Pavol Marcely | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Pavol Marcely | |
| Born | 26 June 1914 Zvolen, Austria-Hungary (now Slovakia) |
| Died | August 17, 1980 (aged 66) Piešťany, Czechoslovakia |
| Military career | |
| Known for | Youngest officer of Slovak nationality to be appointed to the first general rank |
Pavol Marcely (26 June 1914, Zvolen – 17 October 1980, Piešťany) was a Slovak general, educator and anti-fascist fighter.
Until 1933 he studied at the Teachers' Institute in Banská Bystrica, later at the Faculty of Arts of the Comenius University in Bratislava.
Marcely was a participant in the pro-fascist resistance in the Slovak Army, during the SNP a staff captain, and a member of the Czechoslovak army in the USSR. He fought in the Carpathian-Dukla operation, on 15 October 1944, he was landed with his brigade at the Tri duby airfield, today Sliač Airport, after the SNP crossed into the mountains he fought in the most dangerous sections of the front. On 5 December 1944, he was seriously wounded. At the age of 36 he became the youngest officer of Slovak nationality to be appointed to the first general rank. He was the leader of a group of 200 Slovaks which would join the 1st Czechoslovak Reserve Regiment in Novokhopersk on 5 July 1943. Marcely became a brigadier general on October 1, 1950. At the end of September 1953 he was transferred to the reserve. He was reactivated in the Czechoslovak People's Army in early August 1968 with the military rank of Major General. He was subsequently assigned to the Military History Institute in the Department of Military History of Slovakia in Bratislava. From 1969 to 1971 he served as a military and aviation attaché in Belgrade. From there he joined the MNO in Prague, where he performed staff functions. He left for the reserve at the end of July 1973, before being recalled.
Marcely has been awarded with:
The Pavol Marcely Elementary School in Bratislava was named after him.
Media related to Pavol Marcely at Wikimedia Commons