Editing Issa Pliyev

{{Short description|Soviet military commander (1903–1979)}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Issa Alexandrovich Pliyev
| image=Issa Pliev.jpg
|birth_date=25 November 1903
|death_date=6 February 1979 (aged 75)
|birth_place=[[Pravoberezhny District, Republic of North Ossetia–Alania|Stariy Batakoyurt]], [[Russian Empire]] (now [[North Ossetia]], Russia) 
|death_place=[[Moscow]], [[Soviet Union]]
|nickname=
|allegiance={{flag|Soviet Union}}
|branch={{army|Soviet Union}}
|serviceyears=1926–1968
|rank=[[General of the Army]]
|commands=5th Cavalry Division<br>[[4th Guards Cavalry Corps]]<br>2nd Guards Cavalry Corps<br>1st Guards [[Cavalry Mechanized Group]]<br>Mobile Group Pliyev<br>Soviet Mongolian Cavalry Mechanized Group<br>[[57th Army (Soviet Union)|57th Army]]<br>[[13th Army (Soviet Union)|13th Army]]<br>[[North Caucasus Military District]]<br>Soviet Ground Forces in Cuba
|unit=
|battles=
{{tree list}}
* [[World War II]]
** [[Battle of Moscow]]
** [[Battle of Stalingrad]]
** [[Battle of Kursk]]
** [[Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive]]
** [[Battle of Romania]]
** [[Battle of Debrecen]]
** [[Prague Offensive|Battle of Prague]]
** [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria|Invasion of Manchuria]]
* [[Novocherkassk massacre|Novocherkassk riots]]
* [[Cuban Missile Crisis]]
** [[Operation Anadyr]]
{{tree list/end}}
|awards=Twice [[Hero of the Soviet Union]]
|laterwork=
}}
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Pliev and Dovator.jpg|thumb|251x251px|Pliyev and Dovator discussing a battle plan]] -->
'''Issa Alexandrovich Pliyev''' (also spelled as ''Pliev''; {{langx|os|Плиты Алыксандры фырт Иссæ}}; {{langx|ru|Исса́ Алекса́ндрович Пли́ев}}; {{OldStyleDate|25 November|1903|12 November}} — 6 February 1979) was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] military commander. Pliyev rose to become the premier cavalry general of the [[Soviet Army]]. He became [[Army General]] (1962), twice [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] (16 April 1944 and 8 September 1945), [[Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic]] (1971). 

During World War II, Pliyev commanded several mechanized cavalry units, ranging from regiments to army corps. The military historians [[David Glantz]] and [[Jonathan House]] described Pliyev as a "great practitioner of cavalry operations in adverse terrain".{{sfn|Glantz|House|2015|p=286}} However, Pliyev became known in the West largely for his involvement in the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]].

==Early life and career==
Issa Pliyev started his military career in the [[Red Army]] in 1922, graduating from the Leningrad [[Cavalry]] school in 1926, from the [[Frunze Military Academy]] in 1933 and from the [[Soviet General Staff Academy]]. He joined the Communist party in 1926.<ref name=r149/>

Upon graduation from the Red Army [[Frunze Military Academy]] he was appointed head of the operational department for the headquarters of the 5th Stavropol Cavalry Division named after M. F. Blinov in the Ukrainian Military District. Since June 1936 he was an instructor at the staff of the Joint Military School of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army in Ulaanbaatar. Since February 1939, he commanded the 48th Cavalry Regiment of the 6th Cavalry Division of the Belarusian Special Military District. At the head of the regiment, he took part in the campaign of the Red Army in Western Belarus in September 1939. 

==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> 
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Pliev both.jpg|thumb|251x251px|Issa Pliyev]] -->
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.

==Post-war==
After the war, Pliyev continued his career in the military, and took command of the [[Stavropol Military District]] in February 1946. In June he became commander of the [[9th Mechanized Army]], stationed in Romania with the [[Southern Group of Forces]], and he commanded [[13th Army (Soviet Union)|13th Army]] between February 1947 and 1949, in western Ukraine. Pliyev graduated from higher academic courses at the [[Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia|Military Academy of the General Staff]] in 1949, and in April took command of the [[4th Army (Soviet Union)|4th Army]] in the [[Transcaucasian Military District]]. In June 1955, he was appointed First Deputy commander of the [[North Caucasus Military District]], succeeding to command of the district in April 1958.<ref name="Warheroes">{{Ruheroes|id=343|accessdate=10 April 2017}}</ref>

On 27 April 1962 Pliyev was promoted to [[Army General (Soviet rank)|Army General]]. In June his troops took part in suppressing [[Novocherkassk riots]].<ref name=b46/> During the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] he was the commander of a [[Group of Soviet forces]] as part of [[Operation Anadyr]] in Cuba from July 1962 to May 1963.<ref name=r149/> After returning from Cuba, he assumed command of the North Caucasus Military District once more.<ref name="Warheroes" />

In June 1968, Pliyev became an advisor for the [[Ministry of Defense of the USSR]]'s [[Group of Inspectors General]], a position for elderly senior officers.<ref name=re144/> He lived in [[Rostov-on-Don]] and died on 6 February 1979 in Moscow. Pliyev was buried in the Walk of Fame in [[Vladikavkaz]].<ref name="Warheroes" />

==Awards==
Pliyev was awarded five [[Order of Lenin|Orders of Lenin]], three [[Order of the Red Banner|Orders of the Red Banner]], two [[Order of Suvorov|Orders of Suvorov]] (1st Class), [[Order of Kutuzov]] (1st Class), numerous [[medal]]s and nine foreign [[Order (decoration)|order]]s. He was decorated twice [[Hero of the Soviet Union]].<ref name="Warheroes" />

==Books authored==
[[File:Issa Pliev 2010 stamp of Abkhazia.jpg|thumb|Pliyev on a 2010 stamp of [[Abkhazia]]]]
*Плиев И.А.. Через Гоби и Хинган (''Through the Gobi Desert and the Khingan Mountains''). 1965.
*Плиев И.А.. Конец Квантунской армии (''The End of the Kwantung Army''). 1969
<!--- 
==Honours and awards==
;Soviet Awards
{|
|-
|[[File:Hero of the Soviet Union medal.png|20px]][[File:Hero of the Soviet Union medal.png|20px]]
|[[Hero of the Soviet Union]], twice
|-
|[[File:Order of Lenin ribbon bar.png|60px]]
|[[Order of Lenin]], seven times
|-
|[[File:Order october revolution rib.png|60px]]
|[[Order of the October Revolution]] 
|-
|[[File:Order of Red Banner ribbon bar.png|60px]]
|[[Order of the Red Banner]], three times
|-
|[[File:Order suvorov1 rib.png|60px]]
|[[Order of Suvorov]], 1st class, two times 
|-
|[[File:Order kutuzov1 rib.png|60px]]
|[[Order of Kutuzov|Order of Kutuzov 1st class]]
|-
|[[File:Defstalingrad.png|60px]]
|[[Medal "For the Defence of Stalingrad"]]
|-
|[[File:Defcaucasus rib.png|60px]]
|[[Medal "For the Defence of the Caucasus"]]
|-
|[[File:Ribbon bar for the medal for the Defense of Moscow.png|60px]]
|[[Medal "For the Defence of Moscow"]]
|-
|[[File:OrderStGeorge4cl rib.png|60px]]
|[[Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"]]
|-
|[[File:Victoryjapan rib.png|60px]]
|[[Medal "For the Victory over Japan"]]
|-
|}

;Foreign Awards
{|
|-
|[[File:Heroy MNR.jpg|20px]]
|[[Hero of the Mongolian People's Republic]] (Mongolian People's Republic)
|-
|[[File:OrdenSuheBator.png|60px]]
|[[Order of Sukhbaatar]], three times (Mongolian People's Republic)
|-
|[[File:OrdenZnam.png|60px]]
|[[Order of the Red Banner]], two times (Mongolian People's Republic)
|-
|[[File:Medal for victory over japan rib.PNG|60px]]
|Medal "For Victory over Japan" (Mongolian People's Republic)
|-
|[[File:OrdenPolStar.png|60px]]
|Order of the Polar Star (Mongolian People's Republic)
|-
|[[File:Med XXXth anniversary of chalkin gol victory rib.PNG|60px]]
|Medal "30 year anniversary of the [[Battle of Khalkhin Gol]]" (Mongolian People's Republic)
|-
|[[File:Med 40 year chalkin gol victory rib.PNG|60px]]
|Medal "40 year anniversary of the [[Battle of Khalkhin Gol]]" (Mongolian People's Republic)
|-
|[[File:Order of the Red Banner (CSSR) Rib.png|60px]]
|Order of Red Banner (Czechoslovak Socialist Republic)
|-
|[[File:TCH CS voj pametni medaile BAR.svg|60px]]
|Czechoslovak Military Commemorative Medal (Czechoslovak Socialist Republic)
|-
|[[File:Virtuti Militari Ribbon.png|60px]]
|Silver Cross of [[Virtuti Militari]] (Poland)
|-
|[[File:POL Polonia Restituta Komandorski BAR.svg|60px]]
|Commander's Cross [[Polonia Restituta]], (Poland)
|-
|[[File:US Legion of Merit Commander ribbon.png|60px]]
|Commander, [[Legion of Merit]] (USA)
|-
|[[File:Legion Honneur Commandeur ribbon.svg|60px]]
|Commander of the [[Legion d'Honneur]] (France)
|-
|[[File:Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with palm (France) - ribbon bar.png|60px]]
|[[Croix de guerre 1939–1945]] with bronze palm (France)
|-
|}
---->

==See also==
* [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria]]
* [[Pavel Belov]]
* [[Lev Dovator]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=b46>{{Cite book|title=Bloody Saturday in the Soviet Union: Novocherkassk, 1962|last=Baron|first=Samuel H.|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=2001|isbn=9780804740937|location=Stanford, California|page=46}}</ref>
<ref name=re144>{{Cite book|title=The Soviet Military Experience: A History of the Soviet Army, 1917-1991|url=https://archive.org/details/sovietmilitaryex00rees|url-access=limited|last=Reese|first=Roger R.|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=0-415-21719-9|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/sovietmilitaryex00rees/page/n156 144]}}</ref>
<ref name=r149>{{cite book|last=Roberts|first=Priscilla Mary|title=Cuban Missile Crisis: The Essential Reference Guide|url=https://archive.org/details/cubanmissilecris00robe|url-access=limited|year=2012|publisher=Abc-Clio Inc |isbn=9781610690652|page=[https://archive.org/details/cubanmissilecris00robe/page/n169 149] }}</ref>
}}
*Harrel, John (2019). Soviet Cavalry Operations During The Second World War: The Genesis Of The Operational Manoeuvre Group. Pen & Sword Military.

==Cited sources==
* {{cite book | author1-last = Glantz | author1-first = David | author-link1 = David Glantz | author2-last = House | author2-first = Jonathan | author-link2 = Jonathan House | title = When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler | publisher = University Press of Kansas | year = 2015 | isbn = 9780700621217 }}

==External links==
*{{Commons inline}}
{{Army Generals (Soviet Union)}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pliyev, Issa}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:People from North Ossetia–Alania]]
[[Category:People from Terek Oblast]]
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[[Category:People of the Soviet invasion of Poland]]
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[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class]]
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[[Category:Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Gold Cross of the Virtuti Militari]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Merit]]