300th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

Last updated
300th Rifle Division (July 10, 1941 - April 16, 1943)
300th Rifle Division (August 9, 1943 - April 14, 1946)
Active1941–1946
CountryFlag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
Branch Red Army flag.svg Red Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
Engagements Operation Barbarossa
Battle of Kiev (1941)
First Battle of Kharkov
Second Battle of Kharkov
Operation Blue
Battle of Stalingrad
Operation Uranus
Operation Little Saturn
Battle of Rostov (1943)
Soviet invasion of Manchuria
Battle of Mutanchiang
Battle honours Harbin (2nd Formation)
Commanders
Notable
commanders
  • Col. Pavel Ionovich Kuznetsov
  • Col. Serafim Petrovich Merkulov
  • Col. Ivan Mikhailovich Afonin
  • Maj. Gen. Andrei Pavlovich Karnov
  • Maj. Gen. Kornily Cherepanov

The 300th Rifle Division began service as a standard Red Army rifle division shortly after the German invasion, and fought in the southwestern part of the Soviet-German front for nearly two years following. It was able to escape the encirclement east of Kiev in September, 1941, and then fought to defend, and later to try to liberate, the city of Kharkov during 1941-42. After falling back under the weight of the German 1942 summer offensive, the division began distinguish itself during Operation Uranus in late 1942, when it helped defeat the German attempt to relieve Sixth Army and later in the pursuit of the defeated Axis forces and the second liberation of Rostov-na-Donu. In recognition of these successes it was raised to Guards status as the 87th Guards Rifle Division. A second 300th Rifle Division was raised a few months later and fought briefly but very successfully against the Japanese in Manchuria in August 1945. The second formation became the 3rd Tank Division in the Far East postwar and was redesignated as the 46th Tank Division in 1957 before disbanding in 1959.

Contents

1st Formation

The division began forming on July 10, 1941 at Krasnograd in the Kharkov Military District. [1] Its order of battle was as follows:

Col. Pavel Ionovich Kuznetzov was appointed to command of the division on the day it began assembling.

Just a month after forming, the 300th was assigned to 38th Army of Southwestern Front, just as that Army was itself forming up. [3] It first began to reach the front on August 12 and remained in that Army and that Front until May, 1942. On September 1 it was helping to contain the 1st Panzer Army's bridgehead across the Dniepr River at Kremenchug. As the German attack penetrated the Soviet lines, most of the division fell back to the east, and so avoided being encircled in the Kiev pocket. [4]

Battles for Kharkov

On October 2, Col. Serafim Petrovich Merkulov took over command of the division from Colonel Kuznetzov. The 300th fought in the defense of Kharkov in October, after which, in November, it was reported as having been reduced to a strength of 2,684 men. In spite of this, the division went on to take part in the winter counteroffensive. [5]

During the Soviet offensive phase of the Second Battle of Kharkov, which began on May 12, 1942, 38th Army deployed the 300th, along with the 124th and 226th Rifle Divisions and one regiment of the 81st Rifle Division, on the penetration sector of Dragunovka, Peschanoe, and Piatnitskoe, and reinforced them with two tank brigades and almost all the army artillery assets. Despite this, and possibly due to its still-depleted state, the division played a secondary role in the offensive. In its report on the first day's operations, 38th Army staff does not mention the division at all, although in fact it did attempt to seize German positions around Piatnitskoe with a multi-battalion task force. This was repulsed with heavy losses. [6]

During the first half of the following day, 38th Army's shock group (less the 300th) made impressive gains as the German lines fell back. However, starting at 1300 hrs., a concerted German counterthrust, led by 3rd and 23rd Panzer Divisions and supported by three infantry regiments, struck the advancing Soviet forces "on the nose" and sent them reeling back. Under this pressure, the shaken rifle divisions withdrew as best they could to the Bolshaia Babka River, where the 300th was already positioned. This temporarily ended 38th Army's role in the offensive. [7]

On May 18, as a crisis began to develop due to a German counteroffensive against the south face of the Barvenkovo salient, Marshal S.K. Timoshenko ordered 38th Army to renew its attacks. The 81st and 300th Divisions were to launch a secondary attack against Peschanoe. The Army's attacks began on time at 0700 hrs. but were staged on much too broad a front; elements of the division penetrated only 1.5 – 2 km at heavy cost before grinding to a halt. Over the following day or two local battles were conducted to improve positions, but the offensive on this sector was definitively finished on May 20. [8]

Operation Blue and Stalingrad

By June 1 the division had been transferred to the 28th Army, still in Southwestern Front. [9] Prior to the start of Operation Blue, German Sixth Army launched a preliminary attack, Operation Wilhelm, against the 28th Army bridgehead over the Donets at and south of Volchansk, from June 10–15. The 300th was caught up in this and was largely encircled in spite of beginning to retreat almost immediately; on the 13th Marshal Timoshenko reported it was "seriously battered". [10] By July 1 it had been removed to the reserves of Southwestern Front. [11] On July 29, Colonel Merkulov was reassigned to command of the 304th Rifle Division, and was replaced by Col. Ivan Mikhailovich Afonin.

As the German offensive pressed on, the division was transferred again to the 21st Army of Stalingrad Front. In the process of fighting in these unequal circumstances the division took further losses, and was withdrawn into the Reserve of the Supreme High Command at Tuymazy [12] in August for rebuilding. [13]

On October 2, the rebuilt 300th was assigned to 4th Reserve Army, back in Stalingrad Front, for future employment in the Stalingrad region, although the deteriorating situation in 62nd Army forced its early commitment to the fight for the city. [14] At this stage of the battle the Supreme High Command was apprehensive that the enemy might attempt to cross the Volga, so the division was ordered to deploy on the east bank of the river on October 11, along a sector running from Lake Tuzhilkino to the mouth of the Akhtuba River. [15] The division next saw action later that month, when two rifle battalions of the 1049th Rifle Regiment attempted an assault amphibious landing across the river aimed at the village of Latashanka, in an attempt to relieve German pressure on the defenders of Rynok and the northern factory districts. The effort failed, at a cost of at least 900 men killed, wounded or captured. [16] [17]

The division next saw action with the beginning of the operation to encircle the German/Romanian forces at Stalingrad. The 300th, now in 51st Army crossed to the right bank of the Volga by a pontoon bridge downstream from the city, and formed part of the second echelon of the southern pincer which completed the encirclement by November 22. [18]

Operation Little Saturn

Stalingrad Front faced two challenges following the encirclement: first, to prevent a German relief operation of the pocket, and second, to exploit the huge gaps in the Axis lines and drive the enemy out of the Caucasus steppes. To this end, on December 8, the STAVKA formed the new 5th Shock Army, which included the 300th, with four other rifle divisions, 4th Mechanized Corps, two tank corps, and the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps. By the end of the day on December 10, the division, with the 315th Rifle Division alongside, had occupied jumping-off positions on the eastern bank of the Don, opposite Nizhne-Chirskaia, supporting 4th Mechanized Corps. [19] The focus at this time was on the defensive battle, and on December 21 elements of the division helped stop one of the last attempts of Army Group Don to break the encirclement. [20]

On December 26, 5th Shock Army headquarters issued Operational Summary No. 24, which stated in part:

"On the basis of the STAVKA's orders, 300th Rifle Division and 4th Cavalry Corps were transferred from 5th Shock Army to 2nd Guards Army." [21]

At this time, with the Stalingrad encirclement secured, 5th Tank, 5th Shock, and 2nd Guards Armies all turned their attentions to the ad hoc Corps Mieth holding in the great bend of the Don, headquartered at the town of Tormosin. On December 29, 2nd Guards Army began a westward advance across the river. An operational group was formed under the command of Maj. Gen. I.G. Kreizer (former and future commander of 2nd Guards) consisting of 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps, 4th Cavalry Corps, and 33rd Guards, 300th and 387th Rifle Divisions. This group made great strides through the rag-tag Axis forces towards Tormosin over the next 24 hours, and in order to ease command and control in this operation and others, early on December 30, most of Stalingrad Front became the re-created Southern Front. The division was across the Don somewhat north of the confluence with the Aksai River on December 31, the same day Tormosin was liberated by the mechanized corps. [22] During the next two months the division continued exploiting the Soviet victory along the Don River towards and then past Rostov-na-Donu. On February 8, 1943, Col. Kirill Yakovlevich Tymchik took over command of the division, whose advance finally came to a halt along the Mius River. On February 21, Southern Front reported to STAVKA that:

"The 300th Rifle Division is fighting on the southeastern outskirts of Novaia Nadezhda, Alekseevka, and Aleksandrovka (I repeat, on the southeast outskirts of these points)..." [23]

All of these points were on the left bank of the Mius, as the overstretched Soviet forces were unable to penetrate the German defenses on the right bank, based on fortifications they had built a year earlier.

On April 16, 1943, in recognition of the division's prowess both on the defense and during the offensive that crushed the trapped German Sixth Army and threw their forces out of the Caucasus, it was re-designated as the 87th Guards Rifle Division. [24] Colonel Tymchik remained in command during the re-designation, and held command of 87th Guards for the duration of the war, being promoted to Major General on November 2, 1944.

2nd Formation

The second 300th Rifle Division was formed, along with the 87th Rifle Corps, in the 1st Red Banner Army on August 9, 1943. Its order of battle remained the same as the first formation, with the addition of a Divisional Training Battalion. Col. Vasilii Vladimirovich Bardadin was appointed as commanding officer on the same date. The division served in the Maritime Group of Forces, in 1st Army or in Far Eastern Front reserves, for the duration. On May 31, 1944, Maj. Gen. Andrei Pavlovich Karnov took over command from Colonel Bardadin.

Transferring from the west alongside the new 1st Red Banner Army commander, Afanasy Beloborodov, Major General Kornily Cherepanov took command of the division before the invasion of Manchuria. When the Soviet Union declared war on Japan on August 9, 1945, the division, now in 26th Rifle Corps, joined in the advance into Manchuria. In preparation it was reinforced with a battalion of 13 SU-76s and also had the following assets attached:

In addition, the 257th Tank Brigade was attached on the second day. [25] 26th Corps had to take a route through mountainous terrain towards the city of Mutanchiang; the advance was expected to take 18 days, but after just eight days the 300th was across the Mutan River and was clearing the city. It accomplished this by creating a forward detachment consisting of the 1049th Rifle Regiment, loaded in all the truck-drawn support that could be found. This was the first infantry able to reinforce the tank brigade and the divisional SU-76 battalion at the river-crossing sites. [26] In recognition of this feat, the division was given the honorific Harbin (Russian: Харбинская). During the fighting, Cherepanov was seriously wounded, resulting in the amputation of his hand, and for his leadership was made a Hero of the Soviet Union. [27]

On April 14, 1946 at Pokrovka in Primorsky Krai the division became the 3rd Tank Division (3-я танковая Харбинская дивизия) (1946–57). After a brief period as the 46th Tank Division (1957–59) the division was disbanded, still located at Pokrovka. [28]

Later the Strategic Rocket Forces' 4th Harbin Rocket Division was given the name 'Harbin' in succession to the 46th Tank Division.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Shock Army</span> Military unit

The 5th Shock Army was a Red Army field army of World War II. The army was formed on 9 December 1942 by redesignating the 10th Reserve Army. The army was formed two times prior to this with neither formation lasting more than a month before being redesignated.

The 301st Rifle Division began service as a standard Red Army rifle division shortly after the German invasion, but was soon largely destroyed in the encirclement of Kiev, although enough of a cadre survived to form the basis of a second formation. This new division began forming in the last days of 1941, and saw some limited service in the Second Battle of Kharkov, but then had to fall back in the face of the German summer offensive, became encircled quite early on, and had to be disbanded in July. Nearly a year later a third 301st was raised, based on the personnel and equipment of two existing rifle brigades. This incarnation of the division compiled a creditable record of service in several major offensives through Ukraine, then into Poland and into the heart of Berlin in April, 1945, and also served briefly post-war in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, headquartered in Berlin.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">293rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)</span> Military unit

The 293rd Rifle Division began service as a Red Army rifle division shortly after the German invasion. It was largely based on what would become the shtat of July 29, 1941. The division was initially assigned to 40th Army of Southwestern Front when that Army was formed on August 26. It served in several clashes with the German 2nd Panzer Group in the vicinity of Korop and was therefore outside the area encircled by 2nd and 1st Panzer Groups in September, spending the winter along the front near Kursk. It fought in the unsuccessful Soviet offensive on Kharkiv in May, 1942 as part of 21st Army, suffering significant casualties in the process. During June and July the remnants of the division fought along the Don River against the German summer offensive until it was pulled back into the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding. It returned to the front in October, again as part of 21st Army, near Stalingrad, where it played a leading role in the encirclement and destruction of German 6th Army in January 1943, for which it was raised to Guards status as the 66th Guards Rifle Division as the battle was still ongoing.

The 169th Rifle Division began forming as an infantry division of the Red Army in the Ukraine Military District in August 1939, based on the shtat of the following month. It nominally saw service in the occupation force in western Ukraine in September, but was not in any state to see combat. It played a more active role in the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in June/July 1940. The German invasion in June 1941 found it still in Ukraine, as part of 55th Rifle Corps fighting back to the Dniepr until it was nearly destroyed. It joined the reformed 28th Army after that Army was assigned to Southwestern Front. In May it formed part of the Front's northern shock group for the offensive intended to liberate Kharkiv. While initially hampered by the failure to take the German strongpoint at Ternovaya it gradually developed momentum in cooperation with 175th Rifle Division and ended up deep into the German positions before being struck by an armored counterattack on May 20 and being driven back to near its starting line, at considerable cost. In June it was nearly encircled during Operation Wilhelm, but managed to escape, again with serious losses. At the end of July it was removed to the Stalingrad Military District for rebuilding, joining the reformed 28th Army in the Kalmyk Steppe, but was then moved north in October to 64th Army south of Stalingrad and played a minor role in an offensive to break into the city. At the start of Operation Uranus it was in 57th Army south of the city and quickly penetrated the Romanian positions and exploited westward until coming up against German positions on the southern edge of what was now the Stalingrad Kessel (Pocket). During the operation that eliminated the pocket in January 1943 it was again under 64th Army, now in Don Front. Following the German surrender the 169th was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and sent north to join 11th Guards Army in Western Front, and under these command it took part in the offensive against the Oryol salient in July and August. With the successful conclusion of this operation the division was moved to 63rd Army, which became part of Belorussian Front in October, following an advance through northeastern Ukraine. It saw action in eastern Belarus through the fall and winter, being moved to 3rd Army after the 63rd was disbanded, and it would remain in this Army for nearly the entire remainder of the war. In late February 1944 the 169th was awarded a battle honor for its part in the liberation of Rahachow. After a pause in operations in the spring the division fought in Operation Bagration, including taking part in the clearing of the city of Babruysk, and during the pursuit of the defeated forces of Army Group Center won the Order of the Red Banner after taking Vawkavysk, now as part of 2nd Belorussian Front. Before the offensive culminated it advanced past Białystok nearly to the borders of East Prussia. During the Vistula-Oder Offensive in January 1945 the 169th crossed that border and fought in there into March, briefly as part of 3rd Belorussian Front, winning the Order of Suvorov and Order of Kutuzov in the process. It was moved, with 3rd Army, back to 1st Belorussian Front in time for the final assault on Berlin, and fought in the encirclement battle with German 9th Army southeast of the city in the last days of April. It ended the war along the Elbe River and, although it was slated for disbandment during the summer, it continued in service in Belarus until June 1946.

The 321st Rifle Division was formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, based on an existing division of militia. This formation had an extremely short career, coming under devastating attack in the north of the Crimea on the day of its redesignation and being officially disbanded just over a month later. A second division began forming in the Transbaikal in February 1942, and served in the defensive and offensive fighting around Stalingrad, eventually distinguishing itself sufficiently to be redesignated as the 82nd Guards Rifle Division. The world had not seen the last of the 321st, however, as a new division was formed from two existing rifle brigades in the spring of 1944, which gave very creditable service for the duration, completing its combat path in northeastern Germany, and serving into the postwar period.

The 333rd Rifle Division began forming in the North Caucasus Military District in August, 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, as part of the massive mobilization of reserve forces very shortly after the German invasion. In 1942 it served in the late winter and early spring fighting near Kharkov, taking a beating both then and during the opening stages of the German summer offensive. Withdrawn into the reserves, the division was rebuilt in time to take part in the Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad in November, and played an important role in driving the German forces out of the Caucasus region during the winter. In the autumn of 1943 the division shared credit with the 25th Guards Rifle Division for the liberation of Sinelnikovo in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, receiving that place name as an honorific. After battling through Ukraine and into the Balkan states, the 333rd completed its combat path on a relatively quiet note doing garrison duties in the Balkans.

The 343rd Rifle Division was first formed in late August, 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Stavropol, in the Caucasus region. Its first major operation was in the liberation of Rostov in December, 1941. Following this, it was nearly caught up in the debacle near Kharkov in May, 1942, but managed to evade the German spearheads during Operation Blue to join the forces defending the Stalingrad region during the summer and fall. Following the German surrender at Stalingrad, on May 4, 1943, it was re-designated as the 97th Guards Rifle Division. Over a year later, a new 343rd Rifle Division was formed, based on the personnel and equipment of a Fortified Region, just after the start of Operation Bagration, the destruction of German Army Group Center. This new division went on to distinguish itself by helping to liberate the Polish city of Białystok, and ended the war in East Prussia, near Königsberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">346th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)</span> Military unit

The 346th Rifle Division began forming in late August, 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, in the Volga Military District. It was assigned to the 61st Army while both it and its Army continued to form up before moving to the front lines in December to take part in the winter counteroffensive south of Moscow. In September, 1942, it became part of the 5th Tank Army, and joined the offensive that encircled German Sixth Army at Stalingrad during Operation Uranus. During 1943 and early 1944 it continued to serve in the southern part of the front, taking part in the liberation of Crimea, before being transferred to the Baltic States region, serving in Latvia and Lithuania until February, 1945, when it was once again reassigned, this time to be part of the follow-on forces in the conquest of eastern Germany. The division ended the war with a distinguished service record, but was disbanded shortly after the German surrender.

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 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 33rd Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in May 1942, based on the 2nd formation of the 3rd Airborne Corps, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was the second of a series of ten Guards rifle divisions formed from airborne corps during the spring and summer of 1942. It was briefly assigned to the 47th Army in the North Caucasus Front but was soon moved to the Volga Military District and saw its first action as part of 62nd Army in the fighting on the approaches to Stalingrad. It was withdrawn east of the Volga in September, but returned to the front with the 2nd Guards Army in December, and it remained in this Army until early 1945. After helping to defeat Army Group Don's attempt to relieve the trapped 6th Army at Stalingrad the 33rd Guards joined in the pursuit across the southern Caucasus steppe until reaching the Mius River in early 1943. Through the rest of that year it fought through the southern sector of eastern Ukraine as part of Southern Front and in the spring of 1944 assisted in the liberation of the Crimea, earning a battle honor in the process. The Crimea was a strategic dead-end, so 2nd Guards Army was moved north to take part in the summer offensive through the Baltic states and to the border with Germany as part of 1st Baltic Front. During the offensive into East Prussia the division and its 13th Guards Rifle Corps was reassigned to 39th and the 43rd Armies before returning to 2nd Guards Army in April. For its part in the capture of the city-fortress of Königsberg the 33rd Guards would receive the Order of Suvorov. In mid-1946 it was converted to the 8th Separate Guards Rifle Brigade.

The 41st Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in August 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 10th Airborne Corps, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was the last of a series of ten Guards rifle divisions formed from airborne corps during the spring and summer of 1942. It was briefly assigned to the 1st Guards Army in Stalingrad Front, then to the 24th Army in Don Front, and suffered heavy casualties north of Stalingrad before being withdrawn to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for a substantial rebuilding. Returning to 1st Guards Army in Southwestern Front in November it took part in Operation Little Saturn as part of 4th Guards Rifle Corps and then advanced into the Donbas where it was caught up in the German counteroffensive in the spring of 1943. During the summer and fall the division fought its way through eastern Ukraine as part of the 6th, and later the 57th Army under several corps commands. It would remain in the southern part of the front for the duration of the war. By February 1944 it was in the 7th Guards Army and took part in the battle for the Korsun Pocket, winning its first battle honor in the process. Shortly after it was transferred to the 4th Guards Army, where it would remain for the duration, still moving through several corps headquarters. The 41st Guards saw limited service in the first Jassy-Kishinev offensive in the spring, but considerably more in August's second offensive and several of its subunits received battle honors or decorations. The division itself won a second honorific during the offensive into Hungary in January 1945 and was later decorated for its role in the capture of Budapest. After the fall of Vienna in April it did garrison duty in the city for a short time before being directed west into lower Austria where it linked up with U.S. forces in the last days of the war. In October, while still in Austria, it was converted to the 18th Guards Mechanized Division.

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 211th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed just after the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. In fact the division remained chronically short of equipment, particularly heavy weapons, throughout the existence of the 1st formation. Assigned to 43rd Army of Reserve Front it first saw combat along the Desna River at the time of the Yelnya offensive and several of its subunits were overtaken by panic when counterattacked by German tanks. During the first day of Operation Typhoon its line was breached and it was soon encircled and destroyed.

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 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 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. ↑ Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 77
  2. ↑ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December, 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IX, 1996, p. 68
  3. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 52
  4. ↑ David Stahel, Kiev 1941, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2012, pp. 210, 261
  5. ↑ David M. Glantz, Kharkov 1942, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, UK, 1998/2010, p. 120
  6. ↑ Glantz, Kharkov, pp. 92, 120, 169, 171
  7. ↑ Glantz, Kharkov, pp. 180-83
  8. ↑ Glantz, Kharkov, pp. 251, 261-63, 273
  9. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 104
  10. ↑ Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 90-97
  11. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 126
  12. ↑ Isaak Kobylyanskiy, From Stalingrad to Pillau, ed. & trans. S. Britton, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2008, pp. 60-61
  13. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 68
  14. ↑ Glantz, Endgame at Stalingrad, Book One, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2014, p. 85
  15. ↑ John Erickson, The Road to Stalingrad, George Weidenfeld and Nicolson, Ltd., London, UK, 1975, p. 420
  16. ↑ Kobylyanskiy, pp. 69-70
  17. ↑ This operation is detailed in Jochen Hellbeck, Stalingrad - The City that Defeated the Third Reich, trans. C. Tauchen and D. Bonfiglio, Perseus Books Group, New York, 2015, pp. 203-22. Kobylyanskiy is quoted on p. 207. In this account the name of the village is transliterated as "Latoshinka".
  18. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 68
  19. ↑ Glantz, Endgame at Stalingrad, Book Two, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2014, pp. 26, 58, 64-65
  20. ↑ Kobylyanskiy, p. 73
  21. ↑ Glantz, Endgame, Book Two, p. 262
  22. ↑ Glantz, Endgame, Book Two, pp. 273-76, 282
  23. ↑ Glantz, After Stalingrad, Helion & Company, Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2011, p. 214
  24. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 68
  25. ↑ Glantz, August Storm: The Soviet 1945 Strategic Offensive In Manchuria, Verdun Press, 2015, Kindle ed., table 12
  26. ↑ Sharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. X, 1996, p. 112
  27. ↑ "Kornily Cherepanov". Герои страны ("Heroes of the Country") (in Russian). Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  28. ↑ Holm 2015, http://www.ww2.dk/new/army/td/3td.htm

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