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

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

and

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

. Onuprienko fought during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 (World War II), Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January ...

, the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...

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– ...

. He commanded several corps after the war.

Early life

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

Kanevsky Uyezd The Kanev uezd (russian: Каневский уезд; uk, Канівський повіт, Kanivs'kyi povit) was one of the subdivisions of the Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the eastern part of the governorate. It ...

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate, r=Kievskaya guberniya; uk, Київська губернія, Kyivska huberniia (, ) was an administrative division of the Russian Empire from 1796 to 1919 and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1919 to 1925. It wa ...

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 (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

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 (russian: Пограничные войска СССР, Pogranichnyye voyska SSSR) were the border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the '' Cheka''/OGPU, then to NK ...

and then chief of the 23rd Border Detachment. In 1930, he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. 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 (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), 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 (rus ...

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 (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

Escort Troops.

World War II

During the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

, 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 was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military ...

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

Kalinin Oblast Tver Oblast (russian: Тверска́я о́бласть, ''Tverskaya oblast'', ), from 1935 to 1990 known as Kalinin Oblast (), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. It was named after Mikhai ...

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''. ( rus, Можа́йск, p=mɐˈʐajsk) is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to t ...

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 (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

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, named for the city of Kalinin. It was formally established by Stavka directive on 17 October 1941 and allocated three armies: 22nd, 29th Army a ...

and was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 7 December. On 15 January 1943, he became the chief of staff of the 2nd Tank Army and fought in the Dmitriyev-Sevsk Offensive. On 28 June, he became the commander of the

6th Guards Rifle Division 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. He led the division during the

, where it successfully defended Ponyri. 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 award established on July 29, 1942 ...

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

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or 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. It is the longest river of Ukraine ...

. 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 ( , uk, Прип'ять, ; be, Прыпяць, translit=Prypiać}, ; pl, Prypeć, ; russian: Припять, ) is a river in Eastern Europe, approximately long. It flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and Ukraine ag ...

. 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 (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

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. On 21 July 1944, he was awarded his third Order of the Red Banner. In August, he became commander of the 24th Rifle Corps 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) *13th Air Army The 76 ...

. He led the corps during the rest of the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive. On 3 November, Onuprienko was awarded the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) 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 193 ...

. 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 (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established du ...

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. 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 Armenia, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , ...

in August, then the 87th Rifle Corps of the

Far Eastern Military District The Far Eastern Military District (russian: Дальневосточный военный округ; Dalʹnevostochnyĭ voennyĭ okrug) was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific ...

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 The 3rd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army which saw service in World War II and in the 1950s. The corps was first formed in 1923 from the 3rd Army Corps in the Moscow Military District and fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland and t ...

of the Carpathian Military District. 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 ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. He died on 22 November 1977 and was buried in Kuntsevo Cemetery.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Onuprienko, Dmitry 1906 births 1977 deaths People from Kyiv Oblast 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