Col. Semyon Ivanovich Bulanov Maj. Gen. David Markovich Barinov Maj. Gen. Ivan Prokofevich Repin Maj. Gen. Boris Semyonovich Maslov Maj. Gen. Pavel Nikolaievich Bibikov
Military unit
The 19th Guards Rifle Division was formed from the first formation of the 366th Rifle Division on March 17, 1942. At this time it was in the 52nd Army of Volkhov Front, taking part in the Lyuban Offensive Operation, which was planned to encircle and defeat the enemy forces laying siege to Leningrad. However, just at that time the German 18th Army was in the process of cutting off the Soviet Lyuban grouping in a pocket, and over the following months the division was nearly destroyed. Enough survivors emerged from the swamps in June and July to rebuild the unit, and it fought in the Second Sinyavino Offensive before it was shifted south into Kalinin Front to take part in the battle and siege of Velikiye Luki in December. In the summer of 1943 the 19th Guards fought in the battles for Smolensk, and won its first battle honor, "Rudnya". in September. During the offensive in the summer of 1944 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its successes in the fighting around Vitebsk. It was further honored in February, 1945, with the Order of Lenin for its role in the victories in East Prussia. In the summer the division was moved by rail with its 39th Army to the Far East and saw action in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August, winning its second battle honor, "Khingan", for its services. The division continued to see service well into the postwar era.
The division was officially raised to Guards status on March 17, 1942, although its sub-units would not be redesignated for a month or more. Its basic order of battle would eventually be:
Col. Semyon Ivanovich Bulanov remained in command of the division, which was part of 52nd Army in Volkhov Front.[2] This came just as the German 18th Army was in the process of cutting off and trapping parts of the 52nd and the 59th and all of 2nd Shock Army in the half-frozen wasteland south of Lyuban, and the division was already fighting for its existence. The encirclement was completed on March 20, but it was tenuous. On March 27 a gap was opened near the village of Miasnoi Bor, but it was only 3–5km wide. The Red Army forces in the salient continued to operate under these circumstances through April and into May.[3]
On May 12, Soviet intelligence indicated that 18th Army was about to attack again to cut the corridor. In light of this, orders came from the STAVKA to begin a phased withdrawal from the salient on May 14; when this proved impossible due to the depleted state of its forces, a full breakout and withdrawal was ordered on May 21.[4] Colonel Bulanov was recorded as missing in action on July 25. During June and July, individual soldiers and small parties of men of the 19th Guards found their way out of the pocket through the thinly-held German lines. They were formed up with survivors of the 25th Cavalry Division to rebuild the division.[5]
Sinyavino and Velikiye Luki
Col. David Markovich Barinov was assigned to command of the division on July 26; he would be promoted to major general on November 27. The Soviet high command was anticipating a German summer offensive near Leningrad (which was in fact being planned) and intended to forestall it with an offensive of its own. This attack would break the siege by penetrating the land corridor east of the city between the Neva and Naziia rivers, south of the village of Sinyavino. The "bottleneck" was heavily defended and fortified, and much of the terrain was peat bogs. The rebuilt 19th Guards was allocated to the 6th Guards Rifle Corps with the 3rd and 24th Guards and 265th Rifle Divisions, which formed the shock group of the 8th Army of Volkhov Front.[6]
The overall offensive began on August 19, with 55th Army attacking across the Neva from Leningrad. 8th Army began its attack at 0210 hrs on August 27, striking the junction of the German 227th and 223rd Infantry Divisions on a 15km front with about a four-to-one advantage in manpower. On the first day, the 24th Guards and 265th Divisions broke the boundary and forced their way across the Chernaya River. Early the next day the 19th Guards exploited the breakthrough, advancing 5 to 6km and reaching the southeastern approaches to Sinyavino by nightfall. This promising start was soon stymied as German reserves, including elements of 96th and 170th Infantry Divisions assembled at Sinyavino. On the 29th the Tiger tank made its inauspicious combat debut when four were committed south of Sinyavino Heights; two of them broke down almost immediately and a third had its engine overheat. By the 31st 6th Guards Corps had suffered such severe attrition against fierce and skillful German resistance that its penetration was contained. Over September 5–6, 19th and 24th Guards were withdrawn from the salient, although a General Staff report on September 15 stated that the first part of this withdrawal by the 19th was unauthorized.[7]
As of October 1 the division was in 2nd Shock Army,[8] but having been withdrawn it escaped the second encirclement and breakout of that Army in late September.[9] By November 1 the rebuilding division had been moved south to the reserves of Kalinin Front in accordance with a directive from the STAVKA to that Front's commander, Lt. Gen. M. A. Purkaev, on October 13:
"... 2. In the Front's reserve in the Soblago region - the 8th Estonian Corps, consisting of the corps headquarters, the 7th and 249th Estonian Rifle Divisions and the 19th Guards Rifle Division. The corps is beginning to move following the 5th Guards Rifle Corps from the Yegorevska region and the 19th Guards Rifle Division from the Volkhov Front. This corps will not be employed without the STAVKA's permission."[10]
At the beginning of December, as the battle for Velikiye Luki was underway, the 8th Corps was still in the reserves of Kalinin Front.[11] Within two weeks it was subordinated to 3rd Shock Army and committed to the battle to reduce the encircled garrison of Velikiye Luki, but most of this fighting was done by the two Estonian divisions while 19th Guards was attached to 5th Guards Rifle Corps as of December 12, holding off the German attempts to relieve the garrison. 61st Guards Rifle Regiment was subordinated to 9th Guards Rifle Division, while the rest of the 19th formed a second echelon behind 5th Guards Corps. On December 18 General Barinov left command of the division; he was replaced by Col. Ivan Dmitrievich Vasilev. The next German relief attempt began on December 20. Following an artillery preparation, five German tanks accompanied by infantry were seen near the village of Pupkova and were engaged by the 54th Guards Rifle Regiment and attached antitank guns, driving them back with the loss of one tank, but this was a diversion. By noon the main German attack had captured the village of Gromovo and was threatening the junction of two regiments of 9th Guards, so Maj. Gen. A. F. Beloborodov, commander of 5th Guards Corps, ordered the main forces of the 19th to back them up. By 1500 hrs. the junction had been forced, and the 61st Regiment, with the 6th Guards Machine Gun Battalion, was forced to hold the gap. By 1700 hrs. night was falling, and the division was able to report to General Beloborodov that: "The attacks are repulsed. The enemy has not advanced a single step."[12]
The German relief attempt was renewed on December 23 in the area around Pupkova. By the end of the day the gunners of the 19th, assisted by two ski brigades and the 36th Tank Brigade, had knocked out 17 panzers and driven the Germans back to their start line. On January 3, 1943, just before the next relief effort, the tip of the wedge driven by the German forces towards the city was defended in the first echelon by the 54th Guards Regiment and the 1193rd Regiment of the 360th Rifle Division, backed by that division's 1195th Regiment. A lapse in Soviet intelligence had failed to reveal newly-arrived enemy forces, which began another offensive on January 4. During this attack the 19th Guards held the perimeter of the wedge-shaped relief corridor from the west and northwest. The offensive made almost no gains after the 5th, and by the 12th had collapsed in exhaustion just 3km from the western outskirts of Velikiye Luki. The remnants of the garrison surrendered on January 17.[13]
Into Belarus
On January 27 Colonel Vasilev handed his command over to Col. Dmitrii Tikhonovich Zhukov, but that officer in turn was replaced on January 31 by Maj. Gen. Ivan Prokofevich Repin. By February 1, 8th Corps had been withdrawn into reserve, and the division remained in 3rd Shock Army directly under Army command. Later that month it was finally subordinated to 5th Guards Rifle Corps, where it would remain until July.[14] During these months the Corps gradually advanced westward in the direction of Novosokolniki, which involved a seesaw battle over several weeks for a German stronghold on the Ptahinski Hill, which finally ended on July 6.[15] On July 8 General Repin handed command to Col. Konstantin Mikhailovich Vyazemskii, but he was in turn replaced less than a week later by Maj. Gen. Boris Semyonovich Maslov.
During August the 5th Guards Corps, now with the 17th and 19th Guards Rifle Divisions, was transferred to the 39th Army, still in Kalinin Front.[16] The division would remain in this Corps and this Army for the duration of the war and into the postwar, sharing its combat path with the 17th Guards.[17] Following the liberation of Smolensk in September, Kalinin Front launched an offensive in the direction of Vitebsk. This began with an assault on the German positions at Rudnya, led by the 1st Penal Battalion and a mobile group from 43rd Army and followed by three divisions of 5th Guards Corps. The town was liberated on September 29[18] and the 19th Guards won its first battle honor:
"RUDNYA - ...19th Guards Rifle Division (Maj. Gen. Maslov, Boris Semyonovich)... By order of the Supreme High Command the 19th Guards Rifle Division is granted this name."[19]
In early November, Army Gen. A. I. Yeryomenko, commander of the recently renamed 1st Baltic Front, ordered the 43rd and 39th Armies to concentrate north of the Smolensk - Vitebsk railroad and highway in order to renew the advance on the latter city, which had slowed significantly over the past weeks. The assault was to open on November 8 against the positions of the German 206th and 14th Infantry Divisions. Although the divisions of the two Soviet armies were worn down to about half strength from earlier fighting, they still held a five-fold advantage in infantry, as well as superiority in armor and artillery. The offensive, in which the 19th Guards had a follow-on role, began as planned and opened a gap on a 10km front by the next day, and gained as much as 10km in depth over 10 days of fighting, before the German forces were able to rebuild a continuous front.[20] On December 5, General Maslov handed command of the division over to Col. Feoktist Dannilovich Maiboroda, but this proved temporary as Maslov returned to command on December 28.
During these command changes, 39th Army, this time with 5th Guards Corps in the lead, began another joint offensive with 43rd Army on December 19, again striking the defenses of 14th Infantry east of Vitebsk, on the Borok - Goriane sector, backed by nearly 100 tanks. The attack made very limited gains, and 5th Guards Corps was withdrawn and sent south of the Smolensk - Vyasma road on December 21, with the entire offensive shut down two days later. This redeployment was made in order to reinforce a new assault by 33rd Army on this sector, which began on December 23. 19th Guards was deployed immediately south of the Smolensk - Vitebsk railroad, with the immediate objective of the village of Ugliane, although the overall goal of the offensive was to link up with 4th Shock Army and encircle the German forces in Vitebsk. By December 26, 5th Guards Corps had advanced a mere 2–3km, leading to a caustic telegram from the STAVKA to the 1st Baltic Front, demanding greater progress. Despite this, 39th Army only managed to gain another 1–2km by December 28 before stalling completely, while 33rd Army soldiered on until January 6, 1944.[21]
The offensive was renewed on January 8. 5th Guards Corps formed 39th Army's shock group on a 6km-wide between the Smolensk - Vitebsk road and the village of Vaskova, facing the 206th Infantry Division. The division was in the first echelon, with 9th and 91st Guards Rifle Divisions, backed by two tank brigades and the 17th Guards in second echelon. By now these divisions were at less than 40 percent of authorized strength. Although the German forces were similarly weakened, 5th Guards Corps' attack floundered after an advance of only about 1km. Although 33rd and 5th Armies to the south made greater progress, it was at a heavy cost, and the offensive was finally shut down late in the month.[22] General Maslov left command of the division on January 19, and was replaced by Col. Samuil Ilich Tzukarev.
Through the rest of January and most of February 5 Guards Corps was in reserve in 39th Army, which had been reassigned to Western Front.[23] Near the end of the month it was ordered the Karamidy region astride the familiar Smolensk - Vitebsk road. A new offensive began on February 29, but just prior to its start the German command withdrew several units east of Vitebsk, including the 206th Infantry, back to shorter and more defensible lines. The STAVKA took this as a preliminary to a full withdrawal from the Vitebsk salient, and ordered a pursuit. This soon turned into yet another bloody frontal assault against fixed defenses. 19th Guards was committed on March 5, but by then it was clear that the operation was a failure, after gaining just several hundred metres (apart from the voluntary withdrawals) at heavy cost. This marked the end of major fighting on this sector until summer.[24] The day after, Colonel Tzukarev left command of the division; he was succeeded over the next 12 days by two other colonels, until Col. Pavel Nikonovich Bibikov took command on March 18. This officer would be promoted to major general's rank on April 20, 1945, and would remain in command for the duration of the war.
Operation Bagration
On April 24 Western Front was disbanded, and 39th Army was reassigned to the new 3rd Belorussian Front. In the buildup for the Soviet summer offensive, 5th Guards Rifle Corps was still holding ground east and northeast of the Vitebsk salient, occupied by LIII Army Corps of 3rd Panzer Army, which was now closely enveloped on three sides and exceptionally exposed to encirclement after the fighting of the previous fall and winter. 39th Army was tasked with completing that envelopment from the south, with 5th Guards Corps assigned to a deep penetration action, facing the 197th Infantry Division of VI Army Corps. The Corps was supported by the 28th Guards Tank Brigade, plus the 735th and 957th Self-Propelled Gun Regiments (SU-76s).[25] The offensive began on the afternoon of June 22, preceded by a 2-hour-and-20-minute combined artillery and air bombardment. After a successful initial advance, the second day began at 0600 hrs. with another hour of artillery preparation against the 197th Infantry, which allowed 5th Guards Corps to crash through its positions and begin advancing quickly to the west and southwest.[26]
The Corps soon reached the Luchesa River, being held on a 6km front by the 197th Division's 347th Infantry Regiment. By 0930 hrs. the river was crossed and a 60-tonne capacity bridge was soon installed, followed by 24-tonne and 9-tonne bridges as well. At this point 19th Guards came out of second echelon, crossed the Luchesa with the 28th Guards Tank Brigade and 735th SU Regiment, and began racing westward against light opposition. By 1300 hrs. all four divisions of 5th Guards Corps were attacking on the front line, and by 10 hours later had advanced up to 10km from the river. A counterattack by a regiment of 95th Infantry Division, supported by tanks, failed to slow the Soviet advance, and the remainder of the 197th was driven back to join LIII Corps within the salient. At 0600 hrs. on June 24 the 19th and 91st Guards Divisions broke through German VI Corps and continued driving west. 91st Guards reached the Dvina River north of Ostrovno, while the 19th reached the same river at Gnesdilovichi, meeting the advance elements of 43rd Army of 1st Baltic Front, cutting the corridor to Vitebsk, and helping to encircle elements of the 197th Infantry and the 4th Luftwaffe Field Division at Ostrovno. 35,000 German troops were now trapped in Vitebsk.[27]
During June 25 the division solidified its junction with 43rd Army as the German forces made frantic efforts to reopen the corridor. Hitler insisted that the 19th Guards' old foe, 206th Infantry Division, remain in the city as long as possible. This turned out to be very short indeed, as Vitebsk was cleared during June 26 and 27, while 19th Guards helped mop up the pocket at Ostrovno before marching westwards again.[28] By July 1 the 39th Army had returned to 1st Baltic Front,[29] and on July 2 the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Vitebsk.[30]
Baltic States and East Prussia
In the aftermath of Bagration, 1st Baltic Front began a pursuit operation into the Baltic states. By July 19 it had crossed the eastern border of Lithuania near Švenčionys. Two weeks later, as the rate of advance slowed due to logistics and increasing resistance, 19th Guards was in the vicinity of Jonava, and 39th Army was returned to 3rd Belorussian Front. On August 12 the division was recognized for its role in the liberation of Kaunas with the award of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd Degree.[31] By about August 15, when Army Group Center tried to plug the "Baltic Gap" in Operation Doppelkopf, the division was on the east bank of the Neman River, at the confluence of the Dubysa River, and remained in this area through September and into October, dealing with the German counter-offensive and bringing up replacements and supplies.[32]
In the plan for the Vistula-Oder Offensive, 39th Army was on the right flank of 3rd Belorussian Front, south of the Neman. 5th Guards Rifle Corps was in the first echelon with 94th Rifle Corps, facing a breakthrough sector 8km wide, with the immediate objective of destroying the enemy forces in the Pilkallen area, before advancing westward and capturing Tilsit by the end of the fifth day. The offensive began on January 12, 1945, and made immediate progress. However, on the 14th the Germans launched heavy counterattacks along the front while the Soviet advance ran into deeply echeloned defenses. 39th Army beat off as many as 15 such attacks by up to a battalion in strength, backed by 8-16 tanks apiece. The 124th Rifle Division, committed from second echelon, broke into Pilkallen and seized the railroad station, the only significant advance of the day.[33]
On January 17, 5th Guards Corps made a powerful attack in the center of its Army's front, broke through the Gumbinnen defense line, and by the end of the day had reached the line Kurschelen - Gross Schorellen - Spullen, having turned its main forces to the northeast. By this time it was clear that 39th Army was making the best progress among the armies of the Front, and the 1st Tank Corps was moved in to exploit. This Corps began its attack the following morning and made immediate progress; 5th Guards Corps advanced as much as 20km in its wake, captured Rautenburg, forced a crossing of the Inster River, and continued advancing to the northwest. This advance prepared the way for elements of 43rd Army to break into Tilsit in the afternoon of January 19. On January 22, 39th Army overall reached the Curonian Lagoon along the line of the Deime River, splitting the German defense. The defenders made use of prepared positions along this line to put up fierce resistance the following day, and it was not until 1900 hrs. that 5th Guards managed to force the river, gain a foothold on the west bank, and open the way to Königsberg.[34]
The right-flank forces of 39th Army continued their pursuit on January 27, reaching the near approaches to the Königsberg fortress and became involved in stubborn fighting. The Army commander, Lt. Gen. I. I. Liudnikov, wanted to isolate the city from the north as quickly as possible, and assigned his 5th Guards and 113rd Rifle Corps the task pursuing the enemy, reaching the Frisches Haff, and preventing the enemy from withdrawing to the west.[35] In February, 39th Army was assigned to the Zemland Group of Forces in 3rd Belorussian Front,[36] and on February 19 the 19th Guards was awarded the Order of Lenin for its service in the capture of Tapiau, Allenburg, Nordenburg, and other towns in East Prussia.[37]
Soviet invasion of Manchuria
The division remained in Samland until late April, when it was removed, with its Army, to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. By July 1 it was in Transbaikal Front, and remained there in early August when the Soviet offensive against the Japanese forces in Manchuria began.[38] In the preparation for the invasion, 39th Army was in the easternmost tip of Mongolia, and was to help lead the Front as the western pincer of a strategic encirclement of the Kwantung Army. The Army had the 61st Tank Division as part of its forward detachment. The offensive was launched on the morning of August 9.[39]
The attack began without artillery or air preparation, and no initial resistance was encountered on 39th Army's front. 5th Guards Rifle Corps advanced behind the 206th Tank Brigade south of the Halung-Arshaan and Wuchakou Fortified Regions, defended by two regiments of the Japanese 107th Infantry Division. The forward detachments gained 60km on this first day, but the rifle divisions were falling behind, so they formed new mobile detachments based on the supporting self-propelled artillery battalions. By this time 39th Army was advancing through the rugged Greater Khingan to cut the rail line at Solun and isolate the fortified regions. It was not until August 12 that 5th Guards Corps met any notable opposition when it ran into elements of the 107th Infantry attempting to withdraw by rail. These were dispersed and the road to Solun was reopened. That town was taken the next day. On August 14 the 19th Guards advanced along the railroad west of Solun against Japanese units retreating from Wuchakou which were also being pressured by 124th Rifle Division moving eastwards. The division remained in this area, guarding communications, until organized resistance ceased after August 18.[40] In September the division was awarded its second battle honor, "Khingan".
Members of the division committed the notorious Gegenmiao massacre during the Manchuria Operation, torturing and killing thousands of Japanese civilians in August 1945.
Postwar
The division ended the war with the full title of 19th Guards Rifle, Rudnya-Khingan, Order of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division (Russian: 19-я гвардейская стрелковая Рудненско-Хинганская ордена Ленина Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия). With the 5th Guards Rifle Corps and the 39th Army, the division remained in China after the end of the war, based at Antung.[41] The division continued to serve with the 39th Army of the Far Eastern Military District at Port Arthur postwar. By 1953 it was directly subordinated to the Army headquarters.[42] It was disbanded in September, 1955, as the Army withdrew from China.[43]
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The 119th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed three times.
The 251st Rifle Division was the seventh of a group of 10 regular rifle divisions formed from cadres of NKVD border and internal troops as standard Red Army rifle divisions, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District. It was largely based on what would become the shtat of July 29, 1941, with several variations. It served under command of 30th Army in an effort to recover Smolensk in late July and in the Dukhovshchina offensives in August and September, and was quickly reduced to a much-weakened state. It was largely encircled in the initial stages of Operation Typhoon but sufficient men and equipment escaped that it was spared being disbanded. In the following two and a half years the division slogged through the difficult and costly battles around Rzhev and Smolensk as part of 20th Army, and later 31st Army, of Western Front, including several abortive offensives toward Orsha and Vitebsk in late 1943 and early 1944. At the start of Operation Bagration in June the 251st was serving in the 39th Army of 1st Baltic Front and it won a battle honor for its part in the liberation of Vitebsk. Following this victory it advanced into the "Baltic Gap" that had formed between Army Groups North and Center, entering Lithuania and winning the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the fighting for Kaunas. The division was transferred to 43rd Army and then 4th Shock Army as the Front advanced on Riga, and two of its rifle regiments received decorations for the battles for the Latvian capital. In the first days of 1945 the 251st was reassigned yet again, to the 2nd Guards Army of 3rd Belorussian Front, and served under this Army for the duration of the war. It, and several of its subunits, received awards during the East Prussian campaign, and ended the war in East Prussia. After the war the 251st was moved into the Caucasus region, and was finally disbanded in early 1947.
The 306th Rifle Division began its combat path under unusual circumstances. It was partly formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division a few months after the German invasion, but the formation process appears to have been abandoned and the unit was never assigned to the front. A second formation began in April 1942 and was completed on June 16, after which it was sent to the Kalinin Front. Assigned to 43rd Army, it remained in that Army until November 1944, and in that Front until March 1945. It ended the war in Leningrad Front, helping to contain the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket. The division had compiled a solid record of service and won a unique battle honor by this time, and was disbanded shortly after hostilities ended.
The 4th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division on September 18, 1941, from the 1st formation of the 161st Rifle Division as one of the original Guards formations of the Red Army, in recognition of that division's participation in the successful counter-offensive that drove German forces out of their positions at Yelnya. The division then moved northwards to serve in the defense of Leningrad, as well as the early attempts to break that city's siege, but later was redeployed to the southern sector of the front as the crisis around Stalingrad developed. The 4th Guards took part in Operation Uranus which surrounded the German 6th Army in and around that city and then in the pursuit operations that drove the remaining German forces from the Caucasus steppes and the city of Rostov. The division remained in this sector for the duration of the war, fighting through the south of Ukraine through the summer of 1943 and winning the Order of the Red Banner in the process; it was further distinguished with the award of a battle honor in February, 1944. During April and May its advance was halted during the battles along the Dniestr River, but resumed in the August offensive that carried it and its 31st Guards Rifle Corps into the Balkans. It served extensively in the fighting through Hungary and in the outer encirclement during the siege of Budapest in the winter of 1944/45 and in mid-April was awarded a second battle honor for its part in the capture of Vienna. Despite this distinguished service the division was disbanded in 1946.
The 338th Rifle Division was first formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Penza. This formation took part in the early stages of the winter counteroffensive and made gains in the direction of Vyazma before being cut off behind German lines in February and largely destroyed by May. The division was formed again in June, once again in the Western Front, and proved itself a stolid and reliable unit in the often frustrating battles east and west of Smolensk and into the Baltic states over the next two and a half years. After taking part in the conquest of East Prussia in 1945, the 338th, along with the rest of its 39th Army, was railed all the way to the far east to join in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August.
The 2nd Training Motorized Rifle Division named after Alp Arslan is a division of the Turkmen Ground Forces. Its headquarters is at Tejen in the Ahal Region. It traces its history to the 357th Rifle Division formed in August 1941 in Sarapul in the then Udmurt Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as a standard Red Army rifle division. It notably served on the front lines of the 1st Baltic Front during the Second World War. Particularly, it helped lead the 3rd Shock Army in the battle and siege of Velikiye Luki. By late October 1945, the division had been transferred to the Turkmen SSR, where it was re-designated four times as Soviet Army unit. It remained in Turkmenistan even after the events of 1991 and serves as one of four units in its armed forces.
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The 371st Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as a standard Red Army rifle division, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Urals Military District. It was soon moved to the front lines near Moscow, and took part in the counteroffensive that began on December 5. It spent all of 1942 and the first months of 1943 in the fighting around the Rzhev salient, and after a short break served in the offensive that liberated Smolensk. After a winter of brutal combat on the approaches to Orsha and Vitebsk it was reassigned to 5th Army in 3rd Belorussian Front and took part in Operation Bagration, during which it was recognized for its role in the liberation of the latter city with a battle honor. The division was further distinguished in late July with the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Vilnius. In January 1945, it fought its way into East Prussia, and as that campaign was winding down it was moved across Asia, along with the rest of 5th Army, to take part in the campaign against the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria.
The 381st Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August, 1941 in the Urals Military District. It first served in the bitter fighting around the Rzhev salient, deep in the German rear in the 39th Army and came close to being completely destroyed in July, 1942. The division's survivors were moved north well away from the front for a major rebuilding. It returned to the front in October, joining the 3rd Shock Army for the battle and siege of Velikiye Luki. The division remained in this general area in western Russia until March, 1944, when it was moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and then to 21st Army north of Leningrad in April. It served in the offensive that drove Finland out of the war from June to September, winning a battle honor and the Order of the Red Banner in the process, before being transferred back to the Soviet-German front in October. As part of the 2nd Shock Army of 2nd Belorussian Front the 381st advanced across Poland and Pomerania during the winter of 1945, then joined its Front's advance across the Oder River into north-central Germany in late April, ending the war on the Baltic coast. In the summer of that year the division was disbanded.
The 9th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in November, 1941, based on the 1st formation of the 78th Rifle Division and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was first assigned to the 16th Army just before the start of the winter counteroffensive west of Moscow before being very briefly reassigned to the 33rd Army and then to the 43rd Army during the fighting around Rzhev. In May, 1942 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its services, one of the first rifle divisions to be so recognized. After partially rebuilding it was railed south to Southwestern Front to help meet the German summer offensive. It gave very creditable service in the 38th Army as an infantry division facing armored divisions but suffered significant losses before it was returned to the Moscow Military District in September. In November it was assigned to Kalinin Front and played an important role in the liberation of Velikiye Luki during the winter, primarily in helping to block several attempts to relieve the besieged city. It remained in that Front for most of the rest of the war, for the most part in both the 5th and 2nd Guards Rifle Corps, before moving with the latter to 6th Guards Army, where it remained for the duration, fighting through the Baltic states during the summer and autumn offensives of 1944. In March, 1945 it joined the Courland Group of Forces of Leningrad Front on the Baltic coast containing the German forces encircled in northwest Latvia. Following the German surrender it was disbanded later in 1945.
The 16th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 249th Rifle Division, and served in that role until well after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was in Kalinin Front when it was redesignated and remained in the northern half of the front throughout the war. In the summer it was assigned to Western Front's 30th Army to the north of the Rzhev salient and took part in the stubborn and costly struggle for the village of Polunino just east of that town in August. It returned to the fighting in March 1943 in the followup to the German evacuation of the salient, then was reassigned to the new 11th Guards Army, where it would remain for the duration of the war. During the summer offensive against the German-held salient around Oryol it assisted in the liberation of Karachev and received its name as an honorific. By December, after fighting through western Russia north of Smolensk the division was in 1st Baltic Front, attacking south towards Gorodok and winning the Order of the Red Banner in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to seize Vitebsk. By the start of the offensive against Army Group Center in the summer of 1944 the 16th Guards had been redeployed with its Army to the south of Vitebsk as part of 3rd Belorussian Front, where it would remain for the duration. Driving westward during Operation Bagration the division helped to liberate the key city of Orsha and then drove on towards Minsk. With its Army it advanced through Lithuania to the border with East Prussia, being further decorated with the Order of Suvorov for its crossing of the Neman River. As part of the East Prussian Offensive the 16th Guards entered that heavily-fortified region and helped gradually break the German resistance there, particularly at Insterburg and Königsberg, ending the fighting at Pillau. The 16th Guards remained in the Kaliningrad Oblast well after the war until finally disbanded in September 1960.
The 26th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 93rd Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It would soon after provide the headquarters cadre for the 8th Guards Rifle Corps. It was soon assigned, with its Corps, to 20th Army of Western Front and saw extensive fighting, while also suffering extensive casualties, in two campaigns against the German 9th Army in the Rzhev salient through the rest of 1942. The division, again with 8th Guards Corps, joined the 11th Guards Army when it was formed in April, 1943 and, apart from a brief reassignment in early 1944, remained under those commands for the duration of the war. During that summer the division took part in the liberation of Bryansk. By December, after fighting through western Russia north of Smolensk it was in 1st Baltic Front, attacking south towards Gorodok and won the name of that city as a battle honor. By the start of the offensive against Army Group Center in the summer of 1944 the 26th Guards had been redeployed with its Army to the south of Vitebsk as part of 3rd Belorussian Front, where it would remain for the duration. Driving westward during Operation Bagration the division advanced north of Orsha and then helped to seize a crossing over the Berezina River for which it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. It continued to advance through Lithuania to the border with East Prussia later that year. As part of the East Prussian Offensive the 26th Guards entered that heavily fortified region in the winter of 1945 and helped gradually break the German resistance there, particularly at Insterburg and Königsberg, winning the Order of Suvorov for its part in the battle for the former place. The division ended the war at Pillau. The 26th Guards remained in the Kaliningrad Oblast well after the war, becoming the 26th Guards Motorized Rifle Division in 1957 and not finally disbanded until 1989.
The 97th Rifle Division was thrice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. The first formation was based on the pre-September 1939 shtat and the division was initially intended to serve in the fortifications along the border with Poland in western Ukraine. Beginning on September 17, 1939 it took part in the invasion of eastern Poland and then was moved north to join the 7th Army and later the 13th Army on the Karelian Isthmus during the Winter War against Finland where it saw action in the latter part of the struggle. Following this it returned to western Ukraine where it was on the border at the time of the German invasion in June 1941. At considerable cost it was able to retreat back to the Dniepr River south of Kiev during July and was still there as part of 26th Army when the Soviet forces in eastern Ukraine were largely surrounded and wiped out in September. The division was finally disbanded in late December.
The 83rd Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 97th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Throughout its combat path it was considered a "sister" to the 84th Guards Rifle Division.
The 84th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 110th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Throughout its combat path it was considered a "sister" to the 83rd Guards Rifle Division.
The 91st Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 257th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It ended the war in the far east of Asia following the Soviet invasion of Manchuria with a highly distinguished record.
The 214th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It was moved to the fighting front to join 22nd Army in late June and took part in the fighting between Vitebsk and Nevel in early July, escaping from encirclement in the process, and then played a significant role in the liberation of Velikiye Luki, the first Soviet city to be retaken from the invading armies. In October it was again encircled near Vyasma during Operation Typhoon and was soon destroyed.
The 234th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed out-of-sequence in the Moscow Military District in October–November 1941. Due to having a large cadre of members of the Communist Party it was commonly referred to as the Yaroslavl Communist Division. After forming and briefly taking part in the rear defenses of Moscow in early 1942 it was assigned to 4th Shock Army in Kalinin Front. It became involved in the fighting near Velizh and remained in that region until nearly the end of the year. In March 1943 the division played a minor role in the follow-up to Army Group Center's evacuation of the Rzhev salient, and at the beginning of August liberated several strategic villages northeast of Smolensk, soon being rewarded with a battle honor. During the following autumn and winter it took part in the grinding battles around Vitebsk until it was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding and reorganization. When it returned to the front it was assigned to 47th Army in 1st Belorussian Front and took part in the later stages of Operation Bagration, advancing to the Vistula River near Warsaw. In September it received a second honorific for its part in the liberation of Praga. The 234th fought across Poland and into Pomerania early in 1945, winning two decorations in the process before being transferred to the 61st Army for the final offensive into northeast Germany. It was disbanded shortly thereafter.
The 235th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. As part of the 41st Rifle Corps it was soon sent to Northwestern Front to defend the distant approaches to Leningrad. Along with its Corps the division became part of the Luga Operational Group. After Novgorod was captured the Luga Group was largely encircled and had to fight its way north toward the city, suffering considerable losses in the process. The losses to the 235th were greater than those of some others and after officially carrying on in the reserves of Leningrad Front for some time the division was officially disbanded in late December.
References
Citations
↑ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Guards", Soviet Guards Rifle and Airborne Units 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IV, Nafziger, 1995, p. 50
↑ Sharp, "Red Hammers", Soviet Self-Propelled Artillery and Lend Lease Armor 1941 - 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. XII, Nafziger, 1998, pp. 47, 51. The 735th would continue to support 39th Army for the duration.
↑ Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Soviet Blitzkrieg, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2008, pp. 117-18, 121, 123
↑ Dunn, Jr., Soviet Blitzkrieg, pp. 104-05, 124-26
Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1964). Командование корпусного и дивизионного звена советских вооруженных сил периода Великой Отечественной войны 1941 – 1945 гг[Commanders of Corps and Divisions in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Frunze Military Academy. p.306–07.
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