311th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

Last updated
311th Rifle Division (July 14, 1941 – May 29, 1945)
Soviet Major General Boris Aleksandrovich Vladimirov.jpg
Maj. Gen. B. A. Vladimirov, Hero of the Soviet Union
Active1941–1945
CountryFlag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
Branch Red Army flag.svg Red Army
TypeDivision
RoleInfantry
Engagements Siege of Leningrad
Lyuban Offensive Operation
Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda
Novgorod–Luga Offensive
Baltic Offensive
Vistula-Oder Offensive
East Pomeranian Offensive
Berlin Strategic Offensive
Decorations Order of Red Banner.svg   Order of the Red Banner
Order of Suvorov 2nd class.png   Order of Suvorov
Battle honours Dvinsk
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Col. Ivan Semyonovich Gogunov
Maj. Gen. Fyodor Nazarovich Parkhomenko
Col. Sergei Timofeevich Biyakov
Col. Vasilii Ivanovich Zolotarev
Col. Teodor-Verner Andreevich Sviklin
Col. Fyodor Izotovich Andreev
Maj. Gen. Boris Aleksandrovich Vladimirov Hero of the Soviet Union medal.png

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.

Contents

Formation

The 311th began forming in mid-July, 1941 at the city of Kirov in the Urals Military District. [1] Its order of battle was as follows:

The first commander assigned was Col. Ivan Semyonovich Gogunov on July 14, but he was replaced by Col. Timofei Semyonovich Orlenko on August 22. The division was given about six weeks to assemble before it was moved by rail all the way to the area east of Leningrad in August – September. It was first assigned to the 48th Army. That army's defenses were pierced by the German XXXIX Motorized Corps in late August, forcing the 48th to withdraw and abandon the key railroad station at Mga. Marshal Kliment Voroshilov ordered that Mga be retaken by September 6 at all costs. The 311th, along with the 128th Rifle Division, 1st Mountain Rifle Brigade, and an NKVD division of border guards, drove the German forces from Mga on August 30, but it was lost again the following day. [3]

Battle of Leningrad

German forces cut off and isolated Leningrad on September 8. Two days later, the 311th was re-assigned to the 4th Army, still in Leningrad Front but outside the encirclement. [4] Maj. Gen. Fyodor Nazarovich Parkhomenko took command of the division on September 17, which he would hold until the end of November. On October 16, XXXIX Motorized Corps and I Army Corps crossed the Volkhov River in a new offensive towards Tikhvin, which was intended to deepen the encirclement of Leningrad and to link up with the Finnish Army. The assaulting forces penetrated the 4th Army's fragile defenses in four days of heavy fighting in roadless terrain covered by 9 – 10 cm of snow. While the army's 292nd Rifle Division was shattered, and other elements forced back eastwards, the 311th and 285th Rifle Divisions on the right flank halted the German 11th Infantry Division north of Kirishi on October 24. [5]

On November 8 Tikhvin fell, while another German thrust towards Volkhov was slowly forcing four rifle divisions back towards that city, driving a wedge between the 4th and 54th Armies. [6] It was at this time that the 311th began operating alongside its "sister" 310th Rifle Division. Army Group North ordered its 8th Panzer Division to support the advance but a desperate counterattack by the 310th at Zelenets Station thwarted the outflanking attempt east of the town. By this time the German offensive was stalled due to losses, overextension, Soviet resistance and severe winter weather. Volkhov was held, and by late November the Red Army went over to the counteroffensive. 4th Army formed three shock groups; the Northern Group, which included the 1067th Rifle Regiment, was to attack Tikhvin from the north. The main forces of the 311th remained west of Volkhov, attached to 54th Army. On November 26 that army's main shock group (3rd Guards, 310th and 311st Rifle Divisions, plus 6th Naval Infantry Brigade) attacked the I Army Corps' 21st Infantry Division south of Volkhov, driving it back several kilometres south of the town by the 29th. Several days later, 54th Army was reinforced, and a new shock group, which included the 311th, under its new commander, Col. Sergei Timofeevich Biyakov, attacked on December 3, successively encircling and destroying several companies of the 254th Infantry Division. I Army Corps attempted to hold the vital rail line from Mga to Kirishi, but by mid-month the 311th and its companions had cut it, forming a small salient to the west of Kirishi. At this point the attack ran out of steam, and German reinforcements ensured that the Kirishi area would remain in German hands until early October, 1943. [7]

Operation Pole Star

On April 28, Col. Vasilii Ivanovich Zolotarev took command, which he would hold until December. Months of heavy combat had worn the division down, and on May 2 it was noted that 54th Army was "rehabilitating" it in preparation for an operation to try to help rescue the nearly-encircled 2nd Shock Army in the Lyuban region. As part of Operation Pole Star in February, 1943, the 311th, along with three other rifle divisions, three rifle brigades, and a tank brigade, attacked the defenses of the German 96th Infantry Division in the sector south of Smerdynia. Despite employing overwhelming force, the shock group penetrated only 3 – 4 km into the enemy defenses along a 5 km front in three days of heavy fighting. German reinforcements from other sectors brought the attack to a standstill, and Operation Pole Star was not a success. [8] In March, Colonel (later Major General) Boris Aleksandrovich Vladimirov took command of the division, which he led until the end of the war. [9] [10]

Towards the end of the Fifth Siniavino Offensive in August the 311th and the 503rd Separate Tank Battalion were the last reserves of Volkhov Front. On August 13 they were thrown into the bloody melee along the Naziia River in the area of Poreche. In one final desperate attempt to crack the German defenses the division, with armor support, fought a see-saw battle, mostly against the 132nd Infantry Division, until both sides were exhausted. On August 22 the STAVKA ordered Volkhov Front over to the defense. A further effort, the Sixth Siniavino Offensive, began in September. The 311th, which was now in 6th Rifle Corps of 8th Army, was in a shock group with three other rifle divisions, set to attack the defenses of the much-reduced 5th Mountain Division from the rail line to Mga south to Voronovo. While this offensive finally liberated Siniavino, 8th Army made few gains in three days of heavy fighting, and this effort was soon shut down. [11] Later in September the division was back in 54th Army, where it remained until November. In that month it was transferred to 21st Army, where it remained in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, in 99th Rifle Corps, until January, 1944. [12]

Novgorod Offensive

In late 1943, the Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic Fronts began planning the operations that would finally drive the besiegers away from Leningrad and, if all went well, destroy one or both of the armies of German Army Group North. The assault began on January 14, 1944. At this time the 311th was in the 8th Army in Volkhov Front, still in 99th Corps. As the offensive continued, the Volkhov Front was dissolved on February 13, and the division was reassigned to the Leningrad Front, still in 99th Corps which was now assigned to the 54th Army. [13]

Baltic Offensive

In the spring of 1944, 54th Army was in the new 3rd Baltic Front, and the 311th was moved to the 7th Rifle Corps for a couple of months. In June the division was reassigned to the 14th Rifle Corps, which moved to the 4th Shock Army in July. [14] In the second week of July it was in the vicinity of Sharkovshchina, advancing into the so-called "Baltic Gap" between German Army Groups Center and North. [15] On July 27 the 311st was recognized for its role in the liberation of Dvinsk in Latvia, and granted the name of that city as an honorific:

"DVINSK"...311 Rifle Division (Colonel Vladimirov, Boris Aleksandovich)... the troops who participated in the battles with the enemy, and the liberation of Dvinsk, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 27 July 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, is given a salute of 20 artillery salvos from 224 guns. [16]

As the offensive continued in early September, the division fought its way further west, to the vicinity of Biržai, southeast of Riga. [17]

Advance

In October, the division was transferred to the 60th Rifle Corps, still in the 4th Shock Army; then that corps was shifted to the 61st Army, still in the same Front until December, when that army was moved to the 1st Belorussian Front. At about the same time, the 311st joined the 89th Rifle Corps, still in the 61st Army, and it would remain in that Front, army and corps until it was disbanded. [18] On October 22 the division was recognized with the award of the Order of Suvorov, 2nd Class. [19]

General Vladimirov distinguished himself in the first stages of the Vistula-Oder Offensive. As a result of a well thought-out and skillfully organized battle plan the 311th successfully broke through the deep defenses of the German forces at the Magnuszev bridgehead over the Vistula river. [20] In pursuit of the enemy, from January 16 to 28 the division advanced about 400 km against scattered resistance, with minor losses in manpower and materiel. Vladimirov's troops were among the first to enter the main territory of Nazi Germany (west of East Prussia) and took the city of Schneidemuhl on February 14. In the process, the division captured a large number of trophies, including 30 trains loaded with food and military equipment. In recognition of this:

"For exemplary performance of his command assignments at the front of the struggle against the German invaders, and for displaying courage and heroism, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 6, 1945, Major General Vladimirov, Boris Aleksandrovich, is awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. [21]

On April 26 the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its role in the defeat of German forces around Stargard. [22] When hostilities ceased, the division carried the official title of 311th Rifle, Dvinsk, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division. (Russian: 311-я стрелковая Двинская Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия.)

Postwar

According to STAVKA Order No. 11095 of May 29, 1945, part 6, the 311th is listed as one of the rifle divisions to be "disbanded in place". [23] It was disbanded in Germany in accordance with the directive during the summer of 1945. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">305th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)</span> Military unit

The 305th Rifle Division was formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division shortly after the German invasion. It was soon sent north to the Volkhov Front near Novgorod. In the winter of 1942 it participated in an offensive to try to break the siege of Leningrad which ended with it and most of the rest of the attacking force being cut off and gradually annihilated during the spring. A second 305th was raised a few months later in the southern part of the front, where it distinguished itself in the final liberation of Belgorod. It continued in combat through Ukraine and Poland before ending the war near Prague.

The Red Army's 54th Army was a Soviet field army during the Second World War. It was first formed in the Leningrad Military District in August, 1941, and continued in service in the northern sector of the Soviet-German front until the end of 1944. It spent much of the war attempting to break the German siege of Leningrad, in which it helped to achieve partial success in January, 1943, and complete success one year later. During these operations the soldiers of the 54th served under five different commanders, most notably Col. Gen. Ivan Fedyuninsky in the winter of 1941–42. After helping to drive Army Group North away from Leningrad and into the Baltic states in the first nine months of 1944, the army was deemed surplus to requirements on the narrowing front, and was officially disbanded on the last day of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">310th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)</span> Military unit

The 310th Rifle Division was a standard Red Army rifle division formed on July 15, 1941 in Kazakhstan before being sent to the vicinity of Leningrad, where it spent most of the war, sharing a similar combat path with its "sister", the 311th Rifle Division. The soldiers of the division fought until early 1944 to, first, hold open some sort of lifeline to the besieged city, then to break the siege and drive off the besieging German forces. They then participated in the offensive that drove Germany's Finnish allies out of the war. Finally, the division was redeployed to take the fight to the German heartland in the winter and spring of 1945. It ended the war north of Berlin with a very creditable combat record for any rifle division.

The 325th Rifle Division was formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, made up of older reservists and young men with no prewar training. As with many other divisions in the 320–330 series it was flung into the fighting west of Moscow in the 10th Army to defend the capital and then to take part in the winter counteroffensive. After a year on a quiet sector the division rejoined the fighting in the late winter of 1943, eventually distinguishing itself sufficiently to be redesignated as the 90th Guards Rifle Division. After disappearing from the Soviet order of battle for more than a year a new division was formed in the spring of 1944, based on a cadre of two distinguished rifle brigades, and gave very creditable service for the duration, completing its combat path in East Prussia.

The 327th Rifle Division was first formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, based on a cadre of workers from Voronezh. This formation was assigned to the Volkhov Front near Leningrad, toiling through the so-called "Rat's War" in the wooded swamps of that region and taking significant casualties in the encirclement of its 2nd Shock Army near Lyuban in early 1942. In January 1943, it helped to lead the partial raising of the German siege of Leningrad in Operation Iskra, distinguishing itself sufficiently to be redesignated as the 64th Guards Rifle Division. Well over a year later a second 327th Rifle Division was formed and was also moved to the Leningrad region where it took part in the offensive that drove Finland from the war, then spent the first months of 1945 clearing German forces from the coasts of the Baltic States and containing the German forces trapped in Courland.

The 64th Guards Rifle Division was created on January 19, 1943, from the 327th Rifle Division, in recognition of that division's distinguished combat record in the Second Siniavino Offensive and Operation Iskra. It was one of a relatively small number of formations raised to Guards status in the northern sector of the Soviet-German Front. As such, it was employed as an assault division in the subsequent fighting, particularly in the final defeat of the German forces before Leningrad, and the final offensive against Finland. The division ended the war in Lithuania, helping to contain the enemy forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and went on to serve well into the postwar era, still in the Leningrad/St. Petersburg area.

The 378th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army that began forming in August 1941 in the Siberian Military District, before being sent to the vicinity of Leningrad, where it spent most of the war. The soldiers of this division fought until early 1944 to break the siege and drive off the besieging German forces, distinguishing themselves in the liberation of Novgorod. Finally, the division was redeployed to advance into the Baltic states in 1944 and into East Prussia in the winter of 1945. As the war was ending the 378th was disbanded to provide replacements for other divisions. Nevertheless, it had compiled a very creditable combat record for any rifle division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris Vladimirov</span> Soviet Army officer

Boris Alexandrovich Vladimirov was a Soviet Army lieutenant general and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Vladimirov served in the Russian Civil War after being drafted into the Red Army in 1921. He became an officer and by 1941 was a deputy regimental commander. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Vladimirov successively became senior officer in charge of the formation of march battalions in the Siberian Military District, chief of staff of a ski brigade, and a rifle brigade. He commanded the rifle brigade in the Siege of Leningrad, during the Lyuban Offensive Operation and the Sinyavino Offensive. Vladimirov took command of the 311th Rifle Division in March 1943, leading it until the end of the war. He was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership in the Vistula–Oder Offensive. Postwar, Vladimirov became a lieutenant general, commanded a rifle corps, and was deputy chief of staff of the Soviet airborne. He retired in 1960 and lived in Moscow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">314th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)</span> Military unit

The 314th Rifle Division was a standard Red Army rifle division formed on July 15, 1941 at Petropavlovsk in northern Kazakhstan, before being sent to the vicinity of Leningrad, in the 7th Separate Army east of Lake Ladoga, facing the Finnish Army in East Karelia for more than a year. In consequence the division saw relatively uneventful service on this mostly quiet front until the autumn of 1942, when it was moved south to face German Army Group North, and took a leading role in Operation Iskra, which finally drove a land corridor through to besieged Leningrad in January 1943; a year later it also served prominently in the offensive that broke the enemy siege for good. During the summer the division played a role in the offensive that drove Finland out of the war. Following this, the 314th spent a few months fighting in the Baltic States, before being reassigned southwards to 1st Ukrainian Front to take the fight into Poland and then into the German heartland in the winter and spring of 1945. It ended the war in Czechoslovakia with a distinguished record of service.

The 319th Rifle Division was first formed in December 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, in the Moscow Military District, but after a month was redesignated as the 2nd formation of a pre-war division that had been destroyed and disbanded. Another 319th was formed in the summer of 1942 in the North Caucasus Military District while the German offensive was threatening the Soviet oilfields near Baku. This formation had a short and undistinguished career, seeing little combat, and was disbanded in December. A third and final 319th was formed in the autumn of 1943 in the northern part of the front. This unit gave very creditable service for the duration of the war, distinguishing itself in the fighting through the Baltic states, and completing its combat path in East Prussia. It continued to serve briefly into the postwar period.

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

The 366th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II, formed twice.

The 19th Guards Rifle Division was formed from the first formation of the 366th Rifle Division on March 17, 1942. At this time it was in the 52nd Army of Volkhov Front, taking part in the Lyuban Offensive Operation, which was planned to encircle and defeat the enemy forces laying siege to Leningrad. However, just at that time the German 18th Army was in the process of cutting off the Soviet Lyuban grouping in a pocket, and over the following months the division was nearly destroyed. Enough survivors emerged from the swamps in June and July to rebuild the unit, and it fought in the Second Sinyavino Offensive before it was shifted south into Kalinin Front to take part in the battle and siege of Velikiye Luki in December. In the summer of 1943 the 19th Guards fought in the battles for Smolensk, and won its first battle honor, "Rudnya". in September. During the offensive in the summer of 1944 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its successes in the fighting around Vitebsk. It was further honored in February, 1945, with the Order of Lenin for its role in the victories in East Prussia. In the summer the division was moved by rail with its 39th Army to the Far East and saw action in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August, winning its second battle honor, "Khingan", for its services. The division continued to see service well into the postwar era.

The 374th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Siberian Military District. It joined the fighting front in December with the new 59th Army along the Volkhov River and it continued to serve in the fighting near Leningrad until early 1944. The dismal fighting on this front gave little opportunity for a unit to distinguish itself, and the division did not finally earn a battle honor until late January 1944, during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive. It continued to serve in the summer and autumn offensive through the Baltic States, becoming so reduced in strength that its remaining infantry was consolidated into a single understrength regiment which nevertheless won a battle honor in the liberation of Riga. The 374th ended the war in Latvia, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and was disbanded shortly thereafter.

The 376th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Siberian Military District. It followed a very similar combat path to that of the 374th Rifle Division. It joined the fighting front in December with the new 59th Army along the Volkhov River and it continued to serve in the battles near Leningrad until early 1944. The division took horrendous casualties in the combat to create and hold open a passage to the 2nd Shock Army during the Lyuban Offensive and was itself partly or fully encircled at several times during this dismal fighting. The division finally left this region as it advanced during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive in January 1944 and in July won a battle honor in the liberation of Pskov, while its 1250th Rifle Regiment was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In October the 376th as a whole would also receive the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Riga. The division ended the war in Latvia, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and was reorganized as a rifle brigade shortly thereafter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">377th Rifle Division</span> Military unit

The 377th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Urals Military District. It followed a very similar combat path to that of the 374th and 376th Rifle Divisions. It joined the fighting front in December with the 4th Army, and then briefly came under command of 2nd Shock Army, but soon moved to the 59th Army along the Volkhov River, and continued to serve in this Army's battles near Leningrad until early 1944. The division took very heavy casualties during the Lyuban Offensive in several attempts to relieve the beleaguered 2nd Shock Army. After rebuilding the division held the Army's bridgehead over the Volkhov during 1943, and finally advanced during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive in January 1944, taking part in the assault that liberated Novgorod. During the spring the division saw heavy fighting in the battles for Narva before moving south for the summer offensive into the Baltic states. In September it won a battle honor in the liberation of Valga, and in October also received the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Riga. The division ended the war in Latvia, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and was disbanded later in 1945.

The 379th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Urals Military District. It first served in the winter counteroffensive west of Moscow, and later in the bitter fighting around the Rzhev salient, but was moved north late in 1942. It took up positions along the Volkhov River, mostly under command of the 8th Army, and continued to serve in this Army's battles near Leningrad until September 1943, when it was transferred to the 2nd Baltic Front, where it would stay for the remainder of its service. During this period the division served under many army and corps commands but mostly in the 3rd Shock Army. The division ended the war in Lithuania, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket. By this time it was judged as being surplus to the Red Army's needs and in December 1944 its personnel were merged with the 245th Rifle Division to bring that division closer to establishment strength; the latter division also inherited its battle honor. The 379th was officially disbanded on the first day of 1945.

The 382nd 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 August 10 in the Siberian Military District. It joined the fighting front in December with the new 59th Army along the Volkhov River. Apart from a few weeks in 1944 the division served in either the Volkhov Front or the Leningrad Front for the entire war. It suffered horrendous casualties after being encircled in the swamps and forests near Lyuban and was severely understrength for many months afterwards while serving on a relatively quiet front. It remained in the line in the dismal fighting near Leningrad until early 1944 with little opportunity to distinguish itself, and the division did not finally earn a battle honor until late January, 1944, during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive. Following this the division was moved to the Karelian Isthmus and entered the summer offensive against Finland in the reserves of Leningrad Front before being assigned to the 23rd Army. Following the Finnish surrender it was redeployed westward, helping to mop up pockets of enemy forces in the Baltic states in early 1945. The 382nd ended the war in Latvia, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and was officially disbanded in February, 1946.

The 225th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed in December 1941 from the remnants of the pre-war 3rd Tank Division and based on the shtat of July 29, 1941. The 3rd Tank's single rifle regiment was joined by two reserve rifle regiments, and its howitzer regiment was converted to a standard artillery regiment. As part of 52nd Army in Volkhov Front it took part in largely local fighting in the Novgorod area, seeing combat in several abortive attempts to retake the city until it finally played a main role in its liberation in January 1944 and received its name as a battle honor.

The 239th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was reorganized in the first weeks of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was based on the shtat of July 29, 1941, and remained forming up and training in Far Eastern Front until early November when the strategic situation west of Moscow required it to be moved by rail to Tula Oblast where it became encircled in the last throes of the German offensive and suffered losses in the following breakout. When Western Front went over to the counteroffensive in the first days of December the division was in the second echelon of 10th Army and took part in the drive to the west against the weakened 2nd Panzer Army. As the offensive continued it took part in the fighting for Belyov and Sukhinichi before being subordinated to the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps in January 1942 to provide infantry support. It then became involved in the complicated and costly battles around the Rzhev salient as part of 50th, 10th and 31st Armies until December. It was then moved north to Volkhov Front, and took part in several operations to break the siege of Leningrad, mostly as part of 2nd Shock and 8th Armies. As part of 59th Army it helped to drive Army Group North away from the city and was rewarded with the Order of the Red Banner in January 1944. During the following months it continued to advance through northwestern Russia but was halted by the defenses of the Panther Line in April. The division took part in the advance through the Baltic states in the summer of 1944 but in February 1945 it was transferred to 1st Ukrainian Front, rejoining 59th Army as part of 93rd Rifle Corps and fought in upper Silesia. In the last weeks of the war the 239th was advancing on Prague, but despite its distinguished record it was selected as one of the many divisions to be disbanded during the summer of 1945.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p. 77. Dunn shows the division being assigned to the 48th Army in August, but also to the 7th Army in September; the latter entry is in error and should be the 313th Rifle Division.
  2. ↑ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p. 71
  3. ↑ David M. Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 – 1944, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2002, p. 65
  4. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 71
  5. ↑ Glantz, Leningrad, pp. 95, 97
  6. ↑ Haupt, Werner (1997-01-01). Army Group North: The Wehrmacht in Russia, 1941–1945. Schiffer Publishing. p. 108. ISBN   9780764301827.
  7. ↑ Glantz, Leningrad, pp. 101, 104–05, 109–11, 319–20
  8. ↑ Glantz, Leningrad, pp. 194, 295–96
  9. ↑ "Boris Vladimirov". Герои страны ("Heroes of the Country") (in Russian).
  10. ↑ Glantz, Leningrad, p. 313
  11. ↑ Glantz, Leningrad, pp. 313-14, 317-18
  12. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 71
  13. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 71
  14. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 71
  15. ↑ The Gamers, Inc., Baltic Gap, Multi-Man Publishing, Inc., Millersville, MD, 2009, p. 14
  16. ↑ "Освобождение городов". www.soldat.ru. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  17. ↑ The Gamers, Inc., Baltic Gap, p. 29
  18. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 71
  19. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a, p. 517.
  20. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Prelude to Berlin, ed. and trans. Richard W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, p. 40
  21. ↑ "Boris Vladimirov". Герои страны ("Heroes of the Country") (in Russian).
  22. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b, p. 129.
  23. ↑ Stavka Order No. 11095
  24. ↑ Feskov et al 2013, pp. 380–381

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.