Pyotr Shelepov

Pyotr Shelepov
Native name	Пётр Емельянович Шелепов
Born	14 July 1920 Bogdano-Verbky, Pavlogradsky Uyezd, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Ukrainian SSR
Died	3 September 1983 (aged 63) Verkhnodniprovsk, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	Red Army
Years of service	1940–1946
Rank	Red Army man
Unit	37th Guards Rifle Division
Battles/wars	World War II Berlin Offensive
Awards	Order of the Red Star

Pyotr Emelyanovich Shelepov (Russian: Пётр Емельянович Шелепов; 14 July 1920–3 September 1983) was a Red Army man and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Shelepov was awarded the title for his actions in the Berlin Offensive, in which he and others captured a height and then held it against several counterattacks. Postwar, he became a prosecutor.^[1]

Early life

Shelepov was born on 14 July 1920 in the village of Bogdano-Verbky in Yekaterinoslav Governorate, now in Petropavlivka Raion. His family were Russian peasants. Shelepov graduated from seven classes and worked on the local kolkhoz. He was drafted into the Red Army in 1940.^[1][2]

World War II

Shelepov fought in World War II from June 1941 following the German invasion of the Soviet Union. He became a rifleman in the 109th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 37th Guards Rifle Division. On 23 March 1945, he was awarded the Medal "For Courage" for his actions.^[3] He fought in the Berlin Offensive in April and May 1945. On 20 April, during the crossing of the West Oder near Kołbaskowo, Shelepov and other soldiers captured German trenches. According to his Hero of the Soviet Union citation, they captured an important height and held it against six counterattacks. This allowed the main forces of the regiment to cross the river. Shelepov killed twelve German soldiers and a machine-gun crew with grenades.^[4] Shelepov became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union afterwards. On 29 June 1945, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin.^[1][2][5] On 2 October 1945, Shelepov received the Order of the Red Star for his actions.^[6]

Postwar

In 1946, Shelepov was demobilized and returned to civilian life. He worked in the district prosecutor's office in Dniprodzerzhynsk. He became the prosecutor of Synelnykove Raion, then Verkhnodniprovsk Raion. Shelepov later became prosecutor of Marhanets.^[7] He graduated from the Kharkiv Law Institute in 1959 and lived in Verkhnodniprovsk, teaching in an agricultural college. Shelepov died on 3 September 1983.^[1][2]

References

1. "Pyotr Shelepov". Герои страны ("Heroes of the Country") (in Russian).
2. Shkadov, Ivan, ed. (1988). Герои Советского Союза: Краткий биографический словарь [Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). 2 Lyubov-Yashchuk. Moscow: Voenizdat. ISBN 5203005362.
3. Order No. 144 of the 37th Guards Rifle Division, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
4. Vorobyov, Fyodor Daniilovich; Porotkin, Ivan; Szymansky, Alexander (1975). Последний штурм (Берлинская операция 1945 г.) [The Final Assault (1945 Berlin Offensive)] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenzidat. pp. 265–266.
5. Hero of the Soviet Union citation, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
6. Order No. 165 of the 37th Guards Rifle Division, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
7. Nasobina, Lyubov. "Мы всегда будем помнить…" [We will always remember...] (in Russian). Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office. Retrieved 25 September 2016.