Commander-in-Chief of Ground Forces who led the Soviet operation in the Ogaden War, the last marshal forged in combat
March 1978, the Jijiga operation: Petrov's plan feigned a frontal assault while a helicopter-borne landing struck from the north. Jijiga fell on 4 March, and within two weeks Somali forces were driven entirely from Ethiopian territory.
A Soviet marshal who fought through the front lines of the Second World War. Petrov saw action from the defence of Odessa, Sevastopol, and the Caucasus through the liberation of Ukraine and the campaigns in Romania and Hungary, rising from junior lieutenant to major. After the Frunze Academy he built his career in the Far East, becoming commander of the Far Eastern Military District in 1972. During the Ogaden War (1977–78), he headed the Soviet operational group in Ethiopia and personally planned the operation that retook Jijiga, turning the war decisively. As Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Ground Forces (1980–85) and then First Deputy Minister of Defence (1985–86), he oversaw the Ground Forces at the height of the late Cold War, earning the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1983.
Career Timeline
- 1939Joined the Red Army
- 1941–1945Rose from junior lieutenant to major; fought in defence of Odessa, Sevastopol, Caucasus, and liberation of Ukraine, Romania, Hungary
- 1945–1948Graduated accelerated and full courses, Frunze Military Academy
- 1953–1955Commander, 50th Rifle Regiment
- 1955–1957Chief of Staff, 39th Rifle Division
- 1957–1961Commander, 129th Motor Rifle Division
- 1964–1966Commander, 5th Army
- 1966–1972Chief of Staff and First Deputy Commander, Far Eastern Military District
- 1972–1976Commander, Far Eastern Military District
- 1976–1978First Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Soviet Ground Forces
- 1977–1978Head, Soviet Defence Ministry operational group in Ethiopia (Ogaden War)
- 1978–1980Commander-in-Chief, Far East Forces
- 1980–1985Commander-in-Chief of Soviet Ground Forces and Deputy Minister of Defence
- 1983Promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union
- 1985–1986First Deputy Minister of Defence of the USSR
- 1986–1992General Inspector, USSR Ministry of Defence Group of General Inspectors
- 1992–2014Advisor, Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
Related historical events
The Ogaden War (1977–1978)
When Somalia invaded Ethiopia's Ogaden region in the summer of 1977, the Soviet Union found itself allied to both sides. Moscow chose revolutionary Ethiopia, and Petrov was dispatched at the head of 1,500 Soviet military advisors. On arrival, he had to report back to Moscow the 'sorry state' of the Ethiopian Army. Within two months, 90 percent of the Ogaden had fallen to Somali forces; the loss of Jijiga and the Kara Marda Pass nearly saw Mengistu Haile Mariam captured. In January 1978, Petrov was appointed chairman of the Supreme Military Strategic Committee, a joint Ethiopian, Soviet, and Cuban staff, to plan and direct the counter-offensive. His operational plan drew on Soviet breakthrough doctrine, but unwilling to trust Ethiopian troops at the decisive point, he gave the spearhead role to a Cuban parachute regiment. The climax was the operation to retake Jijiga. Petrov feigned a frontal assault on the Kara Marda Pass while Soviet pilots flew Mi-8 and Mi-6 helicopters to land Cuban airborne troops behind Somali lines. On 5 March 1978, attacked from both directions, Jijiga fell and the Somali army collapsed. For the success of this operation, Petrov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union in 1982.