15 Facts About Dmitry Lelyushenko

Dmitry Lelyushenko rose to prominence during the first months of the Eastern Front of the Second World War, where he became a strong influence during the defence of Moscow against the German invasion.

Dmitry Lelyushenko was born in 1901, in the Rostov Oblast of the Russian Empire, and was an ethnic Ukrainian.

Dmitry Lelyushenko enjoyed rapid promotion in this phase of his career.

Whatever the reason, by spring 1941 Dmitry Lelyushenko held the rank of major general and was designated commander of 21st Mechanized Corps, based within the Moscow military district with which he was obviously familiar.

On 23 June 1941, the day after Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, Dmitry Lelyushenko set about reorganising his command to combat the specific threats of the German invasion.

Whilst Dmitry Lelyushenko's blocking force was not only a new organisational structure but one composed partly of newly raised formations, some of these were notably well-equipped.

Dmitry Lelyushenko was personally thanked by Stalin for this action which arguably saved the Soviet capital and began to suggest a high-water mark of the overall invasion.

In November 1942, after a year continuing to defend the Moscow approaches with much less difficulty than previously, Dmitry Lelyushenko went south, to take command of the 1st Guards Army.

Dmitry Lelyushenko managed the armoured battle that followed, in which up to 1000 tanks were committed, defeating the German counter-attack and destroying much of the reserve involved, before ordering his forces across the Oder river.

Dmitry Lelyushenko became an Army General in 1959, eventually retiring from the Soviet military in 1964.

Dmitry Lelyushenko was twice a recipient of the Hero of the Soviet Union and was a recipient of the Hero of Czechoslovakia.

Dmitry Lelyushenko passed away on 20 July 1987, in Moscow, at the age of 85.

Dmitry 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.

Dmitry Lelyushenko 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.

Dmitry Lelyushenko was typical of many Soviet commanders in that during the Second World War, he both worked and lived in his office 24 hours a day.