Vladimir Janjgava

Vladimir (Nikolayevich) Janjgava (ვლადიმერ ჯანჯღავა; May 19, 1907 – April 10, 1982) was a Lieutenant General and Hero of the Soviet Union who participated in battles during the Winter War and was specialist in infantry warfare during World War II. Janigava held command of various infantry regiments, divisions and corps of the soviet army.

Early life
Janigava was born in the Georgian village of Gubi in May 1907. After graduating he entered military service in 1927 and specialized on military warfare at the Transcaucasus Military-Infantry School in the capital Tbilisi. During his service in various Soviet army formations, he rose through the ranks and participated in the Winter War as low rank officer.

World War II
In 1941 when the Great Patriotic War broke out, Janjgava who was already promoted to Colonel, took part in various defensive operations against German forces in Moldavia and Donets Basin. From March 1942 to April 1943 he commanded the 676th Infantry Regiment and was engaged in critical defensive operations in and around the city of Voronezh, as well as the 1st and 2nd Kastornoye operations, both being part of the greater Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad Strategic Defensive. In Juli 1943 he took command of the Soviet 15th Infantry Division and was responsible for leading the general infantry assault on the left flank of the soviet army during the Battle of Kursk. From 1944 he lead the 354th Infantry Division at the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Front which participated in the liberation of Belorussia and Poland, more important the advance throuth East-Prussia and finally the attack on Berlin. At this pont, Major General Janjgava skillfully managed to divide the fronts at the Weichsel, Narew and Oder rivers. The Division fought over a total distance of 1.000 kilometers, liberatet Szczecin and participated in the liberation of a total of 20 other cities, before finally reaching Berlin. For outstanding performance and personal courage, Janjgava was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and receiwed various other decorations.

Post War
In 1948, Janjgava graduated at the General Staff Academy (Russia) and became Lieutenant General. From then, he took command over several army corps before returning to Georgia, where he worked as director of the military department of the Tbilisi State University. Later he also became the leader of the DOSAAF central committee in the Georgian SSR. Vladimir Janjgava died in April 10, 1982 at the age of 75. He was buried in a cemetery near Tbilisi.