Editing Issa Pliyev (section)

==World War II==
[[File:Командир корпуса генерал-майор Лев Доватор и командир дивизии генерал-майор Исса Плиев.jpg|thumb|Pliyev (left) and Lev Dovator (right), Moscow Oblast, November 1941]]
At the start of the invasion of the Soviet Union, Pliyev commanded the 50th Cavalry Division (renamed [[3rd Guards Cavalry Division]]). During early stages of operation Barbarossa the unit was sent under the command of the 30th army, being moved to the 22nd Army afterwards. He later participated in two raids on the rear of Army Group "Center" during the Battle of Smolensk, under the command of Dovator.

His unit participated in the [[Battle of Moscow]] and the [[Battle of Stalingrad]].<ref name="r149" /> Pliyev served as 2nd in command under [[Lev Dovator]] who fought alongside [[Rokossovsky]] with the crucial [[16th Army (Soviet Union)|16th Army]], holding the center defensive line of Moscow. In Soviet Union and Russia 28 Panfilov's men became a symbol of defense for propaganda. The cavalrymen of  Dovator were however mainly forgotten, even though they held their line alongside Panfilovs men. 

With Dovator killed in action and Belov promoted to army commander, Pliev was able to apply deep battle operations better than any other general, which would eventually make him the only Soviet cavalry personnel to be awarded two [[Heroes of the Soviet Union]]. His valuable experience serving directly under [[Lev Dovator]] while planning and fighting with the best especially in the early stages of the war made him stand out among others. When more tanks were added to the cavalry corps, Pliyev became the pioneer in the new cavalry mechanized groups who immediately proved themselves in battle, which made him well respected among his peers and soldiers. His forces, along with that of [[Pavel Belov]], were considered the most successful cavalry units of the [[Battle of Moscow]].

During the Battle of Stalingrad, the horsemen proved themselves once again, as Pliyev's forces were the first to complete the encirclement of the [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|German 6th Army]], trapping 330,000 men inside the pocket. Issa would later command a cavalry-mechanized group consisting of [[4th Guards Cavalry Corps]] and [[4th Mechanized Corps (Soviet Union)|4th Mechanized Corps]] during the [[Bereznegovatoye–Snigirevka Offensive]] along the Black Sea coast, as part of the [[3rd Ukrainian Front]] under Army General [[Rodion Malinovsky]].{{sfn|Glantz|House|2015|p=247}}

Pliyev especially distinguished himself in the Bereznegovato-Snigireva and Odessa offensive operations conducted one after the other in March-April 1944. The mechanized cavalry group of General Pliev, introduced into the raid on the enemy's rear in March 1944, ensured the encirclement and defeat of units from the 6th German Army. In April, the mechanized cavalry group forced the Southern Bug River, cut the enemy's main communications and contributed to the capture of a number of large settlements by the front's troops, including the city of Odessa. 

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 16, 1944, Lieutenant General Issa Alexandrovich Pliev was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal for his skillful command of the troops, along with personal courage and heroism.

During [[Operation Bagration]] in the summer of 1944, part of the [[1st Belorussian Front]], Pliyev's cavalry-mechanized group attacked towards Slutsk.{{sfn|Glantz|House|2015|p=268}} According to Glantz and House, the unit was highly successful in exploiting the operational breakthrough.{{sfn|Glantz|House|2015|p=286}} In the fall of 1944, he commanded a mechanized cavalry group consisting of two divisions during the [[Battle of Debrecen]].{{sfn|Glantz|House|2015|p=286}} The group was returned to the 3rd Ukrainian Front, where on October 3, 1944, General Pliyev was put in charge of the 4th and 6th Guards Cavalry Corps and the 7th Mechanized Corps, units created with the aim of a deep breakthrough into the enemy rear in the Debrecen operation on Hungarian territory. The breakthrough was successful, but once the enemy managed to cut the group's communications, they spent over 10 days fighting in the enemy's rear, dodging enemy tank attacks and delivering unexpected retaliatory strikes. Some occupied Hungarian cities had to be abandoned, but in the end the situation was turned in favor of the Soviet troops and Debrecen was taken.

The operations of Lieutenant General Pliev's [[1st Guards Cavalry Mechanized Group]] demonstrated the power of deep operations as it fought throughout Ukraine, Eastern Europe and into Germany.<ref>John S Harrel</ref> 
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He ended the war in command of the [[Soviet-Mongolian Cavalry-Mechanized Group]] of the [[Transbaikal Front|Transbaikal front]] in [[Manchuria]], fighting against the [[Japan]]ese [[Kwantung Army]].<ref name="Warheroes" /> For his success in defeating the Kwantung Army, he was awarded his second Gold Star Medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union.