Dmitri Lelyushenko
| Dmitry Lelyushenko | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 2 November 1901 Rostov Oblast, Russian empire |
| Died | 20 July 1987 (aged 85) USSR |
| Allegiance |
 Soviet Union
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| Awards |
 
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Dmitry Danilovich Lelyushenko (Russian: Дми́трий Дани́лович Лелюше́нко; (November 2 [O.S. October 20] 1901 – July 20, 1987) was a Soviet military commander, Army General (1959).
Twice the Hero of the Soviet Union (April 7, 1940 and April 5, 1945), Hero of Czechoslovakia (May 30, 1970). Member of the CPSU from 1924.
Born in Rostov Oblast, ethnically Ukrainian.
In 1941, during the first months of the Great Patriotic War, Dmitry Danilovich Lelyushenko became a strong influence during the defence of Moscow against the German invasion. His subsequent battlefield commands were largely successful and his final actions in 1945 involved directing forces during the Red Army’s attacks on both Berlin and Prague.
Born in 1901, at 17 Lelyushenko rode with Semyon Budyonny in the Bolshevik forces during the Russian Civil War. Picked out as officer material post-war, he completed military schooling in 1933 at Frunze Military Academy and went to a mechanized brigade before rising through the ranks to the rank of major and command of a tank regiment in the Moscow Military District.
Lelyushenko seems to have cut both a stocky and quite aggressive figure with the fashionably-shaven head of a Soviet officer combining with a demeanour that was both energetic and demanding. He was not a consensual commander or given to delegating responsibility from afar, preferring to visit the front line and make his own decisions based on his own judgement. Likewise his managerial approach was hands-on, often appearing in training areas to personally demonstrate technique to his subordinates. He was typical of many Soviet commanders in that during the Great Patriotic War he both worked and lived in his office 24 hours a day.
As part of the Soviet response to Germany’s invasion of Poland, Lelyushenko, now a lieutenant-colonel, took his command, the 39th Separate Light Tank Brigade, with mainly T-26 light tanks on strength, into what was then eastern Poland (Ruthenia, Vilnius and Western Belarus). The Soviet occupation of Polish territory was bloodless from Lelyushenko’s own experience. However shortly afterwards, in December 1939, the Brigade moved north to participate in Red Army operations against the Finns. Now a Colonel, Lelyushenko directed tank attacks against Finland’s Mannerheim line in the period February – March 1940. This was a learning experience and in addition he received the award ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ for personal bravery. His brigade meanwhile won the Order of Lenin.
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