Iosif Apanasenko
Iosif Rodionovich Apanasenko was a Soviet division commander.
He fought in the Imperial Russian Army in World War I before going over to the Bolsheviks in the subsequent civil war. He received the Cross of St. George three times from the Russian Empire. He was made a Komkor on November 11, 1935 and promoted to Komandarm 2nd rank in 1939. He commanded forces in both Central Asia and the Russian Far East. He was made a colonel general in 1940 before being promoted to general of the army in February 1941. He was Commander of the Far Eastern Front until April 1943.
In June 1943, I.R. Apanasenko, after numerous requests to be sent to the front, was appointed deputy commander of the Voronezh Front. He visited units on the frontline and led them during the fighting.
He was killed by an airstrike during the Soviet counteroffensive at Kursk. He was a recipient of the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Banner.
