Filipp Shtanko

Last updated

Filipp Feofanovich Shtanko ( ‹See Tfd› Russian: Филипп Феофанович Штанько, Ukrainian : Пилип Феофанович Штанько; 2 July 1905 – 20 April 1993) was a Soviet Army colonel and a Hero of the Soviet Union who held brigade command during World War II.

Contents

Early life and prewar service

A Ukrainian, Filipp Feofanovich Shtanko was born on 2 July 1905 in the village of Voronovka, Olshansky volost, Zvenigorodsky Uyezd, Kiev Governorate. Conscripted into the Red Army in November 1927, he was sent to the 4th Caucasian Rifle Regiment at Gyandzha as a Red Army man. Graduating from the regimental school in 1928, Shtanko rose to assistant platoon commander. After completing the Kiev Combined Course for the Training of Commanders in 1931, he served with the 71st Rifle Regiment of the Ukrainian Military District at Vinnitsa as a platoon commander, assistant company commander, and company commander. In January 1935, he was transferred to command a motor rifle and machine gun company of the 22nd Rifle Brigade of the Kiev Military District at Starokonstantinov, and in November 1937, rose to command the motor rifle battalion of the 26th Tank Brigade. In May 1938, he was appointed assistant chief of staff of the 131st Rifle Regiment at Novograd-Volynsky. In August, he was transferred to the district headquarters, where he served as chief of a section of the 4th Department, and chief of a section of the Organizational and Mobilization Department. Shtanko completed the Vystrel course in 1941. [1]

World War II

After Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Shtanko served at the Kiev Military District headquarters from 26 June as senior assistant chief of a section of the Organizational and Mobilization Department and the Manning Department. In October he was appointed chief of staff of the 444th Rifle Regiment of the 108th Rifle Division, which fought in the Battle of Moscow as part of the 5th Army of the Western Front. [1]

In March 1942, Shtanko was transferred to serve as chief of staff of the 2nd Rifle Regiment of the 50th Rifle Division, and took command of the regiment on 5 April. In early February 1943 the regiment was relocated to the Southwestern Front and took defensive positions on the Seversky Donets. Shtanko was wounded twice in the early period of the war. [1]

Shtanko took command of the 23rd Tank Corps' 56th Motor Rifle Brigade on 20 June, leading it for the rest of the war. In 1943 he led it in the Izyum–Barvenkovo offensive, the Donbass offensive, the Zaporozhye Offensive, and the Melitopol offensive. Shtanko was wounded on 24 August in the region of Dolgenkaya, and awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 3 October. During the March 1944 Bereznegovatoye–Snigirevka offensive, Shtanko's brigade supported Cavalry-Mechanized Group Pliyev, taking part in the liberation of Novy Bug. The brigade forced the Southern Bug and in April reached the Dniester south of Tiraspol during the Odessa Offensive. For his performance, Shtanko was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 2nd class, on 19 March. He was promoted to colonel on 25 April. [1]

During the Second Jassy–Kishinev offensive, between 20 and 31 August, Shtanko's brigade broke through the German and Romanian defenses south of Târgu Frumos, forced the Siret and Moldova rivers and together with the corps' tank brigades took the cities of Roman, Bacău, and Adjud. Between 26 and 31 August, the brigade attacked Oituz from the rear with a flanking maneuver, breaking through the defenses on the Oituz Pass  [ ro ] into the Carpathians and seizing the two main strongpoints of the fortified region: Oituz and Breskul. These actions enabled the Soviet advance into Transylvania. For his performance, Shtanko received the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 13 September. Subsequently, the brigade took part in the Debrecen Offensive, the Budapest Offensive, and the Vienna Offensive. For his performance, Shtanko received a second Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class. [1]

Postwar

After the end of the war, Shtanko continued to command the brigade, reorganized into the 56th Motor Rifle Regiment in August 1945 and relocated to the Lvov Military District. He was transferred to the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany in January 1948 to command the 33rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of 9th Guards Tank Division of the 2nd Guards Mechanized Army, and in September 1949 rose to chief of the army Cadre Department. In November 1951 he was transferred to the Belorussian Military District to serve in the same capacity for the 7th Mechanized Army. Shtanko was transferred to the reserve in January 1955. He retired to Melitopol. Shtanko committed suicide on 20 April 1993, [1] after the theft of his decorations. According to local newspapers, his suicide note read: [2]

These scoundrels brazenly stole what I earned with my blood in the struggle with the enemy, defending the Homeland. These awards cost me dearly, and I can't survive this blow..."

Awards

Shtanko was a recipient of the following decorations: [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazi Aslanov</span> Soviet Azerbaijani general (1910–1945)

Hazi Aslanov was an Azerbaijani major-general of the Soviet armoured troops during World War II. He was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union title twice. The second Hero title was posthumously awarded in 1991, by Mikhail Gorbachev, at the constant recommendations by Heydar Aliyev.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyotr Koshevoy</span>

Pyotr Kirillovich Koshevoy was a Soviet military commander and a Marshal of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semyon Kurkotkin</span> Marshalof the Soviet Union (1917–1990)

Semyon Konstantinovich Kurkotkin was a Soviet military commander and a Marshal of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikolai Pukhov</span>

Nikolay Pavlovich Pukhov was a Soviet Army colonel general and a Hero of the Soviet Union who commanded troops during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semyon Bogdanov</span> Soviet marshal (1894–1960)

Semyon Ilyich Bogdanov was a Soviet Marshal of tank forces, and twice Hero of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasily Badanov</span> Soviet military officer (1895–1971)

Vasily Mikhailovich Badanov was a Soviet military officer and general, best known for his leadership in the Tatsinskaya Raid (1942) and subsequent command of the 4th Tank Army (1943–1944).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Guards Airborne Division</span> Military unit

The 4th Guards Airborne Division was an airborne division of the Red Army that fought as infantry during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasily Arkhipov (general)</span> Red Army

Vasily Sergeyevich Arkhipov was an officer in the tank troops of the Red Army who was twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his actions in the Winter War and World War II. He rose to the rank of colonel general during the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aleksandr Golovachev</span> Red army colonel

Aleksandr Alekseyevich Golovachev was a Red Army colonel twice awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership of the 23rd Guards Motor Rifle Brigade of the 7th Guards Tank Corps of the Red Army during the World War II.

The 215th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II that continued to serve in the Soviet Army during the early years of the Cold War. It was the successor to a motorized division of that same number that was destroyed during the Battle of Kiev in September 1941.

The 213th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II after a motorized division of that same number was destroyed about seven weeks following the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexey Akhmanov</span> Soviet army lieutenant general

Alexey Osipovich Akhmanov was a Soviet Army lieutenant general and a Hero of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Akimov (general)</span> Soviet military commander

Alexander Ivanovich Akimov was a Soviet Army lieutenant general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dmitry Sukhovarov</span> Soviet army colonel

Dmitry Gavrilovich Sukhovarov was a Soviet Army colonel and a Hero of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergey Gorshkov (general)</span>

Sergey Ilyich Gorshkov was a Red Army lieutenant general who held division and corps command during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igor Danshin</span>

Igor Mikhailovich Danshin was a Soviet Army major general of artillery who commanded the 22nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris Skvortsov</span> Red army major general

Boris Mikhailovich Skvortsov was a Red Army major general of tank forces who rose to command the 5th Guards Mechanized Corps during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikita Lebedenko</span> Soviet lieutenant general (1899–1956)

Nikita Fedotovich Lebedenko was a Soviet Army lieutenant general and a Hero of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgy Ivanishchev</span>

Georgy Stepanovich Ivanishchev was a Soviet Army major general and a Hero of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Yesin</span> Soviet Army major general

Ivan Nikitovich Yesin was a Soviet Army major general who held division commands during World War II.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Tsapayev & Hayrapetyan 2018, pp. 648–649.
  2. ↑ ""СЛАВУ ТРЕТЬЕЙ СТЕПЕНИ ДА МЕДАЛЬ ОТВАЖНУЮ..."". Зеркало недели | Дзеркало тижня | Mirror Weekly. Retrieved 2023-08-19.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.