Nikolai Onoprienko

Nikolai Nikolayevich Onoprienko (, ; 19 December 1911 – 12 November 1979) was a Red Army colonel and World War II Hero of the Soviet Union. Onoprienko fought in the Battle of Smolensk, the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Kursk, Operation Kutuzov, Operation Bagration, the East Prussian Offensive and the Berlin Offensive.

Early life Onoprienko was born on 19 December 1911 in the village of Uil in Aktobe Region to a peasant family of Ukrainian ethnicity. In 1927, he graduated from seven years of education and worked at his father's farm. In August 1930, he became the foreman of the village "Felix Dzerzhinsky" Kolkhoz.

In July 1931, Onoprienko was drafted into the Red Army. He graduated from the school of the 14th Turkestan Mountain Rifle Regiment of the 3rd Turkestan Rifle Division in the Central Asian Military District in May 1932 at Termez. Shortly afterwards, Onoprienko was admitted to the Combined Central Asian Red Banner Military School, from which he graduated in 1934. In May, he became a platoon commander in the 1st Mountain Rifle Regiment of the 83rd Turkestan Mountain Rifle Division. He was promoted in September 1935 to the command of a company. In June 1936, Onoprienko transferred to command a company in the division's 45th Mountain Rifle Regiment. In 1937, he was awarded a gold watch for the excellent organization of combat training in his unit. In December 1938, Onoprienko was sent to the Vystrel course and graduated in June 1939. He was appointed the commander of the 45th Mountain Rifle Regiment's reconnaissance company in Kushka. Onoprienko became the chief of the regimental school of the 83rd Mountain Division in October. In 1941, he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He became the 45th Mountain Rifle Regiment's deputy commander in Ashgabat during February. Promoted to major, he commanded the 74th Rifle Division's 78th Rifle Regiment from October. In February 1943, he reportedly distinguished himself during the Maloarkhangelsk Offensive,

Onoprienko became the commander of the 15th Rifle Division's 676th Rifle Regiment in April 1943 after being promoted to lieutenant colonel. On 10 June, he was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. During the Battle of Kursk, the 676th was positioned on the northern end of the Kursk Bulge, on the boundary with the 81st Rifle Division. He continued to lead the 676th and fought in Operation Kutuzov in August. The regiment participated in the Chernigov-Pripyat Offensive in September and October and the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive in November. During the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive, Onoprienko was wounded on 7 November. After recovering, he returned to command of the regiment. In September and October, the regiment held on to the Serock bridgehead on the Vistula. In February, Onoprienko became deputy commander for combat units of the 37th Guards Rifle Division. He fought in the East Pomeranian Offensive and the assault on Danzig. During the assault on Danzig, division commander Major General Sobir Rakhimov was killed on 26 March. Onoprienko took command and completed the division's assault on Danzig before being replaced by Major General Kuzma Grebennik on 30 March. On 19 April, the advanced forces of the division crossed the eastern branch of the Oder and were stopped by German troops positioned on a large river island. The vanguard of the division was led by Onoprienko. He reportedly organized communications with artillery, allowing the forward movement of 45mm guns. Fire from the 45mm guns allowed the troops to successfully assault the island. On the night of 20 April, the advance regiment of the division crossed the western branch of the Oder and created a bridgehead. Onoprienko attacked the main objectives and captured high ground and a brick factory. From these positions, the regiment reportedly repulsed 18 counterattacks and provided a bridgehead for the crossing of the rest of the division. On 29 June, Onoprienko was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin.

Postwar Following the end of the war, Onoprienko remained with the 37th Guards, becoming the commander of its 118th Guards Rifle Regiment in July 1945. He continued in this post after the regiment was reorganized into the 88th Guards Mechanized Regiment in October of that year when the division became the 27th Guards Mechanized Division. Appointed military commissar of the Tuymazinsky District Military Commissariat in July 1947, Onoprienko was transferred to the same post for Chkalovsky District in the city of Chkalov (renamed Orenburg) in 1948. The latter proved to be his last position before he transferred to the reserve in 1954. Onoprienko lived in Orenburg and worked in the oblast road construction trust. He died on 12 November 1979 and is buried in Orenburg.

Awards and honors USSR

Foreign