Boris Dzotsiev  

(1920) 

Lieutenant-general, WW2 hero 

B.Dzotsiev was born in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia.  

In 1941 he graduated from Groznensky Military Infantry School and in spite of his appeals to send him to front, as an excellent specialist he was left in school to teach the young cadets.  

But in August 1942 heading the cadet platoon he entered the battles in Caucasus. Bravely fighting he was wounded and evacuated to hospital in Ulianovsk. He was back in October and arrived to Stalingrad front.  

Senior lieutenant Dzotsiav was appointed a machine-gun battalion commander. So many times during those bloody battles Dzotsiev, showing the personal intrepidity, encouraged his troops to fight Nazis stubbornly, bravely advancing forward. At the age 22 he was promoted to captain rank. 

Then he participated in the greatest tank battle in history at the so called “Kursk Arch”, liberated Donbass and got seriously wounded again. After recovering B.Dzotsiev as an infantry battalion commander bravely fought, liberating the western regions of Ukraine, took part in Korsun-Shevchenkovsky, Sandomirsko-Silizsky and Berlin offensive operations.  

When forced crossing Neis and Elba Rivers Dzotsiev was wounded for the third time. 

After the war was over he decided to upgrade his military education and later on graduated from Leningrad Higher Military School of Armored Troops and then Military Academy of Armored Troops. He also defended a thesis and became a PhD