374th Rifle Division

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374th Rifle Division (10 August 1941 – 1946)
Active1941 - 1946
CountryFlag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
Branch Red Army flag.svg Red Army
TypeDivision
RoleInfantry
Engagements Battle of Leningrad
Lyuban Offensive Operation
Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda
Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive
Battle of Narva (1944)
Baltic Offensive
Riga Offensive
Courland Pocket
Battle honours Lyuban
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Col. Aleksei Dmitrievich Vitoshkin
Col. Dmitrii Ivanovich Barabanshchikov
Col. Stefan Vladimirovich Kolomiets
Col. Viktor Yakovlevich Popov
Col. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov
Col. Boris Alekseevich Gorodetskii
Col. Dmitrii Ivanovich Pavlov

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

Contents

Formation

Like the 372nd Rifle Division, the 374th began forming on 10 August 1941 in the Siberian Military District based on an RKO order of that date [1] at Bogotol, Ilansky and Nazarovo, in the Krasnoyarsk Krai, based on the first wartime shtat (table of organization and equipment) for rifle divisions. Its order of battle was as follows:

Col. Aleksei Dmitrievich Vitoshkin was not assigned to command of the division until 18 September, and he would remain in command until 4 July 1942. In November the division was assigned to the 59th Reserve Army, and remained in there when it became the 59th Army. It moved by rail that month as far as Vologda from where it faced a march of about 700 km to reach the fighting front. The division and its Army joined Volkhov Front in December. [3]

Lyuban Offensive Operation

The combat path of the 374th Rifle Division Combat path of the 374th Rifle Division.jpg
The combat path of the 374th Rifle Division

On 6 January 1942, the Front began an offensive to break through the positions of German 18th Army on the west bank of the Volkhov, primarily with the 2nd Shock Army, and break the siege of Leningrad from the south. The operation got off to a slow start, and it was not until the night of 23/24 January that the Front commander, Army Gen. K. A. Meretskov, could convince himself that 2nd Shock had created enough of a breach to commit his exploitation force. However, the situation soon reverted to stalemate, which Meretskov hoped to break on 28 January in part by clearing the enemy from the western bank of the Volkhov to the Polist River line with the 53rd Rifle Brigade and one rifle regiment of the 374th. [4]

By 26 March German forces had completed inner and outer encirclement lines along the Glushitsa and Polist Rivers and 2nd Shock Army, along with several formations of 59th Army were trapped. Early the next day Meretskov launched a desperate new assault which managed to carve out a tenuous gap 3 - 5 km wide near the village of Miasnoi Bor. This was by no means adequate, and in early April, 59th Army, including the 374th, attacked in the area southwest of Spasskaia Polist, but gained little ground at the cost of heavy losses. [5] As of 1 May the division was with its Army in Leningrad Front as part of the Group of Forces of the Volkhov Direction, which a month later had become the Volkhov Group of Forces. By 1 July the 59th Army was back in Volkhov Front. [6] Col. Yakov Stepanovich Yermakov took command of the division from Colonel Vitoshkin on 5 July, but he was in turn succeeded five days later by Col. Dimitrii Ivanovich Barabanshchikov.

Sinyavino and Mga Offensives

In August the 374th was transferred to the rebuilding 2nd Shock Army, still in Volkhov Front, but saw little action in the Sinyavino Offensive taking place at that time. In early October it was briefly part of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps of that Army, before being removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for a much-needed rebuilding. On 1 November Colonel Barabanshchikov was succeeded in command by Col. Stefan Vladimirovich Kolomiets. The division was assigned to the 3rd Reserve Army, and did not return to Volkhov Front until January 1943, [7] when it was assigned to Front reserves, before being reassigned to the 54th Army in February. [8]

During March the 374th was transferred again, now to the 8th Army where it would remain for the rest of the year. The STAVKA was planning an ambitious offensive, Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda, but this was stymied in the south by the German reserves gained by their evacuation of the Demyansk Pocket. The northern component of the offensive, directed at the enemy communication hub of Mga, was ordered to proceed on 19 March. After a 135-minute artillery preparation and three days of intense fighting, 8th Army's first echelon divisions, including the 374th, had penetrated 3 - 4 km on a 7 km front at the junction of the 1st and 223rd Infantry Divisions. At this point a mobile group consisting of the 191st Guards Rifle Regiment from 64th Guards Rifle Division and a battalion of tanks was committed to advance to Mga Station. In ongoing fighting until 2 April this last objective was not reached. [9]

On 14 July, after a three-day gap, Colonel Kolomiets was replaced in command by Col. Vasilii Konstantinovich Semibratov, but a few weeks later Col. Viktor Yakovlevich Popov was given command. The fifth Sinyavino Offensive began on 22 July with 8th Army again attacking east of Mga, this time on an attack front of 13.6 km in the Voronovo region and aiming to link up with 67th Army at or near Mga while detaching two rifle divisions and a tank brigade to strike at Sinyavino from the south. In order to penetrate the strong German defenses the Army commander, Lt. Gen. F. N. Starikov, organized his forces into two shock groups, each of two echelons. The 374th was in the second echelon of the second group, along with the 165th Rifle Division and 122nd Tank Brigade ready to exploit the offensive, which was preceded by six days of artillery fire on the enemy positions, which were held by 5th Mountain Division. Despite the careful preparations the attack stalled after capturing the forward German trenches. Late in the month Starikov released the 165th and 379th Rifle Divisions from second echelon but this did not improve the situation as German reserves were arriving just as 5th Mountain was falling apart. [10]

On 9 August Soviet reconnaissance detected what they thought was a weak point in the German defenses around a small bridgehead on the east bank of the Naziia River, held by the much-weakened 5th Mountain. Early on 11 August Starikov committed the 374th and 256th Rifle Divisions with two Guards tank regiments in support of the divisions already fighting in the area. Although the reinforced shock group almost enveloped the defending Germans and the 256th finally took the Poreche strongpoint, the attack once again stalled. Repeated attacks and counterattacks severely wore down both the attacking and defending forces. A German source states that the 374th had committed two rifle regiments to the battle and that by 16, 12 to 14 August Red Army infantry battalions were reported as "decimated". At 1440 hours on 22 August the STAVKA finally permitted the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts to go over to the defensive. The sixth and final Sinyavino Offensive began on 15 September. This time the 67th Army's 30th Guards Rifle Corps finally seized the Sinyavino Heights, but the supporting attacks by 8th Army achieved very little during three days of heavy fighting. The 374th was not part of the Army's shock groups in this attack. Following this battle the fighting south of Leningrad abated for the rest of the year. [11] On 25 October Colonel Popov handed his command to Col. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov. In December the division became part of the 119th Rifle Corps, still in 8th Army. [12]

Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive

The offensive that finally drove Army Group North from the Leningrad region began on 14 January 1944. During the first stages the forces of Volkhov Front found the going extremely tough and 8th Army in particular, with only about 13,000 troops, made almost no progress at all. Meanwhile 54th Army on the left flank had only managed to advance 3 - 5 km by 20 January. However, that night the German XXVIII Army Corps began to withdraw, and over the next four days the 54th's right flank advanced 20 km towards Lyuban, but encountered heavier resistance as it approached the Rollbahn Line. In response the 119th Corps was reinforced and transferred to 54th Army, and the reinforced Army reached the railroad southeast of Lyuban by the morning of 26 January. The Spanish Blue Legion was sent back to Luga and the 121st Infantry Division was ordered to abandon Lyuban. [13] On 28 January the division was honored for this victory:

"LYUBAN"... 374th Rifle Division (Colonel Boris Alekseevich Gorodetskii)... [14] The troops who participated in the liberation of Tosno and Lyuban, by the order of the Supreme High Command of January 28, 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 12 artillery salvoes from 124 guns. [15]

By 1 February the 119th Corps was moved to Front reserves and the 374th was transferred to the 115th Rifle Corps, still in 54th Army. [16] The Corps advanced 75 km in nine days and liberated Oredezh on 8 February with attacks from the north and west. This helped to lead to the liberation of Luga on the 12th; on the following day Volkhov Front was disbanded and the 54th Army was moved to Leningrad Front. As the pursuit continued the Corps was briefly under command of 67th Army before being withdrawn to Front reserve on 24 February. A few days later 8th Army took Strugi Krasnye, [17] and the 115th Corps was shifted to that Army. [18]

8th Army was soon deflected northwestward to take part in the complex fighting around the city of Narva. On 25 March Colonel Volkov transferred his command to Col. Boris Alekseevich Gorodetskii. Until July the division would be shuffled between the 8th and 59th Armies in Leningrad Front, as well as several rifle corps. [19]

Baltic Offensive

By the beginning of July the 374th was in the 124th Rifle Corps of 8th Army. [20] By the middle of the month the division was in the vicinity of Porkhov, [21] from where it advanced to the south and then west, bypassing the remaining German defenses in the Ostrov - Pskov area and entering the so-called "Baltic Gap". As of 1 August it was back in 54th Army as part of 7th Rifle Corps, all of which was in 3rd Baltic Front, [22] and had reached the area of Abrene on the border with Latvia. Over the next six weeks the rate of advance slowed considerably and by mid-September the 54th had only reached as far as Gulbene. [23]

At the start of the Riga Offensive the 374th was in the vicinity of Sigulda. By this time it was reduced to a total of just 1,800 officers and men. [24] In order to retain at least some combat effectiveness all the remaining infantry was assigned to the 1244th Rifle Regiment, bringing it to about 60 percent of authorized strength. Despite this the division played a leading role in the liberation of Riga and was recognized:

"RIGA"... 1244th Rifle Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Fyodor Ivanovich Tsarev)... 942nd Artillery Regiment (Major Aleksandr Tarasovich Posesor)... The troops who participated in the liberation of Riga, by the order of the Supreme High Command of October 13, 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 24 artillery salvoes from 324 guns. [25]

Battle of Courland

After the battle for Riga the 3rd Baltic Front was disbanded and 54th Army was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, so the 374th was assigned to the 1st Shock Army in 2nd Baltic Front, where it returned to the 119th Rifle Corps. It would remain under those Corps and Army commands for the duration, moving to the Courland Group of Forces with them in March 1945. [26] On 15 January Col. Dmitrii Ivanovich Pavlov took command from Colonel Gorodetskii and would hold it for the duration. The division's men and women ended the war as the 374th Rifle, Lyuban Division (Russian: 374-я стрелковая Любанская дивизия).

Postwar

With its corps and army, the 374th was relocated to Chardzhou in the Turkestan Military District during late September and October. It was transferred to the 1st Rifle Corps on 30 October, swapping places with the 306th Rifle Division. The 374th was disbanded in early 1946. [27]

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

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">311th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)</span> Military unit

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

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

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

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

The 19th Guards Rifle Division was formed from the first formation of the 366th Rifle Division on 17 March 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 25th Cavalry Division was a mounted division of the Red Army that served for just over a year in the Great Patriotic War. It was formed in the summer of 1941 and served in the region south and west of Leningrad during the following months against the advance of Army Group North during Operation Barbarossa. It survived a German armored counterattack before being pulled back into the reserves in September. In January 1942, it was assigned to the Mobile Group of 2nd Shock Army to take part in the Lyuban Offensive Operation. This offensive aimed to encircle and destroy the German forces besieging Leningrad; in the event, 2nd Shock was itself encircled and forced to break out as individuals and small groups from May into July. The 25th Cavalry was disbanded, and its survivors were used to help rebuild the badly depleted 19th Guards Rifle Division, while the 25th's commanding officer took over the latter division.

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

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

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

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

The 382nd Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming on 10 August in the Siberian Military District. It joined the fighting front in December with the new 59th Army along the Volkhov River. Apart from a few weeks in 1944 the division served in either the Volkhov Front or the Leningrad Front for the entire war. It suffered horrendous casualties after being encircled in the swamps and forests near Lyuban and was severely understrength for many months afterwards while serving on a relatively quiet front. It remained in the line in the dismal fighting near Leningrad until early 1944 with little opportunity to distinguish itself, and the division did not finally earn a battle honor until late January 1944, during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive. Following this the division was moved to the Karelian Isthmus and entered the summer offensive against Finland in the reserves of Leningrad Front before being assigned to the 23rd Army. Following the Finnish surrender it was redeployed westward, helping to mop up pockets of enemy forces in the Baltic states in early 1945. The 382nd ended the war in Latvia, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and was officially disbanded in February 1946.

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

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

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p. 79
  2. ↑ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p. 100
  3. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 100
  4. ↑ David M. Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2002, pp. 158-59, 165. Glantz identifies the regiment as the 374th, which is clearly an error.
  5. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Leningrad, pp. 177-81
  6. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, pp. 80, 99, 120
  7. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 100
  8. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 33, 58
  9. ↑ Glantz, After Stalingrad, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2009, pp. 458-59
  10. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Leningrad, pp. 306, 309, 311-12
  11. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Leningrad, pp. 312-18
  12. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 9
  13. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Leningrad, pp. 359-60
  14. ↑ This is the name given in www.soldat.ru. Commanders of Corps and Divisions states that Colonel Volkov was in command until March 25.
  15. ↑ "Освобождение городов".
  16. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 37
  17. ↑ Glantz, Battle for Leningrad, pp. 385, 388, 393-94
  18. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 66
  19. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 100
  20. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 186
  21. ↑ The Gamers, Inc., Baltic Gap, Multi-Man Publishing, Inc., Millersville, MD, 2009, p. 18
  22. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 216
  23. ↑ The Gamers, Baltic Gap, pp. 22, 29
  24. ↑ https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=451335974, site page 76. In Russian. Retrieved 31 March 2019
  25. ↑ "Освобождение городов".
  26. ↑ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 100
  27. ↑ Feskov et al. 2013, p. 537.

Bibliography

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