Pyotr Koshevoy

Pyotr Koshevoy
Koshevoy after 1968
Born21 December [O.S. 8 December] 1904
Oleksandriia, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine)
Died30 August 1976(1976-08-30) (aged 71)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Buried
Allegiance
Years of service1920–1969
RankMarshal of the Soviet Union
Commands
Battles/wars
Awards Complete list
Signature

Pyotr Kirillovich Koshevoy (Ukrainian: Петро Кирилович Кошовий; ‹See Tfd›Russian: Пётр Кириллович Кошевой; 21 December [O.S. 8 December] 1904 – 30 August 1976) was a Soviet military commander and a Marshal of the Soviet Union.

Koshevoy was born to a Ukrainian peasant family and joined the Red Army in 1920, fighting in the Russian Civil War. During the interwar period, he served as a junior commander in cavalry units and held staff positions from the late 1930s. By the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Koshevoy commanded the 65th Rifle Division, which he led during the Siege of Leningrad. In mid-1942 he transferred to command the 24th Guards Rifle Division, fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad and the North Caucasus.

Koshevoy commanded the 63rd Rifle Corps during the Crimean Offensive, then transferred to command the 71st Rifle Corps before leading the 36th Guards Rifle Corps from early 1945, commanding it in the East Prussian Offensive. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union twice – in 1944, for the taking of Mount Sapun during the Crimean Offensive and in 1945, for his part in the capture of Königsberg.

Following the war, Koshevoy commanded the 6th Guards, the 5th, the 11th Guards Armies, and the Siberian and Kiev Military Districts. He became commander-in-chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany in 1965. Koshevoy was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1968, but was dismissed from command of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany in late 1969.