Mikhail Denisenko

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Mikhail Ivanovich Denisenko
103rd Guards Airborne Division
Battles/warsRussian Civil War

World War II

AwardsHero of the Soviet Union

Mikhail Denisenko (

103rd Guards Airborne Division, before his death in 1949 in a parachute accident.[4]

Early life

Denisenko was born on 24 July 1899 to a peasant family on the Temchenko farm, which is now the village of Kozelnoe in Nedryhailiv Raion in Ukraine's Sumy Oblast.[4] After graduating from high school, Denisenko worked on the construction of a railway in 1915.[1][4]

Russian Civil War and interwar service

In May 1919, Denisenko was drafted into the

47th Rifle Division.[1] In 1920, Denisenko joined the Communist Party.[1][4]

After the end of the war, Denisenko became a cadet and company politruk at the 92nd Lebedinsky Infantry Course in July 1921. After completing the course in 1922, Denisenko entered the Poltava Infantry School, from which he graduated in August 1925.

25th Rifle Division.[1] From January 1930, he commanded a company and then a battalion of the 119th Rifle Regiment in the 40th Rifle Division.[1] In December 1935, Denisenko became the commander of the training company of the 120th Rifle Regiment in the same division.[1] In April 1936, he became the commander of the reconnaissance battalion in that division.[4] In June 1936, he became the chief of staff of the 1st Airborne Regiment and its commander in August 1937.[1][4] From December 1940, Denisenko led the 202nd Airborne Brigade.[4]

World War II

At the beginning of Soviet entry into World War II, Denisenko continued to lead the 202nd Airborne Brigade in the Far East. In December 1941, he became the head of a course for junior lieutenants in the Far Eastern Front, and then the 10th Airborne Corps' Chief of Staff.[1][4] In March 1942, he became the commander of the 9th Airborne Corps in the Moscow Military District.[1][4] In early August, the corps became the 36th Guards Rifle Division, with Denisenko as its commander.[1][4] As part of the 57th Army, the division defended the southwestern outskirts of Stalingrad.[6] The division participated in the elimination of the encircled German troops in Stalingrad in early 1943, and then fought in the Third Battle of Kharkov.[1]

The division then fought in the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of the Dnieper. On the night of 26 September, the division crossed the Dnieper and captured a bridgehead near the village of Soshinovka. During the day, the division reportedly repulsed eight German counterattacks, inflicting heavy losses.[1][4] Denisenko was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin on 20 December for his planning of the Dnieper crossing.[1][4]

In December 1943, Denisenko became the commander of the

Prague Offensive.[4]

Postwar

After the end of World War II, he continued in command of the 105th Guards Rifle Division. In August 1946, Denisenko became the Chief Inspector of the Airborne Forces. From November 1946 to September 1947, he was the deputy commander of the

103rd Guards Airborne Division. On 7 April 1949, Denisenko was killed in a parachute jump in Vitebsk.[4]

Legacy

In Volgograd, a street is named after Denisenko.[8] There is also a memorial plaque in honor of Denisenko in Nedryhailiv.[1]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "ДЕНИСЕНКО Михаил Иванович |". myfront.in.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  2. ^ "Память народа :: Документ о награде :: Денисенко Михаил Иванович, Герой Советского Союза (Орден Ленина и медаль "Золотая звезда")". pamyat-naroda.ru (in Russian). Ministry of Defence (Russia). Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  3. ^ "Библиотека - Люди и книги". www.az-libr.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Денисенко Михаил Иванович". www.warheroes.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  5. ^ a b Tsapayev & Goremykin 2014, pp. 807–809.
  6. ISBN 9781610394970
    .
  7. ^ Popov, Illarion Grigoryevich (1985). Батальоны идут на запад [Battalions go west]. Moscow: Moscow State University.
  8. ^ "Памятники и достопримечательности Волгограда". monument.volgadmin.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2015-10-07.

Bibliography

  • Tsapayev, D.A.; et al. (2014). Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 3. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole.
    ISBN 978-5-9950-0382-3
    .
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