363rd Rifle Division

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363rd Rifle Division (August 1941 – March 17, 1942)
363rd Rifle Division (November 25, 1944 - 1946)
Active1941–1946
CountryFlag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
Branch Red Army flag.svg Red Army
TypeDivision
RoleInfantry
Engagements Battles of Rzhev
Sychyovka-Vyazma Offensive
Soviet invasion of Manchuria
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Col. Karp Sviridov
Col. Savva Dmitrievich Pechenenko

The 363rd Rifle Division formed in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, in the Sverdlovsk Oblast. It may be considered a "sister" division to the 361st Rifle Division. After forming, it was assigned to the 30th Army, and played a role in the near-encirclement of the German 9th Army around Rzhev in the winter counteroffensive of 1941-42. In recognition of its tactical successes it was reorganized as the 22nd Guards Rifle Division in March 1942. A new 363rd was formed in November 1944, in the far east of the USSR. It saw very limited action during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945, primarily in a pursuit and exploitation role.

Contents

1st Formation

The division began forming in August 1941 in the Urals Military District [1] in the Sverdlovsk Oblast. Its basic order of battle was as follows:

Col. Karp Sviridov was not assigned to command of the division until September 25, but he would continue in command through the existence of this formation. It spent about three months in the Urals forming and training. [2]

In December the division was assigned to the 30th Army, in Kalinin Front. [3] Beginning on January 8, 1942, this Army took part in the Sychevka-Vyasma Offensive Operation, which was planned "to encircle, and then capture or destroy the enemy's entire Mozhaisk - Gzhatsk - Vyasma grouping", [4] that is, what later became known as the Rzhev salient. 30th Army operated mostly north and northwest of Rzhev itself, and the 363rd advanced over 30km in early January, driving the German forces out of several villages and small towns in the area. The division was recognized for its achievements in this counteroffensive on March 17 when it became the 22nd Guards Rifle Division, the same day that the 361st became the 21st Guards. [5]

2nd Formation

It was not until November 25, 1944, that a new 363rd was formed, this time in the 35th Army of the Far Eastern Front. It was under the command of Col. Savva Dmitrievich Pechenenko until at least September 3, 1945. Its order of battle was as follows:

The division spent its entire career in 35th Army. It is shown in the order of battle for January 1, is not present on February 1, but reappears as of March 1, remaining there until August. [7] When the Soviet invasion of Manchuria began that month, 35th Army was in the 1st Far Eastern Front, attacking the Hutou Fortified Region. The 363rd played little role in attacking the fortifications, and it mostly served as a mobile pursuit force aided by its battalion of SU-76s. [8]

Along with the 35th Army headquarters, it was disbanded in late September 1945 in accordance with the order that established the Primorsky Military District. [9]

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The 361st Rifle Division formed in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Ufa. It may be considered a "sister" division to the 363rd Rifle Division. After forming, it was assigned to the 39th Army, and played a major role in the near-encirclement of the German 9th Army around Rzhev in the winter counteroffensive of 1941-42. In recognition of its successes it was reorganized as the 21st Guards Rifle Division in March 1942. A new 361st was formed in November 1944, in the far east of the USSR. It saw action during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945, staging several crossing operations of the Amur and Songhua Rivers during the first days of the offensive, in recognition of which one regiment was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">369th Rifle Division</span> Military unit

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 396th Rifle Division was created in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army and was activated twice during the Great Patriotic War. The division followed a very similar combat path to that of the 398th Rifle Division in its 1st formation. It was first formed in August in the Transcaucasus Military District. In January 1942 it was moved to the Crimea where it joined first the 47th and then the 44th Armies in Crimean Front. On 8 May it came under attack by the German 11th Army as part of Operation Trappenjagd and by the end of the month it was destroyed in the Kerch peninsula, being officially disbanded on 14 June. In the buildup to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria a new 396th was formed in the Far Eastern Front in early 1945. The new division was one of only three formed in 1945 and served with the 2nd Red Banner Army, crossing the Amur River on 11 August and helping to reduce a Japanese fortified zone while also marching towards central Manchuria. Its rifle regiments were all decorated for their achievements and the division was disbanded before the end of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">402nd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)</span> Military unit

The 402nd Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served throughout the Great Patriotic War in that role. It was raised as an Azerbaijani National division in the Transcaucasus Military District and first formed part of the occupation force following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. It returned to the USSR in April, 1942, remaining in the Caucasus region until the forces of German Army Group A began its drive on the oil fields there as part of Operation Blue. In October it joined the Northern Group in the Transcaucasus Front, in the 44th Army, defending the direct route to Baku. The division took part in the counteroffensive that threw the German forces out of the Caucasus, but took heavy losses in the process. Once the German threat receded the 402nd returned to guard duties along the border with Turkey and served as a training establishment for Azeri recruits for the duration of the war.

The 210th 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 as a cavalry division in the first weeks of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It served through nearly the remainder of the war on a quiet sector in Transbaikal Front, entirely as part of 36th Army. During July 1945, in the leadup to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, it was transferred to the 86th Rifle Corps, still in 36th Army. This Army was in the second echelon of the invading forces and saw very little, if any, actual combat, but the division was nevertheless given a battle honor. It was transferred to 17th Army and was disbanded with it by mid-1946.

References

Citations

  1. Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p. 78
  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, pp. 94-95
  3. Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 95
  4. Svetlana Gerasimova, The Rzhev Slaughterhouse, ed. & trans. S. Britton, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2013, pp. 26-27
  5. Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 95
  6. Sharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. X, Nafziger, 1996, p. 129
  7. Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1945, pp. 39, 74, 109, 187
  8. Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 129
  9. Feskov et al 2013, p. 577.

Bibliography