212th Rifle Division

Last updated
212th Motorized Division (March 1941 - July 29, 1941)
212th Rifle Division (July 29, 1941 - December 8, 1942)
212th Rifle Division (June 8, 1943 - July 1945)
Active1941–1945
CountryFlag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
Branch Red Army
TypeInfantry
RoleMotorized Infantry
SizeDivision
Engagements Operation Barbarossa
Battle of Brody (1941)
Battle of Kiev (1941)
Case Blue
Battle of Stalingrad
Kotluban Offensives
Operation Kutuzov
Battle of Smolensk (1943)
Orsha offensives (1943)
Operation Bagration
Lublin–Brest offensive
Riga offensive (1944)
Vistula–Oder offensive
Operation Solstice
Battle of Berlin
Decorations Order of Red Banner.svg   Order of the Red Banner (2nd formation)
Order of Suvorov 2nd class.png   Order of Suvorov (2nd formation)
Order Kutuzov 2.png   Order of Kutuzov (2nd formation)
Battle honours Krichev (2nd formation)
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Maj. Gen. of Technical Troops Sergei Vasilevich Baranov
Col. Vasilii Vladimirovich Bardadin
Col. Ivan Maksimovich Shutov
Col. Georgii Ivanovich Anisimov
Col. Andrei Prokopevich Maltsev
Col. Vladimir Georgievich Kuchinev
Col. Sergei Mikhailovich Maslov

The 212th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was badly damaged and then redesignated about five weeks after the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

Contents

After redesignation the division was nearly trapped in the Kiev encirclement but managed to escape. It then moved to Bryansk Front and served under several army commands during the winter and spring of 1942 until it was caught up in the German summer offensive. It was encircled with most of 40th Army and took heavy losses before its remnants managed to cross to the east bank of the Don River. What remained of the division was moved to the Volga Military District for rebuilding, after which it was assigned to 66th Army north of Stalingrad. It was again badly depleted in the October battle south of Kotluban and was soon after disbanded.

A new 212th Rifle Division was formed in June 1943 based on two rifle brigades in 50th Army of Western Front. It was soon involved in a flanking role in the operation to liberate the Oryol salient after which it joined the advance south of Smolensk, winning a battle honor, and later in fighting in support of the efforts of Western Front to seize Orsha as part of 10th Army. After nearly two months in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command it was redeployed to 61st Army, south of the Pripyat Marshes; it remained in this Army for the duration of the war. In the later stages of the destruction of Army Group Center it advanced through the western Pripyat, earning the Order of the Red Banner in the process while all four of its regiments soon won the same decoration for helping to retake the city and fortress of Brest. Along with its Army it was again moved to the Reserve and redeployed, now to the Baltic States, gaining a further decoration in the fighting for Riga. It was in 80th Rifle Corps in 61st Army of 1st Belorussian Front during the advance through Poland and into Germany in early 1945, largely in a secondary role but winning further distinctions on the way. It ended its combat path along the Elbe River. Despite its outstanding record it was disbanded within months of the German surrender.

212th Motorized Division

The division began forming in March 1941 as part of the prewar buildup of Soviet mechanized forces in the Kiev Special Military District as part of the 15th Mechanized Corps. Once formed its order of battle was as follows:

Maj. Gen. of Technical Troops Sergei Vasilevich Baranov was appointed to command on March 11. The 131st Regiment was equipped with four battalions totalling 220 light tanks, either T-26 or BT models; the 292nd Reconnaissance Battalion also contained a light tank company of 17 vehicles. The 655th had only one battalion of medium guns, but worse, like most of the "motorized" divisions, the 212th was almost entirely lacking in trucks and tractors, so the guns it had could only be moved by improvised means. [2]

Battle of Brody. Note position of 15th Mechanized Corps. Battle of Dubno.svg
Battle of Brody. Note position of 15th Mechanized Corps.

At the start of the German invasion the Kiev District was redesignated as Southwestern Front and the 15th Mechanized Corps, which also contained the 10th and 37th Tank Divisions plus the 25th Motorcycle Regiment, was under command of 6th Army. [3] It was deployed in the Army's rear generally east and west of Brody. [4]

Battle of Brody

By the second day of the German invasion the XXXXVIII Motorized Corps' 11th Panzer Division was driving east toward Dubno, northeast of Brody, but was coming under attack from the 37th Tank Division in the area of Kozin. The 212th's mobility issues were preventing it from keeping up with the 37th, while the 10th Tank Division was engaged with rear elements of 11th Panzer near Lopatyn; in fighting at Radekhov it claimed 20 panzers knocked out for the loss of 26 of its own. By the 27th the division had managed to link up with 10th Tanks east of Lopatyn, facing the flanking forces of the XXXXIV Army Corps as 37th Tanks moved northwest from Brody in support. [5] As of July 1 the remnants of 15th Mechanized Corps had left 6th Army and had come under direct command of the Front, [6] and had retreated to positions about 30 km south of Brody. [7]

By July 10 the Corps was back under 6th Army [8] and was falling back toward Berdychiv which marked the limit of 11th Panzer's advance by the end of July 14. During the next week the Corps was forced away from the Army, which was in the process of being encircled in what became the Uman pocket, [9] and the 212th was reassigned to 26th Army, still in Southwestern Front. [10] On July 29 the fiction of it being a motorized division was finally dropped and it was officially redesignated as the 212th Rifle Division. [11] On the same day General Baranov was taken prisoner. He would be executed while in German captivity in February 1942.

1st Formation

Under the circumstances, in full retreat toward the Dniepr River after taking heavy casualties in the border battles, the division's order of battle was largely theoretical until it had a chance to thoroughly reorganize but eventually was as follows:

Col. Vasilii Vladimirovich Bardadin was appointed to command on the day the division was redesignated. Two days later it was attempting to hold positions south of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi against the 60th Motorized Division but by the end of August 11 it had fallen back to southeast Cherkasy along the Tiasmyn River. [13]

Battle of Kiev

The 38th Army was added to the Front in August and by the start of September the 212th had been moved to that command. [14] At this point, as the largest part of the Front was being threatened with encirclement the main task of 38th Army was to contain the bridgehead over the Dniepr held by 1st Panzer Group at Kremenchuk. The division was on the northwest facing of this position, west of Kozelshchyna. The panzer group attacked northward on September 11 and soon broke through the Soviet lines, driving toward a linkup with 2nd Panzer Group which was pushing south. The 212th was forced off to the northwest across the Sula River near Orzhytsia. This placed the division inside the rapidly forming pocket, [15] but along with the 297th Rifle Division it was moved to the Front reserves [16] and managed to slip out to join what remained of the Front's forces as part of 21st Army in the Kursk area in October. [17]

Case Blue and Battle of Stalingrad

On October 6 Colonel Bardadin left command of the 212th and was replaced by Col. Ivan Maksimovich Shutov. The division was reassigned in November to 3rd Army, still in Southwestern Front. [18] During December this Army was moved to Bryansk Front, and the division remained in this Army as it rebuilt until it was moved to 13th Army in March. The next month it was moved again, now to 40th Army in the same Front. It was still under these commands when the German summer offensive began in late June. [19]

The 212th was positioned south of Tim and when the attack began on June 28. Following a 30-minute artillery preparation and accompanied by strong air support, the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps struck at the boundary between the 160th and the 121st Rifle Division, driving the latter off to the north. XXXXVIII Panzer Corps fielded roughly 325 tanks while 40th Army had only about 250 in its entire sector. The 160th and the 212th to its south faced the 24th Panzer Division with the Großdeutschland Division escheloned to its left which jointly destroyed their defenses before advancing 16 km to the Tim River where the 24th Panzer seized a railroad bridge intact. [20]

40th Army's commander, Maj. Gen. M. A. Parsegov, reported that his divisions had suffered "significant losses" but "had not lost their combat capabilities" while urgently requesting assistance from his Front commander, Lt. Gen. F. I. Golikov. On June 29, despite intermittent heavy rains and thunderstorms the XXIV Panzer Corps struck the 160th and 121st along the Kshen River, leaving the latter in complete disarray. This was already nearly 30 km behind the lines held by the Army when the offensive began. By now the 212th, along with the 160th, 45th and 62nd Rifle Divisions, had been loosely pocketed west of Stary Oskol between the XXXXVIII Panzer and the VIII Army Corps. [21]

By late on July 1 the situation facing 40th Army and its neighbors to the south was producing consternation within the STAVKA. Overnight the Front headquarters belatedly authorized Parsegov to pull his left wing back to the Olym and Oskol Rivers but this had to be carried out "under conditions of the complete absence of control on the part of 40th Army's commander and staff, who by this time were already situated in Voronezh." Early on July 3 Parsegov was replaced by Lt. Gen. M. M. Popov who scrambled to create a defense for the city. During July 4 the 212th made its way to the Don River south of Voronezh, moving perilously between the spearheads of the two panzer corps as further inclement weather hampered German operations. While as many as half of 40th Army's personnel successfully reached and crossed the Don the 212th, 45th and 62nd were among those that no longer existed as organized combat formations. [22] On July 15 Colonel Shutov left command of the division and was replaced by Col. Georgii Ivanovich Anisimov. By the beginning of August the remnants of the three divisions, along with the 141st Rifle Brigade, which had also been caught in the pocket, were moved to the Volga Military District in and around Saratov for rebuilding. [23] As it rebuilt the personnel of the division were noted as being mostly of Kazakh, Uzbek, Tatar and Ukrainian nationalities of the year groups from 1899 to 1923, a highly diverse cadre. [24]

Fourth Kotluban Offensive

One month later the 212th and 62nd Divisions had been assigned to the 10th Reserve Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, joining the 252nd and 277th Rifle Divisions. [25] The German 6th Army had reached Stalingrad on August 23 by driving a narrow corridor from the Don to the Volga and fighting for the city itself began on September 14. On September 29 Stalin dispatched Army Gen. G. K. Zhukov and Col. Gen. A. M. Vasilevskii to examine the possibilities of a strategic counteroffensive in the area. Zhukov was specifically directed to Don Front, commanded by Lt. Gen. K. K. Rokossovskii, who confirmed that his Front lacked the strength necessary to mount a credible counteroffensive. In response, on October 1 the STAVKA issued orders to reinforce the Front with seven fresh rifle divisions from 10th Reserve Army, including the 212th. They were slated to arrive between October 7–14. [26]

At this time the 62nd Army, isolated within the city, was under extremely heavy pressure from German forces pushing into the factory district. Beginning on September 3 the forces of Stalingrad Front north of the Don-Volga corridor had launched several offensives based on Kotluban in an effort to, ideally, relieve the siege of 62nd Army or, at minimum, divert German forces away from the city. These were directed largely against the XIV Panzer Corps which had originally created the corridor. By October Don Front had taken over this sector and Rokossovskii was preparing for a further effort to break the corridor, what has become known as the Fourth Kotluban Offensive. [27] After leaving the Reserve the 212th was assigned to 66th Army. [28]

The plan for the offensive called for a shock group deployed on the right (west) flank of 66th Army and the left flank of 24th Army to penetrate the German defenses in the 15 km-wide sector north and northeast of Kuzmichi and to advance southeastward toward Orlovka. It was to begin on October 20 and achieve its objective five days later. The 66th Army shock group consisted of the 212th, 62nd, 252nd and 226th Rifle Divisions from the Reserve, supported by the full-strength 91st, 121st and 64th Tank Brigades, each with a complement of roughly 53 tanks. The first three divisions, each with a tank brigade in direct support, formed the first echelon and would attack from the upper reaches of the Sukhaya Mechetka Balka to northeast of Kuzmichi, with the 226th in second echelon. The immediate objectives were Hills 112.7 and 139.7 and, ultimately, Orlovka. Fire support consisted of 664 guns and mortars and Guards-mortars from 12 regiments. The Army's remaining nine rifle divisions were to provide supporting attacks, but were all severely understrength. In light of earlier costly failures Rokossovskii later admitted that he expected the assault to achieve very little:

We were given permission to use seven infantry divisions from the GHQ Reserve for the operation but received no additional supporting means in the shape of artillery, armour, or aircraft. The chances of success were remote, especially as the enemy had well fortified positions. Since the main objective in the operation fell to 66th Army, I had a conversation with Malinovsky, who begged me not to commit the seven new divisions to action. "We'll only waste them," he said... Happily only two [actually four] of the promised seven new divisions arrived by the deadline... As expected, the attack failed. The armies of the Don Front were unable to penetrate the enemy's defenses...

At the end of October 21 the 212th was reported as attacking south of Hill 130.7, having advanced 300m from its jumping-off positions after encountering heavy fire. The next day the 252nd captured the region of the Motor Tractor Station 8 km northeast of Kuzmichi and this success allowed the 212th to advance to Hill 128.9 by 1400 hours. On October 23 the division advanced 1,000m from its jumping-off positions and began fighting for the northwestern slopes of Hill 139.7. On the following day the 226th Division was committed in an increasingly futile effort to maintain the offensive. By October 27 it was clear to both sides that it had run its course and although the STAVKA claimed German casualties of up to 7,000 personnel and 57 tanks the formerly fresh rifle divisions were no longer combat-effective. [29]

In the preparations for Operation Uranus, which would finally encircle the German 6th Army, Rokossovskii ordered seven rifle divisions, including the 212th, to be disbanded by November 2, with their remaining soldiers to be redistributed among the 66th and 24th Armies. [30] The division was officially disbanded on December 8. Colonel Anisimov was moved to command of the 252nd. He would go on to command several rifle corps during the war and gained the rank of lieutenant general in February 1944.

2nd Formation

A new 212th Rifle Division was formed on June 8, 1943 in 50th Army of Western Front, based on the 125th Rifle Brigade and the 2nd formation of the 4th Rifle Brigade. [31]

4th Rifle Brigade

The 1st formation of this brigade was one of a small number of pre-war rifle brigades and was part of the 1st Red Banner Army of Far Eastern Front at the time of the German invasion. [32] It was soon disbanded to help bring the rifle divisions and fortified regions in this front up to full strength. [33]

The 2nd formation began in October and November in the Fergana region of Uzbekistan in the Central Asia Military District as an "Uzbek" national unit. [34] Before it completed forming it was moved by rail to the Moscow Military District where it completed forming for about a month in the Moscow Defence Zone before going to the front in January 1942. [35] In February it was assigned to the 5th Guards Rifle Corps in the reserves of Western Front and on March 17, along with the rest of the Corps it entered the front lines of the 16th Army in that Front. [36] The 4th Brigade remained in this Army for slightly more than a year, from August 11 onward usually as a separate brigade directly under Army command. On April 19, 1943 it was transferred to the 50th Army where it helped form the new 212th Rifle Division. [37]

125th Rifle Brigade

This brigade began forming in December 1941 in the Urals Military District but it was not considered complete until May 1942 when it was assigned to Western Front. [38] Upon arrival it joined the 7th Guards Rifle Corps in the Front reserves. [39] After two months in these reserves the brigade went to the 33rd Army and remained under that command either as a separate unit or assigned to 7th Guards Corps until January 1943 when it returned to the Front reserves. In February the 125th joined the 8th Guards Rifle Corps, initially as part of 10th Army, [40] but between February 28 and March 3 it was transferred to 16th Army. This Army had been ordered to carry out an offensive toward Zhizdra and Oryol from the north and the 8th Guards Corps (11th, 31st Guards and 217th Rifle Divisions, 125th and 128th Rifle Brigades, plus three tank brigades) now formed its shock group, attacking southward at dawn on March 4 from a 6 km-wide bridgehead over the Yasenka River, 11 km north of Zhizdra. It faced forces of the 5th Panzer, 208th and 211th Infantry, and a few days later elements of 9th Panzer Division as well. In four days of intense fighting the Corps managed to gain only 3–4 km at a heavy cost in casualties. After a regrouping the offensive was renewed on March 7 with even less success and the entire effort was suspended on March 10. The 125th Brigade began in the Corps' second echelon but also suffered significant losses following the regrouping. [41] On April 19, after leaving 8th Guards Corps, the brigade was reassigned to 50th Army, joining the 4th Brigade. [42]

Once the division completed forming its order of battle, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of December 10, 1942, was as follows:

Col. Andrei Prokopevich Maltsev, who had been in command of 4th Brigade, took command of the division on the day it officially formed. Between the two brigades there were eight rifle battalions, two mortar battalions and two artillery battalions to provide personnel and equipment so the formation proceeded quickly. [44]

Operation Kutuzov

Map of Operation Kutuzov. Note position of 50th Army. Operation Kutusov (map).jpg
Map of Operation Kutuzov. Note position of 50th Army.

50th Army was located well to the north of the German summer offensive and played no direct role in it, but once the forces of German 9th Army had been stymied on the north face of the salient the STAVKA ordered the Bryansk Front and the southern armies of Western Front to attack the north face of the German salient around Oryol. 50th Army's main mission was to secure the right (north) flank of 11th Guards Army, but also to launch an attack of its own on its left flank on a 6 km-wide front with the 212th and 324th Rifle Divisions toward the Kolpino–marker 199.9 sector. This effort would be supported by the fire of three artillery regiments, an artillery battalion, a mortar battalion and two Guards-mortar regiments. The attack would be supported by the 64th Rifle Division and the objective was to encircle and destroy units of the 134th Infantry Division and subsequently to advance toward Zikeevo and capture it. [45]

The assault began on the morning of July 13 following a short artillery preparation. By 0700 hours both the 212th and 324th had forced the Zhizdra River and broken into the German trenches north of Rechitsa but due to an insufficient density of artillery (21 tubes per kilometre of front) they did not manage to break through the German defense. This was based on an organized fire plan and a well-developed system of wire obstacles and minefields. The commander of 50th Army, Lt. Gen. I. V. Boldin, called off further attacks in favor of a regrouping along a narrower sector. The following day the main forces of the two divisions concentrated on a 2.5 km-wide front, now backed by the main mass of the Army's artillery and, following a 30-minute preparation, broke through east of Rechitsa. The 64th Rifle Division made a supporting attack and on July 15 the 49th Rifle Division was committed into the breach. Two days later these were joined by the 413th Rifle Division in a general offensive. This continued despite German resistance and difficult conditions of near-roadless wooded and swampy terrain until July 20 when the Army began to consolidate along the line Paliki–Nemetskii–Alekseevskii. [46]

Early in August 50th Army was transferred to Bryansk Front. As Operation Kutuzov continued the important center of Karachev was liberated on August 15. The 50th and 11th Armies attacking the morning of August 14 as it became apparent that the German Zhizdra grouping was finally pulling back. By August 18 the 50th had reached a line from Yasenok to Inochka to Orlya. [47] Later in the month the 212th returned to Western Front, now as part of 10th Army. [48]

Into Western Russia and Belarus

This Army had already begun probing attacks on August 6 in preparation for the Front's offensive toward Smolensk. 10th Army was under-resourced with limited artillery and armor support but had achieved a surprise advance of 5 km on August 10 near Kirov. The Front commander, Col. Gen. V. D. Sokolovskii, decided to reinforce this success although it would take several days to do so. By the time the 212th arrived this brief opportunity had disappeared and 10th Army was ordered to conduct intensive maskirovka operations between August 23 and 27 in preparation for the next stage of the offensive. This began the following day and the Army was limited to holding attacks in support. [49]

By mid-September, as Western Front was closing in on Smolensk, 10th Army, on its left (south) flank, was advancing toward the Desna River, still mounting supporting attacks to assist the main effort and Bryansk Front's advance on Roslavl. Smolensk was liberated on September 25 and on the same day Roslavl was abandoned to 10th Army. [50] As the summer offensive rolled into the autumn, on September 29 the division forced a crossing of the Sozh River with the 385th Rifle Division and liberated the town of Krichev, for which it was awarded a battle honor:

"By the order of the Supreme High Command, the name of Krichev is awarded to... 212th Rifle Division (Colonel Maltsev, Andrei Prokopevich)..." [51]

As of October 1 the 212th was still a separate rifle division in 10th Army, facing the German XII Army Corps. In early part of the month, as Western Front made its first attempt to liberate Orsha, 10th Army was on the Front's left flank, and the 212th deployed to protect the Army's left flank near the village of Petukhovka while its 38th Rifle Corps took up positions in the bend of the Pronya River southeast of Chausy. Given the relatively small size of the Army it was limited to a passive, secondary role for the time being. [52]

Orsha Offensives

Later in the month the division joined the 64th and 385th Divisions in 38th Corps. [53] The Novyi Bykhov - Propoisk Offensive began on November 22, but 10th Army did not join in until the 28th, attacking across the Pronya River just north of Petukhovka on its boundary with 50th Army. 38th Corps struck at the boundary between the German 131st and 260th Infantry Divisions' defenses south of Chausy, in cooperation with attacks by 50th Army's 369th Rifle Division. The 385th was in first echelon with the 64th, and the 212th in second. Within two days the two lead divisions had penetrated German defenses at Vysokoe, wheeled northward, and attacked their positions at Chausy, a city that anchored the right flank of German 9th Army. The 212th advanced as far as Shaparovo, 5 km south of Chausy; meanwhile the 64th and 385th seized Lepeny and other villages southwest of the city. [54]

Chausy remained the objective of 10th Army during the following months. On December 14 Colonel Maltsev left command of the division; he went on to study at the K. E. Voroshilov Military Academy before returning to the front as deputy commander of the 71st Rifle Corps and later as commander of the 88th Rifle Division. He was replaced by Col. Vladimir Georgievich Kuchinev, who had previously commanded the 338th Rifle Division. On January 4, 1944 the 3rd and 50th Armies launched a new attack in the direction of Bykhov. In support of this, 10th Army was ordered to attack German defenses north and south of Chausy at the junction of the Sozh and Pronya. 38th Corps, now consisting of just the 64th and 212th, was to attack the defenses of Corps Detachment D in the 12 km-wide sector from just south of Chausy to Golovenchitsy, penetrate the Detachment's defenses, and advance to link up with other 10th Army forces advancing westward north of the city. By this stage the divisions of the three Soviet armies were averaging about 3,500 personnel each. In the event the Corps made only minor gains and late on January 8 the offensive was shut down. [55]

Operation Bagration

Later in the month the 212th was withdrawn to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for much-needed rebuilding. It was assigned to the 114th Rifle Corps of 21st Army while in the Reserve. In March it was reassigned to the 9th Guards Rifle Corps of 61st Army in the first formation of 2nd Belorussian Front, south of the Pripyat Marshes. The Corps also contained the 12th Guards and 415th Rifle Divisions. [56] The division would remain in this Army for the duration of the war. [57]

The main part of offensive against Army Group Center began on June 23, but the left flank forces of 1st Belorussian Front (previously first formation of 2nd Belorussian Front) did not enter the fighting until early July. As of the first of that month 61st Army consisted of just six rifle divisions and 9th Guards Corps had just the 12th Guards and 212th Divisions under command. [58] Furthermore the Army was badly stretched out along the Pripyat and was facing a German grouping in and around Polesye. Its first efforts to begin active operations during July 3–5 were not successful; an attack by the division, in conjunction with the 415th and 397th Rifle Divisions along the Army's left flank was met by powerful German artillery and mortar fire (26 batteries) and was forced to a halt. On the 7th the 9th Guards Corps began an attack towards Pinsk while the 89th Rifle Corps, along with the Dniepr Flotilla, began to press along the Pripyat from the east to the west. The adjacent 28th Army launched an attack with one division on Luninets and the German forces began to hurriedly retreat to the west. [59]

Brest-Siedlce Offensive

On July 17 the Front began a drive towards Brest and Siedlce as the offensive began to slow due to logistics and German reinforcements. 61st Army launched its main attack with its right flank in the direction of Strigovo and Chernavchitsi and aided by the success of the left flank of 28th Army broke through the German defense along the Mukhavets River and on July 20 captured the major rail and road junction of Kobryn. [60] In recognition on July 25 the 212th was decorated with the Order of the Red Banner, [61] while the 369th (Lt. Colonel Voloshchenko, Vladimir Grigorevich), 669th (Major Derevyanko, Andrei Ivanovich) and 692nd Rifle Regiments (Colonel Podberezin, Ilya Mikhailovich) plus the 655th Artillery Regiment (Major Larichev, Nikifor Timofeevich) all received the town's name as a battle honor. [62]

Later on July 20 the bulk of 61st Army was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command but due to still-stubborn German resistance the Front commander, Marshal Rokossovskii, was authorized to retain 9th Guards Corps to assist the 28th and 70th Armies in the ongoing offensive towards Brest. Over the next four days of heavy fighting the Corps managed to advance from 16–20 km due west and there appeared to be a developing opportunity to encircle the German Brest grouping. On July 25 and 26 the Corps continued advancing slowly while repelling counterattacks while 70th Army's right flank broke through the first positions of the Brest fortified area. By the end of July 27 the Corps was on a line from Zadworce to Wulka-Zastavska and Brest was encircled while the German force was seeking at any price to break out. The town and fortress were both liberated the next day and only small groups of defenders managed to break out to the west while most were captured or destroyed in the woods west of the town. [63] The 212th received considerable recognition for its part in the victory; on August 10 it was presented with the Order of Suvorov, 2nd Degree, while all four regiments were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. [64] Soon afterwards the 9th Guards Corps rejoined 61st Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command.

Riga Offensive

While in the Reserve the division was moved to the 80th Rifle Corps, joining the 82nd and 356th Rifle Divisions. [65] It would remain in this Corps for the duration of the war. [66] 61st Army rejoined the active fighting on September 13 as part of 3rd Baltic Front, and was soon advancing into southeastern Estonia. In early October the division advanced west past Valmiera, Latvia as its Army pushed on towards Riga, helping to seal off the Courland pocket following the liberation of that city. [67] On October 31 the 212th was further honored for its role in the battle for Riga with the award to the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd Degree. [68] When 3rd Baltic was disbanded shortly after Riga was taken the Army was reassigned to 1st Baltic Front until nearly the end of November. [69] On November 29 the commander of the 1st Belorussian Front received the following:

"By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the following are being transferred to you by railroad:... b) 61st Army, consisting of:... 80th Rifle Corps (82nd, 212th and 356th Rifle Divisions)... along with reinforcements, service establishments and rear organs. The army will arrive approximately between 9 December and 1 January at the Lukow station."

A further directive on December 7 ordered that the personnel strength of the Army's nine rifle divisions be reinforced to 6,500 men each, as well as 900 horses. [70] On November 17 Colonel Kuchinev had left his command due to illness; he was moved to the reserve and then later to the training establishment before his retirement in 1947. He was replaced by Col. Sergei Mikhailovich Maslov who had previously served as chief of staff of the 397th Rifle Division before being wounded in August. He would lead the 212th until it was disbanded.

Into Poland and Germany

In the plan for the Vistula-Oder offensive the task of finally liberating Warsaw fell to the 47th Army (attacking from the north), 1st Polish Army, and two corps of 61st Army (from the south). After reaching and clearing the northern bank of the Pilica River that force was to move in the direction of Błonie), while the 9th Guards Corps was to help clear a path for the commitment of 2nd Guards Tank Army on the third day and then advance towards Sochaczew. When the offensive began at 0855 hours on January 14, 1945 after a 25-minute artillery preparation the Army's forward battalions were halted by German fire in front of the switch position along the line of the Pilica and could not force a crossing. An additional two-hour preparation (which was supplemented by all the artillery on the 3rd Shock Army), and the commitment of the Army's main forces at 1100 hours was required to overcome resistance. As a result the 61st advanced only 2–4 km during the day. [71]

More successful advances on the Army's flanks soon caused these German forces to fall back, and through the rest of January the 212th, along with its 80th Corps, joined in the massive advance across western Poland and into Germany; by January 26, 61st Army was receiving orders to reach the Oder River six days later and force a crossing. In mid-February 61st Army was redirected northwards in the direction of Stettin in response to a German armored counter-offensive, Operation Solstice. [72] In recognition of the division's success in breaking the German defense south of Warsaw, on February 19 its four regiments would each be awarded the Order of Suvorov, 3rd Degree, while the 380th Sapper Battalion and 593rd Signal Battalion were both given the Order of the Red Star. [73] Later, on April 26 the 655th Artillery Regiment would be presented with the Order of Kutuzov, 3rd Degree, for its part in the fighting around Stargard. [74]

Berlin Operation

At the start of the Berlin operation, 61st Army was deployed along the east bank of the Oder on a sector from Nipperwiese to Alt Rudnitz. The 80th Corps was on the Army's right flank with just two divisions; the 234th was in first echelon and the 212th in second. Although the main offensive began on April 16, 61st Army did not attack until the next day, when it won a bridgehead 3 km wide and up to 1,000m deep. By the 22nd the 61st had cleared the Oder and Alte Oder and had turned its front completely to the north and three days later had reached points 55 km west of the Oder. On April 29 it forced the Havel River in the area of Zehdenick against minimal resistance. Finally, on May 2, having advanced 60 km during the day against no resistance, reached the Elbe River in the area of Havelberg, and the next day met up with elements of the U.S. 84th Infantry Division near Gnefsdorf. It was here that the 212th and its Army ended its combat path. [75]

Postwar

At this point the men and women of the division shared the collective title 212th Rifle, Krichev, Order of the Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division. (Russian: 212-я стрелковая Кричевская Краснознамённая орденов Суворова и Кутузова дивизия.) In final awards on May 28 the 692nd Rifle Regiment was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, 3rd Degree, while the 593rd Signal Battalion won the Order of Alexander Nevsky, both for their roles in the Berlin offensive. [76] Despite a highly distinguished record, under the terms of STAVKA Order No. 11095 of May 29, 1945, part 6, the 212th was listed as one of the rifle divisions to be "disbanded in place". [77] It was disbanded in Germany in accordance with the directive during the summer of 1945.

Related Research Articles

The 138th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the buildup of forces immediately after the start of World War II in Europe. The first formation was based on the shtat of September 13, 1939 and under this organization it took part in the Winter War against Finland, arriving at the front north of Leningrad in December and performing so capably in the battles in early 1940 that it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Following this it was converted to serve for two years as a mountain rifle division in the Caucasus region. Following Operation Barbarossa and the German invasion of the Crimea elements of the division were committed to amphibious landings behind enemy lines in early 1942 but these proved abortive. Soon after the 138th was converted back to a standard rifle division. Arriving on the southern approaches to Stalingrad in late July the division fought on the approaches to the city through August and into September before it was assigned to 62nd Army and shipped into the factory district in mid-October. Well into November it played a leading role in defending the Barricades (Barrikady) ordnance factory, eventually becoming isolated in a thin strip of land between the factory and the Volga which became known as "Lyudnikov's Island" after its commanding officer. Following the Soviet counteroffensive that encircled the German 6th Army and other Axis forces in and near Stalingrad the division restored contact with the rest of its Army and then helped eliminate its trapped foes, for which it was raised to Guards status as the 70th Guards Rifle Division.

The 304th Rifle Division had its roots in the 109th Mechanized Division, which served before the Great Patriotic War as a mixed armor and infantry formation. Soon after the German invasion it was reorganized as a standard rifle division and renumbered as the 304th. It served in the southwestern part of the Soviet-German front for more than a year and a half, fighting under difficult conditions, including the German summer offensive of 1942. The division did not distinguish itself until Operation Uranus in late 1942 and the subsequent Operation Ring, in which it helped defeat the encircled German Sixth Army. In recognition of these successes, even before the German surrender at Stalingrad, it was raised to Guards status as the 67th Guards Rifle Division. A second 304th was raised six months later, based on a pair of rifle brigades, facing the German 17th Army in the Kuban. After helping to liberate this region the division continued in combat through Ukraine and Poland, winning its own distinctions at Zhitomir and an Order of the Red Banner, before ending the war near Prague.

The 387th 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 on September 1, 1941, in the Central Asia Military District. It first served in the winter counteroffensive south of Moscow, then spent the spring and summer of 1942 on the relatively quiet fronts southwest of the capital in the area of Kaluga and Tula. In September it was withdrawn to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command where it joined the 1st Reserve Army. This became the 2nd Guards Army and the division fought south of Stalingrad against Army Group Don during the German attempt to relieve their encircled 6th Army in December. During January and into February, 1943, 2nd Guards advanced on both sides of the lower Don River towards Rostov in a race to prevent Army Group A from escaping being trapped in the Caucasus region. The division was now part of Southern Front and it would remain in that Front until May, 1944. During the summer advance through the Donbas and southern Ukraine the 387th served under several different army commands before returning to 2nd Guards for the Crimean Offensive in April, 1944, during which it won a battle honor. After the Crimea was cleared the division remained there as part of the Separate Coastal Army until it went back to the Reserve in March, 1945. It then was assigned to the 2nd Ukrainian Front as a separate rifle division, and spent the last weeks of the war in Hungary and Austria. It continued to serve briefly into the postwar period.

The 395th Rifle Division was converted from a militia division to a regular infantry division of the Red Army in October 1941. From 1941-45, it fought against the German invasion, Operation Barbarossa. As a militia unit it was under command of the Kharkov Military District and designated as the Voroshilovgrad Militia Division, although it was unofficially known as the 395th before it was converted. It took part in the fighting near Rostov-on-Don during the winter of 1941–42 in the 18th Army, and retreated with that Army into the northern Caucasus mountains in the face of the German summer offensive, fighting under the command of the 18th and 12th Armies, then in the 56th Army in October. As the Axis forces retreated from the Caucasus in early 1943 it was sent to the 46th and later to the 37th Army of North Caucasus Front. During the battles that cleared the German forces from the Taman peninsula from August to October the 395th was back in 56th Army and was awarded a battle honor for its part in the campaign. By the end of 1943 it had returned to 18th Army, now under 1st Ukrainian Front near Kyiv. In January 1944 the division was decorated with both the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. With its Front it advanced through western Ukraine, Poland and eastern Germany, finally taking part in the Lower Silesian, Berlin, and Prague offensives in early 1945 as part of 13th Army.

The 12th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 258th Rifle Division and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was in 50th Army when it was redesignated but was soon assigned to the 49th Army, then to the 10th Army and finally to the 16th Army near the end of that month. In June it was assigned to the 9th Guards Rifle Corps of 61st Army where it remained almost continually for the duration of the war, serving under several Front commands but always on the central sector of the front. During the summer offensive in 1943 it fought through western Russia and into Belarus during the winter campaigns there. Along with the rest of 61st Army it took part in the second stage of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944, advancing into the Pripyat marshes region, winning a battle honor and shortly thereafter the Order of the Red Banner. After a short time in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command it was moved to the 3rd Baltic and later the 1st Baltic Front driving into Latvia and Lithuania, being decorated with the Order of Suvorov for its part in the occupation of Riga. In December it was returned to the 1st Belorussian Front and took part in the offensives that propelled the Red Army into Poland and eastern Germany. After the fall of Berlin the division advanced to the Elbe River where it linked up with the US 84th Infantry Division. Following the German surrender it was disbanded in July, 1946.

The 14th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 96th Rifle Division, which was officially a mountain unit at the time, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was on Southern Front when it was redesignated and was soon assigned to the 57th Army. It was encircled during the May German counterattack in the Second Battle of Kharkov. Its first commander was made a prisoner of war, later dying in German captivity. A cadre of the division managed to escape and was sent to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding. In July it joined the 63rd Army and took part in the attacks against the Italian 8th Army that created the bridgehead south of the Don River near Serafimovich during August. In October, now in the 21st Army of Don Front, it was active in two probing attacks against the Romanian forces now containing the bridgehead which inflicted severe casualties in advance of the Soviet winter counteroffensive. At the start of that offensive the division was in 5th Tank Army, but was soon transferred to 1st Guards Army and then to the 3rd Guards Army when that was formed. It was under this Army as it advanced into the Donbas in late winter before returning to 57th Army during most of 1943, fighting through east Ukraine and across the lower Dniepr by the end of the year. After being briefly assigned to 53rd Army in December it was moved to 5th Guards Army in February, 1944 where it remained for the duration, mostly in the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps. It saw action in the Uman–Botoșani Offensive and won its first decoration, the Order of the Red Banner, as it advanced, before being involved in the frustrating battles along the Dniestr River on the Romanian border. In late spring, 1944 the division was redeployed north becoming part of 1st Ukrainian Front and taking part in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive into Poland. The 14th Guards made a spectacular advance across Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive and was awarded the Order of Lenin for its part in the liberation of Sandomierz. On January 22, 1945, its commander suffered mortal wounds in the fighting for a bridgehead over the Oder River. In the drive on Berlin in April the division and its regiments won further honors and decorations but despite these distinctions it was disbanded in August, 1946.

The 15th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 136th Rifle Division, and served in that role until well after the end of the Great Patriotic War. The division had already distinguished itself during the Winter War with Finland in 1940 and had been decorated with the Order of Lenin; soon after its redesignation it also received its first Order of the Red Banner. It was in Southern Front as this time but was soon moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command where it was assigned to 7th Reserve Army in May, then to 28th Army in Southwestern Front in June, then to 57th Army in Stalingrad Front in July. It remained in that Army for the rest of the year, with one brief exception, until it was transferred to Don Front's 64th Army in January, 1943 during the closing stages of the battle of Stalingrad. In March this Army became 7th Guards Army and was railed to the northwest, joining Voronezh Front south of the Kursk salient. In the battle that followed the 15th Guards assisted in the defeat of Army Detachment Kempf, then took part in the summer offensive into Ukraine, winning one of the first battle honors at Kharkov. It remained in either 7th Guards or 37th Army into the spring of 1944. It saw action in the Nikopol-Krivoi Rog Offensive and was awarded the Order of Suvorov before being involved in the frustrating battles along the Dniestr River on the Romanian border. In June the division became part of 34th Guards Rifle Corps in 5th Guards Army and was redeployed north becoming part of 1st Ukrainian Front and taking part in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive into Poland. The 15th Guards made a spectacular advance across Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive and was further decorated with the Order of Kutuzov for forcing a crossing of the Oder River. It then saw action in the drive on Berlin in April and the Prague Offensive in May, winning a further battle honor and an unusual second Order of the Red Banner in the process. After the war the division did garrison duty in Austria, then in Ukraine, followed by a move in late 1947 to Crimea and the Kuban where its personnel assisted in rebuilding the local economy and infrastructure for nearly 20 years. It September 1965 it was renumbered as the "51st" and became the 2nd formation of the 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division.

The 61st Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 159th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War.

The 204th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was destroyed in the first weeks of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The first formation was based on the shtat of July 29, 1941, and it then remained for nine months in the far east of Siberia training and organizing before it was finally sent by rail to the Stalingrad region in July 1942 where it joined the 64th Army southwest of the city. During the following months it took part in the defensive battles and later the offensive that cut off the German 6th Army in November. In the last days of the battle for the city it took the surrender of the remnants of a Romanian infantry division. Following the Axis defeat the division was recognized for its role when it was redesignated as the 78th Guards Rifle Division on March 1, 1943.

The 1940 formation of the 160th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed as part of the prewar buildup of forces, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. The division completed its formation at Gorki in the Moscow Military District and at the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union was in the same area, assigned to the 20th Rifle Corps in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. It was moved west by rail to join the 13th Army of Western Front in the first days of July 1941 in the Mogilev area. At the end of the month the division was assigned to the reserves of Central Front before becoming part of Operations Group Akimenko in the reserves of Bryansk Front. In mid-September it was encircled and forced to break out; in the process it lost its commanding officer, much of its command staff and so many men and heavy weapons that it was briefly written off. Its number was reallocated to the 6th Moscow Militia Division and for the next 18 months there were two 160th Rifle Divisions serving concurrently. By the start of Operation Typhoon at the end of September it was in Operations Group Ermakov; while falling back to southwest of Kursk it managed to avoid encirclement but remained barely combat-effective due to its heavy losses.

The 176th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as part of the prewar buildup of forces, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. The division completed its formation at Kryvyi Rih in the Odessa Military District and at the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union was in the same area, assigned to the 35th Rifle Corps. Being relatively far from the frontier it escaped the early disasters and retreated mostly in good order through southern Ukraine into the autumn as part of 9th Army. It then took part in the counteroffensive against the overextended German Army Group South that liberated Rostov-na-Donu for the first time in December. When Army Group A began its summer offensive in 1942 the 176th fell back into the Caucasus region, losing much of its strength in the process, but finally helping to take up a firm defense along the Terek River and finally in front of Ordzhonikidze. As a result of this fighting the division, along with its artillery regiment, were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After the German 6th Army was surrounded at Stalingrad the 176th advanced into the western Caucasus and entered the so-called Malaya Zemlya bridgehead south of Novorossiysk in the spring of 1943 where it helped to defeat the German Operation Neptun in April and in the autumn took part in the liberation of the city, for which it was redesignated as the 129th Guards Rifle Division.

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 219th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was redesignated about 10 weeks after the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Due to a chronic lack of vehicles, and especially tanks, the division had been effectively serving as a motorized rifle brigade since June 22, so the redesignation was a formality and it was soon destroyed in the encirclement battle east of Kiev.

The 223rd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as one of the first reserve rifle divisions following the German invasion of the USSR. This first formation had a short and disastrous combat career; after arriving at the front in Ukraine in the first days of August it was immediately encircled and destroyed in the Uman Pocket.

The 226th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as one of the first reserve rifle divisions following the German invasion of the USSR. After being hastily organized it arrived at the front along the lower Dniepr River as part of 6th Army and in the wake of the German victory in the Kiev encirclement it fell back toward, and then past, Kharkiv and spent the winter fighting in this area. During the Second Battle of Kharkov in May 1942 it scored early successes but was soon forced back by counterattacking panzers and barely escaped destruction in the first phases of the German summer offensive. After rebuilding in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command the division returned to the front north of Stalingrad where it joined the 66th Army. It took heavy losses in one of the last efforts to break through to the city before Operation Uranus cut off the German 6th Army, but it still played an important role in the reduction of the pocket during Operation Ring and as a result was redesignated as the 95th Guards Rifle Division in May 1943.

The 228th 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. After being formed in the Kiev Special Military District it soon took part in the fighting in northern Ukraine where it joined the 5th Army north of Kyiv. The presence of this Army in the fastnesses of the eastern Pripyat area influenced German strategy as it appeared to threaten both the left flank of Army Group South and the right flank of Army Group Center. In September the latter Group was turned south to encircle the Soviet forces defending Kyiv and in the process the 228th was cut off and destroyed.

The 229th 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 20th Army it was moved from the Moscow Military District to the front west of Orsha by July 2. Serving under the Western Front the 20th was soon pocketed in the Smolensk region but the 229th was able to escape at the cost of significant losses. It was partially rebuilt before the start of the final German offensive on Moscow, when it was completely encircled and destroyed.

The 231st Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed out-of-sequence in the Ural Military District in February 1942. It continued training and forming until late May when it was assigned to 8th Reserve Army and began moving toward the Stalingrad area. By the end of August it had reached the fighting front as part of 66th Army in Stalingrad Front and was almost immediately committed to the first of the Kotluban offensives, attempting to cut off the XIV Panzer Corps that had penetrated to the Volga River north of Stalingrad about a week earlier. The division suffered heavy casualties from the outset of these efforts, attacking across flat and open terrain against well dug-in opposition. Devastated in these attacks the 231st was soon relegated to second-echelon duties until, with only about 600 infantry and sappers still on strength, it was officially disbanded on November 2.

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 244th Rifle Division was the second 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. Initially assigned to the 31st Army, it was soon reassigned to 30th Army in Western Front northeast of Smolensk; under this command it took part in the first Dukhovshchina offensive against German 9th Army before being transferred to 19th Army in the third week of August for the second attempt to take this objective. After this failed the division went over to the defense at the boundary between the 19th and 30th Armies, where it was overwhelmed by 9th Army and 3rd Panzer Group at the outset of Operation Typhoon and soon destroyed.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Charles C. Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", Soviet Tank, Mechanized, Motorized Divisions and Tank Brigades of 1940 - 1942, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. I, Nafziger, 1995, p. 63. This source misnumbers the 692nd as the 587th Regiment.
  2. ↑ Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", p. 63
  3. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 9
  4. ↑ Artyom Drabkin and Alexei Isaev, Barbarossa Through Soviet Eyes, trans, C. Summerville, Pen & Sword Books Ltd., Barnsley, UK, 2012, p. xiii
  5. ↑ David Stahel, Kiev 1941, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2012, pp. 69-71
  6. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 17
  7. ↑ Stahel, Kiev 1941, p. 72
  8. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 24
  9. ↑ Stahel, Kiev 1941, p. 78-79, 84-85
  10. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 33
  11. ↑ Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", p. 63
  12. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p. 30
  13. ↑ Stahel, Kiev 1941, pp. 84-85
  14. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 43
  15. ↑ Stahel, Kiev 1941, pp. 210, 220
  16. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 53
  17. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", pp. 30-31
  18. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 75
  19. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, pp. 11, 28, 46, 65, 84, 103, 124
  20. ↑ David M. Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 126-29
  21. ↑ Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, pp. 127, 129-31, 135
  22. ↑ Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, pp. 137-39, 144-47
  23. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 158
  24. ↑ Glantz, Colossus Reborn, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2005, p. 593
  25. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 180
  26. ↑ Glantz, Armageddon in Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, p. 274
  27. ↑ Glantz, Armageddon in Stalingrad, pp. 37-38, 168, 173, 274, 444-45
  28. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 215
  29. ↑ Glantz, Armageddon in Stalingrad, pp. 446-53
  30. ↑ Glantz, Endgame at Stalingrad, Book One, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2014, pp. 74, 548
  31. ↑ Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 132
  32. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 13
  33. ↑ Sharp, "Red Volunteers", Soviet Militia Units, Rifle and Ski Brigades 1941 - 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. XI, Nafziger, 1996, p. 7
  34. ↑ Sharp, "Red Volunteers", p. 7
  35. ↑ Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, p. 102
  36. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, pp. 46, 64
  37. ↑ Sharp, "Red Volunteers", p. 7
  38. ↑ Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, p. 102
  39. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 103
  40. ↑ Sharp, "Red Volunteers", p. 59
  41. ↑ Glantz, After Stalingrad, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2011, pp. 303, 350-51
  42. ↑ Sharp, "Red Volunteers", p. 59
  43. ↑ Sharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. X, Nafziger, 1996, p. 85. This source misnumbers the 655th as the 665th.
  44. ↑ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 85
  45. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Battle of Kursk, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, Kindle ed., Book Two, Part One, ch. 1
  46. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Battle of Kursk, Kindle ed., Book Two, Part One, ch. 2
  47. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Battle of Kursk, Kindle ed., Book Two, Part One, ch. 5
  48. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 217
  49. ↑ Robert Forczyk, Smolensk 1943: The Red Army's Relentless Advance, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2019, Kindle ed.
  50. ↑ Forczyk, Smolensk 1943: The Red Army's Relentless Advance, Kindle ed.
  51. ↑ "Освобождение городов". www.soldat.ru. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  52. ↑ Glantz, Battle For Belorussia, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2016, pp. 27, 69-70
  53. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 275
  54. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, pp. 200-03
  55. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, pp. 409, 411-12, 415-16
  56. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, pp. 57, 103
  57. ↑ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 85
  58. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 193
  59. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Operation Bagration, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, Kindle ed., vol. 2, ch. 6
  60. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Operation Bagration, Kindle ed., vol. 2, ch. 11
  61. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a, p. 409.
  62. ↑ http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/1-ssr-3.html. In Russian. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  63. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Operation Bagration, Kindle ed., vol. 2, ch. 11, 12
  64. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a, pp. 446–47.
  65. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 270
  66. ↑ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 85
  67. ↑ The Gamers, Inc., Baltic Gap, Multi-Man Publishing, Inc., Millersville, MD, 2009, pp. 29, 36
  68. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a, p. 543.
  69. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 311
  70. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Prelude to Berlin, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, pp. 550, 555
  71. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Prelude to Berlin, pp. 51-52, 72-73, 573
  72. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Prelude to Berlin, pp. 73, 80, 589-90, 599
  73. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b, pp. 224–26.
  74. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b, p. 130.
  75. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Berlin Operation, 1945, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, Kindle ed., chs. 11, 12, 15, 20, 22
  76. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b, pp. 273, 276.
  77. ↑ STAVKA Order No. 11095

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.