Vasily Nikolayevich Fedotov (russian: Василий Николаевич Федотов; 22 December 1915 – 9 January 1997) was a

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 ...

of the

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 ...

, who was awarded the title

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 ...

for his actions in battle in the Second World War while he was a Lieutenant Colonel.

Biography

Vasily Fedotov was born on 22 December 1915 in

Kamen Kamen () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the district Unna. Geography Kamen is situated at the east end of the Ruhr area, approximately 10 km south-west of Hamm and 25 km north-east of Dortmund. Neighbouring cities, t ...

Tomsk Governorate Tomsk Governorate (russian: Томская губерния) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, Russian Republic, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic located in Siberia from 1804 to 1925 as part of t ...

to a working-class Russian family. After finishing seven grades of school he worked as a driver. In 1935, Fedotov 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 1938, he graduated from the Omsk Infantry School, after which he fought in 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 ...

and was wounded. Immediately after the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, in July 1941, he was sent into combat in the Second World War. In 1942, Fedotov graduated from a course for regimental commanders. By September 1943, Fedotov, then a Lieutenant Colonel, commanded the 569th Rifle Regiment of the 161st Rifle Division in the

40th Army The 40th Army (, ''40-ya obshchevoyskovaya armiya'', "40th Combined Arms Army") of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War fro ...

on the

Voronezh Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

. During the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 in Ukraine on the Eastern Front of World War II. One of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost 4,000,000 troops at a time stretched on a front. Over four ...

on 23 September 1943, Fedotov's regiment moved across the Dnieper in the area of the village of Zarubintsy,

Kaniv Raion Kaniv Raion ( uk, Канівський район) was a raion (district) of Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. Its administrative centre was located at the town of Kaniv which was incorporated separately as a city of oblast significance and did ...

(currently

Cherkasy Raion Cherkasy Raion ( uk, Черкаський район, translit.: ''Cherkas'kyi raion'') is a raion (district) of Cherkasy Oblast. It is located in the central part of Cherkasy oblast, and the center of the raion is the city of Cherkasy. The popul ...

) of

Cherkasy Oblast Cherkasy Oblast ( uk, Черка́ська о́бласть, Cherkaska oblast, ), also referred to as Cherkashchyna ( uk, Черка́щина, ) is an oblast (province) of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center ...

of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

, he seized a bridgehead on the west bank and repelled four German counterattacks. During the attack from the bridgehead the next day, Fedotov's regiment moved forward and expelled German forces from the village of

Trakhtemyriv Trakhtemyriv ( uk, Трахтемирів, pl, Trechtymirów) is a very small village in Cherkasy Raion, Cherkasy Oblast. It belongs to Bobrytsia rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In the past it was a city and quartered the Registe ...

. He was wounded twice, but remained on active duty. By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on 23 October 1943 he was awarded the title

for "courage, and heroism shown in the fight against the German invaders". Later in the war, he was seriously wounded and did not return to the front. After the end of the war he served in various military schools. In 1952, he 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 ...

, and from 1953 to 1960 he commanded the Lviv Military School; 1960 to 1965 the Baku Higher Military Command School; and from 1965 to 1973 the

Moscow Suvorov Military School The Moscow Suvorov Military School (MsSVU) is a military educational institution of secondary education of the Ministry of Defense of Russia. It was the first of the Suvorov Military Schools founded in the Soviet Union. History The Moscow Suvor ...

. In 1973 he retired with the rank of major general and lived in Moscow until he died on 9 January 1997; his ashes were placed in the

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "'' colu ...

of the

Donskoye Cemetery The New Donskoy Cemetery (Новое Донское кладбище) is a 20th-century necropolis sprawling to the south from the Donskoy Monastery in the south-west of Central Moscow. It has been closed for new burials since the 1980s. Histo ...

in Moscow. Fedotov was an honorary citizen of

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk O ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fedotov, Vasily 1915 births 1997 deaths Soviet major generals 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 People from Altai Krai People from Tomsk Governorate