41st Cavalry Division (Soviet Union)

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41st Cavalry Division
Active20 July 1941 – 5 January 1942
Disbanded5 January 1942
CountryFlag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union
Branch Red Army
TypeCavalry
SizeDivision
Engagements World War II

The 41st Cavalry Division was a cavalry formation of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War.

Red Army Soviet army and air force from 1917–1946

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, frequently shortened to Red Army, was the army and the air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The army was established immediately after the 1917 October Revolution. The Bolsheviks raised an army to oppose the military confederations of their adversaries during the Russian Civil War. Beginning in February 1946, the Red Army, along with the Soviet Navy, embodied the main component of the Soviet Armed Forces; taking the official name of "Soviet Army", until its dissolution in December 1991. The former official name Red Army continued to be used as a nickname by both sides throughout the Cold War.

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It was formed on 20 July 1941 in the Northwestern Front using any elements the headquarters could find. In August 1941 the division was moved back to the Moscow Military District to complete its organization. Assigned to the STAVKA Reserves in September when the German offensive started against Moscow. By late October the division was assigned to the 50th Army on the Southern flank of the Western Front. The division covered the gap between the 50th Army and the Southwestern Fronts 3rd Army. [1]

The Northwestern Front was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-created on 22 June 1941, the first day of the Soviet-German War on the basis of the Baltic Special Military District. On 22 June the Front consisted of the 8th, 11th, and 27th Armies, as well as the 5th Airborne Corps and the headquarters of the 65th Rifle Corps.

Moscow Military District formerly part of the armed forces of the Russian Federation

The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.

50th Army (Soviet Union)

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.

When the Soviet Offensive started in December the division was assigned to the Mishulin's Cavalry Group along with the 57th and 75th Cavalry Divisions. Assigned to the group from 19 December 1941 the division having been burned out the fighting in November was officially disbanded on 5 January 1942.

Composition

Commanders

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The 146th Rifle Division was formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division in mid-1939, as part of a major build-up of the Army prior to the start of World War II. After the start of the German invasion in 1941 it defended the approaches to Kiev for several months until being surrounded and destroyed in September. A second formation began in January 1942, and the new division spent the following year on a relatively quiet sector before joining the offensives that would drive the German invaders from north-central Russia, Lithuania, and Poland. The 146th ended the war fighting in the streets of Berlin, after compiling an enviable record of service, and saw postwar duty in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.

413th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

The 413th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the summer of 1941 in the Far Eastern Front. It was considered to be a "sister" division to the 415th, and was one of the divisions of Siberians sent west to help defend Moscow during the winter of 1941-42. It was assigned to the 50th Army and originally saw action in the defense of the city of Tula before going over to the counteroffensive in December, suffering massive casualties in the process. It spent much of the next year along the lines it gained over the winter, southwest of the capital, before beginning to push westward as part of Western Front's 1943 summer offensive. During the winter of 1943-44 it was in Belorussian Front gradually gaining ground towards the Dniepr River to the east of Rogachev. At the start of Operation Bagration the 413th was in the 3rd Army but was soon reassigned to the 65th Army where it remained for most of the rest of the war. The division was awarded a battle honor for its role in the liberation of Brest in July and in 1945 received both the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov as it advanced into Poland and Germany with 2nd Belorussian Front. The 413th had a distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path north of Berlin. It was disbanded in the summer of 1946.

325th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

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.

329th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

The 329th Rifle Division was first formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Voronezh. This formation was assigned to the Western Front in mid-December as the Soviet winter counter-offensive west of Moscow was developing, but had the misfortune to be cut off and destroyed behind German lines. The division was formed again nearly two years later, this time in 1st Ukrainian Front, and served with distinction with this Front during the final twelve months of the war, winning honors for its roles in the fighting in Poland, Breslau and Berlin before ending the war near Prague.

361st Rifle Division Wikimedia disambiguation page

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.

25th Cavalry Division (Soviet Union)

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 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.

402nd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

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, but saw relatively little combat. 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 went back to guard duties along the border with Turkey and served as a training establishment for Azeri recruits for the duration of the war.

References

  1. Sharp, Charles (1995). Red Sabers. Nafizger Press.

See also