Rank: Lieutenant Colonel. Type of troops: Armored and mechanized troops. Division: 10th Panzer Division. My great-grandfather, Dmitry Petrovich Grigoriev, was born on January 5, 1920 in the village of Vymets (now it does not exist, was on the territory of the Dukhovshchinsky district of the Smolensk region) in a peasant family. Since 1927 he lived in the city of Yartsevo. He graduated from seven classes of school, after which he worked as a laboratory assistant at a control and seed station. In 1939, Grigoriev graduated from the Nikolo-Pogorelovsky Agricultural College. In 1940 he was called up to serve in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. In 1941, Grigoriev graduated from a tank technical school in Kiev, with the rank of lieutenant he served in the 10th tank division stationed in the Lithuanian SSR. From the first day of the Great Patriotic War, on its fronts, on June 22, 1941, he took part in a battle with German troops on the Neman River. Grigoriev's tank platoon fought 20 enemy tanks. Grigoriev personally destroyed one of the tanks, but his tank was also knocked out. With battles, he retreated to the east, took part in defensive battles for Vilnius, Molodechno, Minsk, Orsha, the Battle of Smolensk, battles at the Solovyov Ferry. In the fall of 1941, Lieutenant Dmitry Grigoriev, who underwent special training, was thrown into the enemy's rear at the head of a sabotage and reconnaissance group. A month later, the group turned into a partisan detachment named after Furmanov, which committed a large number of sabotage actions in the Dukhovshchinsky, Prechistensky and Baturinsky districts of the Smolensk region. In March 1943, Grigoriev's detachment merged with the Red Army. In the autumn of the same year, he graduated from advanced training courses for the officers of the Western Front, after which, with the rank of captain, he was appointed commander of a company of machine gunners of the 250th rifle regiment of the 82nd rifle division of the 3rd army of the 1st Belorussian Front. He distinguished himself during the liberation of the Byelorussian SSR. In June 1944, Grigoriev led an airborne group from his platoon and 20 76-mm self-propelled guns. At the beginning of the Soviet offensive during Operation Bagration, the group broke away from the division's subunits and went into a raid on the enemy rear in order to capture the bridge across the Berezina. On the way to the bridge, the group defeated 18 German garrisons. The bridge, located near the city of Bobruisk, Mogilev region, was successfully captured on June 29, and was held by Grigoriev's group for 32 hours. In the battles for the bridge, the group repelled several fierce enemy counterattacks, destroying 420 enemy soldiers and officers, 65 motorcycles, 3 tankettes, 12 machine guns. For this operation, Grigoriev was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. On July 2, without an order from the command, Grigoriev with a group made a rush to Minsk and seized the freight station of the railway, freeing a large number of Soviet citizens who were being hijacked to work in Germany, and held this station until the approach of Soviet troops. For this throw, Grigoriev received a reprimand from the command, as he acted without his knowledge. In the future, Grigoriev took part in the liberation of Poland, forcing the Western Bug, Vistula and Oder. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945 for "exemplary fulfillment of command assignments and displayed courage and heroism in battles against the German invaders" Captain Dmitry Grigoriev was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal numbered 8057 Took part in the capture of Berlin. He left his painting on the wall of the Reichstag. In 1946, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, Grigoriev was transferred to the reserve. He lived in the city of Yartsevo, Smolensk region, worked as director of the Yartsevo bakery, then director of a nursing home. In 1950 he joined the CPSU (b). Participated in social work. He died on January 3, 1985, and was buried at the Khatyn cemetery in Yartsevo. He was also awarded the Orders of the Red Banner, Alexander Nevsky, the First Class of the Patriotic War, as well as a number of medals.