defense research institutes, design bureaus and factories.
It is impossible not to mention the special approach of Pavel Fedorovich to the selection, placement and education of personnel. The study and consideration of each candidate for nomination - from the regiment and above - was carried out at a meeting of the military council of the Air Defense Forces. The marshal listened to the officer or general and, having made sure that they fit the new position, agreed to the appointment. In the future, the most prepared and capable people, he did not let out of sight, followed their growth.
It is appropriate to note the firm, independent character of Pavel Fedorovich. It often manifested itself when communicating with the highest ranks of the Ministry of Defense. The Marshal knew his own worth and could always reasonably and persistently defend his point of view.
It is no coincidence that Pavel Fedorovich Batitsky enjoyed immense popularity and indisputable authority in the Air Defense Forces, a form of the Armed Forces, which at that time was at the zenith of its power.
