Vladimir Yakovlevich Kolpakchi (, ; 7 September 1899 in Kiev – 17 May 1961 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 millio ...

) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

general 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. For his role in the successful Vistula-Oder offensive he 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 ...

on 6 April 1945. He was the first commander of what became the famed Soviet

62nd Army The 62nd Army (russian: 62-я армия) was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. Formed as the 7th Reserve Army as part of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command in May 1942, the formation was des ...

, holding the post between July and August. He also lead the 30th Army between November 1942 and April 1943, Participating in the 1943 Battles of Rzhev, and the 69th Army from April 1944 to May 1945, participating in the Lublin-Brest Offensive and the Vistula-Oder Offensive, and finishing the War at the Battle of Berlin. Following the War, he had also lead the Baku Military District,

1st Red Banner Army The 1st Red Banner Army () was a Red Army field army of World War II that served in the Soviet Far East. Before 1941 The 1st Army was created in July 1938 under the name of the 1st Coastal Army (or, depending on translation, 1st Maritime Army) i ...

and Northern Military Military District, before dying, among other Generals, in a helicopter crash on 17 May 1961.

References

1899 births 1961 deaths Army generals (Soviet Union) Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class Soviet military personnel of World War II Military personnel from Kyiv Frunze Military Academy alumni Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni {{hero-USSR-stub