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Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos | |
|---|---|
 Kirponos in 1938 | |
| Born | 12 January 1892 Vertiyivka (Verkiyivka) village, Nezhinsky Uyezd, Chernigov Governorate, Russian Empire (modern-day Ukraine) |
| Died | 20 September 1941 (aged 49) Dryukivshchyna, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Allegiance |  Russian Empire (1915–1917) Soviet Russia (1917–1922)  Soviet Union (1922–1941) |
| Service | Imperial Russian Army Red Army |
| Years of service | 1915–1941 |
| Rank | Colonel General |
| Commands | Leningrad Military District Kiev Military District Southwestern Front |
| Battles / wars | World War I Russian Civil War Winter War World War II † |
| Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin Order of the Patriotic War |
| Signature |  |
Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos (Russian: Михаи́л Петро́вич Кирпоно́с, Ukrainian: Михайло Петрович Кирпонос, Mykhailo Petrovych Kyrponos; 12 January 1892 – 20 September 1941) was a Soviet general of the Red Army during World War II. Being accorded the highest military decoration, the Hero of the Soviet Union title, for the skill and courage in commanding a division in the 1939-1940 Finnish campaign, Kirponos is remembered for his leading role in the failed defense of Ukraine during the Battle of Brody, the Battle of Uman, and Kiev in the 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union. He was killed during mortar shelling while trying to break out of the Kiev encirclement on 20 September 1941.