Pyotr Emelyanovich Shelepov (Russian: Пётр Емельянович Шелепов; 14 July 1920 – 3 September 1983) was a Red Army man and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Shelepov was awarded the title for his actions in the Berlin Offensive, in which he and others captured a height and then held it against several counterattacks. Postwar, he became a prosecutor.[1]
Shelepov fought in World War II from June 1941 following the German invasion of the Soviet Union. He became a rifleman in the 109th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 37th Guards Rifle Division. On 23 March 1945, he was awarded the Medal "For Courage" for his actions.[4] He fought in the Berlin Offensive in April and May 1945. On 20 April, during the crossing of the West Oder near Kołbaskowo, Shelepov and other soldiers captured German trenches. According to his Hero of the Soviet Union citation, they captured an important height and held it against six counterattacks. This allowed the main forces of the regiment to cross the river. Shelepov killed twelve German soldiers and a machine-gun crew with grenades.[5] Shelepov became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union afterwards. On 29 June 1945, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin.[1][3][6] On 2 October 1945, Shelepov received the Order of the Red Star for his actions.[7]
^Order No. 144 of the 37th Guards Rifle Division, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
^Vorobyov, Fyodor Daniilovich; Porotkin, Ivan; Szymansky, Alexander (1975). Последний штурм (Берлинская операция 1945 г.) [The Final Assault (1945 Berlin Offensive)] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenzidat. pp. 265–266.
^Hero of the Soviet Union citation, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
^Order No. 165 of the 37th Guards Rifle Division, available online at pamyat-naroda.ru
^Nasobina, Lyubov. "Мы всегда будем помнить…" [We will always remember...] (in Russian). Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office. Retrieved 25 September 2016.