About Mikhail Kirponos
Mikhail Petrovich Kirponos (Russian: Михаи́л Петро́вич Кирпоно́с, Ukrainian: Миха́йло Петро́вич Кирпоно́с, 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. == Early life == Kirponos was born in a poor peasant family of Ukrainian ethnicity and worked as a forester. He was conscripted in 1915 and took part in World War I. In 1917, he joined the Red Army, fought in the Russian Civil War, and joined the Bolshevik party in 1918. Kirponos was one of the organizers of Bolshevik sabotage units in the Chernihiv region and took part in battles with the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic. Kirponos declared himself "an opponent of Ukrainian separatism." In 1927 he graduated from the M. V. Frunze Military Academy. After graduation he was chief of staff of the 44th Rifle Division, then chief of the Supreme Soviet of the Tatar Autonomous Republic Kazan Military School from 1934 to 1939. On 21 March 1940, he was awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union for his actions during the Soviet-Finnish War. He became commander of the Leningrad Military District the same year. == World War II == In February 1941 he was assigned commander of the Kiev Military District, which became the Southwestern Front at the beginning of the German-Soviet War.
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