Vasily Koptsov

Vasily Koptsov
Koptsov, c. 1940
Native name	Василий Алексеевич Копцов
Born	1 January 1904 Tiflis, Tiflis Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	2 March 1943(1943-03-02) (aged 39) Kharkov Oblast, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Service/branch	Red Army
Years of service	1918–43
Rank	Major general
Commands held	46th Tank Division 15th Tank Corps
Battles/wars	Russian Civil War 1929 Sino-Soviet conflict Battles of Khalkhin Gol World War II
Awards	Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin Order of the Red Banner (2) Order of Suvorov 2nd class Order of the Red Banner (Mongolian People's Republic)

Vasily Alexeyevich Koptsov (Russian: Василий Алексеевич Копцов; 1 January 1904 – 2 March 1943) was a Soviet major general of the Red Army and a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Koptsov joined the Red Army during the Russian Civil War and by the late 1930s rose to command a tank battalion. His unit fought in the Battles of Khalkhin Gol, for which he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his actions where he defended his immobilized tank for eight hours until Soviet forces could relieve him. In March 1941, Koptsov became deputy commander of the 46th Tank Division of the 21st Mechanized Corps, taking command on the day after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, and leading the first in failed counterattacks against the German advance. In September 1941, Koptsov was transferred to the Karelian Front where he defended against Finnish attacks, and then to the Volkhov Front where he fought in the Tikhvin Defensive Operation and Tikhvin Offensive, for which Koptsov's brigade became a Guards unit. In May 1942, Koptsov became commander of the newly formed 15th Tank Corps, which he led during the summer in unsuccessful Kozelsk Offensive. In January 1943, he fought in the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive, completing the encirclement of Hungarian troops. Koptsov's corps then fought in the Third Battle of Kharkov, in which it was surrounded and nearly destroyed by the German counterattack.

Koptsov died on 2 March 1943, during the Third Battle of Kharkov when his corps was surrounded and nearly destroyed by the German counterattack, and was briefly captured by German troops before he died of his wounds in captivity.