Dukhanov participated in the
First World War and the
Russian Civil War. Later, he was Senior Instructor at several Military Schools. In August 1938, he became deputy commander of the
Leningrad Military District. At the outbreak of the Soviet-Finnish
Winter War (1939-1940), without much experience, he was appointed the commander of the
9th Army, which operated at the beginning of the war in the
Kandalaksha and Rebolsk directions. On December 22, 1939, after a series of defeats and by decision of the Headquarters, he was removed from the post of commander of the 9th Army and sent into the reserve. After the outbreak of the
Great Patriotic War, Dukhanov was first in August 1941 Assistant Commander in Chief of the
Northern Front and then on 19 September became commander of the
10th Rifle Division. As part of the
8th Army of the
Leningrad Front, the division took up defensive positions in the area of
Strelna during the
Leningrad Defensive Operation. In early October, under the threat of encirclement, the division withdrew to the line west of the city of
Petergof. From October 4 to October 24, 1941, M.P. Dukhanov temporarily commanded the
19th Rifle Corps of the 23rd Army. On 6 October 1942, he became commander of the
Neva Operational Group, which was converted into the
67th Army four days later. He led this army for more than a year, until the end of December 1943, when the Army administration was merged with that of the
55th Army. In March 1944, he was appointed deputy commander of the
8th Guards Army of the
3rd Ukrainian Front, a post he would hold until the end of the War. After the War, he was Assistant Commander in Chief for Military Schools in the Leningrad Military District and retired in April 1953. == Sources==