The Western Rifle Division (Polish: Zachodnia Dywizja Strzelców) was formed during the Russian Civil War,[1][3] and later redesignated the 52nd Rifle Division on 9 June 1919.[4] Most of its members were Poles until mid-1919.[5] It was reduced to a brigade and disbanded after the end of the Russian Civil War in 1921. The first formation of the 52nd during the existence of the Soviet Union occurred during the interwar period in 1935. After the first formation of the division was promoted to Guards status as the 10th Guards Rifle Division during World War II in late December 1941, a second formation of the division fought on for the duration in several Fronts. The second formation was disbanded in 1946 after the end of the war. A third formation of the division was formed by renumbering the 315th Rifle Division in 1955 during the Cold War, becoming a motor rifle division in 1957.
Following these losses, in June 1919 the division was heavily reinforced with Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians and lost its Polish character; it was then (9 June) renamed as 52nd Rifle Division of the Red Army. Commanders of the division were commissars Stanisław Bobiński and Stefan Żbikowski.[3] Between March and July, the division fought against Polish troops in the area of Minsk and Molodechno. In August it fought in the direction of Baranovichi, then in the area of Borisov and Berezino in September and October, and in the area of Lepel in November.[6]
In November, the 52nd was transferred south to join the 14th Army, fighting against the Armed Forces of South Russia on the Southern Front. The division transferred to the 8th Army in December, to the 9th Army in February 1920, and to the 13th Army in April. It fought against Pyotr Wrangel's White Army in Crimea, advancing towards Melitopol between May and July. In August and September the 52nd fought in the defense of the Kakhovka bridgehead. In September it was transferred to the 6th Army, fighting in the Northern Taurida operation of the Southern Front in October and November. During the operation, the 52nd fought in the area of Agayman and Nyzhni Sirohozy, and was temporarily directly subordinated to the front command in November. Between 7 and 17 November, the division fought in the Perekop–Chongar operation, crossing the Sivash and helping to capture the Ishun fortified position. The operation concluded with the final defeat and evacuation of the White Army in Crimea.[6]
In December, the 52nd protected the Black Sea coast in the estuaries of the Dnieper and Bug. On 13 December it received the honorific Yekaterinburg. In early 1921, the division participated in the suppression of anarchist leader Nestor Makhno's Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine in the Nikolayev area. In accordance with orders of the Kharkov Military District of 23 April and 11 June and a 6th Army order of 29 April, the 52nd was reorganized as the 52nd Separate Rifle Brigade, directly subordinated to the district headquarters. It was soon renumbered as the 136th and by a district order of 12 October was used to form the 1st Brigade of the 25th Rifle Division.[6]
At the outbreak of the German invasion in 1941, the 52nd was in the far north, near Murmansk. On 25 June, the 158th and 112th Regiments were transferred by sea to the 14th Rifle Division. Due to its skill in defending the vital port of Murmansk the 52nd Rifle Division became one of the first and few formations raised to Guards status in the Arctic, as the 10th Guards Rifle Division on Dec. 26. The division remained in that region until late 1944, when it was transferred to 2nd Belorussian Front and took part in the invasion of Germany.[10]
Second Formation
52nd Rifle Division (1942)
Components
421st Rifle Regiment
431st Rifle Regiment
439th Rifle Regiment
1028th Artillery Regiment
A new 52nd Rifle Division formed on Mar. 1, 1942 at Kolomna in the Moscow Military District.
The division was completed in about three months. It arrived at the front in late July 1942, as part of 30th Army, in Kalinin Front, just in time to participate in the First Rzhev–Sychyovka Offensive Operation. The 52nd, along with the rest of 30th Army, was transferred to Western Front in August.[11] The division was quickly worn down in these battles of attrition very near the town of Rzhev but, along with the 2nd and 16th Guards Rifle Divisions, was able to liberate the key village of Polunino and advance 6km to the outskirts of the town during the following months.[12]
After rebuilding, on the last day of 1942 the 52nd began moving south to Southwestern Front.[13] It took part in the Soviet offensive towards Kharkov in early 1943, serving at various times in the 1st Guards Army, the Popov Mobile Group, and the 3rd Tank Army. This effort did not go well for the division, as it was assaulted and partially overrun by German forces. By the end of the winter the 52nd was in 57th Army, the former 3rd Tank Army, where it remained with few exceptions until the end of 1944. From March to July the division was dug in along the line of the Donets River.[14]
In August 1943, the division moved with 57th Army to Steppe Front, coming under command of Col. A.Ia. Maksimov on Aug. 12.[15] From the end of September to Oct. 26 it was in reserves, at Merefa near Kharkov, an indication of how much damage it had suffered in the pursuit of German forces after the Battle of Kursk, during which time it assisted in the liberation of Kharkov and Krasnograd.[16] At the end of November it joined 64th Rifle Corps.[17]
The 52nd entered and helped expand the Soviet Kremenchug-Dnepropetrovsk bridgehead across the Dnepr River before digging in along the Ingulets River for the winter.[16] Along with its 57th Army, the division was moved to 3rd Ukrainian Front in February 1944,[17] and took part in the successful early stages of the spring offensive to the Dniestr River,[18] before being halted in the First Jassy–Kishinev Offensive. In August a new offensive was launched, and the 52nd played a role in the destruction of the German and Romanian forces in this southern sector. After the capture of Belgrade on Oct. 20, due to losses the division again went into reserves in the town of Ruma, rebuilding to a strength of 6,000 men by the end of December.[19] The division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner in recognition of its "courage and valor" in the capture of Belgrade on 14 November.[20]
Along with its Army, the division was railed across Siberia to take part in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. On 9 August 1945 the 52nd Rifle Division was with 57th Rifle Corps, in the 53rd Army, Transbaikal Front.[24] It saw little combat with Japanese forces and ended the war in southern Manchuria.[25] It carried the official title of 52nd Rifle, Shumlinskaya-Vienna, Twice Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division. (Russian: 52-я стрелковая Шумлинская-Венская дважды Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия)
The 1st Red Banner Army was a Red Army field army of World War II that served in the Soviet Far East.
The 76th Rifle Division was a Red Army infantry division, formed twice.
The 3rd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Army. It was formed in 1921 in Crimea. The division relocated to Svobodny in the Far East during 1939 and moved to Blagoveshchensk soon after. The division fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and was disbanded in 1946.
The 25th Rifle Division was a rifle division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War, formed twice.
The 11th Rifle Division was a military formation of the Soviet Union's Red Army. Its personnel were involved in the protection of the demarcation line in Pskov, defensive battles against the Army of the Southern Front in Krasnov Novohopersk - Borisoglebsk, against the army and the forces of Estonia, Bulak Balakhovich in Marienburg in defense of Petrograd and as the offensive against Yudenich's troops in Pskov the Luga-Gdov, Yamburg, Narva, Dvina-Rezhitsk directions, the Polish-Soviet war of 1920, in the suppression of the Kronstadt uprising participated in the Soviet-Finnish War and World War II.
The 17th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II.
The 86th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Interwar period, World War II, and the early postwar period, formed twice.
The 31st Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the interwar period and World War II.
The 13th Rifle Corps was a rifle corps of the Red Army, first formed in 1922.
The 6th Rifle Corps was a rifle corps of the Soviet Union's Red Army and later the Soviet Army, formed three different times.
A fortified district or fortified region in the military terminology of the Soviet Union, is a territory within which a complex system of defense fortifications was engineered.
The 29th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army.
The 33rd Rifle Division was a rifle division of the Red Army and Soviet Army, formed twice. The division was formed in 1922 at Samara and moved to Belarus in the next year. It fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939 and in the Occupation of Lithuania in June 1940. After Operation Barbarossa, the division fought in the Baltic Operation and Leningrad Strategic Defensive. In January 1942, it fought in the Toropets–Kholm Offensive. The division participated in the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive, the Pskov-Ostrov Offensive, the Tartu Offensive and the Riga Offensive. In 1945, the division fought in the East Pomeranian Offensive and the Battle of Berlin. The division remained in Germany postwar with the Soviet occupation forces and disbanded in 1947. In 1955, it was reformed from the 215th Rifle Division in the Far East and inherited that division's honorifics, but was disbanded in 1956.
The 35th Rifle Division was a division of the Red Army that fought in the Russian Civil War and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.
The 51st Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Army, formed twice. Its first formation was formed during the Russian Civil War and fought in the Perekop-Chongar Offensive in 1920. It also fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland, Winter War and World War II. During World War II, it fought in the Battle of Rostov, Barvinkove-Losowaja Operation and Second Battle of Kharkov before being destroyed at the Battle of Voronezh. Officially disbanded on 28 November 1942, the division was reformed on 15 April 1943 from the 15th Rifle Brigade. The 2nd formation fought in Operation Bagration and the Battle of Königsberg. It was disbanded in an executive order by Premier Joseph Stalin in 1946.
The 62nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army, formed four times and active during World War II and the postwar period. The division was formed in 1936 and fought in the Winter War and Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. It was destroyed during the Battle of Kiev in summer 1941. The division was reformed in November 1941. It fought in the defense against the German offensive Case Blue during the summer of 1942. After suffering heavy losses, it was withdrawn from combat but was sent back to fight in the Battle of Stalingrad in November. The division suffered heavy losses and was disbanded on 2 November. The division was reformed a third time from a rifle brigade in April 1943. It fought in Operation Suvorov, Operation Bagration, the East Prussian Offensive and the Prague Offensive. It was disbanded in the summer of 1945. The 62nd was reformed a fourth time by renaming the 360th Rifle Division, but became the 108th Motor Rifle Division in 1957.
The 15th Rifle Corps was a rifle corps of the Red Army, formed five times; each formation was a distinct unit unrelated to the others. It was part of the 5th Army. It took part in the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939.
The 14th Army was a field army of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War era.
The 60th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War.
The 49th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, formed twice.
References
Citations
1 2 M. K. Dziewanowski, The Foundation of the Communist Party of Poland, American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. 11, No. 2. (April 1952), pp. 106-122. p.115 JSTOR
↑ Andrzej Leszek Szcześniak, Wojna polsko-radziecka 1918-1920 [Polish-Soviet War 1918–1920], pp. 27–28. Wydawnictwo ODISS, Warszawa 1989, ISBN83-7012-045-8.
Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской[The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN9785895035306.
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