Dmitry Platonovich Onuprienko (; 25 October 1906 – 22 November 1977) was a

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

and

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

. Onuprienko fought during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

at the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...

, the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...

and the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

. He commanded several corps after the war.

Early life

Dmitry Onuprienko was born on 25 October 1906 in Shupyk village, in the Kanevsky Uyezd of

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire (1796–1917), Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–18; 1918–1921), Ukrainian State (1918), and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–19 ...

to a peasant family of Ukrainian ethnicity. In 1925, he graduated from seven grades and was drafted into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in September.

Military service

Interwar

In 1928, Onuprienko graduated from the Kiev Military Infantry School. He became an assistant outpost platoon commander of the

Soviet Border Troops The Soviet Border Troops () were the border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the ''Cheka''/State Political Directorate, OGPU, then to NKVD/Ministry for State Security (USSR), MGB and, final ...

and then chief of the 23rd Border Detachment. In 1930, he joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

. Between 1932 and 1935, he was a drill instructor in the 2nd Border Detachment. Onuprienko graduated from the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (), was a military academy of the Soviet and later the Russian Armed Forces ...

in 1938. In November, he became senior assistant to the chief of the 1st Division of the educational institutions of the Main Directorate of Border and Internal Troops. In March 1939, he became deputy chief of

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

Escort Troops.

World War II

During the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

, Onuprienko was deputy commander of an NKVD special unit. In March, he became the NKVD's deputy chief of operations. He became the chief of staff of the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...

in June. In July, he was ordered to form the 33rd Army in the

Kalinin Oblast Tver Oblast (, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was known as Kalinin Oblast (). Population: Tver Oblast is a region of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno. Much of ...

from NKVD units and militia divisions. On 17 July, Onuprienko formed the headquarters and assumed command of the army, which was positioned on the

Mozhaysk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District, Moscow Oblast, Mozhaysky Distri ...

defensive line. The army suffered heavy losses during the Battle of Vyazma during October, and Onuprienko was demoted to deputy commander, being replaced by Mikhail Yefremov. Onuprienko was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

on 2 January 1942. He fought in the

until March 1942, when he was sent to study at the Higher Academic Courses at the Higher Military Academy. After graduation from them at the end of the year, he became chief of staff of the 3rd Reserve Army on the

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions ...

and was promoted to major general on 7 December. On 15 January 1943, he became the chief of staff of the

2nd Tank Army The 2nd Guards Tank Army () was a large military formation of the Red Army and Soviet Army, later part of the Russian Ground Forces of the Russian Federation. The army was originally formed in early 1943 as the 2nd Tank Army. It was the firs ...

and fought in the Dmitriyev-Sevsk Offensive. On 28 June, he became the commander of the 6th Guards Rifle Division. He led the division during the

, where it successfully defended

Ponyri Ponyri () is the name of several inhabited localities in Kursk Oblast, Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in ...

. For his leadership at Kursk, Onuprienko was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 14 July. Onuprienko was awarded the

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

2nd class on 23 September 1943. During the Chernigov-Pripyat Offensive, he organized the division's crossing of the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

. On 30 September, the division crossed at the villages of Teremtsy and Verkhnye Zary. The advance elements of the division crossed the river and occupied a small bridgehead. German troops reportedly did not expect the crossing to take place in that area, but soon launched counterattacks. Elements of the division reportedly repulsed all of the counterattacks and then broke through the German line in the area between the Dnieper and the

Pripyat River The Pripyat or Prypiat is a river in Eastern Europe. The river, which is approximately long, flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and into Ukraine again, before draining into the Dnieper at Kyiv Reservoir. Name etymology Max Vasmer notes in h ...

. The division then crossed the Pripyat, captured a bridgehead at Yampil and continued to attack to the west. On 16 October, he was awarded the title

and the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

for his actions during the offensive. Onuprienko continued to lead the division during the Battle of Kiev, the Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive and the

Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive The Lvov–Sandomierz offensive or Lvov–Sandomierz strategic offensive operation () was a major Red Army operation to force the German troops from Ukraine and Eastern Poland. Launched in mid-July 1944, the operation was successfully completed ...

. On 21 July 1944, he was awarded his third Order of the Red Banner. In August, he became commander of the

24th Rifle Corps The 24th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army. It was part of the 27th Army and took part in the Great Patriotic War. It appears to have been initially formed in the Kalinin Military District, around what is today Tver, in 1939. In 1940 it wa ...

of the

13th Army Thirteenth Army or 13th Army may refer to: * Thirteenth Army (Japan) * Japanese Thirteenth Area Army * 13th Army (Russian Empire), unit in World War I *13th Army (RSFSR), a unit in the Russian Civil War *13th Army (Soviet Union) The 13th Army (, ...

. He led the corps during the rest of the

. On 3 November, Onuprienko was awarded the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

. In 1945, the corps fought in the Vistula–Oder Offensive and the Lower Silesian Offensive. On 6 April, he was awarded the

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...

2nd class.

Postwar

On 27 June, he was promoted to

and awarded the Order of Kutuzov 1st class.USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet award list for 27 June 1945, available online a
pamyat-naroda.ru
/ref> He was awarded his fourth Order of the Red Banner on 6 November. From June 1946, he was the commander of the 10th Mechanized Division of the

Carpathian Military District The Red Banner Carpathian Military District (, ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Cold War and subsequently of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the early Post-Soviet period. It was established on 3 May 1946 on the ...

. Onuprienko was transferred to command the

13th Rifle Corps The 13th Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army, first formed in 1922. On October 12, 1922, the Corps began forming in the Turkestan Front. Alexander Todorsky became the corps commander. The corps participated in the suppression of the B ...

of the

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of First Republic of Armenia, Armenia, Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Azerbaijan, and Democratic Republic ...

in August, then the

87th Rifle Corps The 87th Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army during World War II and the Soviet Army in the early years of the Cold War. World War II On 10 July 1945 it comprised 231st and 300th Rifle Divisions as part of 1st Red Banner Army, M ...

of the

Far Eastern Military District The Far Eastern Military District () was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific Fleet and part of the Siberian Military District to form the new Eastern Military District. Histo ...

in September 1947. Onuprienko was awarded the

on 15 November 1950 for 25 years of service. Onuprienko entered the higher academic courses at the Higher Military Academy in October 1952. After completing the courses on 10 October 1953, he commanded the 3rd Mountain Rifle Corps of the

. On 26 October 1955, he was awarded his fifth Order of the Red Banner. In March 1957, he retired.

Later life

After his retirement, Onuprienko lived in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He died on 22 November 1977 and was buried in

Kuntsevo Cemetery The Kuntsevo Cemetery () is a cemetery servicing Kuntsevo, Moscow. It is located on the bank of the Setun River, to the south of the Mozhaisk Highway (the continuation of the Kutuzovsky Prospekt). The local five-domed church was commissioned in 16 ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Onuprienko, Dmitry 1906 births 1977 deaths People from Obukhiv Raion People from Kanevsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet lieutenant generals Frunze Military Academy alumni Soviet military personnel of the Winter War Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery