312th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

Last updated
312th Rifle Division (July 10, 1941 – December 27, 1941)
312th Rifle Division (December 25, 1941 – May 29, 1945)
Active1941–1945
CountryFlag of the Soviet Union (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
Branch Red Army flag.svg Red Army
TypeDivision
RoleInfantry
Engagements Siege of Leningrad
Battle of Moscow
Battles of Rzhev
Battle of Smolensk (1943)
Operation Bagration
Vistula-Oder Offensive
Berlin Strategic Offensive
Decorations Order of Red Banner.svg   Order of the Red Banner 2nd Formation
Order of Suvorov 2nd class.png   Order of Suvorov 2nd Formation
Order Kutuzov 2.png   Order of Kutuzov 2nd Formation
Battle honours Smolensk
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Col. Aleksandr Fyodorovich Naumov
Col. Aleksandr Ivanovich Golovanov
Maj. Gen. Aleksandr Gavrilovich Moiseyevsky Hero of the Soviet Union medal.png

The 312th Rifle Division was a Red Army infantry division formed for the first time on July 10, 1941 in Kazakhstan before being sent to the vicinity of Leningrad, where it fought briefly before being redeployed to the front southwest of Moscow in late October, where it suffered huge losses in the wake of Operation Typhoon, and was disbanded not long after. A new 312th began forming in December in Siberia, and this second formation served again in front of Moscow, in the fighting in the area of Rzhev and Sychevka during 1942 and into 1943. In the latter year, the division distinguished itself in the liberation of Smolensk and received that city's name as an honorific. As the war concluded, the men and women of the 312th gained additional honors, and ended the war fighting near Berlin. The division was disbanded shortly after the end of the conflict.

Contents

1st Formation

The 312th began forming on July 10, 1941, at Akyubinsk in the Central Asia Military District, [1] based on the first wartime shtat (table of organization and equipment) for rifle divisions. The personnel of the division were mostly Kazakhs at this time. [2] Its order of battle was:

Col. Aleksandr Fyodorovich Naumov was in command of the first formation of 312th for its entire existence. Col. Kornei Mikhailovich Andrusenko was given command of the 1081st Rifle Division in late July, a post he would hold until transferred on October 17. The division was given about six weeks to form up before it was sent by rail all the way to the Northwestern Front, ending its journey in the Tikhvin area east of Leningrad. It was first assigned to the 52nd Army as that Army was forming up in August as a separate army under STAVKA control. [5] During September the 312th helped to contest the German advance towards Leningrad, but as the German Typhoon offensive developed west of Moscow, the division got orders to redeploy by rail from Valdai towards the capital, beginning on October 6. Due to the chaos of the time this redeployment went in a piecemeal fashion, and the division's rifle regiments were sent into combat right off the trains, into the forces of the Maloyaroslavets Defense Sector, which became the 43rd Army, in Western Front, by October 12. Fighting piecemeal against armored forces was a deadly business; by October 18 the 859th Artillery Regiment was manning the lines at Maloyaroslavets with 34 artillery pieces, but the rifle regiments had taken very heavy losses in less than a week and were no longer combat-effective. By the end of the month the division was effectively destroyed, and the remnants were distributed to other units in the Western Front. On December 27, the number "312" was officially made available for a new division. [6]

2nd Formation

A new rifle division began forming at Altaisk in the Siberian Military District on December 25, 1941, [7] originally numbered as the 450th and based on the second wartime shtat for rifle divisions. [8] Accordingly its order of battle was changed:

Col. Aleksandr Ivanovich Golovanov was assigned as commander. In January, 1942, this division became the second formation of the 312th. [10] It acquired the same order of battle as the first formation. When the division was fully formed in April it had 12,299 officers and men assigned, and 56.6 percent of them were under 25 years of age. On the one hand, the division had a large percentage of young, presumably fit soldiers. On the other hand, none of these young men are likely to have had any military experience or much training before they joined the division. In late April the 312th moved west to the Moscow Military District, and the following month was assigned first to the 2nd Reserve, then to the 4th Reserve Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. In July it went to Western Front, assigned to 20th Army, where it saw its first combat during the First Rzhev–Sychyovka Offensive Operation. [11]

On August 11, 1942, the division came under the command of Colonel (Major General as of October 16, 1943) Aleksandr Moiseyevsky, who had previously commanded the 303rd Rifle Division. Moiseyevsky would remain in command of the 312th for the duration of the war. During the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation the division was in the 29th Army which was supporting 20th Army's left flank with limited attacks. [12] In March, 1943, the division was transferred again, now to 5th Army, still in Western Front. [13]

Battle of Smolensk

During the second phase of Operation Suvorov 5th Army joined the offensive on August 31, attacking the left flank of the German XII Army Corps with five rifle divisions supported by tanks and advancing 13 km in a single day. This made it pointless to mount a defense of Dorogobuzh, and the 312th entered the empty town on September 1. [14] On September 25, still serving in 5th Army, the 312th was granted the honorific "Smolensk" for its role in the liberation of that city:

"SMOLENSK" - 312th Rifle Division (Colonel Moiseyevsky, Aleksandr Gavrilovich)... The troops who participated in the battles of Smolensk and Roslavl, by the order of the Supreme High Command of September 25, 1943, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns. [15]

Following this triumph, 5th Army was ordered to continue its advance westward along the road to Orsha. The 312th and 207th Rifle Divisions led this advance (the Army had only three divisions and a fortified region at this time) on October 2. After crossing the Malaia Berezina River between the villages of Danki and Privole, the two divisions encountered the defenses of the German 52nd and 197th Infantry Divisions of XXVII Army Corps. The 52nd, in particular, had been badly weakened in previous fighting. By the end of October 3 the Soviet divisions had captured two more villages and driven a wedge into the 52nd's defensive front. The history of 5th Army states:

"The surprise attack demoralized the Hitlerites, and by morning they began to withdraw in disorder."

By the evening of the next day the 312nd and 207th had driven a gap 10 km wide and 6 km deep, unhinging the entire German defense of the Malaia Berezina. On October 8 they were joined by the 208th Rifle Division and continued the advance, occupying the road hub and strong point of Lyubavichi and reaching the main stream of the Berezina, which forced further German withdrawals. The next day the advance hit the right flank of the 256th Infantry Division south of Liozna. By midday on October 11 the 312th reached the Chernitsa River, and had almost reached Babinovichi. At this point the advance came to a halt, in part because the Soviet armies on 5th Army's flanks had not been as successful. [16]

On October 12, Western Front tried to renew the drives of those less successful armies, and 5th Army was tasked to protect the right flank of 31st Army over the coming days. From October 16–20 the Front carried out a major regrouping as directed by the STAVKA. The 312th and the other divisions of 5th Army were transferred to 31st Army while 5th Army headquarters moved to the rear. The division was soon subordinated to the 7th Guards Rifle Corps in the 10th Guards Army. [17] This Army was transferred to the 2nd Baltic Front in December. [18]

Advance

In March, 1944, the 312th went into the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, where it was assigned to the 69th Army. The following month that Army went to the front in the 1st Belorussian Front. The division served the entire last year of the war in Europe, from April, 1944 to May, 1945, in the 91st Rifle Corps under those Army and Front commands. [19] During the first phase of the Soviet summer offensive, the 69th was part of the western grouping of its Front, in the vicinity of Kovel, and played little role in the initial fighting. [20]

This changed with the start of the Brest - Siedlce Offensive Operation on July 18. The 69th, along with the 8th Guards and 47th Armies, formed the shock groups for this assault, which began at 0530 hours following a 30-minute artillery preparation. It was soon determined that most of the enemy had already withdrawn to his next defense line, and the first and some of the second trench lines were carried in the first 90 minutes. That second defense line along the Vyzhuvka River was soon reached and even breached in the Khvorostuv area. This advance was so rapid that the German forces continued retreating to their next line along the Western Bug. By the end of July 20, 69th Army had reached as far as the eastern outskirts of Dubienka after an advance of 8 – 12 km that day. The following day, for political reasons, 69th and 8th Guards Armies were redirected towards Lublin, which was liberated by 8th Guards on July 23. [21] On August 9 the 312th was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its role in the liberation of Kovel. [22]

At the start of the Vistula-Oder Offensive, 69th Army was in the second echelon of its Front's grouping in the Pulawy bridgehead, which exploited the breakthrough along with mobile forces in the general direction of Radom, and then towards Lodz. Radom was captured on January 16. On January 26, 69th Army was given orders to continue the offensive and force the line of the Oder River near Frankfurt. [23]

On April 6, 1945, for exemplary performance of his command assignments at the front and for displaying courage and heroism, Maj. Gen. Moiseyevsky was made a Hero of the Soviet Union:

"On the night of August 4, 1944... showing personal initiative, secretly crossed the Vistula south-west of the town of Kazimierz Dolny (Poland) and seized a bridgehead. During the fighting this was not only held but expanded... On January 14, 1945, the forces of the division, acting on the direction of the main attack, captured the second line of the enemy defenses 10 km north of Zwoleń, Poland, by the end of the day. On January 29 the division captured the western sector of the city of Poznan. [24]

At the end of the war, the official title of the division was 312th Rifle, Smolensk, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov, Order of Kutuzov Division. (Russian: 312-я стрелковая Смоленская Краснознамённая орденов Суворова и Кутузова дивизия.)

Postwar

According to STAVKA Order No. 11095 of May 29, 1945, part 6, the 312th is listed as one of the rifle divisions to be "disbanded in place". [25] It was disbanded in Germany in accordance with the directive during the summer of 1945. [26]

Related Research Articles

The 328th Rifle Division was formed as a standard Red Army rifle division at Yaroslavl late in the summer of 1941, as part of the massive buildup of new Soviet fighting formations in response to the German invasion. Like several other divisions in the 320-330 series, it was neither fully trained nor equipped when thrown into the Soviet winter counteroffensive as part of 10th Army, but did its part in throwing back the forces of German Army Group Center from the southern approaches to Moscow in December and January. Over the course of five months of nearly continual offensive combat the soldiers of the division distinguished themselves sufficiently to be re-designated as the 31st Guards Rifle Division. A few months later a new 328th was formed, this time in the Transcaucasus Military District as the German summer offensive of 1942 was producing a crisis in that region. This new division had a slow start, but eventually proved itself in fighting through Ukraine, Belarus and Poland, gaining a battle honor for the liberation of Warsaw, and helping to complete the encirclement of Berlin in April 1945. Despite this record, it was disbanded shortly after the German surrender.

The 140th Rifle Division was a Red Army rifle division that saw service during the Great Patriotic War. Originally formed during the prewar buildup of the Red Army, the 140th might be regarded as the unluckiest division in the Army, as it, uniquely, had to be completely, or almost completely, re-formed three times between 1941 and 1943, being destroyed in the Uman pocket during Operation Barbarossa, the Vyasma pocket during Operation Typhoon, and on the Caucasian steppes in the face of the German summer offensive of 1942. In spite of this, the fourth formation of the 140th went on to have a very distinguished record in combat, a testament to the resiliency of the Red Army in World War II.

The 119th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed three times.

303rd Rifle Division Military unit

The 303rd Rifle Division began service as a standard Red Army rifle division shortly after the German invasion, and in its first formation fought in the central part of the Soviet-German front for a few months, taking part in the first offensive success of the Red Army at Yelnya, before being encircled and annihilated in the fighting around Vyasma. A second 303rd was raised a few months later and fought on, mainly in the central sector of Ukraine. The men and women of the division first distinguished themselves during the summer offensive of 1943, making an assault crossing of the Dniepr River at Verkhnodniprovsk and gaining a battle honor for it. A second such honor was won in the spring of 1944 for the division's role in the liberation of the city of Beltsy in Moldova. It ended the war at Prague, after advancing through Romania, Hungary and Austria. The division was disbanded in 1946.

305th Rifle Division (Soviet Union) 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.

331st Rifle Division Military unit

The 331st Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the summer of 1941, based on a cadre of volunteer workers and reservists from the Bryansk Oblast, and so was known from the beginning as the 331st Bryansk Proletarian Rifle Division. It fought to defend Moscow during the last stages of the German invasion, and then went over to the offensive in early December. It spent much of the next twelve months in the same general area, west of the capital, taking part in the mostly futile battles against the German-held salient at Rzhev. On September 25, 1943, the division shared credit with several other units for the liberation of the city of Smolensk and was given its name as an honorific. The 331st had a highly distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path in Czechoslovakia, advancing on Prague.

330th Rifle Division (Soviet Union) Military unit

The 330th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army late in the summer of 1941, as part of the massive buildup of new Soviet fighting formations at that time. It took part in the defense of Tula in 10th Army soon after reaching the front, and remained in that army for a remarkably long time, until April 1944. It fought in the offensive push into German-occupied western Russia through 1943, then in the destruction of Army Group Center in the summer of 1944, distinguishing itself in the liberation of Mogilyov in June. In 1945 the men and women of the 330th took part in the Vistula-Oder Offensive through Poland and into Pomerania, and then finally in the fighting north of Berlin, ending the war with high distinction, but being disbanded soon after.

334th Rifle Division (Soviet Union) Military unit

The 334th Rifle Division was formed in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division in the Volga Military District. For most of the war it followed a very similar combat path to that of the 332nd Rifle Division, sometimes serving on adjacent sectors. It fought in the Battle of Moscow and during the winter counteroffensive was assigned to 4th Shock Army, where it would remain until November 1943. During this offensive it helped carve out the Toropets Salient, where it would remain until the autumn of 1943 when it helped to liberate Velizh and began advancing westward again. In the first days of the 1944 summer offensive the 334th shared credit with several other units in the liberation of Vitebsk and was awarded that name as an honorific. The unit advanced into East Prussia in January 1945, distinguishing itself in the siege of the heavily-fortified city of Königsberg and the clearing of the Baltic coast. It continued to serve briefly into the postwar period.

The 347th Rifle Division began forming in mid-September, 1941, as a Red Army rifle division, in the North Caucasus Military District. It was soon assigned to the 58th Army while both it and its Army continued to form up before entering combat in November, as part of the offensive that first liberated Rostov-on-Don. During the German summer offensive in 1942 the division retreated back into the Caucasus, fighting to defend the routes to the oil fields at Baku, until the German forces began to retreat after their defeat at Stalingrad. 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 for the duration of the war, compiling a distinguished record of service along the way. In 1946 it was reformed as a rifle brigade, and its several successor formations remained part of the Red Army until 1959, when it was finally disbanded.

352nd Rifle Division (Soviet Union) Military unit

The 352nd Rifle Division started forming in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Bugulma in Tatarstan. When it entered the fighting it was assigned to the Western Front before Moscow, and it would remain in that Front for most of the war; when Western Front was dissolved the division went to one of its successor Fronts and served there until the last few weeks. It took part in the first Soviet winter counteroffensive, then played peripheral roles in the battles around the Rhzev salient, before advancing in the offensive that liberated Smolensk in the summer of 1943. After a series of frustrating attempts during the autumn and winter of 1943-44, the city of Orsha was finally liberated in the opening days of Operation Bagration, and the 352nd was recognized for its role in the battle. Soon after it was further decorated for its part in the liberation of Grodno. In the winter of 1945 the 352nd took part in the invasion of East Prussia and the capture of Königsberg, but in April it finally was swung off its very straightforward combat path when it and its 31st Army were transferred to 1st Ukrainian Front advancing into Czechoslovakia. Soon after the German surrender the division was slated as one of those to be disbanded in place in central Europe.

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 370th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as a standard Red Army rifle division, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Siberian Military District. After forming, it was initially assigned to the 58th (Reserve) Army, but was soon reassigned to 34th Army in Northwestern Front, and until March 1943, was involved in the dismal fighting around the Demyansk salient. After this was evacuated the division took part in equally difficult combat for the city of Staraya Russa. Near the end of that year the division was reassigned to 2nd Baltic Front, and spent several months in operations near Nevel and north of Vitebsk. In the spring of 1944 its combat path shifted southwards when it was moved to 69th Army in 1st Belorussian Front, south of the Pripet Marshes. In August it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Kovel. It went on to help form and hold the bridgehead over the Vistula at Puławy, and in January 1945, joined the drive of 1st Belorussian Front across Poland and into eastern Germany, earning the battle honor "Brandenburg". It was disbanded later that year.

The 385th 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 Central Asian Military District. It was first assigned to Southwestern Front but on its arrival it was seen to be far from combat-ready and so was moved north to the Moscow area for further training. It served in the later stages of the counteroffensive west of the capital in Western Front and remained in that Front until early 1944. It was on a relatively quiet sector through most of 1942 and early 1943 before joining the summer offensive towards Smolensk. It then spent the autumn and winter in the costly and difficult struggles on the approaches to the upper Dniepr River and in eastern Belarus, during which it won a battle honor. From this point on it shared a very similar combat path with the 380th Rifle Division. The division took part in Operation Bagration and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its successes. Following this it helped to eliminate the German forces trapped east of Minsk, for which it received a second unit decoration, before joining the advance into Poland. During the Vistula-Oder Offensive the 385th was part of 2nd Belorussian Front's 49th Army, and ended the war advancing north of Berlin towards the Baltic coast. Despite its distinguished record it was selected as one of the many divisions to be disbanded during the summer of 1945.

The 393rd Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served twice during the Great Patriotic War in that role. In its first formation the division followed a very similar combat path to that of the 411th Rifle Division. It was first formed on October 1 in the Kharkov Military District, probably on the basis of militia units that had been raised there. It fought in the Barvenkovo–Lozovaya Offensive that created the Izium - Barvenkovo salient in January, 1942 and was intended to play a leading role in a spring offensive aimed at the liberation of Kharkov. In the event a German counteroffensive cut off the salient; the division was deeply encircled and destroyed. In the buildup to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria a new 393rd was formed in the Far Eastern Front in late 1944. The new division fought into the northern part of the Korean peninsula, taking many ports and cities with enough distinction that it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and continued to serve briefly into the postwar period.

The 88th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. In its first formation in the far north it had an unusual shtat probably to facilitate its movement in the roadless tundra and forests of that region. During the Winter War against Finland it saw action in the fighting around Salla. Its organization again proved beneficial in the spring of 1942 during the first stages of the Great Patriotic War. It played a large role in holding and then pushing back the Finnish III Army Corps during Operation Silver Fox and for this success was redesignated as the 23rd Guards Rifle Division.

The 56th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in June, 1943, based on the 2nd formations of the 74th and 91st Rifle Brigades, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Along with its "sister", the 65th Guards Rifle Division, the 56th was formed "out of sequence", that is, many Guards rifle divisions were higher numbered and formed earlier than the 56th. The division was immediately assigned to the 19th Guards Rifle Corps of the 10th Guards Army and remained under those headquarters for the duration of the war. It first saw action in Western Front's summer offensive, Operation Suvorov. On September 8 the 254th Guards Rifle Regiment was given the honorific title "in the name of Aleksandr Matrosov" and on September 25 the division as a whole was awarded the honorific "Smolensk" for its role in the liberation of that city. During the winter of 1943-44 it took part in the stubborn fighting north and east of Vitebsk, first in Western and later in 2nd Baltic Front. During the following summer offensives it helped break through the defenses of the German Panther Line and advanced into the Baltic states, eventually being decorated with the Order of the Red Banner after the liberation of Riga. For the rest of the war it was part of the forces blockading the remnants of German Army Group North in the Courland Pocket in Latvia, eventually in Leningrad Front. After the war the 56th Guards was moved to the town of Elva in Estonia where it was disbanded in 1947, although the successor formations of the 254th Guards Regiment exist into the present day.

The 97th Rifle Division was thrice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. The first formation was based on the pre-September 1939 shtat and the division was initially intended to serve in the fortifications along the border with Poland in western Ukraine. Beginning on September 17, 1939 it took part in the invasion of eastern Poland and then was moved north to join the 7th Army and later the 13th Army on the Karelian Isthmus during the Winter War against Finland where it saw action in the latter part of the struggle. Following this it returned to western Ukraine where it was on the border at the time of the German invasion in June, 1941. At considerable cost it was able to retreat back to the Dniepr River south of Kiev during July and was still there as part of 26th Army when the Soviet forces in eastern Ukraine were largely surrounded and wiped out in September. The division was finally disbanded in late December.

The 91st Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 257th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It ended the war in the far east of Asia following the Soviet invasion of Manchuria with a highly distinguished record.

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

References

Citations

  1. Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p. 77
  2. David M. Glantz, Colossus Reborn, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2005, pp. 195-96, 594
  3. 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. 72
  4. http://www.soldat.ru/doc/perechen/, List 5, part 1
  5. Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2002, pp. 557-58
  6. Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 72
  7. Sharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. X, Nafziger, 1996, p. 117
  8. Glantz, Colossus Reborn, pp. 195-96
  9. http://www.soldat.ru/doc/perechen/, List 5, part 1
  10. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys, p. 100
  11. Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 117
  12. Glantz, Zhukov's Greatest Defeat, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1999, pp. 261, 337, 359
  13. Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 118
  14. Robert Forczyk, Smolensk 1943: The Red Army's Relentless Advance, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2019, Kindle ed.
  15. "Освобождение городов". Soldat.ru. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  16. Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2016, pp. 48, 63-65, 675. Quote taken from [Eng.] Greeting victory: The combat path of 5th Army, (Moscow: Nauka, 1970) p. 168
  17. Glantz, Belorussia, pp. 71, 79-82
  18. Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 118
  19. Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 118. Note that Sharp mistakenly gives 60th Army instead 69th in the last sentence of his entry.
  20. Dunn, Jr., Soviet Blitzkrieg, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2008, pp. 207-11
  21. Soviet General Staff, Operation Bagration, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, Kindle ed., vol. 2, ch. 11
  22. Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967, p. 431.
  23. Soviet General Staff, Prelude to Berlin, ed. and trans. by Richard W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, pp. 51-52, 74, 576, 591
  24. "Моисеевский Александр Гаврилович". www.warheroes.ru. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  25. Stavka Order No. 11095
  26. Feskov et al 2013, pp. 380381

Bibliography