Vasily Stepanovich Petrov (; 5 March 1922 15 April 2003) was an officer in the Red Army who lost both his hands during the Battle for the Burkin Bridgehead. After becoming a double amputee he continued to serve in World War II. For his actions in the war he was twice been awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and promoted to the rank of major. Despite his injuries, he went on to become a general and hold a variety of command posts. Early life Petrov was born in 1922 to a Russian peasant family in the village of Dmitrovka, located in present-day Ukraine. His father Stepan Petrov, who had fought on the side of the white guards during the civil war, was arrested when Vasily was a young child. His mother died when he was only three and his stepmother abandoned him and his siblings. A neighbor briefly took care of them before telling the two brothers to go an orphanage, which they later escaped from. His brother died while they were running away, but eventually Vasily made it to his stepmother's village and was taken care of. Soon after completing secondary school in 1939 he was drafted into the Red Army. After graduating from the Sumy Artillery School in 1941 he was assigned to the 92nd Separate Artillery Division. World War II Having been in combat since June 1941, Petrov fought on the Southern, Voronezh and 1st Ukrainian fronts. As deputy commander of the 1850th Anti-tank Artillery Regiment he participated in the battles for the Left-bank Ukraine and the Dniper. He saw heavy combat in the crossing of the Sula river on 14 September 1943, during which his unit faced a constant barrage of artillery fire and bombing while trying to launch three ferries but faced opposition were forced to confront thirteen tanks. After destroying seven German tanks and forcing them to expend their ammunition they were able to continue the advance while then enemy retreated and deployed machine gunners. When German gunners encircled a battery of his regiment, he and other Soviet soldiers participated in a two-hour-long battle against encircling forces. In the end, the battery was able to escape the encirclement and an estimated 90 German soldiers were killed. During battle on 23 September 1943 Petrov replaced his regimental commander and led his unit in becoming the first part of their brigade to cross the