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.

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.

According to Petrov's official nomination sheet for the title Hero of the Soviet Union, he lost his hands on 1 October 1943 during the battle for the Burkhin Bridgehead on the right bank of the river, during which he helped two batteries direct counter-fire that resulted in the destruction of four enemy tanks and two mortars.

A German projectile hit Petrov and inflicted irreparable damage to both of his hands, but he refused to be evacuated to a hospital until the counterattack ceased.

Petrov described the incident to the press in his later years, saying that during the battle for a bridgehead in autumn he was hit by a shell around midnight; his colleagues had at one point believed him to be dead and ordered a search for his remains, but found him alive in the morning.

While in Moscow he became very depressed and contemplated suicide, but eventually came to terms with his condition and practiced writing, having received many letters of encouragement from other soldiers.

[1] Due to the extent of his injuries he remained in the hospital for over a months and was offered a civilian job as the deputy party secretary in a district of Moscow, but he requested to return to the army.