KombrigPavel Ivanovich Abramidze Maj. Gen. Viktor Alekseevich Vizzhilin Col. Semyon Sergeevich Safronov Col. Nikolai Pavlovich Anisimov Col. Mikhail Vasilevich Romanovskii Maj. Gen. Konstantin Vasilevich Sychyov Col. Konstantin Stepanovich Popov
Military unit
The 130th Rifle Division was first formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in November 1939 in the Kiev Special Military District, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of the previous September. At the start of the German invasion in June 1941 it was still in that District, part of the reserve 55th Rifle Corps. It quickly took up positions in prepared defenses west of Mohyliv-Podilskyi as it was incorporated into Southern Front. It remained defending along the Dniestr River into mid-July when it began falling back toward the Dniepr, avoiding being trapped near Uman in the process. The division remained in positions along that river until after the encirclement and destruction of Southwestern Front east of Kyiv left it vulnerable to a renewed German drive toward the Sea of Azov. It was overrun on the open steppe in early October and soon disbanded.
The 3rd Moscow Communist Rifle Division began forming on October 24 from worker's regiments in that city, now under immediate threat following Operation Typhoon. Once formed a few weeks later it took up fortified positions in the Moscow Defence Zone until January 1942 when it was redesignated as the new 130th Rifle Division and moved north to join the 3rd Shock Army of Northwestern Front near Demyansk.
1st Formation
The division was formed at Mohyliv-Podilskyi in the Kiev Special Military District in early November 1939. Kombrig Pavel Ivanovich Abramidze was soon assigned to command, but he left this post on January 1, 1940, to take command of the 72nd Rifle Division and was replaced by Kombrig Viktor Alekseevich Vizzhilin; this officer would have his rank modernized to that of major general on June 4. At the time of the German invasion on June 22, 1941, the division's order of battle was as follows:
The division had been part of 55th Rifle Corps since April, along with the 169th and 189th Rifle Divisions. On the day of the invasion Kiev Special District was redesignated as Southwestern Front, and the 130th and 169th received orders to occupy the 12th Mogilev-Podolsk Fortified Region. On June 25 it was assigned to the newly-formed Southern Front, and within days the 55th Corps, minus the 189th Division, came under command of 18th Army.[2]
Battle of Uman
Positions of the 130th along the Dniepr in August
By July 13 the 55th Corps was still holding a front along the Dniestr northwest and southeast of Mohyliv-Podilskyi. The two divisions of the Corps were under attack from the Romanian 3rd Army and were soon forced to fall back to the southeast; the Corps was located roughly halfway between its former location and the city of Kodyma by July 23 and then beyond that place by the end of the month.[3] General Vizzhilin left the division on July 25, being replaced by Col. Semyon Sergeevich Safronov. Vizzhilin was briefly placed at disposal of the main personnel directorate before being made deputy commander of 1st Guards Rifle Corps. After serving in several staff positions he was given command of the 288th Rifle Division in March 1942 but was badly wounded in May and never returned to the front.
The retreat from the Dniestr placed 55th Corps south of the Axis forces that were proceeding to envelop the 6th and 12th Armies to the north in the Uman area. This was completed on August 1, and over the following days the 130th and 169th attempted to aid the breakout of the encircled Soviet forces, during which the commander of the latter was mortally wounded.[4]
Retreat through south Ukraine
By mid-August the 130th had taken up positions on the east bank of the lower Dniepr between Hornostaivka and Velyka Lepetykha. Southern Front largely escaped the debacle suffered by Southwestern Front east of Kiyv in September and the 130th continued to retreat with 18th Army during this period. Following this victory the OKH ordered Army Group South to attack simultaneously toward Kharkiv, the Donbas, and Rostov-on-Don, with its left wing forces, while the right wing encircled Southern Front and invaded the Crimea. 1st Panzer Army attacked off the march from the Poltava area and soon smashed the defenses of 12th Army before exploiting toward Melitopol, encircling six divisions of the Front's 18th and 6th Armies on October 7. Over the next three days elements of the 18th were able to break out toward Taganrog, pursued by panzers which halted on the Mius River to regroup on October 13.[5] During this fighting the 130th was effectively overrun and scattered.[6] Colonel Safronov was lost in the chaos on October 16, being replaced by Lt. Col. Fyodor Andreevich Kovalev. This officer was killed in action on October 20, and while some individuals and small groups managed to escape the division was written off the same day.
3rd Moscow Communist Rifle Division
Plaque to formation of 3rd Moscow Communist Rifle Division, 6 Chapaevskii Lane
This division, also called the "Moscow Worker's Division", was formed beginning on October 24 from 9,753 men and women from the city's worker's defense battalions that had begun forming in July. These personnel included 3,173 members of the Communist Party and 3,564 Komsomols, making up a full 70 percent, higher than nearly any other Soviet division formed during the war.[7] The armies that had been defending west of Moscow had been largely destroyed during Operation Typhoon earlier in the month and the capital was under direct threat. Col. Andrei Ivanovich Romashenko was given command the day it began forming; he had been serving as commandant of the 35th Fortified Region of the Moscow Military District since May. The division's order of battle was as follows:
The division was declared as "ready for the front" on October 28 while in fact it was still forming up. It was recorded on this date as having just 6,990 rifles, 40 submachine guns, 479 machine guns of all types, and 44 artillery pieces of all calibres.[9]
Battle of Moscow
Two further Communist rifle divisions, the 4th and 5th, were formed at the same time from the district "destruction" battalions that had been formed in June/July, and the 2nd Moscow Rifle Division was created from mobilized Muscovites. They were moved as soon as possible to the suburbs, establishing positions along the most vital routes into the city: the Kyiv and Minsk highways and the Kaluga, Volokolamsk, Leningrad, and Dmitrov roads. A great deal of effort was put into construction of defensive works, as well as front-line reconnaissance and combat.[10] On November 18 Colonel Romashenko left the 3rd Communist, being replaced by Col. Nikolai Pavlovich Anisimov. Romashenko was given command of the 74th Fortified Region in the Caucasus and was slated to take command of the 318th Rifle Division in August but was forced to escape from encirclement, after which he was arrested by the NKVD and condemned to death by a tribunal, a sentence which was carried out on December 15. Anisimov had been serving as chief of staff of 31st Army.
Postwar
When the shooting stopped the men and women of the division shared the full title of 130th Rifle, Taganrog, Order of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division. (Russian: 130-я стрелковая Таганрогская ордена Ленина Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия.) Shortly after this the division began moving back to Soviet territory. In July, Colonel Popov left the division to take up several positions in the educational establishment. As of July 1, 1946, it was still in 128th Corps, which was now part of 3rd Army in Byelorussian Military District. It was at Slonim on February 18, 1947, when it was disbanded with the rest of the Corps.[11]
References
Citations
↑Charles C. Sharp, "Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. VIII, Nafziger, 1996, p. 66
↑Sharp, "Red Volunteers", Soviet Militia Units, Rifle and Ski Brigades 1941 - 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. XI, Nafziger, 1996, p. 114
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