at the Telavi small arms and mortar school. In 1941 he was promoted to major. Between August and September 1941 he was officer for special assignments of the commander of the Transcaucasian Front. Between September 1941 and August 1942, Kolobov was chief of staff of the 408th Rifle Division. The division guarded the Turkish border and was part of the Soviet troops in Iran. On 25 July 1942, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In August 1942, Kolobov became chief of staff of the 11th Guards Rifle Corps, fighting in the Battle of the Caucasus. In September 1942, Kolobov was appointed commander of the 389th Rifle Division. In January and February 1943, he led the division in the North Caucasian Strategic Offensive. On 14 February, he was promoted to colonel. On 2 April, Kolobov received his first Order of the Red Banner. During September and October, the division fought in the Novorossiysk-Taman Strategic Offensive. On 22 October, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 1st class. From December 1943 the division fought in the Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive. On 3 January 1944 Kolobov was awarded a second Order of the Red Banner. In March and April 1944 the division fought in the Proskurov-Chernivtsi Offensive. From July, the division fought in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive. On 13 July, the division broke through the German defenses near Horokhiv, crossed the Bug River. In the next week the division reportedly killed more than 2,000 German soldiers. On 13 September, Kolobov was promoted to major general. On 23 September, Kolobov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin for his actions. From January 1945, the division fought in the Sandomierz–Silesian Offensive. In February, it fought in the Lower Silesian Offensive. In March, the division fought in the Upper Silesian Offensive. On 6 April, Kolobov was awarded the Order of Suvorov 2nd class. From April, the division fought in the Berlin Offensive. It ended the war in early May fighting in the Prague Offensive. On 29 May 1945, Kolobov was awarded the Order of Kutuzov 2nd class. Postwar In June 1945, Kolobv became commander of the 97th Guards Rifle Division in the Central Group of Forces. In March 1947 he was sent to the Military Academy of the General Staff to take Higher Academic Courses. After graduating in 1948, he became commander of the 114th Guards Airborne Division in the