328th Rifle Division (August 26, 1941 – May 24, 1942) 328th Rifle Division (August 4, 1942 – July 1945) | |
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Active | 1941–1945 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Engagements | Battle of Moscow Battle of the Caucasus Battle of the Dniepr Operation Bagration Vistula-Oder Offensive East Pomeranian Offensive Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation |
Decorations | ![]() |
Battle honours | Warsaw (2nd Formation) |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Col. Pyotr Antonovich Yeremin Col. Porfirii Martinovich Gudz ![]() Col. Nikolai Ivanovich Petunin Col. Ivan Pavlovsky |
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 328th Rifle Division began forming in the Yaroslavl area of the Moscow Military District on August 26, 1941. [1] Its first commander, Col. Pyotr Antonovich Yeremin, was appointed the same day. At the time it was formed the personnel of the division were noted as being 90 percent of Russian nationality. [2] The basic order of battle of the division was as follows:
The division was assigned to 10th Reserve Army in October, which deployed to confront the advance of forces of German Army Group Center against Moscow's southern flank. On November 29 the 328th had reached the area of Turlatovo and Vygorodok. At this time it was in better shape than many other divisions in its Army, being outfitted with its main types of weapons, while still lacking certain weaponry and motor transport. Just prior to the start of the Soviet counteroffensive on December 5 the division was at Redino. On the next day the Army was subordinated to Western Front and ordered to attack in the direction of Mikhailov and Stalinogorsk. [4]
The joint attack on Mikhailov began on December 6; the 328th fought east of the town while the 330th and 323rd Rifle Divisions moved to bypass it from the north and southeast respectively. On December 10 and 11, Western Front ordered 10th Army to continue its advance towards Plavsk, and the Army further ordered its right-flank divisions, including the 328th, to reach the line Uzlovaya station - Bogoroditsk - Kuzovka by the morning of December 12. On the 11th the division reached the Don River along the Bobriki - Mikhailovka sector, encountering strong resistance, which was broken by December 13. During this first stage of the offensive the 328th had advanced at a rate of about nine km per day. On the morning of the 14th the offensive resumed and the 328th and 330th both crossed the Uzlovaya - Bogoroditsk railroad and continued attacking to the west. Plavsk was occupied, and the next objectives for 10th Army were the towns of Belyov and Kozelsk. By the end of December 21 the division had reached the sector Korenevka - Bulandino. As of December 25 it had been subordinated to 1st Guards Cavalry Corps and was moving towards the Oka River in support of the Corps' attack on Belyov. [5]
December 27 found the division advancing north of Belyov, fighting elements of the German 112nd and 167th Infantry Divisions covering the town in that direction. Two days later the division was re-subordinated directly to 10th Army, and began bypassing enemy strongpoints, moving along the route Pashkovo - Karacheevo to get into the flank and rear of the German Belyov grouping. On December 30 it began its direct assault on the town and played the leading role in its liberation, with help from the 330th and 322nd Rifle Divisions. The next day, as the latter unit mopped up Belyov, the 328th and 330th continued advancing west and northwest, but were soon redirected to the Kozelsk area as 10th Army consolidated. In the first days of January 1942, the Army was directed to cut the Vyasma - Bryansk railroad and liberate several towns, including Kirov and Zhizdra. [6]
As this new phase of the counteroffensive began on January 5 the 328th was held in 10th Army's second echelon in the Kozelsk area, and then was to move to Mekhovoe, where the Army headquarters was located. The division had taken heavy casualties in the fight for Belyov, and was now serving as the Army reserve. 324th Rifle Division was blockading the town of Sukhinichi in mid-January, and the depleted 328th was the only force available to reinforce the siege lines as the Germans were also reinforced. German Army Group Center began to receive reinforcements from occupied France which allowed them to launch a counterattack to relieve its besieged troops on January 18. Part of the Sukhinichi garrison was extracted by the German relief force and the town was finally liberated on January 29. Fighting by both sides persisted into February with mixed success. [7]
Later that month the 328th was transferred to 16th Army, in the same Front, [8] and it continued fighting in the area of Sukhinichi over the next few months. On April 7, Colonel Yeremin handed his command over to Col. Porfirii Martinovich Gudz, who would lead the division for the remainder of its 1st formation. On May 24, for its courage and heroism the division was redesignated as the 31st Guards Rifle Division. [9]
The GLAVKOM (High Command) issued an order on July 29, 1942, that the division was to be reformed, [10] and this began on August 4, [11] at Beslan and Ordzhonikidze in the Transcaucasus Military District. Its first commander, Col. Nikolai Ivanovich Petunin, was assigned on the same date. Its basic order of battle remained the same as the 1st formation, with the following additions:
At the time it was formed the division was noted as having 50 - 60 percent personnel of Caucasian nationalities, mostly Armenian. [13]
At the time the STAVKA was reacting to the advances by German Army Group A into the Caucasus region. The new 66th Army was to be formed from Soviet forces already in the Terek River valley and additional forces from Transcaucasus Front, including the 328th when it was ready for service. As the panzers continued advancing towards Mozdok on August 23 further orders arrived to form a new 24th Army to defend the Makhachkala region, consisting of the 328th, 337th and 317th Rifle Divisions, the Makhachkala NKVD Rifle Division and the 3rd Rifle Brigade; further orders a few days later redesignated this as 58th Army. [14] In September the division was again reassigned, now to the 18th Army in the Black Sea Group of Forces. [15]
On September 23, the German 17th Army began an offensive (Operation Attika) through the high passes of the Caucasus mountains towards the Black Sea port of Tuapse. At this time the 328th was in 18th Army reserves, along with 11th Guards Cavalry Division, 145th Naval Infantry Regiment and 40th Motorized Rifle Brigade. The German attack made fairly slow progress through this difficult terrain, but by September 29 had made gains that forced command changes in the Soviet forces and the commitment of the 328th and the 40th Brigade to shore up 18th Army's center and right flank. Further instructions from the STAVKA on October 2 ordered:
"... an attack with 119th Rifle Brigade, one regiment of 328th Rifle Division, and part of 68th Rifle Brigade, and 14th Naval Rifle Regiment from the Belaia Glina region toward Pervomaiskii, Khadyshenskii, and Gurievskii to destroy the enemy grouping which has penetrated towards Paportnyi and Kurinskii (101st and 97th Jäger Divisions)."
Meanwhile, the balance of the division was to continue to help defend the Khadyshenskii - Tuapse road. In the event this attack was preempted by a German attack on the day before, but the Soviet defenses brought the German advance to a halt on October 9, barely short of the road. [16]
A renewal of the offensive on October 21 smashed the 408th Rifle Division and forced its remnants to break out and retreat; by this point 17th Army's leading troops were just 30km from their goal. On October 24 the Slovak Motorized Division of LVII Panzer Corps attacked westward north of the Tuapse road towards Mount Sarai, and captured it from 68th Rifle Brigade. However, a counterattack by the 328th and the 32nd Guards Rifle Division against the Slovaks' flanks broke up their advance, and the positions of the 68th Brigade were retaken. The complex fighting in this region went on until early November until it was brought to a halt by attrition, exhaustion, and the onset of winter weather. [17]
At the end of the year the division was withdrawn from 18th Army to the reserves of the Black Sea Group. On January 13, 1943, as the German forces withdrew from the Caucasus and the Red Army advanced, the 889th Artillery Regiment was "swapped" for the 687th Artillery Regiment from 236th Rifle Division. The regiment continued as the 687th until August, when it was redesignated back to the 889th. From February to May 1943, the division was in the reserves of North Caucasus Front, eventually being assigned to the new 10th Rifle Corps. It was in this Front and this Corps when it was assigned to 56th Army in May. [12]
On May 6, Colonel Petunin handed his command over to Col. Ivan Pavlovsky, who would remain in command for the duration of the war. This officer would go on to serve as Commander-in-Chief of Soviet Ground Forces from 1964 to 1980. In August the 328th left the Caucasus and came under the command of 51st Army in Southern Front, but in September was moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. While there, both its 889th Artillery Regiment and 295th Antitank Battalion were completely reequipped with ZIS-3 76mm guns. Following this, the division was assigned to the 107th Rifle Corps in the 1st Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front. On February 22, 1944, it was moved to 47th Army in 2nd Belorussian Front; it would remain in that Army for the duration of the war. In April, 47th Army was reassigned to 1st Belorussian Front, and the 328th remained in that Front for the duration. [12] At the beginning of June the division was in 129th Rifle Corps, but when Operation Bagration began on June 22/23 it was serving as a separate division. [18] 47th Army was on the left flank of 1st Belorussian Front, in the area of Kovel, and so played no role in the initial stages of the offensive. [19] It was committed to the battle in July, and on August 9 the 328th was recognized for its role in the liberation of that city with the Order of the Red Banner. [20]
In November 1944, the breakdown of nationalities in the division was recorded as 75 percent Belorussian, 20 percent Ukrainian and five percent Russian. [21] During the Vistula - Oder Offensive the division was serving in the 77th Rifle Corps and was recognized for its role in the liberation of the Polish capital by receiving its name as a battle honor:
"WARSAW - ... 328th Rifle Division (Colonel Pavlovskii, Ivan Grigorevich)... The troops who participated in the battles for the liberation of Warsaw, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on January 17, 1945, and a commendation in Moscow, are granted a salute of 24 artillery salvoes from 324 guns." [22]
On the following day the 1103rd Rifle Regiment (Col. Grigorii Saveryanovich Cheprunov) was granted its own battle honor for taking part in the liberation of Sochaczew. [22] On April 5 the same regiment was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, while the 1105th Rifle Regiment received the Order of Aleksandr Nevski, both for their roles in the fighting for Deutsch Krone and the nearby area. [23] At noon on April 25, alongside 65th Guards Tank Brigade of 2nd Guards Tank Army, the division established the first junction of 1st Belorussian Front with 1st Ukrainian Front west of Berlin, completing the outer encirclement of the German capital. [24] It was disbanded "in place" with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany during the summer of 1945. [25]
The 324th Rifle Division was a standard Soviet infantry division of the Red Army during World War II. It was formed as part of the massive mobilization of August 1941, and first saw action in early December in the counteroffensive west of Moscow. During 1942 and into 1943 it saw limited action on a relatively quiet sector of the front north of Bryansk, before joining a limited offensive in February. During the general offensives of that summer, the division fought in the drive past Smolensk, and made a forced crossing of the upper Dniepr River. The 324th played a limited role in Operation Bagration, but distinguished itself in the fighting in East Prussia in 1945, sufficiently to be awarded the Order of the Red Banner. During the course of the war the men and women of the division served under no fewer than nine commanding officers.
The 50th Army was a Soviet field army during World War II. It was formed in mid-August, 1941 and deployed on the southwest approaches to Moscow. Partly encircled and destroyed by German Second Panzer Army in the opening stages of Operation Typhoon, enough of the army escaped that it could be reinforced to successfully defend the city of Tula in November. It was at this time that the 50th came under the command of Lt. Gen. Ivan Boldin, who continued in command until February, 1945. During most of its career the army was relatively small and accordingly served in secondary roles. It finished the war in East Prussia, under the command of Lt. Gen. Fyodor Ozerov, as part of 3rd Belorussian Front.
The 323rd Rifle Division was formed as a standard Red Army rifle division late in the summer of 1941, as part of the massive buildup of new Soviet fighting formations at that time. After a successful but costly start in the Soviet winter counteroffensive in the Tula region the division served on relatively quiet sectors into 1943, after which it joined the offensive push into German-occupied western Russia through the rest of that year, winning a battle honor for the liberation of Bryansk. In the course of the destruction of Army Group Center in the summer of 1944, the division further distinguished itself in the liberation of Bialystok in July. In 1945 the men and women of the 323rd took part in the Vistula-Oder Offensive through Poland and into Pomerania, and then finally in the Battle of Berlin, ending the war with distinction, but being disbanded soon after.
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 326th Rifle Division was formed as a standard Red Army rifle division 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 not fully trained and equipped when thrown into the Soviet winter counteroffensive, and after taking heavy losses mostly served on relatively quiet sectors into 1943, apart from several weeks of costly and futile fighting during Operation Mars. As the offensive into German-occupied western Russia developed during the autumn of that year the soldiers of the division distinguished themselves in the liberation of Roslavl in September. During 1944 the unit continued its combat path through the Baltic states, and in the following year helped liberate Poland and drive into Germany, ending the war near the Baltic coast in western Pomerania.
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.
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 356th Rifle Division formed in August, 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, in the Kuibyshev Oblast. After reaching the front it played a minor role in the defense of Moscow and the winter counteroffensive and remained in the line north and east of the Oryol salient through 1942 and into 1943. It then took part in the offensive to reduce this salient, Operation Kutuzov, after which it advanced towards the Dniepr River through the summer and autumn before becoming involved in the complex fighting in eastern Belarus in the winter of 1943/44, during which it won a battle honor. In the early stages of Operation Bagration the 356th was instrumental in the liberation of Bobruisk, for which it received the Order of the Red Banner. Later during this offensive the division advanced into the Baltic states before being reassigned to 1st Belorussian Front for the final offensive on Germany. Remarkably, the division was assigned to the 61st Army for nearly its entire wartime path. It ended the war north of Berlin, along the Elbe River, but in spite of a fine record of service it was disbanded shortly thereafter.
The 22nd Guards Rifle Division was unique in being the only Guards rifle division formed twice during the Great Patriotic War. It was first formed from the 363rd Rifle Division in March 1942. Soon after forming it provided a command cadre for the second formation of the 53rd Army in Kalinin Front. Later, in the fall of that year, the division provided most of its personnel and equipment to form the new 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps, and was then disbanded. In April 1943, a new 22nd Guards was formed from the second formation of the 150th Rifle Division in the Moscow Military District, and went on to serve for the duration in 10th Guards Army. This formation first saw service in Operation Suvorov, the summer offensive of Western Front that liberated Smolensk in late September, and then fought through the autumn and winter in grinding battles towards the city of Orsha. During the summer offensive of 1944 it helped break the Panther Line in western Russia and then advanced into Latvia, winning a battle honor for its part in the liberation of Riga, before ending the war in Lithuania, helping to contain the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket. It was disbanded shortly after the war.
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 369th Rifle Division began forming on 1 August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, in the Chelyabinsk Oblast. After forming, it was assigned to the 39th Army which soon became part of Kalinin Front, and it participated in the near-encirclement of the German 9th Army around Rzhev in the winter counteroffensive of 1941-42. In late January 1942, it was transferred to the 29th Army of the same Front, which was very soon after encircled by German forces near Sychevka, and while it was written off by German intelligence in February, enough of the division escaped that it was not officially disbanded. By August it returned to battle, now in 30th Army of Western Front, still fighting near Rzhev. After the salient was finally evacuated in the spring of 1943 the division was moved to Bryansk Front, first in 11th Army and then in 50th Army, under which it served for most of the war. In the summer counteroffensive the 369th was awarded the battle honor "Karachev" for its part in the liberation of that city. At the start of Operation Bagration the division was in 2nd Belorussian Front and its commander, Maj. Gen. I. S. Lazarenko, was killed a few days later; despite this loss it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its successful crossing of the Dniepr River and the liberation of Mogilev. The division continued to advance through Belarus and into Poland and eastern Germany over the following months, but despite a fine record of service was disbanded soon after the German surrender.
The 371st 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 Urals Military District. It was soon moved to the front lines near Moscow, and took part in the counteroffensive that began on December 5. It spent all of 1942 and the first months of 1943 in the fighting around the Rzhev salient, and after a short break served in the offensive that liberated Smolensk. After a winter of brutal combat on the approaches to Orsha and Vitebsk it was reassigned to 5th Army in 3rd Belorussian Front and took part in Operation Bagration, during which it was recognized for its role in the liberation of the latter city with a battle honor. The division was further distinguished in late July with the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Vilnius. In January 1945, it fought its way into East Prussia, and as that campaign was winding down it was moved across Asia, along with the rest of 5th Army, to take part in the campaign against the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria.
The 12th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 258th Rifle Division and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was in 50th Army when it was redesignated but was soon assigned to the 49th Army, then to the 10th Army and finally to the 16th Army near the end of that month. In June it was assigned to the 9th Guards Rifle Corps of 61st Army where it remained almost continually for the duration of the war, serving under several Front commands but always on the central sector of the front. During the summer offensive in 1943 it fought through western Russia and into Belarus during the winter campaigns there. Along with the rest of 61st Army it took part in the second stage of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944, advancing into the Pripyat marshes region, winning a battle honor and shortly thereafter the Order of the Red Banner. After a short time in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command it was moved to the 3rd Baltic and later the 1st Baltic Front driving into Latvia and Lithuania, being decorated with the Order of Suvorov for its part in the occupation of Riga. In December it was returned to the 1st Belorussian Front and took part in the offensives that propelled the Red Army into Poland and eastern Germany. After the fall of Berlin the division advanced to the Elbe River where it linked up with the US 84th Infantry Division. Following the German surrender it was disbanded in July, 1946.
The 50th Guards Rifle Division was an elite infantry division of the Red Army during World War II that continued as part of the Soviet Army during the early period of the Cold War. Converted into the 50th Guards Motor Rifle Division in the late 1950s, the division was based in Brest, Belarus. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the division became part of the Belarusian Ground Forces and was reduced to a brigade and then a storage base before being disbanded in 2006.
The 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 1941 formation of the 160th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as the 6th Moscow Militia Division (Dzerzhinskii) in early July 1941. The division gradually completed its formation in the 24th Army of Reserve Front east of Smolensk but was not committed to combat until after it was renumbered as the 160th on September 26. This renumbering was based on a misunderstanding that the original 160th had been encircled and destroyed earlier that month; as a result for the next 18 months there were two 160th Rifle Divisions serving concurrently.
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 129th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in October 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 176th Rifle Division. It was the highest-numbered Guards division designated by the Red Army, although not the last to be formed.
The 234th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed out-of-sequence in the Moscow Military District in October–November 1941. Due to having a large cadre of members of the Communist Party it was commonly referred to as the Yaroslavl Communist Division. After forming and briefly taking part in the rear defenses of Moscow in early 1942 it was assigned to 4th Shock Army in Kalinin Front. It became involved in the fighting near Velizh and remained in that region until nearly the end of the year. In March 1943 the division played a minor role in the follow-up to Army Group Center's evacuation of the Rzhev salient, and at the beginning of August liberated several strategic villages northeast of Smolensk, soon being rewarded with a battle honor. During the following autumn and winter it took part in the grinding battles around Vitebsk until it was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding and reorganization. When it returned to the front it was assigned to 47th Army in 1st Belorussian Front and took part in the later stages of Operation Bagration, advancing to the Vistula River near Warsaw. In September it received a second honorific for its part in the liberation of Praga. The 234th fought across Poland and into Pomerania early in 1945, winning two decorations in the process before being transferred to the 61st Army for the final offensive into northeast Germany. It was disbanded shortly thereafter.
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.
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