265th Motor Rifle Division

Last updated
265th Motor Rifle Division
(1965–1989)

119th Motor Rifle Division
(1957–1965)

71st Mechanized Division
(1953–1957)

34th Separate Rifle Brigade
(1946–1953)

265th Rifle Division
(1941–1946)
Active July 1941–October 1989
Country Soviet Union
Branch Red Army
Type Rifle division
Engagements World War II
Battle honours

The 265th Motor Rifle Division (Russian : 265-я мотострелковая дивизия) was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army during the Cold War.

Russian language East Slavic language

Russian is an East Slavic language, which is official in the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as being widely used throughout Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It was the de facto language of the Soviet Union until its dissolution on 25 December 1991. Although, nowadays, nearly three decades after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russian is used in official capacity or in public life in all the post-Soviet nation-states, as well as in Israel and Mongolia, the rise of state-specific varieties of this language tends to be strongly denied in Russia, in line with the Russian World ideology.

Soviet Army name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992

The Soviet Army is the name given to the main land-based branch of the Soviet Armed Forces between February 1946 and December 1991, when it was replaced with the Russian Ground Forces, although it was not fully abolished until 25 December 1993. Until 25 February 1946, it was known as the Red Army, established by decree on 15 (28) January 1918 "to protect the population, territorial integrity and civil liberties in the territory of the Soviet state." The Strategic Missile Troops, Air Defense Forces and Air Forces were part of the Soviet Army in addition to the Ground Forces.

Cold War State of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc and the Western Bloc

The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union with its satellite states, and the United States with its allies after World War II. A common historiography of the conflict begins with 1946, the year U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan's "Long Telegram" from Moscow cemented a U.S. foreign policy of containment of Soviet expansionism threatening strategically vital regions, and ending between the Revolutions of 1989 and the 1991 collapse of the USSR, which ended communism in Eastern Europe. The term "cold" is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars.

Contents

The division traced its heritage back to the 265th Rifle Division, which was formed in mid-1941 from an NKVD division. The 265th fought in the Continuation War and the Siege of Leningrad through 1944 and the Battle of Berlin in 1945. Postwar, it was withdrawn to the Soviet Union and downsized into a rifle brigade before being expanded into the 71st Mechanized Division in 1953. It was relocated to Vilnius and converted into the 119th Motor Rifle Division in 1957 before relocating to the Soviet Far East in 1964 and being renumbered as the 265th Motor Rifle Division. It spent the rest of its career in the Far East and was downsized into a storage base in 1989.

The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, abbreviated NKVD, was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.

Continuation War 1941–1944 war by Finland and Germany against the Soviet Union

The Continuation War was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany, as co-belligerents, against the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1941 to 1944, during World War II. In Russian historiography, the war is called the Soviet–Finnish Front of the Great Patriotic War. Germany regarded its operations in the region as part of its overall war efforts on the Eastern Front and provided Finland with critical material support and military assistance.

Siege of Leningrad 8 September 1941 – 27 January 1944 blockade of Leningrad by the Axis

The Siege of Leningrad was a prolonged military blockade undertaken from the south by the Army Group North of Nazi Germany against the Russian city of Leningrad on the Eastern Front in World War II. The Finnish army invaded from the north, co-operating with the Germans until they had recaptured territory lost in the recent Winter War, but refused to make further approaches to the city.

History

World War II

The 265th Rifle Division began forming on 26 June 1941 in the Moscow Military District as the 17th NKVD Mountain Division. It was one of the fifteen NKVD divisions that began forming on 26 June and was transferred to the Red Army in early July. The 265th, whose major subunits included the 450th, 941st, and 951st Rifle Regiments, the 798th Artillery Regiment, and the 224th Anti-Tank Battalion, remained in the Moscow Military District at least until 10 July, and later that month moved to Leningrad with a 1500-man cadre of NKVD personnel. In early August it joined the 23rd Army, fighting in the Continuation War north of Leningrad on the Karelian Isthmus. On 26 August, its first Red Army commander, Major Ivan Prytkov, was assigned to the division. [1] [2]

Moscow Military District formerly part of the armed forces of the Russian Federation

The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.

Red Army 1917–1946 ground and air warfare branch of the Soviet Unions military

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, frequently shortened to Red Army was the army and the air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and, after 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The army was established immediately after the 1917 October Revolution. The Bolsheviks raised an army to oppose the military confederations of their adversaries during the Russian Civil War. Beginning in February 1946, the Red Army, along with the Soviet Navy, embodied the main component of the Soviet Armed Forces; taking the official name of "Soviet Army", until its dissolution in December 1991.

The 23rd Army was a Field Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army.

A memorial to the 265th Rifle Division in the village of Sofrino on the Karelian Isthmus 265 vyborgskaya sd.jpg
A memorial to the 265th Rifle Division in the village of Sofrino on the Karelian Isthmus

On 14 October, the division was transferred to the Neva River front, south of the city. In November it became part of the 8th Army, which was part of the Volkhov Front from early 1942. In November 1943, the 265th was withdrawn to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and from February 1944 was either part of the Leningrad Front or the 3rd Baltic Front until the end of 1944. Between June and July, it was part of the 21st Army's 110th Rifle Corps for the Svir–Petrozavodsk Offensive on the Karelian Isthmus, which eventually forced Finland out of the war. In August the 265th became part of the 3rd Baltic Front reserves, and in October it was with the 3rd Shock Army's 7th Rifle Corps in the 2nd Baltic Front. Just before the Vistula–Oder Offensive began in January 1945, the division transferred to the 1st Belorussian Front. It fought in the advance through Poland and in the Battle of Berlin in April and May 1945. [2] During the war, the division was awarded the honorific "Vyborg". [3]

Neva River river in Russia connecting Lake Ladoga and the Baltic Sea

The Neva is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of 74 kilometres (46 mi), it is the fourth largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge.

The 8th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War.

The Volkhov Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group North in its offensive thrust towards Leningrad. Initially the front operated to the south of Leningrad, with its flank on Lake Ladoga.

Postwar

As of 1 December 1945, the division was still with the 3rd Shock Army's 7th Rifle Corps in eastern Germany, part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. [4] On 6 June 1946, the 265th was withdrawn to the Moscow Military District with the 7th Rifle Corps, which was disbanded. [5] The 265th further relocated to Shuya in the Gorky Military District as part of the 1st Guards Rifle Corps, where it became the 34th Separate Rifle Brigade. In October 1953, it was expanded into the 71st Mechanized Division. [6] By the beginning of August 1956, the 71st was relocated from Ivanovo to Vilnius, [7] and on 5 June 1957 was converted into the 119th Motor Rifle Division, part of the 10th Army Corps (formerly the 10th Rifle Corps) [8] in the Baltic Military District. [9] Beginning on 11 July 1964, the division was relocated from Vilnius to the Amur Oblast. It was replaced at Vilnius by the 107th Motor Rifle Division. [10] [11]

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany military unit

The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (1954–1988), also known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (1945–1954) and the Western Group of Forces (1988–1994) were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany was formed after the end of World War II from units of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian Fronts. The group helped suppress the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany. After the end of occupation functions in 1954 the group was renamed the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. The group represented Soviet interests in East Germany during the Cold War. After changes in Soviet foreign policy during the late 1980s, the group shifted to a more defensive role and in 1988 became the Western Group of Forces. Russian forces remained in Eastern Germany after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the German reunification until 1994.

Shuya, Ivanovo Oblast Town in Ivanovo Oblast, Russia

Shuya is the third largest town in Ivanovo Oblast, Russia; located on the Teza River. Population: 58,486 (2010 Census); 62,449 (2002 Census); 69,362 (1989 Census).

Ivanovo City in Ivanovo Oblast, Russia

Ivanovo is a city and the administrative center of Ivanovo Oblast, Russia, located 254 kilometers (158 mi) from Moscow and approximately 100 kilometers (62 mi) from Yaroslavl, Vladimir, and Kostroma. Population: 408,330 (2010 Census); 431,721 (2002 Census); 481,042 (1989 Census). It was previously known as Ivanovo-Voznesensk.

On 11 January 1965, the division was renumbered as the 265th Motor Rifle Division. [9] In the Far East, the division was stationed at Vozzhayevka (near Belogorsk), and became part of the 35th Army from 1969. In the late 1980s, the division's 421st Motor Rifle Regiment was based at Pozdeyevka, the 373rd Tank Regiment and division headquarters at Vozzhayevka, the 695th Motor Rifle Regiment and 798th Artillery Regiment at Srednebelaya, and the 212th Motor Rifle Regiment at Cheremkhovo. On 25 October 1989, it was downsized into the 5507th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base. [12]

Vozzhayevka (air base)

Vozzhayevka is an air base in Amur Oblast, Russia located about 100 km southeast of Blagoveshchensk. It is a medium-sized air base located near an SS-11 missile field at Svobodnyy. During the 1980s it was one of 17 airfields hosting the Soviet Union's tactical reconnaissance aircraft regiments.

Belogorsk, Amur Oblast Town in Amur Oblast, Russia

Belogorsk is a town in Amur Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River, a tributary of the Zeya. Population: 68,249 (2010 Census); 67,422 (2002 Census); 73,435 (1989 Census); 53,000 (1969); 34,000 (1939).

Commanders

The following officers commanded the division during World War II: [1]

Related Research Articles

Baltic Military District

The Baltic Military District was a military district of the Soviet armed forces in the occupied Baltic states, formed briefly before the German invasion during the World War II. After end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's control in 1946, and the territory of Estonia was transferred back to the Baltic Military District from the Leningrad Military District in 1956. The Baltic Military District was disbanded after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and reorganised into the North Western Group of Forces, which ended its existence after withdrawal of all Russian troops from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on 1 September 1994.

22nd Army (Russia) soviet then Russian army

The 22nd Army was a field army of the Russian Ground Forces, part of the Moscow Military District. It was active from 1941 to 1945 and from 1990 to 2009. The order for the formation's dissolution was signed by the Minister of Defence on 1 June 2009.

A rifle corps was a Soviet corps-level military formation during the mid-twentieth century. Rifle corps were made up of a varying number of rifle divisions, although the allocation of three rifle divisions to a rifle corps was common during the latter part of World War II.

The Odessa Military District was a military administrative division of the Imperial Russian military, the Soviet Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was known under such name from around 1862 to 1998. It was reorganized as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Military of Moldova in 1992. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operational Command (Ukraine).

The 16th Rifle Division was a formation in the Red Army created during World War II. The division was formed twice, and was given the title 'Lithuanian' during its second formation. It was originally established at Tambov in May 1918. It was wiped out at Mga in July 1941. Reformed and given the title 'Lithuanian', the division participated in several battles against Nazi Germany, including Kursk, Belarus, and the Baltic. The division became a brigade postwar but became a division again in 1950. It was disbanded in 1956.

The 43rd Rifle Division was a formation of the Red Army, which took part in the Second World War, known to the Soviets as the "Great Patriotic War".

The 266th Rifle Division was a rifle division of the Soviet Red Army during World War II. The 266th was formed three times during the war.

The 26th Rifle Division was a rifle division in the Soviet Red Army during the Russian Civil War, World War II and the Cold War. The division was formed on 3 November 1918 on the Eastern Front, sent to the Soviet-German Front in August 1941. Ended the war in Poland, where it was assigned to the Northern Group of Forces. It was disbanded in 1952.

The 372nd Rifle Red Banner Novgorod Division was a division of the Red Army during the Second World War.

The 179th Vitebsk Red Banner Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II.

The 11th Tank Division was a Soviet tank division initially formed in 1940 at Tiraspol and destroyed in 1941; it was then formed as a tank corps in May 1942. This unit was subsequently reorganized as the second formation of the 11th Tank Division in 1945.

The 344th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army and the Soviet Army during World War II and the early part of the Cold War.

The 142nd Rifle Division began service in August, 1939 as a standard Red Army rifle division, which participated in the Winter War against Finland. It remained on the Karelian Isthmus and had a relatively uneventful war facing the Finns until the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive began on June 10, 1944, from which point it saw much more active service. Following the end of the Continuation War, the division was transferred to 2nd Shock Army in 2nd Belorussian Front. Its soldiers distinguished themselves in the capture of the German city of Graudenz and ended the war fighting through Pomerania.

The 36th Rifle Division was a division of the Red Army and then the Soviet Army. The division was formed in 1919 as the 36th Rifle Division and fought in the Russian Civil War and the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929. In 1937 it became the 36th Motorized Division. The division fought in the Battles of Khalkhin Gol. It was converted into a motor rifle division in 1940 and fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in World War II. Postwar, it became a rifle division again before its disbandment in 1956. The division spent almost its entire service in the Soviet Far East.

311th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

The 311th Rifle Division was a standard Red Army rifle division formed on July 14, 1941 at Kirov before being sent to the vicinity of Leningrad, where it spent most of the war, sharing a similar combat path with its "sister", the 310th Rifle Division. The men and women of the division were fully engaged in the struggle for Leningrad until early 1944, fighting in several offensives to drive a lifeline through the German positions to the besieged city, and then to finally drive the besiegers away. When this was accomplished, the division was redeployed to take the fight into the Baltic States in 1944, then into the German heartland in the winter and spring of 1945. It ended the war north of Berlin after compiling a very distinguished record of service.

The 69th Covering Brigade is a unique border protection brigade of the Russian Ground Forces, stationed at Babstovo and part of the 35th Army.

The 268th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II.

The 56th Rifle Division was a infantry division of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army of the Soviet Union, formed three times.

The 262nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.

364th Rifle Division

The 364th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.

References

Citations

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.