43rd Guards Rifle Division

Last updated
43rd Guards Rifle Division
Active1942–1947
CountryFlag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
BranchRed Army flag.svg Red Army
TypeDivision
RoleInfantry
Engagements
Battle honours Riga
Commanders
Notable
commanders
  • Yan Yanovich Veikin
  • Detlav Karlovich Brantkaln
  • Alfred Yurevich Kalnin

The 43rd Guards Rifle Division was an elite Latvian infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.

Contents

The division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in October, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 201st Rifle Division. The 201st was the only division made up of Latvian nationals in the Red Army until 1944, and the 43rd was immediately nicknamed the "Latvian Guards" division, which stuck through its existence. Formed in Northwestern Front, its initial service was in the dismal fighting around the Demyansk salient until that was evacuated by German Army Group North in February, 1943. Through the rest of the year it fought in that Front, mostly facing the several German strongpoints in the area of Velikiye Luki. Beginning in January, 1944 the division took part in the offensive that finally drove the German forces away from Leningrad and before the summer offensive, now in 22nd Army of 2nd Baltic Front it provided a cadre to form the 130th Latvian Rifle Corps, and it served in that Corps for the duration of the war. Through 1943 and into 1944 the division was able to remain closer to full strength than many other Soviet units because it drew on a relatively large pool of Latvian refugee Communist Party members and Komsomol who had escaped ahead of the Germans in 1941. It crossed the border back into Latvia in July and entered Riga on October 16, winning a battle honor in the process. For the duration of the war the 43rd Guards served mostly in Leningrad Front, containing and reducing the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and also engaging in restoration work in its war-battered homeland. It continued to serve in this manner until it was converted to a rifle brigade in April, 1947.

Formation

The 43rd Guards received its Guards banner and title in a ceremony on October 19. At this time it was serving in the 11th Army of Northwestern Front, north of the "Ramushevo corridor" that connected German 16th Army with its II Army Corps within the Demyansk salient. After the subunits received their designations the division's order of battle was as follows:[ citation needed ]

Maj. Gen. Yan Yanovich Veikin remained in command of the division after redesignation. As was the case with most newly-designated Guards divisions the 201st had been somewhat reduced in strength in the assaults that earned it its new status. It was noted as having 9,453 personnel, close to establishment for that period of the war, but had only 5,713 rifles and carbines, 65 heavy machine guns, 197 light machine guns, 1,202 sub-machineguns, 18 120mm and 85 82mm mortars, 212 antitank rifles, 8 122mm howitzers, 29 45mm antitank guns, 135 trucks, and, most unusually, no 76mm guns at all. The 44th Guards Antiaircraft Battery was also without weapons until March, 1943. [2]

Battle of Demyansk

Soviet positions at Demyansk, spring 1943. The 43rd Guards was near Penno in 27th Army, north of the entrance to the Ramushevo corridor. Demyansk 1943.jpg
Soviet positions at Demyansk, spring 1943. The 43rd Guards was near Penno in 27th Army, north of the entrance to the Ramushevo corridor.

In mid-October Marshal S. K. Timoshenko, the STAVKA coordinator for Northwestern Front's operations, began planning another offensive to cut the German corridor; in part this was intended as a diversion from the upcoming Operation Mars. The attack was to involve 11th Army from the north and 1st Shock Army from the south, to commence on October 22. However, as with Mars, this operation was postponed several time, mainly due to adverse weather. When it finally began on the night of November 23/24 the 11th Army consisted of ten rifle divisions, including the 43rd Guards, plus five rifle brigades, one tank brigade and three battalions, and 26 artillery regiments. It faced elements of the 8th Jäger, 290th and 81st Infantry Divisions, giving it an advantage of about 3:1 in infantry and 5:1 in armor, although the rough and roadless terrain and miserable weather hampered supplies and negated much of the numerical advantage. [3]

After probing attacks by the 202nd Rifle Division in the direction of Pustynia which gained little ground over several days, on November 27 Timoshenko ordered the two armies to commit their main forces in an attempt to break the stalemate. While the 202nd was finally able to gain its objective, overall the attackers seized only pitifully small footholds in the German defenses at the cost of heavy losses. While the STAVKA soon recognized the offensive had failed it insisted on December 8 that it continue and several equally fruitless efforts were made into mid-January, 1943. [4] Meanwhile, on December 30 General Veikin was effectively demoted to command of the 14th Guards Rifle Regiment of 7th Guards Rifle Division, and the next day he was succeeded in command of the division by Col. Detlav Karlovich Brantkaln, who would be promoted to the rank of major general on January 29. Early in February it was transferred to the 27th Army of the same Front, [5] which was located closer to the mouth of the Ramushevo corridor.

In the wake of Operation Iskra, which broke the German land blockade of Leningrad in January, Marshal Georgy Zhukov conceived a plan to encircle and destroy Army Group North: Operation Polar Star. The first phase of the overall operation would be yet another attempt to cut off and eliminate the Demyansk salient. Zhukov finalized his plan during the week preceding the planned attack date of February 15, [6] and the 11th and 27th Armies together had nine rifle divisions, including the 43rd Guards, plus 150 tanks, massed between Penno and Ramushevo against the 5th Jäger Division. However, in light of the encirclement and upcoming surrender of 6th Army at Stalingrad, on January 31 Hitler had authorized the evacuation of II Corps. Operation Ziethen began on February 17 before the delayed Soviet attack could get fully underway, and effectively short-circuited Zhukov's entire plan; 27th Army would still be redeploying as late as the 21st. Demyansk was abandoned on February 21 and by February 26 most of the corridor was evacuated as well. [7]

Into western Russia

Ziethen freed up sufficient German forces to reinforce their positions at Staraya Russa and along the Lovat River. The town of Kholm had held out under siege until May and while Velikiye Luki had been liberated by the 3rd Shock Army in January there were several German strongpoints, most notably Novosokolniki, that continued to block further Soviet advances to the west. During the remainder of the year the 43rd Guards was one of the units of Northwestern Front responsible for keeping guard over these garrisons and engaging in local battles to improve positions and gain intelligence. [8] During this time the division came under several commands. In April it left 27th Army and joined the 68th Army. During May it was moved to the Front reserves, where it remained into June. In July it was assigned as a separate division in the 34th Army. In August it came under the command of the 12th Guards Rifle Corps with the 7th Guards and 26th Rifle Divisions, back in the Front reserves, and remained there into October. During that month it was reassigned as a separate division to the 22nd Army in the new 2nd Baltic Front, and would remain under those commands for most of the rest of the war. [9]

At the beginning of January, 1944 the 43rd Guards had 8,127 personnel on strength, which was considerably more than most rifle divisions at this period of the war. Given the large percentage of well-motivated Communist Party members the unit gained the unofficial status of an assault division. [10] It was armed with 3,489 rifles and carbines, 2,709 sub-machineguns, 308 light machine guns, 142 heavy machine guns, 105 82mm and 24 120mm mortars, 169 antitank rifles, 12 122mm howitzers, 36 76mm cannons, 29 45mm antitank guns, 12 light antiaircraft guns, and 165 trucks. [11]

Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive

When the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive began on January 14 the 2nd Baltic Front was assigned a mostly diversionary role in tying down German reserves. At this time Lt. Col. Yan Ludvigovich Rainberg was the deputy commander of the 125th Guards Rifle Regiment who had earlier distinguished himself in the fighting near Ramushevo. Overnight he led an assault force consisting of two ski battalions, one from his own division and another from the 33rd Rifle Division, into action north of Novosokolniki. The ski troops broke through the German defenses at the village of Fedoruhnovo and raided into the rear, cutting the Novosokolniki - Dno railway and seizing the village of Monakovo where they captured the headquarters of an engineer battalion with 25 soldiers and one officer. The raid provoked a strong response and over the next 12 hours Rainberg's detachment was forced to fight off 11 counterattacks by infantry and tanks, gradually running short of antitank ammunition and grenades. German armor eventually advanced to within 30-40m of the Soviet positions and Colonel Rainberg was at some point killed in action. Despite this his men were able to hold out until relieved by the division's main forces and officially accounted for up to nine tanks and three battalions of infantry. On June 4 Rainberg would posthumously be made a Hero of the Soviet Union. [12]

As part of the same fighting, on January 16 Cpt. Mikhail Ivanovich Orlov, commander of the 4th Company of the 125th Guards Regiment, was forced to take command of the 2nd Battalion from Major Gubanov and lead it into an attack on German positions near the village of Borsuchka. The battalion succeeded in occupying several trenches and bunkers and killed or captured 60 officers and men. For his actions Orlov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. [13]

Baltic offensives

On June 5 the division provided a cadre to form the headquarters of the 130th Rifle Corps, [14] including General Brantkaln who became its commander. He was replaced in divisional command by Col. Alfred Yurevich Kalnin; this officer would be promoted to the rank of major general on September 13 and remained in this post for the duration of the war. The Corps included the 43rd Guards and the 3rd formation of the 308th Rifle Division, which was also made up of Latvian nationals, plus the 2nd formation of the 208th Rifle Division, which was not. [15] On July 10 the 2nd Baltic Front launched the Rezhitsa–Dvinsk Offensive and over the next seven days it broke through three heavily fortified German defensive lines and advanced up to 110km westward. At 0430 hours on July 18 lead elements of the 43rd Guards crossed back into Latvia. [16] On August 3 Captain Orlov, who was now the acting commander of a reconnaissance company, led his troops to the vicinity of the Mezhare station on the Krustpils – Rēzekne II Railway, well into the German rear. This incursion provoked a series of counterattacks by infantry and at least one assault gun and the company became surrounded. Orlov received several wounds and many of his men were also killed or wounded while inflicting heavy casualties on the German forces. Eventually he led a breakout which recrossed the railway and the remainder of his company dug in and repelled additional attacks until relieved by their battalion. Captain Orlov soon succumbed to his injuries and on March 24, 1945 he was posthumously made a Hero of the Soviet Union. [17]

By the second week in September the division had continued its advance as far as Viesīte, having crossed the Daugava River in the vicinity of Krustpils. In the first days of October its advance elements reached Baldone, moving towards Riga from the southeast. [18] It was one of many Red Army units granted the name of that city as an honorific:

"RIGA"... 43rd Guards Rifle Division (Major General Kalnin, Alfred Yurevich)... 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. [19]

Shortly after this the 130th Corps, now consisting of just the two Latvian national divisions, was transferred to the 67th Army in Leningrad Front but in November it returned to 22nd Army in 2nd Baltic Front. [20] The division remained under these commands into March, 1945, when the 2nd Baltic was disbanded and the Corps was reassigned to 42nd Army in Leningrad Front's Kurland Group of Forces, where it remained until the fighting stopped. [21] During the entire period following the battle for Riga the division took part in the containment and reduction of the German forces (former Army Group North) trapped in the Courland peninsula of Latvia.[ citation needed ]

Postwar

In August, 1946 General Kalnin handed his command over to Maj. Gen. Voldemar Frantsevich Damberg, who had previously been the deputy commander of 130th Rifle Corps. In April, 1947 the division was converted to the 29th Separate Guards Rifle Brigade, with Damberg remaining in command.[ citation needed ]

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The 87th Guards Rifle Division was created on 16 April 1943 from the veterans of the 300th Rifle Division, in recognition of that division's leading role in the penetration of the German/Romanian defenses south of Stalingrad in the opening stages of Operation Uranus, its subsequent defense against Army Group Don's attempt to relieve the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad, and later for its pursuit of the defeated German forces along the Don River to Rostov-na-Donu as far as the Mius River. The 87th Guards continued a record of distinguished service through the rest of the Great Patriotic War, first in the southern sector of the front, where it participated in the liberation of the Donbas region and the Crimea, and then, after a major redeployment, in the north-central sector, advancing through the Baltic states and into East Germany. After the war it was restructured into a rifle brigade, before being reestablished as 87th Guards Rifle Division in October 1953. In June 1957, it was reorganized as a motor rifle division, but appears to have been disbanded in 1959.

The 321st Rifle Division was formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, based on an existing division of militia. This formation had an extremely short career, coming under devastating attack in the north of the Crimea on the day of its redesignation and being officially disbanded just over a month later. A second division began forming in the Transbaikal in February 1942, and served in the defensive and offensive fighting around Stalingrad, eventually distinguishing itself sufficiently to be redesignated as the 82nd Guards Rifle Division. The world had not seen the last of the 321st, however, as a new division was formed from two existing rifle brigades in the spring of 1944, which gave very creditable service for the duration, completing its combat path in northeastern Germany, and serving into the postwar period.

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 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.

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 August 10 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 391st 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 Central Asian Military District. It was first assigned to Southwestern Front but on its arrival it was seen to be far from combat-ready and so was moved north to the Moscow area for further training. It was finally assigned to the 3rd Shock Army in Kalinin Front and took part in the battle for the Kholm Pocket. Following this the division was moved to 1st Shock Army and took part in the dismal fighting for the Demyansk salient until it was finally evacuated by the German forces in March, 1943. The division moved on into the gradual advance across the Baltic states through 1943 and 1944, winning a battle honor along the way, until February, 1945, when it was transferred with its 93rd Rifle Corps to 1st Ukrainian Front as part of 59th Army. In the last weeks of the war the 391st was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its service in Upper Silesia, and ended the war 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.

The 397th Rifle Division was partially raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army but this formation was disbanded after about five weeks. A new formation began on January 14, 1942 in the Volga Military District and it remained in that role through the rest of the Great Patriotic War. It first went to the front in March, briefly assigned to the 3rd Shock Army before it was moved to the 1st Shock Army in Northwestern Front. It spent nearly a year in the dismal fighting around the Demyansk salient; during January, 1943 two of its rifle regiments were encircled and nearly destroyed during an unsuccessful offensive before escaping. During the last stages of the Demyansk battles it was in the 53rd Army. After rebuilding it moved to Bryansk Front in the new 63rd Army and took part in the summer offensive that liberated Smolensk. Late in the year it was briefly assigned to the Belorussian Front and then to the 1st Ukrainian Front; while serving under this command it won a battle honor. In late February, 1944 it became part of the 47th Army in 2nd Belorussian Front. Prior to the summer offensive it was moved again, now to the 61st Army, where it would remain for the duration. During the later stages of Operation Bagration it was decorated with the Order of the Red Banner and in the fall during the campaign in the Baltic states it would also receive the Order of Kutuzov. By the end of the year the 61st Army was assigned to 1st Belorussian Front and the 397th fought through Poland and eastern Germany during the winter and spring of 1945, eventually taking part in the offensive on Berlin. Its soldiers had by then compiled a distinguished record of service, but despite this the division was disbanded in July.

The 7th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in September 1941, based on the 1st formation of the 64th Rifle Division and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was first assigned to Bryansk Front, then moved to Western Front where it took part in the early stages of the winter counteroffensive northwest of Moscow as part of 16th Army. On December 31 the 1st Guards Rifle Corps was formed for the second time and the 7th Guards was assigned to it as its core formation. It was then sent north to join Northwestern Front and became locked into the dismal fighting around Demyansk until that salient was finally evacuated by the German II Army Corps in February 1943. Through the rest of that year it participated in battles in the Staraya Russa region, mostly under command of 1st Shock Army, until in January 1944 it was transferred to the 7th Guards Rifle Corps of 10th Guards Army in the Nevel region. During operations in the Baltic states that summer and autumn the 7th Guards was awarded both a battle honor and the Order of the Red Banner. In March 1945 it joined the Courland 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 23rd Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in March, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 88th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was one of just two Guards divisions to be formed in the far north, the 10th Guards being the other. It continued to serve in Karelian Front, where it was formed, until October when it was railed south to join the 1st Shock Army of Northwestern Front; it would remain in that Army until nearly the end of 1944. Over the next several months it took part in the dismal fighting around the Demyansk salient until it was evacuated by the German II Army Corps in March, 1943. During the rest of the year the division continued battling through the forests and swamps south of Lake Ilmen, occasionally under command of the 14th Guards Rifle Corps, until the Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive began in late January, 1944. The 23rd Guards took part in the liberation of Staraya Russa in mid-February and went on to win a battle honor about a week later at Dno. 1st Shock Army closed up to the German Panther Line south of Lake Peipus during the spring and then helped break through it at the start of the Baltic Campaign in July. For its part in the liberation of Ostrov the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner before gradually advancing through Latvia towards Riga, which it helped to liberate in October. By now it was in the 12th Guards Rifle Corps which was transferred in late November to the 3rd Shock Army in 1st Belorussian Front. The 23rd Guards would remain under these commands for the duration of the war, advancing across Poland and eastern Germany into Berlin in 1945 and winning a second honorific after the fighting ended. Despite a fine record of service it was disbanded in 1947.

The 65th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in May, 1943, based on the 2nd formations of the 75th and 78th Rifle Brigades, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Along with its "sister", the 56th Guards Rifle Division, the 65th was formed "out of sequence", that is, many Guards rifle divisions were higher numbered and formed earlier than the 65th. 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. 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 receiving a battle honor for its part in 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 65th Guards was moved to Estonia where it was disbanded in 1947.

The 71st Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in March 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 23rd Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War.

The 204th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was destroyed in the first weeks of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The first formation was based on the shtat of July 29, 1941 and it then remained for nine months in the far east of Siberia training and organizing before it was finally sent by rail to the Stalingrad region in July 1942 where it joined the 64th Army southwest of the city. During the following months it took part in the defensive battles and later the offensive that cut off the German 6th Army in November. In the last days of the battle for the city it took the surrender of the remnants of a Romanian infantry division. Following the Axis defeat the division was recognized for its role when it was redesignated as the 78th Guards Rifle Division on March 1, 1943.

The 200th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as part of the prewar buildup of forces, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. After being formed in the far east of the USSR just months before the German invasion it was moved to the northern Ukraine where it soon joined the 5th Army north of Kiev. The presence of this Army in the fastnesses of the eastern Pripyat area influenced German strategy as it appeared to threaten both the left flank of Army Group South and the right flank of Army Group Center. In September the latter Group was turned south to encircle the Soviet forces defending Kiev and in the process the 200th was cut off and destroyed.

The 202nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as a motorized division as part of the prewar buildup of forces, and from September 1941 serving as a regular rifle division. As with most pre-war motorized divisions it lacked most of its authorized motor vehicles and shortly after the German invasion had most of its tanks reassigned. Despite this it fought well in actions near Soltsy and Staraya Russa in July and August, gaining time for the defenders of Leningrad at significant cost to itself.

The 227th 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. It arrived at the front in July and was assigned to 26th Army along the Dniepr, but was fortunate to escape that Army's encirclement in September. During the next several months, the division fought as part of 40th Army in the Kursk region, operating toward Prokhorovka and Oboyan during the winter counteroffensive. It made noteworthy gains during the May 1942 offensive north of Kharkiv but these went for naught when the southern wing of the offensive collapsed. When the main German summer offensive began in late June, the division's 21st Army was directly in the path of the German 6th Army and the depleted 227th was soon destroyed on the open steppes.

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.

The 28th Tank Division was an armored division of the Red Army, created during the prewar buildup of forces in the Baltic Special Military District, based on a light tank brigade and a motorized rifle brigade, and fought against German Army Group North during the first months of Operation Barbarossa. It was initially under command of the 12th Mechanized Corps of 8th Army. It was noteworthy for being the first wartime command of Ivan Chernyakhovskii, who went on to lead the 3rd Belorussian Front. The division's tank regiments were largely destroyed in the first battles, but not without inflicting losses themselves, after which the remnants fell back through Latvia and Estonia, receiving enough reinforcements and replacements to remain combat-effective. It served well at Novgorod and in the early fighting around Demyansk, as part of 27th Army, but in November the Stavka ordered it to be converted to the 241st Rifle Division.

The 245th Rifle Division was formed in the Moscow Military District as a reserve infantry division of the Red Army just days after the German invasion of the USSR. It was based on the shtat of April 5, 1941 with modifications due to the emergency. Initially assigned to 29th Army in Reserve Front it was soon reassigned to 34th Army in Northwestern Front and took part in the fighting around Staraya Russa in mid-August before retreating eastward, where it was involved in the dismal battles around Demyansk through 1942 and into early 1943. After the German II Army Corps evacuated the Demyansk salient in February the division advanced with 34th Army back to Staraya Russa, planning to take it by storm, but this effort failed and the 245th was again faced with siege warfare that continued into October when it was moved west to join the 22nd Army and soon after the 3rd Shock Army in the fighting west of Nevel. Following a brief period for restoration in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command it was reassigned to 42nd Army in the last stages of the Leningrad–Novgorod offensive and served along the east shores of Lake Peipus during the spring of 1944. When the summer offensive into the Baltic states began the 245th was part of 3rd Baltic Front and advanced through Latvia and Estonia under several commands, winning a battle honor in the process. After the liberation of Riga in mid-October the Front was disbanded and the much-depleted division was available for deployment elsewhere. Prior to the invasion of Poland and Germany it was transferred to the 59th Army of 1st Ukrainian Front, where it took over the men, materiel, and battle honor of the 379th Rifle Division. In January 1945 it took part in the Vistula-Oder Offensive as part of 115th Rifle Corps, and later in the Lower and Upper Silesian Offensives. During the latter it was distinguished for its part in the capture of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin with the Order of the Red Banner, while two of its rifle regiments received decorations for their part in the fighting near Oppeln. The 245th ended the war near Prague; it would be disbanded during the summer.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Guards", Soviet Guards Rifle and Airborne Units 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IV, Nafziger, 1995, p. 61
  2. ↑ Sharp, "Red Guards", p. 61
  3. ↑ David M. Glantz, After Stalingrad, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2011, pp. 94-95, 98-100
  4. ↑ Glantz, After Stalingrad, pp. 101-06
  5. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 59
  6. ↑ Glantz, After Stalingrad, p. 417
  7. ↑ Robert Forczyk, Demyansk 1942-43: The frozen fortress, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2012, Kindle ed.
  8. ↑ Sharp, "Red Guards", p. 61
  9. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 106, 132, 158, 186, 215, 245, 273
  10. ↑ The Gamers, Inc., Baltic Gap, Multi-Man Publishing, Inc., Millersville, MD, 2009, p. 41
  11. ↑ Sharp, "Red Guards", p. 61
  12. ↑ http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=13374. In Russian; English translation available. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  13. ↑ http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=14280. In Russian; English translation available. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  14. ↑ Sharp, "Red Guards", p. 61
  15. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 218
  16. ↑ Sharp, "Red Guards", p. 61
  17. ↑ http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=14280. In Russian; English translation available. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  18. ↑ The Gamers, Inc., Baltic Gap, pp. 29, 36
  19. ↑ http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/1-ssr-5.html. In Russian. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  20. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, pp. 308, 338
  21. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1945, pp. 8, 41, 77, 112, 148

Bibliography

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