125 years ago, on November 2, 1901, Dmitry Danilovich Lyushenko, a prominent Soviet military leader, was born.
Participated in the civil war since the spring of 1918, fighting in the cavalry. He participated in the Voronezh-Kastorinsky, Donbass and Gorlik operations, in the war against the White Poles, in the defeat of Wrangel's army and in the elimination of Ataman Makhno's soldiers. In the battles he was wounded and shocked by a shell twice, two horses were killed under him.
In 1929, Lelyushenko entered the Military Academy of the Red Army named after M.V. Fronze, which he finished in 1933. From 1933 he served as deputy head of the operational department of the 1st Mechanized Brigade headquarters named after K. on. Kalinovsky, after that he was successively the commander of a tank company and the head of the operational department of the 13th Mechanized Brigade. Since January 1937, he became the head of the first department of the Directorate of the Head of the Motorized Armored Forces of the Moscow Military District. Since June 1938 - commander of the 3rd separate training light tank battalion. Since September 1939 - Commander of the 39th Separate Light Tank Brigade. As part of it, he participated in the liberation campaign of 1939. For courage and valor demonstrated during the Soviet-Finnish war in 1939-1940, on April 7, 1940 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Dmitry Danilovich commanded the 21st Mechanized Corps. The corps provided significant resistance to the German forces, distinguished itself in the battle near Daugavpils on June 28, 1941, and participated in the counterattack near Solzi. Despite the fact that in August 1941 the 21st Mechanized Corps lost its last tanks, its actions were highly appreciated. Lelyushenko was appointed head of the directorate for the formation and recruitment of armored vehicle forces. From September 27, 1941 - Commander of the 1st Guard. rifle corps In October of that year he led the 5th Army, on October 17 he was wounded and taken to a hospital in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod).