348th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

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348th Rifle Division (August 15, 1941 – June 1946)
Soviet Lieutenant General Ivan Fedorovich Grigorevskii.jpg
Maj. Gen. I. F. Grigorevskii, Hero of the Soviet Union
Active1941–1946
CountryFlag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
Branch Red Army flag.svg Red Army
TypeDivision
RoleInfantry
Engagements Battle of Moscow
Battles of Rzhev
Battle of Demyansk (1943)
Operation Kutuzov
Battle of Smolensk (1943)
Battle of the Dnieper
Operation Bagration
Bobruysk Offensive
Vistula-Oder Offensive
Battle of Königsberg
Decorations Order of Red Banner.svg   Order of the Red Banner
Order Kutuzov 2.png   Order of Kutuzov
Battle honours Bobruisk
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Maj. Gen. Anisim Stefanovich Liukhtikov
Col. Ivan Afanasevich Ilichev
Maj. Gen. Ivan Fyodorovich Grigorevskii Hero of the Soviet Union medal.png
Maj. Gen. Nikolai Aleksandrovich Nikitin
Col. Mikhail Andreevich Grekov

The 348th Rifle Division was first formed in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Kuibyshev. It was assigned to 60th Reserve Army shortly after forming and took part in the winter counteroffensive in front of Moscow. Until the end of 1942 it was involved in the dismal and costly battles around the Rzhev Salient, until it was shifted to take part in the equally difficult fighting around the Demyansk Salient. Both of these German positions were evacuated in March 1943, and, after rebuilding, the division returned to the front to take part in the summer offensive along the Smolensk axis. During Operation Bagration the 348th distinguished itself in the liberation of Bobruisk, and received the name of that city as an honorific. Not long after it was also decorated for its role in the liberation of Bialystok. In 1945 it helped to liberate northern Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive, before being reassigned to 3rd Belorussian Front in East Prussia. In the last weeks of the war it formed part of the reserves of 1st Belorussian Front during the Berlin Operation.

Contents

Formation

The division officially formed on August 15, 1941, in the Volga Military District [1] at Kuibyshev. Its order of battle was as follows:

Postwar photo of Maj. Gen. A.S. Liukhtikov Soviet Major General Anisim Stefanovich Liukhtikov.jpg
Postwar photo of Maj. Gen. A.S. Liukhtikov

Colonel Anisim Stefanovich Liukhtikov was assigned to command of the division on the day it began forming, and he continued in command until September 21, 1942, being promoted to the rank of Major General on August 4 of that year.

In November the division was transferred to the Moscow Military District and added to the 60th (Reserve) Army which was forming there. On November 29 it was assigned to the 30th Army in Western Front. [3] On December 1 it unloaded and concentrated in the area of Zaprudnaya. [4] At the outset of the Moscow counteroffensive on December 6 the division, along with the 18th and 24th Cavalry Divisions, was directed to make a secondary attack toward Rogachevo. [5] In late December the division, along with 30th Army, was shifted to Kalinin Front, and the 348th remained there until the end of 1942. For most of the year it was under command of 30th Army, but in August it was one of the first formations assigned to the re-forming 39th Army, and served in it until December. [2] In September, General Liukhtikov was appointed to command of 39th Army rear services, and Col. Ivan Afanasevich Ilichev was given command of the 348th, which he would hold until April 21, 1943.

Operation Mars

During the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation, 39th Army was positioned at the apex of the Rzhev Salient, roughly along the line of the upper Volga River. The 348th, which had been in Front reserve for rebuilding for about one month, was the Army's reserve formation. Maj. Gen. A. I. Zygin, commander of 39th Army, had been assigned a rather simple mission which was largely diversionary while the main effort to pinch out the salient took place farther south. His plan was to pinch out a salient of his own, using his 135th, 158th, and 373rd Rifle Divisions, plus two tank brigades, to encircle the German 206th Infantry Division, allowing him to commit the 348th to advance on the town of Olenino beginning on the third day. The key to the operation was seizing the fortified village of Urdom. [6]

When the attack opened on November 25, the other forces of 39th Army did make some initial progress against the thinly-held German lines, and expanded their bridgeheads across the Volga on each side of the 206th Division. Zygin, however, was not fully aware of the presence of elements of 14th Motorized and Grossdeutchland Divisions in reserve. Between them they were able to assist the 206th to contain and even push back the Soviet bridgeheads across the Volga, so the battle became a frontal offensive, and the 348th would remain in reserve until greater progress was made. On November 28, 39th Army tried to renew the offensive, but by the end of the next day Urdom was still in German hands. On November 30, the division was finally committed to the fight for Urdom, and with the help of the remnants of 135th and 373rd Rifle Divisions and a handful of KV heavy tanks to reduce German pillboxes, the village finally fell. However, the German lines held, and this advance marked the end of 39th Army's progress during the operation. [7]

After Operation Mars was closed down, the 348th was reassigned to Northwestern Front, first, briefly, to 1st Shock Army, then to the Front reserves, and finally to 53rd Army, [8] where it was intended to take part in the final liquidation of the Demyansk Pocket. This was forestalled by Hitler's decision to abandon the pocket voluntarily, which began on February 17, 1943. While this move freed up German forces for service elsewhere, it did the same for the Red Army, and on March 11, in the face of a deteriorating situation in the Kursk region, the STAVKA issued the following directive (No. 30071), in part:

"1. Form a Reserve Front effective at 2400 hours on 13 March 1943. 2. The Reserve Front will include: a) The 2nd Reserve Army, consisting of the 129th, 235th, 250th, 348th, 380th, and 397th Rifle Divisions, re-stationed in the Yelets, Lipetsk, and Lebedyan regions..."

This Army was under the command of Lt. Gen. V.I. Morozov. [9] It would become the 2nd formation of 63rd Army on April 27, which was soon assigned to Bryansk Front. [2] On April 25, Col. I. V. Mokhin took command of the division from Colonel Ilichev, but he would only hold it for about a month, until he was succeeded by Col. Ivan Fyodorovich Grigorevskii. This officer would be promoted to the rank of Major General on September 15.

Summer Offensive 1943

Following the German offensive at Kursk the 348th, along with the rest of 63rd Army, took part in Operation Kutuzov, the Soviet offensive against the German forces in the Oryol salient north of Kursk. The division began its attack on July 12 from the area of the village of Zalegoshch. Breaking through German positions the division bypassed Oryol from the south before entering street fighting in conjunction with other Soviet forces which subsided on August 5 with the city's full liberation. In recognition of this success, Colonel Grigorevskii was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. [10] During September, Bryansk Front advanced in the direction of its namesake city during the Smolensk Campaign, and liberated it on September 17. [11] In the following days the 348th pressed on. On the morning of September 22 the sub-machinegun company of Lieutenant Sorokin entered the outskirts of Starodub. After receiving reconnaissance reports from this company, Grigorevskii ordered two battalions of the 1174th Rifle Regiment to begin clearing operations; during the day further reserves were committed to the fighting and by evening Starodub was freed. [12]

As of October 1, the division was in 40th Rifle Corps of 63rd Army in Bryansk Front. [13] Ten days later that Front was disbanded and 63rd Army was transferred to Central (later Belorussian) Front. During that Front's Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive, on September 30, just north of Gomel, two divisions of 35th Rifle Corps liberated the town of Vetka and seized a small bridgehead across the Sozh River from the 253rd Infantry Division of XXIII Army Corps. The 348th and 287th Rifle Divisions of 40 Corps were quickly ordered to reinforce the bridgehead. [14] By December 1, both these divisions had been transferred to 35th Corps. [15] When 63rd Army was disbanded in February 1944, the division and its Corps were transferred to 3rd Army, now in 1st Belorussian Front, although the division was soon moved to 41st Rifle Corps. The 348th would remain in this Army for the duration, and a month later returned to 35th Corps, where it would also remain for the duration. [16]

On the eve of the 1944 summer offensive, General Grigorevskii was reassigned to command of the 61st Rifle Corps, which he would hold for the duration of the war. On November 2 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, and on April 6, 1945, he was awarded the Gold Star of a Hero of the Soviet Union for his services. [17] He was replaced in command of the 348th for about two months by Maj. Gen. Nikolai Aleksandrovich Nikitin.

Operation Bagration and Into Germany

In the plan for Bagration, the 348th's 35th Rifle Corps was chosen as one of two assault corps of 3rd Army, facing the German 134th and 296th Infantry Divisions of XXXV Army Corps north of Rogachev on the Dniepr. On the first two days the advance was slow, but at 1000 hrs. on June 25 the 35th Corps attacked the German 134th Infantry, and was joined by 9th Tank Corps, which helped open a 15 km gap between XXXV Corps and the 57th Infantry Division to the north. By midnight the German corps was falling apart, and six divisions were threatened with encirclement southwest of Bobruisk. On the next day, 9th Tank crossed the rear of XXXV Corps and began destroying the retreating German transport, while 35th and 41st Rifle Corps followed close behind. By nightfall on June 27 Bobriusk was surrounded, and the Soviet forces were reducing the pocket. Between 40,000 and 70,000 were trapped, and forces of 3rd Army were pressing in from the north. At 1000 hrs. on June 29, elements of three Soviet Armies began mopping up the city, which was completed by day's end. [18]

On the same day, while this operation continued, the division was recognized for its role in the liberation of the city, and received its name as an honorific:

"BOBRUISK - ...348th Rifle Division (Major General Nikitin, Nikolai Aleksandrovich)... By order of the Supreme High Command of 29 June 1944 and a commendation in Moscow, the troops who participated in the battles for the liberation of Bobruisk are given a salute of 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns." [19]

As the Soviet advance continued through Belorussia and into Poland the division was further recognized for its service on August 9 with the award of the Order of the Red Banner for participation in the liberation of Byalistok. [20] [21] On August 30, General Nikitin was replaced in command by Col. Mikhail Andreevich Grekov, who would remain in command for the duration of the war. In September, 3rd Army was reassigned to 2nd Belorussian Front, and the division would take part in the Oder-Vistula Offensive under that command. [22]

At the start of that operation on January 14, 1945, 3rd Army was deployed along the line Mlynarz - the height southeast of Dombrowka. 35th Corps shared duties with 41st Rifle Corps in launching the main attack in the direction of Krasnosielc. By the end of the first day, 3rd Army had crushed the defending German 292nd and 129th Infantry Divisions and had broken through to a depth of 5 km on a 10 km front. However, on the next day, the Army's units ran into armor of the Grossdeutchland Panzer Division, halting the advance and even losing some ground. The advance continued on the 17th against strong resistance, and by the end of the day Krasnosielc was being contested. On January 23, elements of the Army captured the important center of Willenberg, but spent the next three days fighting off repeated counterattacks. Following this, the advance continued on Guttstadt, while other elements of the Front reached the Baltic and cut off the German forces in East Prussia. [23]

On April 5, the division was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd degree, for its role in the capture of Wormditt, Melzak, and the surrounding area, during the East Prussian campaign. [24] In the Berlin Operation, 3rd Army formed the second echelon of 1st Belorussian Front, employed along the main direction. The 348th ended the war advancing on Berlin. [22] [25]

Postwar

The 348th concluded hostilities with the full title of 348th Rifle, Bobruisk, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Kutuzov Division. (Russian: 348-я стрелковая Бобруйская Краснознамённая ордена Кутузова дивизия.) [26] With the 35th Rifle Corps, the division was withdrawn to Mogilev postwar, and was transferred back to the 40th Rifle Corps. The 348th was disbanded with the corps in June 1946. [27]

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The 26th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 93rd Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It would soon after provide the headquarters cadre for the 8th Guards Rifle Corps. It was soon assigned, with its Corps, to 20th Army of Western Front and saw extensive fighting, while also suffering extensive casualties, in two campaigns against the German 9th Army in the Rzhev salient through the rest of 1942. The division, again with 8th Guards Corps, joined the 11th Guards Army when it was formed in April, 1943 and, apart from a brief reassignment in early 1944, remained under those commands for the duration of the war. During that summer the division took part in the liberation of Bryansk. By December, after fighting through western Russia north of Smolensk it was in 1st Baltic Front, attacking south towards Gorodok and won the name of that city as a battle honor. By the start of the offensive against Army Group Center in the summer of 1944 the 26th Guards had been redeployed with its Army to the south of Vitebsk as part of 3rd Belorussian Front, where it would remain for the duration. Driving westward during Operation Bagration the division advanced north of Orsha and then helped to seize a crossing over the Berezina River for which it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. It continued to advance through Lithuania to the border with East Prussia later that year. As part of the East Prussian Offensive the 26th Guards entered that heavily fortified region in the winter of 1945 and helped gradually break the German resistance there, particularly at Insterburg and Königsberg, winning the Order of Suvorov for its part in the battle for the former place. The division ended the war at Pillau. The 26th Guards remained in the Kaliningrad Oblast well after the war, becoming the 26th Guards Motorized Rifle Division in 1957 and not finally disbanded until 1989.

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 119th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in September 1943, based on the 11th Guards Naval Rifle Brigade and the 15th Guards Naval Rifle Brigade and was one of a small series of Guards divisions formed on a similar basis. Although the two brigades had distinguished themselves in the fighting south of Stalingrad as part of 64th Army they were moved to Northwestern Front in the spring of 1943 before being reorganized. After serving briefly in 22nd Army the division was moved to reinforce the 3rd Shock Army within the large salient that Army had created behind German lines after a breakthrough at Nevel in October. In the following months it fought both to expand the salient and defend it against German counterattacks in a highly complex situation. In January 1944 it was transferred to the 7th Guards Rifle Corps of 10th Guards Army, still in the Nevel region, after which it advanced toward the Panther Line south of Lake Peipus. During operations in the Baltic states that summer and autumn the 119th Guards was awarded both a battle honor and the Order of the Red Banner for its operations in Latvia. In March 1945 it joined the Kurland Group of Forces of Leningrad Front on the Baltic coast containing the German forces encircled in northwest Latvia. Following the German surrender it was moved to Estonia where it was disbanded in 1946.

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 235th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. As part of the 41st Rifle Corps it was soon sent to Northwestern Front to defend the distant approaches to Leningrad. Along with its Corps the division became part of the Luga Operational Group. After Novgorod was captured the Luga Group was largely encircled and had to fight its way north toward the city, suffering considerable losses in the process. The losses to the 235th were greater than those of some others and after officially carrying on in the reserves of Leningrad Front for some time the division was officially disbanded in late December.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p. 79
  2. 1 2 3 Sharp 1996, p. 87.
  3. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 67, 74
  4. ↑ Soviet General Staff 2017, part III, ch. 3.
  5. ↑ Soviet General Staff 2017, part IV, ch. 2.
  6. ↑ Glantz 1999, pp. 66–68.
  7. ↑ Glantz 1999, pp. 150–156, 160–162, 218–219.
  8. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 11, 34
  9. ↑ Glantz, After Stalingrad, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2009, pp. 356, 416, 419, 432-33
  10. ↑ "Григорьевский Иван Фёдорович". www.warheroes.ru. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Освобождение городов". www.soldat.ru. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Григорьевский Иван Фёдорович". www.warheroes.ru. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  13. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 248
  14. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2016, pp. 27, 97
  15. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 305
  16. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, pp. 71, 101
  17. ↑ "Григорьевский Иван Фёдорович". www.warheroes.ru. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  18. ↑ Dunn, Jr., Soviet Blitzkrieg, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2008, pp. 183, 185, 193-199, 208. Note this source at several points incorrectly refers to the 35th as a Guards Rifle Corps.
  19. ↑ "Освобождение городов". www.soldat.ru. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  20. ↑ Sharp 1996, pp. 87–88.
  21. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a, p. 422.
  22. 1 2 Sharp 1996, p. 88.
  23. ↑ Soviet General Staff 2016, pp. 129, 185, 199–201, 205, 215, 234–235.
  24. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b, p. 56.
  25. ↑ Soviet General Staff 2016, p. 31.
  26. ↑ Sharp states that the division was also awarded the Order of Suvorov, but this is contradicted by Feskov et al 2013.
  27. ↑ Feskov et al 2013, p. 450.

Bibliography

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