Mikhail Petrovich Petrov (colonel)

Mikhail Petrovich Petrov (Russian: Михаил Петрович Петров; 17 November 1904 – 5 August 1967) was a Tatar Soviet Army colonel and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Petrov was awarded the title for his actions in Operation Bagration, during which he led his regiment in encircling Mogilev. He continued to serve in the Soviet Army postwar, retiring in 1954, after which he moved to Vinnytsia.[1]

Mikhail Petrovich Petrov
Native name
Михаил Петрович Петров
Born17 November 1904
Stary Sharashly, Bakalinsky Volost, Belebeyevsky Uyezd, Ufa Governorate, Russian Empire
Died5 August 1967(1967-08-05) (aged 62)
Vinnytsia, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
AllegianceSoviet Union
Service/branchRed Army/Soviet Army
Years of service1926–54
RankColonel
Unit139th Rifle Division
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union

Early life

Petrov was born on 17 November 1904 in the village of Stary Sharashly in Ufa Governorate, now in the Bakalinsky District of Bashkortostan, to a peasant family. After graduating from school in the village of Bakaly in 1916, he worked as a messenger at the volost (parish) committee. He later worked as a fitter at the Baysarovskom Telegraph Department in the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1926, he was drafted into the Red Army. In 1929, he became a Communist Party of the Soviet Union member.[1]

World War II

Petrov fought in World War II from November 1941, originally as a battalion commissar. On 10 January 1942, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.[2] In 1944, he graduated from the Vystrel course. Petrov became commander of the 139th Rifle Division's 364th Rifle Regiment. Petrov led the regiment in Operation Bagration. Breaking through German defenses, the regiment crossed the Pronya River, the Basy River, and the Resta River between 24 and 26 June 1944. On 27 June, Petrov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.[3] On 28 June the regiment crossed the Dnieper south of Mogilev. The regiment captured 215 settlements and cut off the German retreat. According to Petrov's superiors, the regiment captured 242 soldiers, 120 guns, 600 machine guns and automatic rifles, 12 tractors, 9 warehouses, 235 motor vehicles, and killed 1,200 German soldiers. He was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky on 19 September.[4] On 24 March 1945, Petrov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin.[1][5]

Postwar

In 1949, Petrov graduated from the Leningrad Higher Armored School. He retired in 1954 as a colonel, then lived and worked in Vinnytsia. He died there on 5 August 1967.[1]

References

  1. "Mikhail Petrovich Petrov". warheroes.ru (in Russian).
  2. Order No. 14 of the Western Front, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
  3. Order No. 422 of the 50th Army, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
  4. Order No. 103 of the 49th Army, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
  5. Hero of the Soviet Union citation, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
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