| 167th Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941 (1st formation) 1942–1946 (2nd formation) |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch |  Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Decorations |  Order of the Red Banner (2; 2nd formation) |
| Battle honours | Sumy (2nd formation) Kiev (2nd formation) |
The 167th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army of the Soviet Union, formed twice.
The division was formed at Balashov in the Volga Military District in July 1940, under the command of Kombrig Vasily Rakovsky. Just before the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the June 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union, the division became part of the 63rd Rifle Corps. After the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the division and its corps were sent to the front, joining the 21st Army of the Reserve of the High Command (Stavka reserve). From 28 June, the 167th fought in defense of positions between Rogachev and Zhlobin. During the Battle of Smolensk the division repulsed German attempts to cross the Dnieper. Launching a counterattack, it advanced to the line of the Drut River and remained there until 12 August, when it was withdrawn to the army reserve. Relocated to the area of Dovsk, the division defended the latter as part of the 67th Rifle Corps, fighting in encirclement from 13 August. Due to its loss of contact with the 67th Rifle Corps, the 167th returned to the control of the 63rd Rifle Corps from 14 August. In the encirclement, Rakovsky decided to destroy heavy weapons and ordered the division to escape in groups. He led a group of 25 others out of the encirclement with their weapons in the sector of the 155th Rifle Division of the Bryansk Front on 18 September; about 2,500 men of the division escaped the encirclement. The units that escaped encirclement were disbanded and their men used to reinforce other units. [1]
On 16 December 1941, the 438th Rifle Division was formed in the Ural Military District. On 23 January 1942, it became the 167th Rifle Division (Second Formation). [2] The division was recreated at Ssucho Lug in February 1942 and fought near Bryansk and at Kursk. The division fought in the Battle of the Dnieper. Division personnel Major Fyodor Bruy, Junior lieutenant Alexander Bondarev, Sergeant major Arkady Chepelev, Senior sergeant Alexey Gabrusev, Sergeant Andrian Zhuravlev and Private Dmitry Yemelyanov, among others, were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for their actions during the battle. [3] The division fought in the Carpathians and in Hungary. The division was with the 1st Guards Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front in May 1945. The division ended the war with the honorifics "Sumy-Kiev Twice Red Banner". Postwar, the division moved to Chortkov with the 107th Rifle Corps, part of the 38th Army in the Carpathian Military District. The division and its corps were disbanded in May 1946. [4]
A rifle corps was a Soviet corps-level military formation during the mid-twentieth century. Rifle corps were made up of a varying number of rifle divisions, although the allocation of three rifle divisions to a rifle corps was common during the latter part of World War II.
The 78th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed in 1932, in Novosibirsk, in the Siberian Military District. After being used to provide cadres for new divisions, in September 1939 the division was reformed for the second time. In 1940 the division was transferred to Khabarovsk in the Far Eastern Front.
The 18th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Russian Civil War, Polish–Soviet War, Winter War and World War II. The division was formed a total of five times during this period.
The 6th Guards Airborne Division was a Red Army airborne division that fought as infantry during World War II.
The 36th Rifle Division was a division of the Red Army and then the Soviet Army. The division was formed in 1919 as the 36th Rifle Division and fought in the Russian Civil War and the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929. In 1937 it became the 36th Motorized Division. The division fought in the Battles of Khalkhin Gol. It was converted into a motor rifle division in 1940 and fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in World War II. Postwar, it became a rifle division again before its disbandment in 1956. The division spent almost its entire service in the Soviet Far East.
Dmitry Platonovich Onuprienko was a Soviet Army lieutenant general and Hero of the Soviet Union. Onuprienko fought during World War II at the Battle of Moscow, the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of Berlin. He commanded several corps after the war.
The 166th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army that fought in World War II, formed twice. The division's first formation was formed in 1939 and wiped out in the Vyazma Pocket in October 1941. In January 1942, the division reformed. It fought in the Battle of Demyansk, the Battle of Kursk, Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation, Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive, Polotsk Offensive, Šiauliai Offensive, Riga Offensive and the Battle of Memel. It was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
The 287th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II, formed twice. It was first formed in the summer of 1941 and destroyed in the Bryansk pocket in the fall of 1941. The division was reformed in late December, including elements of the first formation, and served throughout the war before being disbanded in the summer of 1945.
The 280th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II, formed twice. It was first formed in the summer of 1941 and destroyed in the Bryansk pocket in the fall of 1941. The division was reformed in late December, and served throughout the war before being disbanded in 1946.
The 277th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army and later the Soviet Army, formed twice.
The 269th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II.
The 260th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II, formed twice.
Vasily Stepanovich Rakovsky was a Soviet Army major general.
Nikolay Andreyevich Prishchepa was a Ukrainian Red Army major general killed in World War II.
The 84th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army before and during World War II.
The 213th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II after a motorized division of that same number was destroyed about seven weeks following the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
Filipp Feodosyevich Zhmachenko was a Soviet Army colonel general and Hero of the Soviet Union.
The 121st Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.
Andrey Yevseyevich Chekharin was a Red Army colonel killed in World War II.
Nikolay Aleksandrovich Nikitin was a Soviet Army lieutenant general who held corps and division command during World War II.
