Mikhail Petrovich Petrov (; 17 November 1904 – 5 August 1967) was a

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

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 ...

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

and a

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 ...

. Petrov was awarded the title for his actions in

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп� ...

, 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 Vinnytsia ( ; uk, Вінниця, ; yi, װיניצע) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast and the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. A ...

Early life

Petrov was born on 17 November 1904 in the village of

Starye Sharashli Starye Sharashli (russian: links=no, Старые Шарашли; ba, Иҫке Шәрәшле, ''İśke Şäräşle'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a Village#Russia, selo) and the administrative centre of Staroshar ...

in Ufa Governorate, now in the

Bakalinsky District Bakalinsky District (russian: Бакали́нский райо́н; ba, Баҡалы районы, ''Baqalı rayonı''; tt-Cyrl, Бакалы районы, ''Baqalı rayonı'') is an administrativeConstitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan, ...

Bashkortostan The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик� ...

, to a peasant family. After graduating from school in the village of Bakaly in 1916, he worked as a messenger at the

volost Volost ( rus, во́лость, p=ˈvoləsʲtʲ; ) was a traditional administrative subdivision in Eastern Europe. In earlier East Slavic history, ''volost'' was a name for the territory ruled by the knyaz, a principality; either as an absolute ...

(parish) committee for four years before becoming a lineman of the Baysorovsky Telegraph Department in the

Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ( ba, Башҡорт Автономиялы Совет Социалистик Республикаhы; russian: Башкирская Автономная Советская Социалистиче� ...

. In 1926, he was drafted into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. In 1929, he became a

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

member. Petrov became a political officer, rising to commissar of the 9th Separate Disciplinary Battalion of the Moscow Military District in 1940.

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 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 ...

. In 1944, he graduated from the Vystrel course. Petrov became commander of the

139th Rifle Division The 139th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed three times during World War II, in 1939 and twice in 1941. First Formation Its First Formation was established at Kozelsk in September 1939, on the basis of a regiment of ...

'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 Resta is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Anthony J. Resta, Canadian record producer and musician *Dario Resta Dario Resta (17 August 1882 – 3 September 1924), nicknamed "Dolly", was an Italian Briton race car driver. He ...

between 24 and 26 June 1944. On 27 June, Petrov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. On 28 June the regiment crossed 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 and B ...

south of

Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

. 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. On 24 March 1945, Petrov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union 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 b ...

.Hero of the Soviet Union citation, available online a
pamyat-naroda.ru
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Postwar

In 1949, Petrov graduated from the

Leningrad Higher Armored School Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. He retired in 1954 as a

, then lived and worked in

. He died there on 5 August 1967.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrov, Mikhail 1904 births 1967 deaths People from Bashkortostan People from Belebeyevsky Uyezd Tatar people of Russia Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet colonels Soviet military personnel of World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Recipients of the Order of the Red Star