219th Rifle Division

Last updated
219th Motorized Division (March 11, 1941 - September 9, 1941)
219th Rifle Division (September 9, 1941 - November 16, 1941)
219th Rifle Division (January 14, 1942 - 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 Kiev (1941)
Case Blue
Operation Little Saturn
Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh offensive
Voronezh–Kastornoye offensive
Battle of Kursk
Battle of Nevel (1943)
Polotsk–Vitebsk Offensive
Rezhitsa–Dvinsk Offensive
Baltic offensive
Riga offensive (1944)
Courland Pocket
Decorations Order of Red Banner.svg   Order of the Red Banner (2nd formation)
Battle honours Idritsa (2nd formation)
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Maj. Gen. Pavel Petrovich Korzun
Col. Vasilii Nikolaevich Varichev
Maj. Gen. Vasilii Petrovich Kotelnikov
Col. Vasilii Grigorevich Kovalenko

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.

Contents

A new 219th was formed in January 1942, based on the 441st Rifle Division and the rifle division shtat (table of organization and equipment) of December 6, 1941. It spent several months forming in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command before it was sent to the active front as part of 6th Army near Voronezh. During the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive in January 1943 it took part in the destruction of the 2nd Hungarian Army and was soon after moved to the Kursk region and defended the south face of the salient as part of 40th Army. It then moved north to join Kalinin Front and fought through the winter in the battles west of Nevel. After the summer offensive in 1944 began it was granted a battle honor and within weeks the Order of the Red Banner as well. The 219th fought through Latvia and in early 1945 was part of 22nd Army containing the Courland Pocket. Before the German surrender it was moved south to the Odessa area where it was disbanded later in the year.

219th Motorized Division

The division began forming in March 1941, as part of the prewar buildup of Soviet mechanized forces at Akhtyrka in the Kharkov Military District as part of the 25th Mechanized Corps. Once formed its order of battle was as follows:

Maj. Gen. Pavel Petrovich Korzun was appointed to command on March 11. This officer had previously commanded the 9th Cavalry Division before serving for over a year as an instructor at the Frunze Military Academy. The division may have had a few tanks assigned to it by the start of the German invasion as there were some 300 on strength with 25th Corps. Maj. Gen. S. M. Krivoshein, the Corps commander, quickly grouped all his tanks in the tank divisions of the Corps, leaving the 219th as, effectively, a reinforced motorized rifle brigade. Along with the rest of the Corps it was chronically short of artillery, antiaircraft guns and trucks. [2]

On June 22 the 25th Corps (50th and 55th Tank Divisions, 219th Motorized, 12th Motorcycle Regiment) was assigned to 21st Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. [3] By July 10 the Army had come under the command of Western Front and was concentrating in the area of Zhlobin. [4] [5] The Front commander, Marshal S. K. Timoshenko, had ordered an extensive counteroffensive against the advance of Army Group Center but only 21st Army, on the Front's left (south) flank, achieved any success. At 0241 hours on July 13 the Army commander, Col. Gen. F. I. Kuznetsov, ordered his forces to expand the offensive against the right flank of 2nd Panzer Group in the Bykhaw area while recapturing Babruysk and Parichi. The 219th was to concentrate in the Rudnia, Borkhov and Pribor region, 15-25km west of Gomel, while 50th Tanks prepared to attack on the Bykhaw and Babruysk axis. [6]

In Western Front's operational summary of 2000 hours on July 18 the 21st Army was reported as attacking toward Babruysk against four German divisions while the 219th was concentrating in the Chachersk and Voronovka region 60km east-southeast of Rahachow. On July 22 Kuznetsov issued further orders to 25th Mechanized Corps to retake Propoisk and cut the German supply route between that place and Krychaw. The division tried but failed to capture Malyi Propoisk (10km south of Propoisk) in the face of arriving reinforcements. The next day it was transferred to 4th Army and, along with 28th Rifle Corps and part of 20th Rifle Corps seized the northeast outskirts of Propoisk. By July 26 this effort was suspended and the Army went over to the defensive. [7]

By the beginning of August the 219th had returned to 21st Army which was now part of the newly-formed Central Front. [8] Later that month it was being referred to as a rifle division in official communications, although it had not yet been redesignated. [9] During the previous weeks it was assigned to 28th Corps, which had joined 21st Army, and had retreated to the south under attack by the German XXXXIII Army Corps, reaching the line of the Seym River by August 11. [10] On August 27 the new commander of the Army, Lt. Gen. V. I. Kuznetsov, reported that the 219th was located at Gorodok and Senkovka, 70-75km northeast of Chernihiv. [11] Central Front had been disbanded on August 25 and 21st Army was now under command of Bryansk Front. [12] The situation facing the Army was rapidly deteriorating as the XXIV Motorized Corps had inserted itself in the gap between it and the Front's main forces along the Desna. General Kuznetsov reported on August 29 that 28th Corps was defending along a line from Gutka Studenetskaya through Elino to Novye Borovichi; together with 66th Rifle Corps it was attempting to hold a 100km-wide line with a handful of battered rifle divisions. Despite this, over the following days the STAVKA continued to issue attack orders to the Front which were doomed to failure. Early on August 30 the 219th was reported as holding along part of its sector but having been pushed back to Sinkovka on the 28th. [13]

1st Formation

By this time the 2nd Panzer Group had begun its drive to the south to link up with 1st Panzer Group and encircle Southwestern Front east of Kiev. 28th Corps continued defending along the Snov River on August 30 and appears to have eliminated a German force that had infiltrated its positions on September 1 but this was of little relevance to the overall situation. During September 4 the 219th was defending from Tikhonovichi to Lazovka east of Snovsk. Kuznetsov ordered his Army to withdraw across the Desna at 1300 hours on September 5. [14] The division was reinforced with the 375th Reserve Rifle Regiment to replace the 136th Tank Regiment on September 9, [15] and was officially redesignated as the 219th Rifle Division but this made no substantial difference to its position since the two panzer groups met at Lokhvytsia on September 16. Most of 21st Army was pocketed, including the 219th, and it was destroyed by the end of the month although it officially remained in the Red Army order of battle until November 16. [16] General Korzun escaped the encirclement and went on to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and command the 3rd and 47th Armies before being killed in action on September 16, 1943. [17]

2nd Formation

The 441st Rifle Division began forming in December 1941 at Kirsanov in the South Ural Military District. [18] On January 14, 1942 it was redesignated as the 2nd formation of the 219th. When it completed forming it had an order of battle similar to the 219th Motorized and the 1st formation:

The division was under the command of Col. Vasilii Nikolaevich Varichev until April 23 when Maj. Gen. Vasilii Petrovich Kotelnikov took over. This officer had previously served as commander of the 3rd Leningrad Militia (Opolcheniye) Division. In May it was assigned to the 3rd Reserve Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command until June when it was moved to the 6th Reserve Army, which joined the active front on July 9 as the 3rd formation of the 6th Army, assigned to Bryansk Front. The Army was deployed along the Don River south of Voronezh. [20] [21] As of the beginning of August the Army had been moved to Voronezh Front. [22] [23]

Operation Little Saturn

The situation around Voronezh soon became a stalemate as the German mobile forces were required to push eastward toward Stalingrad. At the start of December, after the German 6th Army had been encircled at that city, the 219th was still under the same commands in much the same area along the Don. [24] The planning for Operation Saturn, which had begun in late November, had included the Soviet 6th Army of Voronezh Front operating jointly with Southwestern Front to penetrate the defenses of the Italian 8th Army, reach the Kantemirovka region, and protect the right flank of that Front's forces. 6th Army now contained five rifle divisions, including the 219th, two tank corps plus a tank brigade and two tank regiments, one tank destroyer brigade, the 8th Artillery Division and additional artillery assets, and was supported by the entire 2nd Air Army. As the situation evolved during early December, particularly with the commitment of 2nd Guards Army to counter the German attempt to relieve the Stalingrad pocket, Operation Saturn became Operation Little Saturn, but the role of 6th Army remained much the same. [25]

The offensive began at dawn on December 16 with a massive artillery bombardment and strikes by several hundred aircraft. The main attack was carried out by 1st and 3rd Guards Armies against the Italian 8th and the German Army Detachment Hollidt, which was defending along the Krivaya and the upper Chir Rivers. 6th Army, which had been reinforced, was on the right flank facing four divisions of the Italian II Army Corps across the frozen Don and was to advance in the direction of Kantemirovka led by its 15th Rifle Corps and 17th Tank Corps. The 219th, under direct Army command, was assigned a supporting role. The attacks on the first day were frustrated by heavy fog and effective Italian resistance; after an overnight regrouping that integrated armor into the infantry formations the resistance was largely crushed on the 17th and turned into a rout. The next day the Italian infantry, overrun by up to 800 tanks, effectively disintegrated and a headlong exploitation began. By the end of December 31, 6th Army had been transferred to Southwestern Front and was facing the Italian Alpini Corps, with remnants of 8th Army, across a roughly 60km-wide front from Novaya Kalitva southward to west of Kantemirovka. [26]

Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive

After regrouping its southern forces in the first days of 1943 the STAVKA was determined to defeat the Axis forces (primarily the 2nd Hungarian Army and remnants of Italian 8th Army) operating along the Voronezh–Kursk and Kharkov axes. The first task was to crush the forces defending the area of Ostrogozhsk and Rossosh, which would primarily involve forces of Voronezh Front. [27] By the start of the new year the 219th had been assigned to the 18th Rifle Corps, which also contained the 161st, 270th and 309th Rifle Divisions plus the 10th Ski Brigade and was directly under Voronezh Front command. [28] The Front commander, Lt. Gen. F. I. Golikov, created three shock groupings for the offensive: a northern group consisting of 40th Army, a southern group based on 3rd Tank Army, and 18th Corps as a central group, which was to step off from the Shchuche bridgehead over the Don and link up with the two Armies by the fourth day in the areas of Ostrogozhsk and Kamenka. The 219th was in the Corps' first echelon. The offensive was to begin with probing attacks on January 12 followed by the main effort the following day. On the second day the division was to advance with the 96th Tank Brigade in the direction of Yekaterinovka and Saguny and by the fourth day was to capture Dankovskii and Lykovo, covering an average of about 12km each day. [29]

Ostrogozhsk-Rossosh Offensive Ostrogozhsko-Rossoshanskaia nastupatel'naia operatsiia 13 - 27 ianvaria 1943 g. Skhema.jpg
Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive

The attack's artillery preparation, which began at 0830 hours, continued for two hours and took the Axis forces by surprise, causing heavy losses in men and equipment and disorganization of command and control. Airstrikes also damaged defensive strongpoints. The infantry assault began at 1030, supported by the KV tanks of 262nd Guards Tank Regiment and units of 96th Tank Brigade. The 219th, on the Corps' right flank, had difficulty with its first objective, Hill 175.4. Attacking from the northeast and east it had to cover considerable open ground between its jumping-off positions and the first trench line. In addition the height's slopes were ice-covered and many of the fortifications, including barbed wire and firing points, had escaped the artillery preparation. The defending Hungarian 48th Infantry Regiment continued to resist even after the rest of its 12th Infantry Division had been broken through. The 309th Division on the 219th's right had made a successful penetration, but General Kotelnikov was later faulted for failing to regroup his forces into or toward this sector to outflank the height, and the commander of 18th Corps, Maj. Gen. P. M. Zykov, likewise failed to take appropriate action. As a result the division was pinned down in front of the height and suffered unjustified losses. It fell to Golikov to order the Corps to develop the success of the 309th and the 129th Rifle Brigade and to direct the 219th to be pulled back to the southern outskirts of Shchuche, put back in order, and then be committed through the 309th's sector in the direction of Yekaterinovka in order to get into the rear of the 19th Hungarian Division. By 1400 this regrouping was complete and it began to attack on the new axis. [30]

Upon coming into contact the 219th was counterattacked by a battalion of the 12th Infantry from the direction of the 8th of March Collective Farm; this battalion came under fire from a battalion of Guards mortars and was almost completely destroyed, with some 60 survivors falling back in disorder to the south. The commander of the 48th Infantry Regiment, becoming aware that elements of the 219th were appearing in his rear, ordered a withdrawal to the south in the direction of the sheep farm and the Ilich's Testament Collective Farm. At the same time the training battalion of the 309th cut the Regiment's path of retreat and it soon laid down its arms. The 219th now advanced to the southwest and by the end of the day had reached a line from the sheep farm to outside the 8th of March Farm, while the 309th's training battalion occupied Hill 175.4. [31]

Zykov ordered the Corps to continue fighting through the night and also moved up his reserve 161st Division and 192nd Tank Brigade for commitment in the morning on the boundary between the 309th and 219th. Overnight, while the temperature dropped to -25 degrees C with strong winds, the 219th reached a line between the two collective farms, for an overall advance during the first 24 hours of up to 12km. During the same period the 40th and 3rd Tank Armies had penetrated the Axis front to the north and south, beginning the encirclement of the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh group of forces. During January 15 the 219th pivoted its attack to the south, toward Marki and Saguny, rolling up the defenses of the 19th and 23rd Infantry Divisions along the right bank of the Don. By 1500 hours it had liberated Yekaterinovka and by the end of the day had reached a line from height 198 to Svoboda against stiff resistance recording an advance 6km. Attempts to seize Marki that night were unsuccessful. [32]

As the offensive developed the task of 18th Corps was to break up the defending grouping as it was enveloped by the other two shock groups. In fact the Corps' attack attracted many of the available reserves, including the German 26th Infantry Division. In the morning of January 17 the 219th overcame the resistance in the Marki area and by day's end had reached a line from Vyselki to Yudino; the next day it occupied Saguny as it advanced toward Karpenkovo to establish a linkup with 3rd Tank Army, having advanced another 12km. Meanwhile that Army's 12th Tank Corps was involved in bitter fighting with units of 26th Infantry which were falling back to the latter place. The linkup at Karpenkovo and Alekseevka effectively completed the encirclement and splitting of the Axis group of forces. A total of about 13 Hungarian, German and Italian divisions (or remnants thereof) were trapped, although the shortage of rifle divisions meant that each was holding an average sector of 20km. [33]

During January 19-27 the encircled forces in the Rossosh area were gradually eliminated. The 219th took up the pursuit to the southwest from its previous line with the task of reaching the line Stepanovka –northern part of Podgornoye by the end of the day, an advance of 20km on an 8km-wide frontage. It was also to leave behind one reinforced rifle company in each of Saguny station, Goncharovka and Podgornoye to cut the Axis lines of retreat. This advance succeeded and by the end of the day most of the Italian 3rd and 4th Alpini Divisions and the German 385th and 387th Infantry Divisions had been destroyed or captured in the pocket, although individual groups managed to break out to the north. By the end of the 20th the pocket had shrunk to about 150 sq. km. but the trapped forces continued to offer resistance and made attempts to escape. [34]

General Golikov issued orders on January 21 to regroup his forces for the upcoming Voronezh–Kastornoye offensive, which included the movement of 18th Corps to the Oskol River. This led to running battles between shifting Soviet units and disorganized Axis groups, especially in the Podgornoye area, over the next two days. On January 23 the leading regiment of the 219th and elements of the 37th Rifle Brigade reinforced the 15th Tank Corps and occupied Ilyinka, blocking the last escape route of the German 26th and 168th Infantry and Hungarian 1st Armored Field Division. After abandoning their equipment and heavy weapons the Axis remnants attempted to break out overland in small groups. Altogether 9,000 prisoners were taken north of Alekseevka by the end of the next day. [35]

On January 25 the Red Army launched the Voronezh–Kastornoye Offensive, which mostly involved the northern forces of Voronezh Front plus Bryansk Front in an effort to encircle and destroy German 2nd Army and those elements of Hungarian 2nd Army that had escaped the previous offensive. The 219th remained in 18th Corps until early February when it returned to direct command of Voronezh Front. [36] [37] In April the division was reassigned to 40th Army as a separate division, still in Voronezh Front, and remained there during the preparations for the German summer offensive. [38]

Battle of Kursk

German plan of attack, showing position of 40th Army. Kursk-1943-Plan-GE.svg
German plan of attack, showing position of 40th Army.

Around the beginning of June the personnel of the 219th were reported as being roughly 30 percent Russian, 30 percent Ukrainian, and 40 percent of various Asian nationalities. [39] 40th Army was defending along a 50km-wide sector bordered by 38th Army on the right and a line on the left from Ivnya to Melovoe to Sumovskaya station to Khotmyzhsk. The 219th was in the first echelon with the 237th, 206th and 100th Rifle Divisions; two more divisions were in second echelon and another in reserve. The division had two regiments in a single echelon in the forward edge of the main defensive zone with the reserve regiment located about 4km to its rear. [40]

The offensive began on July 5 but 40th Army was not in the direct path of the main attack of 4th Panzer Army. By July 9 the Front commander, Army Gen. N. F. Vatutin had growing concerns that German forces would advance on the Oboyan –Kursk axis and therefore ordered the Army commander, Lt. Gen. K. S. Moskalenko, to move the 219th from the Raktinoye–Proletarskii area to the Kruglik–Kursakovka–Alisovka line. It began this move at 2000 hours and occupied its designated line by the morning of July 11. During the previous day the Oboyan paved road had been defended by the 67th Guards Rifle Division plus the 10th Tank and 3rd Mechanized Corps against up to 100 German tanks. Despite holding their positions the arrival of the 219th and 184th Rifle Divisions was a welcome reinforcement. [41]

Meanwhile, Vatutin drew up an operational plan to encircle the main German forces advancing on Oboyan and Prokhorovka. For this purpose the two rifle divisions were subordinated to 6th Guards Army's 22nd Guards Rifle Corps, which also commanded the 90th Guards Rifle Division. This plan proved abortive as the German attack was renewed at 0900 hours on July 11 and part of their tank forces were directed at the open left flank of 90th Guards; within hours this division was partly encircled and required the assistance of the 184th to withdraw to new defenses. A slightly less ambitious effort was organized for the next day by the commander of 6th Guards, Lt. Gen. I. M. Chistyakov, but 22nd Guards Corps was delayed in reaching its jumping-off positions. The 219th and 184th finally attacked at 1300 hours directly off the march without any artillery preparation, with 5th Guards and 10th Tank Corps in support and 90th Guards in second echelon. They faced fierce resistance from the 3rd SS Panzer and 332nd Infantry Divisions and by the end of the day reached a line from Rakovo to the Kubasovskii gully. [42]

This day marked the climax on the battle on the south face of the salient but not the end of the fighting. On the morning of July 14 the two tank corps and the 184th came under attack by an infantry division and up to 100 tanks from the Rakovo–Berezovka area, forcing a withdrawal. The 219th found it necessary to pull back its right flank to the western slopes of height 240.2 and the Kubasovskii gully, which was also threatened by an infantry regiment and 20 additional tanks. On July 15 Vatutin ordered the 6th Guards Army over to a static defense. [43]

Into Western Russia

On July 27 the division was withdrawn to 20th Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding and redeployment. [44] While in the Reserve it was moved north to join Kalinin Front on August 10. General Kotelnikov left the division on August 29, being replaced in command by Col. Afanasii Sergeevich Pypyrev. A few days later Kotelnikov took over the 1st Rifle Corps, to which his former division was also assigned. The Corps was under direct command of the Front. [45] On September 19 Col. Vasilii Grigorevich Kovalenko replaced Colonel Pypyrev; this officer would continue to lead the division, apart from two short breaks, for the duration of the war.

Vitebsk Offensive

Before the beginning of October the division had been moved to the 84th Rifle Corps of 39th Army, still in Kalinin (as of October 20 1st Baltic) Front. This Army was located south of Velizh and was facing elements of VI Army Corps of 3rd Panzer Army. Following the liberation of Smolensk the next obvious objective was the Belarusian city of Vitebsk, which was intended to be taken by October 10. The Army commander, Lt. Gen. N. E. Berzarin, was to conduct the Front's main attack through Rudnya and Liozna. He chose to deploy his 84th and 5th Guards Rifle Corps, backed by a small mobile group, along the Smolensk–Vitebsk highway; the 84th's four divisions (219th, 184th, 158th and 134th) were backed by the 46th Mechanized Brigade and the 158th was in second echelon. Rudnya was liberated by 5th Guards Corps on September 29 and on October 3 the 134th and 184th Divisions breached the defenses northeast of Mikulino, forcing a German withdrawal on October 6 to new positions north and south of Liozna. In heavy fighting through the 7th and 8th the 84th Corps cleared the town with help from the mobile group and the remaining defenders fell back to a new line 10km to the west late on October 9, which was reached by the pursuit on the 12th. Given the attrition suffered in the nine previous days the offensive was paused for regrouping. [46]

Pustoshka-Idritsa Offensive

Later that month the 219th was redeployed again to the north, being assigned to 4th Shock Army as a separate division, still in 1st Baltic Front. [47] The 4th and 3rd Shock Armies had made a surprise breakthrough on October 6 at the boundary between Army Groups North and Center and liberated Nevel before getting into the German rear areas. [48] The offensive was renewed in an early morning fog on November 2 when the two Shock Armies penetrated the defenses of the left flank of 3rd Panzer Army southwest of Nevel. After the breakthrough, which opened a 16km-wide gap, 3rd Shock turned to the north behind the flank of 16th Army while 4th Shock moved southwest behind 3rd Panzer Army. [49]

Shortly after this new phase began the 3rd Shock, now in 2nd Baltic Front, was reinforced with three more rifle divisions, including the 219th. When it arrived the division was deployed on the Army's left flank to maintain contact with 4th Shock. By mid-month, supported by 118th Tank Brigade and flanked on the left by 146th Rifle Division the 119th Guards Rifle Division liberated the village of Podberezye and threatened to sever the Novosokolniki – Pustoshka rail line. The situation so concerned the German command that six infantry battalions were brought in from 18th Army to reinforce the approaches to Pustoshka, which effectively halted the push toward that city as torrential rains began on November 15. The Front went over to the defense on November 21. [50]

Idritsa-Opochka Offensive

By the start of December the 219th had been assigned to the 79th Rifle Corps. [51] This Corps was defending the western flank of the Novosokolniki-Pustoshka salient with the 219th and 171st Rifle Divisions in first echelon and the 28th in reserve, facing 16th Army's VIII Army Corps. On December 9 the STAVKA ordered the Front to pierce their defenses at Pustoshka, capture the town of Idritsa, and destroy the German forces in the salient between Nevel and Novosokolniki. This effort began on December 16 but after several days failed to make any gains and was shut down. [52]

Baltic Offensives

During March 1944 the division was moved to the 93rd Rifle Corps, still in 3rd Shock Army of 2nd Baltic Front. [53] From April 6–13 it was under the command of Lt. Col. Nikolai Fedorovich Perederii. 2nd Baltic began the Rezhitsa–Dvinsk Offensive on July 10; the 219th was deployed northwest of Pustoshka facing the defenses of the Panther Line along the Alolya River. [54] Two days later the division won a battle honor:

IDRITSA... 219th Rifle Division (Colonel Kovalenko, Vasilii Grigorevich)... The troops who participated in the breakthrough of the enemy’s defenses northwest and west of Novosokolniki, and the liberation of Idritsa, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 12 July 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns. [55]

Within a few days the division crossed the border into Latvia.

The Fight at Hill 144

On July 19 the division was approaching the village of Rundēni. Colonel Kovalenko gave orders in person to Sen. Sgt. Khakimyan Rakhimovich Akhmetgalin to lead his platoon of the 1st Rifle Company of the 375th Rifle Regiment to seize height 144 overlooking the village with the objective of providing an observation point for the divisional artillery. Akhmetgalin formed a group of 11 men plus radio operator Zina Kuvaldina. After eliminating a German machine gun position the group captured the hill and spread out to defend it. Kuvaldina soon established contact and directed fire on troops and transport in the village. After about 30 minutes the German forces figured out that they must be being observed from the hill and began their own artillery and mortar fire on the position. Akhmetgalin now ordered Kuvaldina back to the main lines. While waiting for relief over the rest of the day and overnight the steadily-dwindling platoon held off multiple attacks. The platoon leader was killed by a mortar fragment near the end of the first day. Sgt. Pyotr Konstantinovich Syroezhkin took over the defense. By now seven men were left alive, but one, Sen. Sgt. Vasilii Antonovich Andronov, was paralyzed from four wounds. The following day saw nine more German attacks on the hill until Syroezhkin was the last man standing; he was killed by a mortar shell in the early afternoon. The attackers occupied the height briefly and captured Krasnoarmeets Urunbai Abdulaev who was shell-shocked and unconscious. They were soon forced off by a unit of the 119th Guards Division which discovered Andronov and evacuated him. The rest of the defenders were known or presumed dead. On March 24, 1945, 11 men were made Heroes of the Soviet Union:

An investigation later revealed that Karabaev had actually surrendered during the battle and had survived. His supposed posthumous awards were revoked in 1952. Abdulaev survived prison camp without knowing the outcome of the fight or the fate of his comrades. He finally received his awards 16 years later. [56]

Riga Offensive and Courland Pocket

German PoWs march through Rezekne in July 1944. Rezekne 2 kara laika-3.jpg
German PoWs march through Rēzekne in July 1944.

The city of Rēzekne was cleared of German forces on July 27 and the 219th was recognized for its role when it received the Order of the Red Banner on August 9. [57] Later that month the division and its 93rd Corps were moved to 42nd Army, still in 2nd Baltic Front, [58] and as the advance continued into Latvia by mid-September it had reached an area northeast of Krustpils; a few weeks later it was located southeast of Baldone. [59] By this time it had again been reassigned with its Corps, now to 22nd Army in the same Front. [60] The division would remain in this Army for the duration of its existence. [61] Riga was liberated on October 13; on November 15 Colonel Kovalenko handed his command to his deputy, Col. Stepan Ivanovich Stepanov but returned exactly a month later. The new year saw the Army containing the German forces trapped in the Courland pocket. In February the 219th was moved to the 100th Rifle Corps and would remain under this command for the duration. In March the 2nd Baltic Front was disbanded and 22nd Army was reassigned to the Courland Group of Forces of Leningrad Front. [62]

Postwar

On April 22 the entire 22nd Army was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and railed southward where it came under the command of the Odessa Military District. At the time of the German surrender the men and women of the division shared the full title of 219th Rifle, Idritsa, Order of the Red Banner Division. (Russian: 219-я стрелковая Идрицкая Краснознамённая дивизия.) It was disbanded before the end of 1945. [63] Colonel Kovalenko went on to command the 49th Guards Rifle Division from October 1945 to July 1946.

Related Research Articles

The 67th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 304th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was officially redesignated in the 65th Army of Don Front, in recognition of that division's leading role in reducing the German 6th Army during Operation Ring, the destruction of the encircled German and Romanian forces at Stalingrad. During the following months it was substantially rebuilt while moving north during the spring of the year. The division put up a very strong defense in the Battle of Kursk, facing some of the main elements of Army Group South, and then attacked through the western Ukraine after the German defeat. Along with the rest of 6th Guards Army it moved further north to join 2nd Baltic and later 1st Baltic Front in the buildup to the summer offensive against Army Group Center, winning a battle honor and shortly after the Order of the Red Banner in the process. During the rest of 1944 it advanced through the Baltic states and ended the war near the Baltic Sea, helping to besiege Army Group Courland in 1945. The 67th Guards was disbanded in 1946.

The 413th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the summer of 1941 in the Far Eastern Front. It was considered to be a "sister" division to the 415th, and was one of the divisions of Siberians sent west to help defend Moscow during the winter of 1941–42. It was assigned to the 50th Army and originally saw action in the defense of the city of Tula before going over to the counteroffensive in December, suffering massive casualties in the process. It spent much of the next year along the lines it gained over the winter, southwest of the capital, before beginning to push westward as part of Western Front's 1943 summer offensive. During the winter of 1943-44 it was in Belorussian Front gradually gaining ground towards the Dniepr River to the east of Rogachev. At the start of Operation Bagration the 413th was in the 3rd Army but was soon reassigned to the 65th Army where it remained for most of the rest of the war. The division was awarded a battle honor for its role in the liberation of Brest in July and in 1945 received both the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov as it advanced into Poland and Germany with 2nd Belorussian Front. The 413th had a distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path north of Berlin. It was disbanded in the summer of 1946.

The 250th Rifle Division was the sixth 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 and, in fact, it was partly rebuilt by incorporating remnants of other disbanded divisions. In October it played a relatively minor role in the defensive operations around Kalinin as part of 22nd Army in Kalinin Front. Early in 1942 the 250th was transferred to the 53rd Army of Northwestern Front, and spent most of the year rebuilding while also containing the German forces in the Demyansk Pocket. After this position was evacuated at the end of February, 1943 the division was transferred to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and shipped south, joining the 2nd Reserve Army in Steppe Military District. This soon became the 63rd Army in Bryansk Front and the 250th was assigned to the 35th Rifle Corps, where it remained for the duration of the war. During the summer offensive against the German-held salient around Oryol the division helped lead the drive to liberate that city in August, and then advanced through western Russia and into Belarus, now in Central Front. In the initial phase of Operation Bagration the division, now in 3rd Army, was given special recognition for its role in the liberation of the city of Babruysk, and shortly thereafter also received the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. During 1945 it moved, with its Corps and Army, from 2nd Belorussian to 3rd Belorussian Front before returning to 1st Belorussian, seeing combat in Poland, East Prussia and central Germany; its subunits were awarded additional honors and decorations during this period. The 250th had a distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path along the Elbe River. It was disbanded in Belarus 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 30th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in May, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 238th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It would soon after help provide the headquarters cadre for the 7th Guards Rifle Corps along with its "sister" 29th Guards Rifle Division. However, it was not assigned as a unit to the Corps until August when it joined 33rd Army of Western Front and saw extensive fighting, while also suffering extensive casualties, in the summer campaign against the German 3rd Panzer Army in the southern sector of the Rzhev salient. After leaving 7th Guards Corps the division was reassigned to several other armies in the Front until April, 1943 when it joined the 15th Guards Rifle Corps in 30th Army, which became 10th Guards Army the next month; it would remain under these commands for the duration of the war. The division took part in Operation Suvorov, Western Front's summer offensive towards Smolensk, and after the liberation of that city was involved in several unsuccessful drives on the Belarusian city of Orsha. By December the 30th Guards had been redeployed to 2nd Baltic Front and during the summer and fall of 1944 it took part in the offensives through the Baltic states, winning a battle honor for its part in the liberation of Riga. For the rest of the war the division remained in Latvia helping to contain the German forces trapped in the Courland Peninsula, eventually coming under command of Leningrad Front. In mid-1946 it was converted to the 30th Separate Guards Rifle Brigade.

The 50th Guards Rifle Division was an elite infantry division of the Red Army during World War II that continued as part of the Soviet Army during the early period of the Cold War. Converted into the 50th Guards Motor Rifle Division in the late 1950s, the division was based in Brest, Belarus. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the division became part of the Belarusian Ground Forces and was reduced to a brigade and then a storage base before being disbanded in 2006.

The 206th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. Its first formation in March 1941 was based on the last prewar shtat for rifle divisions. When the German invasion began it was still organizing well away from the front near Krivoi Rog but was soon sent to the Kiev Fortified Sector where it eventually came under command of the 37th Army. It was deeply encircled by the German offensive in September and destroyed, but not officially stricken from the Soviet order of battle until late December.

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 65th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in May, 1943, based on the 2nd formations of the 75th and 78th Rifle Brigades, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Along with its "sister", the 56th Guards Rifle Division, the 65th was formed "out of sequence", that is, many Guards rifle divisions were higher numbered and formed earlier than the 65th. The division was immediately assigned to the 19th Guards Rifle Corps of the 10th Guards Army and remained under those headquarters for the duration of the war. It first saw action in Western Front's summer offensive, Operation Suvorov. During the winter of 1943-44 it took part in the stubborn fighting north and east of Vitebsk, first in Western and later in 2nd Baltic Front. During the following summer offensives it helped break through the defenses of the German Panther Line and advanced into the Baltic states, eventually receiving a battle honor for its part in the liberation of Riga. For the rest of the war it was part of the forces blockading the remnants of German Army Group North in the Courland Pocket in Latvia, eventually in Leningrad Front. After the war the 65th Guards was moved to Estonia where it was disbanded in 1947.

The 71st Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in March 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 23rd Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War.

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 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 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 217th 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 formed at Voronezh and was considered a "sister" to the 222nd Rifle Division. When Operation Barbarossa began it was in 28th Army but soon after moving to the front it helped form the 43rd Army before being reassigned to 50th Army in Bryansk Front. After barely escaping disbandment during Operation Typhoon it took part in the defense of Tula; in the following counteroffensive one of its rifle regiments was so reduced by casualties that it had to be replaced by a Tula militia regiment. During the rest of 1942 and into 1943 it served in a largely defensive role as part of 49th Army and 16th Army although it took part in one abortive offensive in March 1943 north of Zhizdra. It remained in the latter Army when it was redesignated 11th Guards and fought under its command in the July-August offensive against the German-held Oryol salient before being transferred to 11th Army and winning an honorific in the advance through western Russia. In recognition of its role in the battle for Gomel it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After winter battles in eastern Belarus the 217th played leading roles in the liberation of Zhlobin and Bobruisk in the early stages of Operation Bagration as part of 48th Army. During the Vistula-Oder offensive it took part in the liberation of Mława and then crossed into the western part of East Prussia, winning the rare distinction of the Order of Lenin in the process. It ended the war in East Prussia and remained in the Königsberg area until the spring of 1946 when it was converted to the 3rd Rifle Brigade.

The 221st Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was redesignated about four weeks after the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. After several further redesignations the division, which had always been a rifle division for all intents and purposes, was destroyed during Operation Typhoon in October 1941.

The 232nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the weeks just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It was quickly moved to the fighting front as part of the 66th Rifle Corps in 21st Army, and it remained in this Corps for its brief existence. 21st Army was deployed in western Belarus, attempting to plug the gaps created by the defeats of the border armies in the first weeks of Barbarossa, and the division made a deep penetration into the German rear in the eastern fringes of the Pripet Marshes, but this was ultimately unsustainable. By early September, the 232nd was greatly depleted due to almost continual combat, before being encircled and destroyed east of Kyiv.

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.

The 241st Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army from the remnants of the 28th Tank Division in November/December 1941. It was based on the shtat of July 29, 1941 and was reformed in the 27th Army of Northwestern Front. It was soon moved to 34th Army and later to 53rd Army in the same Front, playing a relatively minor role in the battles against German 16th Army's forces in the Demyansk salient into the first months of 1943. Following the evacuation of the salient the division was moved southward to the Steppe Military District, joining the 2nd formation of the 27th Army. It next saw action in Voronezh Front's counteroffensive following the German offensive at Kursk, becoming involved in the complex fighting around Okhtyrka and then advancing through eastern Ukraine toward the Dniepr River. The 241st took part in the unsuccessful battles to break out of the bridgehead at Bukryn and after the liberation of Kyiv it was reassigned to 38th Army, remaining under that command, assigned to various rifle corps, mostly the 67th, for the duration of the war. In the spring of 1944, it won a battle honor in western Ukraine, and during the summer several of its subunits received recognition in the battles for Lviv and Sambir. During the autumn it entered the Carpathian Mountains and took part in the fighting for the Dukla Pass before being transferred, along with the rest of 38th Army, to the 4th Ukrainian Front. This Front advanced through Slovakia and southern Poland in the first months of 1945 and the division's subunits won further distinctions, but the division itself only received one, fairly minor, decoration. It ended the war near Prague and was disbanded during the summer.

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. 65. This source describes the 673rd as a Howitzer Regiment.
  2. ↑ Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", p. 65
  3. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 10
  4. ↑ David M. Glantz, Barbarossa, Tempus Publishing Ltd., Stroud, UK, 2001, p. 36
  5. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 23
  6. ↑ Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2010, Kindle ed., ch. 3
  7. ↑ Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 6
  8. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 33
  9. ↑ Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 2, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2012, pp. 89-90
  10. ↑ David Stahel, Kiev 1941, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2012, pp. 262-63
  11. ↑ Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 2, p. 120
  12. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 42
  13. ↑ Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 2, pp. 369-71, 373-75, 383
  14. ↑ Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 2, pp. 388-89, 459-61, 463, 465
  15. ↑ Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", p. 65. This reinforcement is not shown in Grylev.
  16. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p. 32. Grylev states the division remained on the books until December 27.
  17. ↑ Aleksander A. Maslov, Fallen Soviet Generals, ed. & trans. D. M. Glantz, Frank Cass Publishers, London, UK, 1998, p. 106
  18. ↑ Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 99
  19. ↑ Sharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. X, Nafziger, 1996, p. 87
  20. ↑ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 87
  21. ↑ Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 108-09, 115, 139, 142
  22. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 147
  23. ↑ Based on STAVKA archives, Glantz identifies the 219th as one of seven divisions that arrived in Don and Southwestern Fronts in October from the Reserve of the Supreme High Command after being rebuilt following heavy losses in the spring and summer battles. Endgame at Stalingrad, Book One, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2014, p. 541. This is an error for the 212th Rifle Division.
  24. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 238
  25. ↑ Glantz, Endgame at Stalingrad, Book Two, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2014, pp. 25-26, 29-31
  26. ↑ Glantz, Endgame at Stalingrad, Book Two, pp. 225, 228-30, 234-36, 244
  27. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Rollback, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2015, Kindle ed., part III, ch. 2
  28. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 16
  29. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Rollback, Kindle ed., part III, ch. 2
  30. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Rollback, Kindle ed., part III, ch. 13
  31. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Rollback, Kindle ed., part III, ch. 13
  32. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Rollback, Kindle ed., part III, ch. 13
  33. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Rollback, Kindle ed., part III, chs. 13, 14
  34. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Rollback, Kindle ed., part III, ch. 14
  35. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Rollback, Kindle ed., part III, ch. 14
  36. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 65
  37. ↑ Glantz states that the 219th was supporting 3rd Tank Army on March 1. This appears to be an error for the 160th Rifle Division. After Stalingrad, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2011, p. 186.
  38. ↑ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 87
  39. ↑ Glantz, Colossus Reborn, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2005, p. 593. This source mistakenly states that the division was part of 57th Army at the time.
  40. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Battle of Kursk, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, Kindle ed., Book One, Part One, chs. 1, 2. This source misnumbers the 237th Rifle Division as the 217th.
  41. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Battle of Kursk, Kindle ed., Book One, Part Two, ch. 3
  42. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Battle of Kursk, Kindle ed., Book One, Part Two, ch. 3
  43. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Battle of Kursk, Kindle ed., Book One, Part Two, ch. 3
  44. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 206
  45. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 216
  46. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2016, pp. 25-26, 32, 43-48
  47. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 274
  48. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, p. 41
  49. ↑ Earl F. Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin, Center of Military History United States Army, Washington, DC, 1968, p. 203
  50. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, p. 145-47, 150, 154. This source states in error that the 219th had been in 22nd Army prior to joining 3rd Shock.
  51. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 300
  52. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, pp. 238-40
  53. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 97
  54. ↑ The Gamers, Inc., Baltic Gap, Multi-Man Publishing, Millersville, MD, 2009, pp. 9, 17
  55. ↑ http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/1-ssr-2.html. In Russian. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  56. ↑ https://warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1046. In Russian, English translation available. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  57. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a, p. 426.
  58. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 249
  59. ↑ The Gamers, Inc., Baltic Gap, pp. 29, 36
  60. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 280
  61. ↑ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 87
  62. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1945, pp. 77, 112
  63. ↑ V. I. Feskov et al 2013, p. 489

Bibliography

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