Vasily Mitrofanovich Shatilov (; 17 February 1902 – 16 February 1995) 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 ...

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

who commanded the

150th Rifle Division The 150th Idritsa-Berlin Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class Motor Rifle Division (russian: Russian: 150-я Идрицко-Берлинская ордена Кутузова 2-й степени мотострелковая дивизия) of the Russian Gr ...

, credited with the capture of the Reichstag during 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– ...

Early life

Vasily Mitrofanovich Shatilov was born on 17 February 1902 to a peasant family in the village of Kalmyk,

Voronezh Governorate Voronezh Governorate (russian: Воронежская губерния, ''Voronezhskaya guberniya''; uk, Воронізька губернія) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and th ...

. Conscripted 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 May 1924, he was sent to the 8th Caucasian Rifle Regiment of the 3rd Caucasian Rifle Division at

Leninakan Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

as a

Red Army man Red Army man () was the lowest military rank in the Red Army of the Soviet Union from 1918 to 1946. On 30 November 1917, after the October Revolution, the Military Revolutionary Committee cancelled all "officer and class ranks" in keeping with th ...

. Shatilov rose to assistant platoon commander in November of that year and became a cadet at the Tiflis Infantry School in September 1925. Upon his graduation from the school in September 1928, he was posted to the 56th Rifle Regiment of the

19th Rifle Division (Soviet Union) Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

at Bobrov, with which he served for the next seven years. Initially a rifle platoon commander, Shatilov successively became a regimental school platoon commander, company commander and political officer, and assistant battalion chief of staff. Shatilov was sent to receive advanced training at 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 April 1935, and following his graduation from its motorization and mechanization department in September 1938 was appointed assistant chief of staff of the 10th Tank Brigade of the

Belorussian Special Military District , image = Soviet Union Belorussian Military District.svg , image_size = 300px , caption = The territory of the Byelorussian Military District in 1991. , dates = 28 November 1918 – 6 May 1992 , country = (1918–1920) (1920–1991) (1922� ...

Borisov Borisov or Borisova may refer to: Places * Barysaw, or Borisov, Belarus ** Borisov Arena, a football stadium ** Battle of Borisov, 1812 * Borisov, Volgograd Oblast, Russia * Borišov, a mountain in Slovakia * Borisova, Perm Krai, Russia * Boriso ...

. Serving as chief of staff of the new 46th Light Tank Brigade from 19 August 1939, he participated with it in the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

. Shatilov transferred to become chief of staff of the 27th Separate Light Tank Brigade at

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, commanded by Colonel

Ivan Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky (russian: Ива́н Дани́лович Черняхо́вский; – 18 February 1945) was the youngest-ever Soviet General of the army. For his leadership during World War II he was awarded t ...

, in April 1940 and then held the same position with the

196th Rifle Division 196th may refer to: *196th (2/1st Highland Light Infantry) Brigade, Territorial Force division of the British Army during the First World War *196th Battalion (Western Universities), CEF, unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First Wo ...

of the

Odessa Military District The Odesa Military District (russian: Одесский военный округ, ОВО; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operat ...

from March 1941.

Soviet-German War

After

Operation Barbarossa 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 ...

began, Shatilov and his division fought in the border battles and in the Battle of Kiev. The 196th was encircled on 23 September and destroyed. When division commander Konstantin Kulikov was ambushed and taken prisoner, Shatilov replaced him. Shatilov reached Soviet lines with a group of eight others on 3 October in the area of Shishaki north of Khorol, still armed and in possession of his documents. Appointed chief of staff of the 200th Rifle Division, forming and training in the

South Ural Military District The South Ural Military District (YuUrVO(ЮУрВО)) was a military administrative division of the Soviet Armed Forces. It existed from 1 December 1941 to 15 January 1958. History According to the directive No. 0444 of People's Commissar of Def ...

at Buzuluk, in January 1942, Shatilov was sent with the unit to the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-cre ...

in March and April. After joining the 11th Army of the front, the division fought in the

Demyansk Offensive The Battle of Demyansk was part of the Soviet offensive Operation Polar Star against Axis forces which took place in Demyansk from 15 to 28 February 1943. The Northwestern Front and Mikhail Khozin Special Group engaged the 16th Army of Army Gr ...

, then defended positions on the Lovat. By now a colonel, he was appointed commander of the

182nd Rifle Division Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the shor ...

on 30 August 1942. The division defended positions northeast of

Staraya Russa Staraya Russa ( rus, Старая Русса, p=ˈstarəjə ˈrusːə) is a town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Polist River, south of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Its population has steadily decreased ov ...

as part of the 27th Army until late 1942 and in February 1943 fought in the second

, breaking through to the Porusye River and capturing Goroshkovo. Withdrawn to the 34th Army reserve in May, the 182nd returned to action on 18 February with the

1st Shock Army The 1st Shock Army (russian: 1-я ударная армия) was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. The 1st Shock Army was created in late 1941 and fought in the northern areas of Russia and the Baltic ...

of the

2nd Baltic Front The 2nd Baltic Front (russian: 2-й Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. History The 2nd Baltic Front was formed on October 20, 1943 as a result of the renaming of the Baltic ...

during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive and fought in the attack on Dretino. Pursuing the retreating German troops, Shatilov's division reached

Dno Dno (russian: Дно) is a town and the administrative center of Dnovsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located at the intersection of the Pskov– Bologoye and St. Petersburg–Vitebsk railways, east of Pskov, the administrative cen ...

on 23 February and recaptured the city, for which it received the name of the city as an honorific. Shatilov took command of the

, which he led for the rest of the war, on 30 April 1944. As part of the

79th Rifle Corps The 79th Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army in World War II that became part of the Soviet Army during the Cold War. World War II The corps was formed in July 1943 as a headquarters with no troops assigned, and subordinated to th ...

of the

3rd Shock Army The 3rd Shock Army (russian: Третья ударная армия) was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The "Shock" armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces ...

of the front, the division fought in the Rezhitsa–Dvinsk Offensive and the Madona Offensive, in which it captured

Sebezh Sebezh (russian: Се́беж) is a town and the administrative center of Sebezhsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in a picturesque setting between Lakes Sebezhskoye and Orono south of Pskov, the administrative center of the oblast ...

and

Idritsa Idritsa (russian: Идрица) is an urban locality (a work settlement) in Sebezhsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Idritsa River, a left tributary of the Velikaya River. Municipally, it is incorporated as Idritsa Urban Settle ...

. The 150th received the name of the latter as an honorific and in late 1944 with the corps and army fought in the Baltic Offensive and the Riga Offensive. With its corps and army, the 150th was transferred to the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...

in late December for the Vistula–Oder Offensive. After the end of the latter, the division participated in the East Pomeranian Offensive in early 1945, in which it was decorated for its role in the capture of

Stargard Stargard (; 1945: ''Starogród'', 1950–2016: ''Stargard Szczeciński''; formerly German language, German: ''Stargard in Pommern'', or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; csb, Stôrgard) is a city in northwestern Poland, located in the West Pomeranian V ...

Battle of Berlin

On 16 April 1945, the division crossed the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

in the vicinity of

Wriezen Wriezen () is a town in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 11 km southeast of Bad Freienwalde. Demography File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Wriezen.pdf, Development of Population since 1875 within the Curr ...

, reaching

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

on 21 April. It was tasked with hoisting the

Victory Banner The Soviet Banner of Victory (russian: Знамя Победы, translit=Znamya Pobedy) was the banner raised by the Red Army soldiers on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 1 May 1945, the day after Adolf Hitler committed suicide. It was raise ...

on the Reichstag. On the morning of 30 April, after days of heavy fighting in the streets of the German capital, the Division stormed the building. Soldiers of the division hoisted several Soviet flags atop the structure, one of which – placed by

Meliton Kantaria Meliton Varlamis dze Kantaria or Kantariya ( ka, მელიტონ ქანთარია, russian: Мелитон Варламович Кантария; 5 October 1920 – 27 December 1993) was a Georgian sergeant of the Soviet Army credite ...

Mikhail Yegorov Mikhail Alekseyevich Yegorov (russian: Михаил Алексеевич Егоров; May 5, 1923 – June 20, 1975), along with Meliton Kantaria and Alexei Berest, was one of the three soldiers credited with raising the Soviet flag over the Re ...

and

Alexei Berest Alexei Prokopievich Berest (russian: Алексей Прокопьевич Берест, uk, Олексій Прокопович Берест, (Oleksiy Prokopovych Berest); March 9, 1921 – November 4, 1970) was a Soviet Political commissar, ...

– was eventually proclaimed the official

(Though the first flag was probably hoisted by the division's soldier

Mikhail Minin Mikhail Petrovich Minin (russian: Михаил Петрович Минин; July 29, 1922 – January 10, 2008) was a Russian Soviet Union, Soviet soldier who was the first to enter the Reichstag building on April 30, 1945, during the Battle o ...

). Shatilov 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 ...

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 ...

on 29 May for his leadership of the division.

Postwar

He continued to command the 150th as part of the

Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...

until it was disbanded in December 1946, transferring to command the 15th Mechanized Division. After commanding the

207th Rifle Division The 207th Rifle Division began its combat path under unusual circumstances. It was partly formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division in the spring of 1941, before the German invasion, but was never completed. A second formation ...

from April 1948, Shatilov completed the Higher Academic Course at the Voroshilov Military Academy between 15 June 1948 and 3 May 1949. Appointed commander of the

36th Rifle Division The 36th Rifle Division () was a division of the Red Army and then the Soviet Army. The division was formed in 1919 as the 36th Rifle Division and fought in the Russian Civil War and the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929. In 1937 it became the 36th Mot ...

of the

Transbaikal Military District The Transbaikal Military District (russian: Забайкальский военный округ) was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on May 17, 1935 and included the ...

, Shatilov advanced to command the

18th Guards Rifle Corps 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

in July 1952 and the 39th Guards Airborne Corps in January 1955. Placed at the disposal of the Main Personnel Directorate in December of that year, he was appointed first deputy commander of the

Volga Military District The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at different ...

in February 1956. Shatilov ended his career as first deputy commander 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 December 1957, being promoted to

in 1963 before his retirement in March 1964. Shatilov lived in Moscow and died on 16 February 1995. He was buried at

Kuntsevo Cemetery The Kuntsevo Cemetery (russian: Ку́нцевское кла́дбище, kúntsevkoye kládbishche) 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 o ...

.Vasily Shatilov
on the Heroes of the USSR catalogue.

Awards and honors

Shatilov was a recipient of the following decorations: ;Soviet Union and Russia ;Poland

References

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shatilov, Vasily 1902 births 1995 deaths People from Povorinsky District People from Novokhopyorsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet colonel generals Frunze Military Academy alumni People of the Soviet invasion of Poland 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 Cross of Valour (Poland) Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery Recipients of the Order of the Red Star