Background
Vasily Alexeyevich Koptsov was born on January 1, 1904 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Vasily Alexeyevich Koptsov was born on January 1, 1904 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Vasily Alexeyevich graduated from primary school and worked in a sawmill. In March 1918, he joined the Red Army and fought in the Russian Civil War, serving with the 450th North Kuban Regiment of the 3rd Taman Brigade of the Taman Army. Koptsov later fought on the Southern Front.
In October 1922, Vasily Alexeyevich entered the 46th Machine Gun Course at Stavropol and Vladikavkaz. He later transferred to the United Higher Military School named for the Central Executive Committee in Moscow. In 1925, Koptsov became a Communist Party of the Soviet Union member. In August, Koptsov took command of a platoon of the 49th Rifle Regiment, part of the 17th Rifle Division at Nizhny Novgorod. Between March 1927 and September 1928, he served as an instructor platoon commander for preinduction training at the Bronnitsy Military Enlistment Office.
Vasily Alexeyevich Koptsov then entered a year-long military and political training course in Moscow, from which he graduated in September 1929, after which he became a company political officer in the 3rd Verkhneudinsk Rifle Regiment of the 1st Pacific Rifle Division in the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army. Koptsov fought in the 1929 Sino-Soviet conflict during his service with the division. In 1931 Koptsov graduated from the Leningrad Armored Refresher Courses for Red Army Commanders. He became a company and then battalion commander in the 1st Tank Regiment of the Belorussian Military District.
Vasily Alexeyevich Koptsov became a battalion commander in the 11th Mechanized Corps school for junior command personnel, part of the Transbaikal Military District. In August 1937 he became commander of the 1st Tank Battalion of the 6th Mechanized Brigade, which became the 6th Light Tank Brigade. Koptsov's brigade fought in the Battles of Khalkhin Gol in 1939. On 17 November, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin. He was also awarded the Mongolian People's Republic Order of the Red Banner during the year. In June 1940, Koptsov became a battalion commander in the 8th Red Banner Light Tank Brigade, and in November became the brigade commander. In March 1941, he was appointed deputy commander of the 21st Mechanized Corps' 46th Tank Division in the Moscow Military District.
Vasily Alexeyevich Koptsov took command of the 46th Tank Division on the day after the German invasion of the Soviet Union began on 22 June. On 31 August, Koptsov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In September, the division was converted into the 6th Tank Brigade and transferred to the 7th Separate Army, fighting in battles against Finnish troops on the Karelian Isthmus. On 11 September Koptsov was promoted to the rank of major general. Between November and December, the brigade fought in the Tikhvin Defensive and Offensive operations. Koptsov was wounded in the fighting and received a second Order of the Red Banner on 27 December. On 16 February 1942 the brigade was converted into the 7th Guards Tank Brigade for its actions.
On 21 May Koptsov became commander of the 15th Tank Corps, part of the 3rd Tank Army. Aged 38, he was one of the youngest tank corps commanders at the time. In August 1942, the corps fought in the counterattack against German troops at Kozelsk. In 1943, Koptsov was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class. From January 1943 the corps fought on the Voronezh Front, fighting in the Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh Offensive.
On 2 March 1943, Koptsov and his adjutant were captured by German troops while they were sleeping. A few hours later, Koptsov died of his wounds and was buried by the German troops south of the Krasnyi State Farm.
