82nd Guards Rifle Division

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82nd Guards Rifle Division
Active1943–1947
CountryFlag of the USSR (1936-1955).svg  Soviet Union
Branch Red Army flag.svg Red Army
TypeDivision
RoleInfantry
Engagements Izyum-Barvenkovo Offensive
Donbas Strategic Offensive (August 1943)
Battle of the Dnieper
Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive
Odessa Offensive
First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive
Operation Bagration
Lublin–Brest Offensive
Vistula-Oder Offensive
Battle of Poznań (1945)
Battle of the Seelow Heights
Battle of Berlin
Decorations Order of Red Banner.svg   Order of the Red Banner
OrderKhmelnitsky2ndClass.png   Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky
Battle honours Zaporozhye
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Maj. Gen. Ivan Alekseevich Makarenko
Maj. Gen. Georgii Ivanovich Khetagurov Hero of the Soviet Union medal.png
Maj. Gen. Mikhail Ilich Duka Hero of the Soviet Union medal.png

The 82nd Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in March 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 321st Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War, including briefly in the Soviet Army.

Contents

It was redesignated after the Battle of Stalingrad in recognition of the division's service during the battle, specifically the encirclement and the siege of the German forces in the city, and later for its pursuit of the defeated Axis forces in Operation Little Saturn. It re-entered the fighting in July 1943 as part of the 29th Guards Rifle Corps of 8th Guards Army during the battles for the liberation of the Donbas region and won a divisional honorific in October. During the winter it saw extensive action in the great bend of the Dniepr River before advancing toward Odessa in the spring, where it won its first divisional decoration. The 82nd Guards continued a record of distinguished service through the rest of the Great Patriotic War. Following the fighting along the Dniestr River in the spring of 1944 it was reassigned with its Army to the 1st Belorussian Front and took part in the later part of the Soviet summer offensive, eventually helping to carve out the bridgehead across the Vistula River at Magnuszew. From this springboard, after heavy defensive fighting, it advanced across western Poland and into Germany in early 1945 and gained many distinctions in the battles for Poznań. On the approaches to Berlin it cleared the town of Müncheberg which gave its Front an opening to the German capital. Following the Battle of Berlin the division and its subunits received further distinctions in the aftermath of the German surrender and it continued to serve postwar in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany but despite an admirable record it was gradually disbanded from mid-1946 to mid-1947.

Formation

The 82nd Guards was one of nearly twenty Guards rifle divisions created in the aftermath of the fighting for Stalingrad. It was officially redesignated on March 19, 1943 in recognition of the 321st Rifle Division's steadfast qualities in the encirclement and siege of the German 6th Army in the Battle of Stalingrad, and in particular its pursuit of the defeated Axis forces from the Caucasus steppes. It officially received its Guards banner on April 11. At that time its order of battle became as follows:

The 489th Antiaircraft Battery which had been part of the 321st was disbanded the same day the division received its banner. The division continued under the command of Maj. Gen. Ivan Alekseevich Makarenko, who had commanded the 321st since August 24, 1942. At the time it was formed it was noted that 70 percent of the division's personnel were of Yakut or Buryat nationality. [2]

When the division was redesignated it was under command of the 5th Tank Army in Southwestern Front, and remained in that Army into April, when it was reassigned to 62nd Army as that army was being reformed as the 8th Guards Army. The 82nd was quickly assigned to the new 29th Guards Rifle Corps, [3] and remained under these two commands for the duration of the war [4] and into the postwar era.

Into Ukraine

8th Guards Army saw its first action in the Izium-Barvenkovo Offensive which began on July 17 but apart from gaining several new bridgeheads over the Donets River this attack was largely abortive. A second effort began on August 13 and although Southwestern Front was initially unable to penetrate the front of 1st Panzer Army south of Izium the Southern Front broke through the recreated 6th Army beginning on August 18. By August 23 1st Panzer was also in trouble with its army corps south of Izium reduced to a combat strength of just 5,800 men and unable to hold a continuous line. On the 31st Field Marshal E. von Manstein was finally authorized to withdraw both armies to the Kalmius River, effectively beginning the race to the Dniepr. In a slashing attack on the morning of September 6 Southwestern Front rammed through a mechanized corps and nine rifle divisions north of the boundary between the two German armies, unhinging the Kalmius line. [5]

During the Battle of the Dniepr, 8th Guards Army closed on the city of Zaporozhye, which had been von Manstein's headquarters in early September. On Hitler's orders 1st Panzer Army held a bridgehead over the river centered on the city. Southwestern Front's first attack on October 1 made minor gains that were soon erased by counterattacks. This led to a week-long pause in operations for regrouping. On the morning of October 10 the 8th and 3rd Guards Armies renewed the offensive against the bridgehead beginning with a very powerful artillery preparation. While the bridgehead line held the casualties on both sides were very heavy and the commander of 1st Panzer Army again requested permission to withdraw, which was refused. A night attack on the 13th, supported by another massive artillery bombardment, compelled the German forces to abandon the city the next day. [6] In recognition of its role in this success, the men and women of the division were awarded the city's name as an honorific:

ZAPOROZHYE... 82nd Guards Rifle Division (Maj. Gen. Makarenko, Ivan Alekseevich)... The troops who participated in the liberation of Zaporozhye, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 14 October 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns. [7]

In the fighting for Zaporozhye Starshina Feodosii Andreevich Shchur, an assistant platoon commander of a machine gun company of the 244th Guards Rifle Regiment, distinguished himself both in the fighting for the German bridgehead and later in establishing a foothold on the west bank of the Dniepr. He was credited with the destruction of two German machine guns and as many as 60 German soldiers and officers, some in hand-to-hand combat. In recognition he would be made a Hero of the Soviet Union on February 22, 1944. Shchur survived the war but was killed in a mine rescue operation in the Chelyabinsk region in 1954. [8] On October 20 Southwestern Front was redesignated as 3rd Ukrainian Front.

Battles in the Dniepr Bend

Both 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts attempted to rush the cities of Nikopol and Krivoi Rog in December but this was unsuccessful. 3rd Ukrainian faced a well-fortified line along the Kamianka River. On January 10, 1944 it attacked in the direction of Apostolove but this effort also failed after a week. A revised plan called for the 46th Army, 8th Guards Army and the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps to remount the offensive on Apostolove with the objective of reducing Nikopol in cooperation with 4th Ukrainian Front. This new effort began on January 30 and the defense system covering the two cities was finally cracked on February 5 when Apostolove was taken, splitting the 6th Army. 46th and 8th Guards Armies now turned west toward the Inhulets River while elements of 4th Ukrainian Front cleared Nikopol on February 9. Krivoi Rog was covered in part by defenses along the Inhulets which were breached by 8th Guards at Shyroke on February 6 but it wasn't until February 22 that the city was liberated by 37th Army. At this point 3rd Ukrainian Front was poised to strike along the Mykolaiv - Odessa axis. [9]

Battles on the Dniestr

Maj. Gen. G. I. Khetagurov (seated front center in overcoat) with other officers of the 82nd Guards, Nov. 1944 Poznan, 82 dyw. p..jpg
Maj. Gen. G. I. Khetagurov (seated front center in overcoat) with other officers of the 82nd Guards, Nov. 1944

On April 1 General Makarenko was assigned to attend the Voroshilov Academy and handed his command to Lt. Col. Matvei Yakovlevich Karnaukhov; this officer in turn would be replaced by Maj. Gen. Georgii Ivanovich Khetagurov on May 9. As the Odessa Offensive continued in early April the 8th Guards Army was advancing through difficult conditions along the southernmost sector of the front in Ukraine, along the northern shores of the Black Sea. Mykolaiv had been liberated on March 28 and shortly after several German and Romanian divisions were trapped at Rozdilna. The Front's center and left flank armies now advanced directly on Odessa and on April 10 that city was liberated by a three-pronged attack by 8th Guards, 6th and 5th Shock Armies. [10] For its role in the liberation of Odessa, on April 20 the 82nd Guards would be awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 2nd Degree. [11]

Following this, 8th Guards Army advanced to the estuary of the Dniestr River by the 13th. This was a strategic dead end, and in early May, during the First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive, the army was ordered north along the east bank of the river to relieve 5th Guards Army in the bridgehead it held at Tașlîc. This relief occurred over the nights of May 5, 6 and 7. The 82nd Guards did not enter the bridgehead immediately, but remained with 29th Guards Corps (27th, 74th and 82nd Guards) holding the east bank between Tașlîc and Grigoriopol. All this activity was not missed by the Axis forces on the west bank, and very early on May 10 the XXXX Panzer Corps launched a powerful attack to drive in the bridgehead. Over the next three days this assault drove the bridgehead back until it was about 11km wide but only 1-3km deep. On the morning of May 14 the division entered the bridgehead near Puhăceni and relieved the 39th Guards Rifle Division, helping to stabilize the situation. Due to this setback, among others, the Soviet offensive was halted, and would not resume until August. [12]

Operation Bagration

At a STAVKA conference held in Moscow in the last days of May it was decided to reassign the 8th Guards Army to the left wing of the 1st Belorussian Front as part of the preparations for the main Soviet summer offensive. [13] The Army would remain in this Front for the duration of the war. This movement was not completed until late June, [14] after the first phase of the offensive was completed, but in time to take a leading role in the Lublin–Brest Offensive. The 8th Guards was one of five combined-arms armies and a tank army ordered to be prepared to attack by July 17 in the direction of Siedlce and Lublin, with part of these forces to capture Brest in conjunction with the Front's right wing forces. The 11th Tank Corps was designated as the Army's mobile group. [15]

Brest was liberated on July 28 after which the Front commander, Marshal K. K. Rokossovskii, directed his main forces along the Warsaw axis. During the night of August 1 the 8th Guards Army seized a bridgehead over the Vistula in the Magnuszew area. During the following days the main forces of the Army were ferried across and by the end of August 2 had expanded the bridgehead to 19km in width and up to 6km in depth. Through the rest of the month until August 28 the 8th Guards Army continued to expand its foothold in cooperation with the 69th Army at Puławy, repelling numerous German tank and infantry counterattacks and eventually reaching the mouth of the Pilica River. The next day the STAVKA ordered the Army to go over to the defensive. [16]

During one of the counterattacks against the Magnuszew bridgehead Sen. Sgt. Suren Akopovich Kasparyan became a Hero of the Soviet Union. A gunner of the 86th Guards Antitank Battalion, on August 20 his battery faced an attack by infantry supported by 19 medium and heavy tanks. With his first shot he knocked one of these out. Over the next several minutes Kasparyan destroyed or disabled four more tanks, causing the remainder to retreat. As they drew back a parting shot destroyed his gun and wounded him, but he refused to be evacuated until ordered. On November 18 he was officially awarded his Gold Star. Kasparyan was demobilized in 1947 but was recalled to the Army in 1951 and over the next 18 months attended officer training, receiving the rank of captain before returning to the reserve in 1956. He then worked in management in several factories, eventually returning to Yerevan before he died in 1994. [17]

Into Poland

The 82nd Guards remained in the Magnuszew bridgehead into January, 1945 with the rest of its Corps and Army. In the plan for the Vistula-Oder operation the 8th Guards was assigned a breakthrough front 7km wide and had 250 guns and mortars per kilometre of this front. It was to break through the German defense between Matyldzin and Chmeilnik with the objective of launching an attack toward Jedlińsk and Radom on the second day. The 1st Guards Tank Army would be committed on the third day and lead the 8th Guards to the intermediate goal of the fortified city of Poznań which was to be reached by the third week. [18]

1st Belorussian Front began its breakout from the Magnuszew and Puławy bridgeheads at 0855 hours on January 14 following a 25-minute artillery onslaught from all the Front's artillery. The 82nd Guards had formed a special assault battalion in common with the rest of the first echelon divisions and these quickly captured up to four lines of German trenches. The division's main forces, supported by a double rolling barrage, took advantage of this success, broke through the main defensive zone and advanced 12-13km during the day. The offensive developed successfully overnight and into January 15 despite the arrival of XXXX Panzer Corps. 1st Guards Tank was committed early and pushed the German force back to the west with heavy losses, after which the Soviet armies went over to the pursuit. [19] In recognition of the 82nd Guards' leading role in the breakout from the Magnuszew bridgehead, on February 19 all four of its regiments would be awarded the Order of the Red Banner. [20]

Battle for Poznań

Modern-day (2007) ruins of Fort No. 5 Poznan Fort 5 Poznan 3.JPG
Modern-day (2007) ruins of Fort No. 5 Poznań

During January 18-19 the 8th Guards Army advanced up to 55km and with the assistance of the 11th and 9th Tank Corps liberated the city of Łódź; for its part in this victory the 242nd Guards Rifle Regiment (Col. Noskov, Sergei Petrovich) would receive its name as an honorific. [21] Despite the appearance of German reserves the advance of 1st Belorussian Front reached the Poznań defensive line late on January 22 and the city was blockaded by 1st Guards Tank Army on January 24. On January 26 the Front commander, Marshal G. K. Zhukov, delivered a plan to the STAVKA that called for the 8th Guards Army to reach the Oder within a week and force a crossing in the Küstrin area. However an initial attempt by the 1st Guards and 2nd Guards Tank Armies to take Poznań from the march failed and, with a garrison of 60,000 men, it would clearly be a hard nut to crack. Elements of 8th Guards Army, including the 29th Guards Corps, took over most of 1st Guards Tank's sector of the blockade late on January 25 while the remainder of the Army advanced on Küstrin. The German garrison was forced to rely on air supply. [22]

Submachine gunners of the 244th Guards Rifle Regiment during the storming of Poznan. Private Mikhail Maksimovich Kichaev (farthest left) was killed during the battle on 19 February Avtomatchiki 1-go Belorusskogo fronta M. Kichaev, G. Zakharov i G. Todorov v boiu v Poznani.jpg
Submachine gunners of the 244th Guards Rifle Regiment during the storming of Poznan. Private Mikhail Maksimovich Kichaev (farthest left) was killed during the battle on 19 February

In the advance from the Vistula the 3rd Battalion of the 246th Guards Regiment was commanded by Maj. Boris Vladimirovich Belyaev. On January 17 he had led his unit into the town of Rawa Mazowiecka. He was wounded in the fighting for Łódź but refused evacuation and remained in command of the Battalion. On February 19, during the storming of the Poznań fortress, he was killed in action. Belyaev would be posthumously made a Hero of the Soviet Union on March 24. [23] Four days earlier the acting commander of the Regiment, Maj. Aleksandr Vasilievich Plyakin, had led his troops in a successful attack from three sides on Fort No. 5 which took 600 men of the garrison prisoner. On February 23 his soldiers assaulted the Poznań citadel through a breach made by heavy artillery fire, split its defenders into two parts and took another 2,000 prisoners in the last gasp of the defense. During late March he again distinguished himself for his leadership in the fighting for the fortress at Küstrin and would be made a Hero of the Soviet Union on May 31. Plyakin remained in the Soviet Army until 1955, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel, and died at Volgograd in 1971. [24]

When the fighting for the city ended on February 23 two of the division's regiments received honorifics:

POZNAN... 246th Guards Rifle Regiment (Lt. Col. Klepikov, Veniamin Stepanovich)... 185th Guards Artillery Regiment (Maj. Soluyanov, Grigorii Mikhailovich)... The troops who participated in the capture of Poznań and its fortress, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 23 February 1945, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns. [25]

In addition, on April 5 the 86th Guards Antitank Battalion would be presented with the Order of Aleksandr Nevsky for its part in this victory while the 244th Guards Rifle Regiment received the Order of Kutuzov, 3rd Degree. [26] On April 6 General Khetagurov would be made a Hero of the Soviet Union in large part for his performance in the battle for Poznań.

Into Berlin

The final offensive on the German capital began on April 16. After breaking out of the Küstrin bridgehead the units of 8th Guards Army were tasked with seizing the Seelow Heights on the west bank of the Oder. [27] 29th Guards Corps reached the foot of the heights at 1800 hours. The 82nd Guards was in the Corps' second echelon and was concentrated in the Hagenow area while the 27th and 74th Guards Divisions immediately entered battle. The fighting continued until noon of the following day when the town of Seelow fell to the 57th Guards Rifle Division. The 82nd Guards was committed to the assault on April 18 in cooperation with the 8th Guards Mechanized Corps and after repulsing four German counterattacks advanced its right flank up to 8km having broken through the first intermediate position in the Diedersdorf area and reached the second intermediate position. [28]

Battle for Müncheberg

The main objective of 8th Guards Army on April 19 was the town and strongpoint of Müncheberg which was part of the German third defensive zone and blocked to road to Berlin. It held up to three battalions of artillery and mortars and a large supply of ammunition. It was fortified with trenches on three sides, barricades and other engineering obstacles, and all stone buildings had been modified for defense. It was also situated on higher ground providing observation of any attack from the east. By 1000 hours the 82nd Guards was clearing out small German groups from the woods west of Jahnsfelde. General Khetagurov was then ordered to develop his attack against Müncheberg from the north while the 27th Guards, along with the 11th Guards Tanks, outflanked the town to the south. Following reconnaissance and a 30-minute artillery preparation the 29th Guards Corps attacked at 1330 hours. An impetuous attack by the 242nd Guards Regiment captured height 77.0 which was consolidated by one battalion. The other two battalions continued to the southwest, bypassed the Fauler See from the south and reached the Damsdorf - Müncheberg railway. Meanwhile, the 27th Guards was held up by heavy artillery and machine gun fire. At 1700 hours a second powerful artillery bombardment struck the north, east and southeast outskirts of Müncheberg, following which the 82nd Guards began storming the town. The garrison, which was now mostly encircled, began to retreat to the west. The division broke into the town's center at 1830 and completely cleared it by 2100. In this fighting it captured six tanks, 18 guns, seven mortars, and 35 machine guns. The Corps advanced another 10km by day's end, clearing the third defensive zone and opening the gates to Berlin. [29]

Battle for Schöneiche

The advance continued on April 20 with all three divisions of 29th Guards Corps deployed in a single echelon and still supported by elements of 1st Guards Tank Army. Resistance in the Staatforst southwest of Müncheberg was overcome before coming up against a large German strongpoint at Kagel. During the day the Corps' right flank gained 12km while the left covered up to 30km. Due to this success the 8th Guards Army turned its front to the west and northwest during the day after completing the breakthrough of the German third defensive zone. The following day the Army reached Berlin's outer defensive line and the 29th Guards Corps faced particularly stubborn resistance in the defile between the Steinitzsee and the Kalksee which was covered by the Kalkberg strongpoint. After capturing this position the divisions, with the 11th Guards Tanks, completed an advance of 15km.

From the morning of April 22 the troops of both Armies captured the suburbs of Hoppegarten, Fichtenau and Rahnsdorf by noon. After an overnight advance, at 0500 hours the 242nd Guards Regiment reached the German positions at Schöneiche. These were located on a slight hill to the north and were held by a battalion of infantry backed by a battery of artillery and two tanks. The Regiment deployed its three battalions in a single line and attacked simultaneously from the front and the flanks without artillery preparation. The German infantry, taken by surprise in the pre-dawn gloom and in fear of being surrounded, quickly fell back to Schöneiche, abandoning two guns and a tank on the hill. The Regiment organized a pursuit which broke into the village and captured it; its 1st and 2nd Battalions reached its western outskirts before running into fire from machine guns, tanks and self-propelled guns from the edge of wood to the west. The 3rd Battalion cleared Fichtenau but after reaching its southern outskirts was also hit by German tank fire. Colonel Noskov dispatched a reconnaissance to uncover the German defensive system in the woods west of Schöneiche which soon reported that it was deep, with two lines of trenches and dug-in, camouflaged armor. Realizing the defenders would have the roads and cuttings through the woods pre-registered for fire Noskov chose to make a demonstration frontal attack with his 1st Battalion while the 2nd and 3rd make outflanking moves from the north. This attack began at noon and the 1st Battalion soon took the forward positions before advancing deeper, engaging the German trenches west of the sixth cutting by 1300 hours. With the defenders distracted by this effort the 2nd Battalion's automatic riflemen secretly infiltrated into the German rear and brought down heavy fire on their machine gun crews. The 3rd Battalion cut the Schöneiche - Friedrichshagen road, left a platoon of antitank riflemen to handle the dug-in armor and continued advancing to the west. The remaining defenders, seeing they were cut off, soon began to surrender. [30]

Map of waterways in the Berlin region Karte der Berliner Wasserstrassen.png
Map of waterways in the Berlin region

On April 23 General Khetagurov was appointed to command the 29th Guards Corps and was replaced the next day by Maj. Gen. Mikhail Ilich Duka. This officer had been made a Hero of the Soviet Union in September, 1942 for his leadership of the Kravtsov Partisan Brigade in the Bryansk Region before entering the active army in 1944. Shortly after taking command the division reached Köpenick at the confluence of the Dahme and the Spree, which the men of the 242nd Guards Regiment were unwilling to cross due to German fire. Leading by example, Duka jumped into the cold waters of the Spree following a short but powerful artillery barrage and brought his soldiers along with him; they soon broke into the streets of Köpenick and captured its northern part. Once across the Spree the 29th Guards Corps seized Adlershof and the way was open for 8th Guards and 1st Guards Tank Armies to the southeast outskirts of Berlin. [31] [32]

Battle for the Teltow Canal

By noon on April 25 the city had been completely encircled. Meanwhile, 8th Guards Army had renewed its offensive at 0800 hours and the 82nd Guards was tasked with forcing a crossing of the Teltow Canal. The 242nd Guards Regiment was attacking on the division's right flank and reached the south bank of the canal on the sector from the intersection of the Landwehr Canal to Rudower Strasse. The 244th and 246th Regiments reached Franz-Körner Strasse from Rudower Strasse to Hermannstrasse before beginning a firefight with German troops covering their units withdrawing across the bridge on the Rungiusstrasse. The canal, being 12m-15m wide and 5m deep with vertical banks in most places, was a serious obstacle especially for tanks and artillery. A reconnaissance by the 242nd Regiment found that a cemetery on the north bank was strongly held and well protected by a massive stone wall and also established the presence of a German tank dug in at the corner of Rudower Strasse. It was clear that the Rungiusstrasse bridge would be blown once the remaining German infantry had crossed. With these factors in mind General Duka ordered the 242nd Regiment to force the canal east of the bridge and then attack to the northwest to outflank the cemetery. [33]

The forcing attempt began at 1600 hours. Gardens and huts provided covered approaches to the canal and the factory buildings north of the canal on this sector were not as strongly held or fortified as the cemetery. The Regiment's guns and machine guns opened up direct fire providing cover for two companies of the 2nd Battalion to get across and seize several buildings in the factory courtyard. This in turn allowed the remainder of the Regiment to cross. Having occupied the factory and an adjacent residential quarter the Regiment turned west, crossed Rudower Strasse and began fighting on Jahnstrasse and Burger Strasse. Having suffered significant casualties from Soviet artillery and mortar fire the remaining defenders of the cemetery began to fall back on Knesebeckstrasse. Soon the 244th and 246th Regiments, reinforced with tanks of the 8th Guards Mechanized Corps, rushed the Rungiusstrasse bridge before it could be destroyed; the armor then ranged to the north while the 185th Guards Artillery and part of the 27th Guards Division crossed over. By 2300 hours the southern part of Neukölln had been secured by 29th Guards Corps. [34]

During April 26 the Corps broke through the central defense line in the area of Hermann Station, captured Tempelhof Airport and by the end of the day was fighting in the city blocks northwest of the airport. On the following day the 82nd Guards attacked toward Anhalt Station. By 1500 hours the forward elements of the 242nd Guards Regiment, advancing on the division's right flank, reached the intersection of the Wartenbergstrasse and the Möckernstrasse. Groups of automatic riflemen crossed the latter and ascended the railroad embankment but were forced to fall back due to heavy fire from the station. An attempt by the left-flank regiments to cross the railroad hub to the south, in the area of Yorckstrasse, was also unsuccessful. General Duka re-aligned the division's front to the north to force a crossing of the Landwehr Canal to its south and begin fighting for the blocks adjacent to the station from that direction. The 242nd Guards first cleared the Grossbeerenstrasse to reach the canal south of Belle-Alliance-Platz where it made a difficult crossing on a broad front despite the width of the obstacle, the lack of intact bridges, and the stone and brick buildings on the north side. Artillery and tanks were later able to join via a bridge in the Alte Jakobstrasse area. By the end of the day parts of the 29th Guards Corps were battling for the German's last central defensive line along the sector from Belle-Alliance-Platz to Anhalt Station. [35]

The main objective for 8th Guards Army on April 28 was to link up with 3rd Shock Army in the area of the Reichstag. This assignment went to the 4th and 29th Guards Corps which were supported by most of the Army's artillery, tanks and self-propelled guns and over the day they advanced 1,000m - 1,500m against desperate resistance. [36]

On May 2 the 244th Guards Rifle Regiment (Lt. Col. Pavlenko, Konstantin Filatovich) was awarded the honorific "Berlin". [37]

Postwar

When the fighting ended, the men and women of the 82nd Guards had earned the full title of 82nd Guards Rifle, Zaparozhye, Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division. (Russian: 82-я гвардейская стрелковая Запорожская ордена Богдана Хмельницкого дивизия.) On May 28 the division was presented with the Order of the Red Banner for its role in the battle for Berlin, [38] and in a final round of awards on June 11 the following subunits also received decorations for the Berlin fighting: 242nd and 246th Guards Rifle Regiments (Order of Suvorov, 3rd Degree); 185th Guards Artillery Regiment (Order of Kutuzov, 3rd Degree); 91st Guards Sapper Battalion (Order of Aleksandr Nevsky). [39] As a further honor, during the historic Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow on June 24 General Duka was entrusted with carrying the symbolic key to the defeated city of Berlin. [40]

The division continued to serve postwar in 8th Guards Army in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany with the 29th Guards Rifle Corps. It was disbanded between the summer of 1946 and 1947. [41]

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The 250th Rifle Division was the sixth of a group of 10 regular rifle divisions formed from cadres of NKVD border and internal troops as standard Red Army rifle divisions, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District. It was largely based on what would become the shtat of July 29, 1941, with several variations. It served under command of 30th Army in an effort to recover Smolensk in late July and in the Dukhovshchina offensives in August and September, and was quickly reduced to a much-weakened state. It was largely encircled in the initial stages of Operation Typhoon but sufficient men and equipment escaped that it was spared being disbanded and, in fact, it was partly rebuilt by incorporating remnants of other disbanded divisions. In October it played a relatively minor role in the defensive operations around Kalinin as part of 22nd Army in Kalinin Front. Early in 1942 the 250th was transferred to the 53rd Army of Northwestern Front, and spent most of the year rebuilding while also containing the German forces in the Demyansk Pocket. After this position was evacuated at the end of February, 1943 the division was transferred to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and shipped south, joining the 2nd Reserve Army in Steppe Military District. This soon became the 63rd Army in Bryansk Front and the 250th was assigned to the 35th Rifle Corps, where it remained for the duration of the war. During the summer offensive against the German-held salient around Oryol the division helped lead the drive to liberate that city in August, and then advanced through western Russia and into Belarus, now in Central Front. In the initial phase of Operation Bagration the division, now in 3rd Army, was given special recognition for its role in the liberation of the city of Babruysk, and shortly thereafter also received the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. During 1945 it moved, with its Corps and Army, from 2nd Belorussian to 3rd Belorussian Front before returning to 1st Belorussian, seeing combat in Poland, East Prussia and central Germany; its subunits were awarded additional honors and decorations during this period. The 250th had a distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path along the Elbe River. It was disbanded in Belarus in July 1946.

The 12th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 258th Rifle Division and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was in 50th Army when it was redesignated but was soon assigned to the 49th Army, then to the 10th Army and finally to the 16th Army near the end of that month. In June it was assigned to the 9th Guards Rifle Corps of 61st Army where it remained almost continually for the duration of the war, serving under several Front commands but always on the central sector of the front. During the summer offensive in 1943 it fought through western Russia and into Belarus during the winter campaigns there. Along with the rest of 61st Army it took part in the second stage of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944, advancing into the Pripyat marshes region, winning a battle honor and shortly thereafter the Order of the Red Banner. After a short time in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command it was moved to the 3rd Baltic and later the 1st Baltic Front driving into Latvia and Lithuania, being decorated with the Order of Suvorov for its part in the occupation of Riga. In December it was returned to the 1st Belorussian Front and took part in the offensives that propelled the Red Army into Poland and eastern Germany. After the fall of Berlin the division advanced to the Elbe River where it linked up with the US 84th Infantry Division. Following the German surrender it was disbanded in July, 1946.

The 14th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 96th Rifle Division, which was officially a mountain unit at the time, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was on Southern Front when it was redesignated and was soon assigned to the 57th Army. It was encircled during the May German counterattack in the Second Battle of Kharkov. Its first commander was made a prisoner of war, later dying in German captivity. A cadre of the division managed to escape and was sent to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding. In July it joined the 63rd Army and took part in the attacks against the Italian 8th Army that created the bridgehead south of the Don River near Serafimovich during August. In October, now in the 21st Army of Don Front, it was active in two probing attacks against the Romanian forces now containing the bridgehead which inflicted severe casualties in advance of the Soviet winter counteroffensive. At the start of that offensive the division was in 5th Tank Army, but was soon transferred to 1st Guards Army and then to the 3rd Guards Army when that was formed. It was under this Army as it advanced into the Donbas in late winter before returning to 57th Army during most of 1943, fighting through east Ukraine and across the lower Dniepr by the end of the year. After being briefly assigned to 53rd Army in December it was moved to 5th Guards Army in February, 1944 where it remained for the duration, mostly in the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps. It saw action in the Uman–Botoșani Offensive and won its first decoration, the Order of the Red Banner, as it advanced, before being involved in the frustrating battles along the Dniestr River on the Romanian border. In late spring, 1944 the division was redeployed north becoming part of 1st Ukrainian Front and taking part in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive into Poland. The 14th Guards made a spectacular advance across Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive and was awarded the Order of Lenin for its part in the liberation of Sandomierz. On January 22, 1945, its commander suffered mortal wounds in the fighting for a bridgehead over the Oder River. In the drive on Berlin in April the division and its regiments won further honors and decorations but despite these distinctions it was disbanded in August, 1946.

The 15th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 136th Rifle Division, and served in that role until well after the end of the Great Patriotic War. The division had already distinguished itself during the Winter War with Finland in 1940 and had been decorated with the Order of Lenin; soon after its redesignation it also received its first Order of the Red Banner. It was in Southern Front as this time but was soon moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command where it was assigned to 7th Reserve Army in May, then to 28th Army in Southwestern Front in June, then to 57th Army in Stalingrad Front in July. It remained in that Army for the rest of the year, with one brief exception, until it was transferred to Don Front's 64th Army in January, 1943 during the closing stages of the battle of Stalingrad. In March this Army became 7th Guards Army and was railed to the northwest, joining Voronezh Front south of the Kursk salient. In the battle that followed the 15th Guards assisted in the defeat of Army Detachment Kempf, then took part in the summer offensive into Ukraine, winning one of the first battle honors at Kharkov. It remained in either 7th Guards or 37th Army into the spring of 1944. It saw action in the Nikopol-Krivoi Rog Offensive and was awarded the Order of Suvorov before being involved in the frustrating battles along the Dniestr River on the Romanian border. In June the division became part of 34th Guards Rifle Corps in 5th Guards Army and was redeployed north becoming part of 1st Ukrainian Front and taking part in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive into Poland. The 15th Guards made a spectacular advance across Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive and was further decorated with the Order of Kutuzov for forcing a crossing of the Oder River. It then saw action in the drive on Berlin in April and the Prague Offensive in May, winning a further battle honor and an unusual second Order of the Red Banner in the process. After the war the division did garrison duty in Austria, then in Ukraine, followed by a move in late 1947 to Crimea and the Kuban where its personnel assisted in rebuilding the local economy and infrastructure for nearly 20 years. It September 1965 it was renumbered as the "51st" and became the 2nd formation of the 51st Guards Motor Rifle Division.

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 26th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 93rd Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It would soon after provide the headquarters cadre for the 8th Guards Rifle Corps. It was soon assigned, with its Corps, to 20th Army of Western Front and saw extensive fighting, while also suffering extensive casualties, in two campaigns against the German 9th Army in the Rzhev salient through the rest of 1942. The division, again with 8th Guards Corps, joined the 11th Guards Army when it was formed in April, 1943 and, apart from a brief reassignment in early 1944, remained under those commands for the duration of the war. During that summer the division took part in the liberation of Bryansk. By December, after fighting through western Russia north of Smolensk it was in 1st Baltic Front, attacking south towards Gorodok and won the name of that city as a battle honor. By the start of the offensive against Army Group Center in the summer of 1944 the 26th Guards had been redeployed with its Army to the south of Vitebsk as part of 3rd Belorussian Front, where it would remain for the duration. Driving westward during Operation Bagration the division advanced north of Orsha and then helped to seize a crossing over the Berezina River for which it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. It continued to advance through Lithuania to the border with East Prussia later that year. As part of the East Prussian Offensive the 26th Guards entered that heavily fortified region in the winter of 1945 and helped gradually break the German resistance there, particularly at Insterburg and Königsberg, winning the Order of Suvorov for its part in the battle for the former place. The division ended the war at Pillau. The 26th Guards remained in the Kaliningrad Oblast well after the war, becoming the 26th Guards Motorized Rifle Division in 1957 and not finally disbanded until 1989.

The 48th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in October 1942, based on the 2nd formation of the 264th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was in the 3rd Tank Army when it formed but this force was badly damaged in Army Group South's counteroffensive south of Kharkov in March 1943 and the division had to be withdrawn for a substantial rebuilding in 57th Army of Southwestern Front during the spring. It remained in the south of Ukraine into early 1944, mostly in either that or the 37th Army, and won a battle honor in the process. It was then removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for another rebuilding before returning to the front in May 1944 and joining the 28th Army, where it remained for the duration of the war. Taking part in the summer offensive in Belarus the 48th Guards was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and several of its subunits also received decorations or distinctions. In January 1945 the division fought into East Prussia and assisted in the fighting southwest of the city/fortress of Königsberg before 28th Army was redeployed westward to take part in the Berlin operation. By now it was part of 1st Ukrainian Front and spent the last days of the war advancing on Prague. During the summer it was reassigned to the Belorussian Military District. The division was converted to the 38th Guards Rifle Brigade in 1946, but reformed as a new 48th Guards Rifle Division in 1949.

The 50th Guards Rifle Division was an elite infantry division of the Red Army during World War II that continued as part of the Soviet Army during the early period of the Cold War. Converted into the 50th Guards Motor Rifle Division in the late 1950s, the division was based in Brest, Belarus. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the division became part of the Belarusian Ground Forces and was reduced to a brigade and then a storage base before being disbanded in 2006.

The 60th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 278th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgy Khetagurov</span> Ossetian army general

Georgy Ivanovich Khetagurov was an Ossetian army general of the Soviet Army and a Hero of the Soviet Union.

The 83rd Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 97th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Throughout its combat path it was considered a "sister" to the 84th Guards Rifle Division.

The 84th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 110th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Throughout its combat path it was considered a "sister" to the 83rd Guards Rifle Division.

The 88th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 99th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It would become one of the most highly decorated rifle divisions of the Red Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">89th Guards Rifle Division</span> Military unit

The 89th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 1940 formation of the 160th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It would fight its way into the heart of Berlin prior to the German surrender.

The 95th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in May 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 226th Rifle Division, and served in that role until well after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It ended the war on the approaches to Prague and continued to serve well into the postwar era in the Central Group of Forces.

The 110th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army from July into September 1943, based on the 5th Guards Rifle Brigade and the 7th Guards Rifle Brigade and was the third of a small series of Guards divisions formed on a similar basis. It would follow a very similar combat path to the 108th and 109th Guards Rifle Divisions and would serve well into the postwar era.

The 214th 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 was moved to the fighting front to join 22nd Army in late June and took part in the fighting between Vitebsk and Nevel in early July, escaping from encirclement in the process, and then played a significant role in the liberation of Velikiye Luki, the first Soviet city to be retaken from the invading armies. In October it was again encircled near Vyasma during Operation Typhoon and was soon destroyed.

The 229th 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 20th Army it was moved from the Moscow Military District to the front west of Orsha by July 2. Serving under the Western Front the 20th was soon pocketed in the Smolensk region but the 229th was able to escape at the cost of significant losses. It was partially rebuilt before the start of the final German offensive on Moscow, when it was completely encircled and destroyed.

The 230th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as one of the first reserve rifle divisions following the German invasion of the USSR. After being hastily organized, it joined the fighting front along the lower Dniepr River as part of 6th Army. After the German victory east of Kyiv, it retreated into the Donbas as part of 12th Army and spent the winter in the fighting around Rostov-on-Don. When the German 1942 summer offensive began, it was driven back, now as part of 37th Army, and largely encircled near Millerovo. While not destroyed, by late August it was so depleted that it was disbanded.

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. 78
  2. ↑ David M. Glantz, Colossus Reborn, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2005, p. 596
  3. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 65, 88, 113, 139
  4. ↑ Sharp, "Red Guards", p. 78
  5. ↑ Earl F. Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin, Center of Military History United States Army, Washington, DC, 1968, pp. 155, 160, 162, 164-65
  6. ↑ Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin, pp. 165, 174-77
  7. ↑ http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/1-ssr-2.html. In Russian. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  8. ↑ http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=14445. In Russian, English translation available. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  9. ↑ John Erickson, The Road to Berlin, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, UK, 1983, pp. 165–66, 179-80
  10. ↑ Erickson, The Road to Berlin, p. 187
  11. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a, p. 326.
  12. ↑ Glantz, Red Storm Over the Balkans, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2007, pp. 116, 140, 288–89, 293–94, 296-304
  13. ↑ Erickson, The Road to Berlin, p. 204
  14. ↑ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 192
  15. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Operation Bagration, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, Kindle ed., vol. 1, ch. 1; vol. 2, ch. 6
  16. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Operation Bagration, Kindle ed., vol. 2, chs. 6, 11, 12
  17. ↑ http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=4842. In Russian, English translation available. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  18. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Prelude to Berlin, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, pp. 574–75, 51-52
  19. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Prelude to Berlin, pp. 72-73
  20. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b, p. 222.
  21. ↑ http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/9-poland.html. In Russian. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  22. ↑ Soviet General Staff, Prelude to Berlin, pp. 76-77, 591, 81-82
  23. ↑ http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=8958. In Russian, English translation available. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  24. ↑ http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=178. In Russian, English translation available. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  25. ↑ http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/9-poland.html. In Russian. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  26. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b, p. 71.
  27. ↑ Sharp, "Red Guards", p. 78
  28. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Berlin Operation 1945, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, Kindle ed., part II, ch. 12
  29. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Berlin Operation 1945, Kindle ed., part II, ch. 12
  30. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Berlin Operation 1945, Kindle ed., part II, ch. 15
  31. ↑ http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=6003. In Russian, English translation available. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  32. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Berlin Operation 1945, Kindle ed., part II, ch. 15
  33. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Berlin Operation 1945, Kindle ed., part II, ch. 15
  34. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Berlin Operation 1945, Kindle ed., part II, ch. 15
  35. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Berlin Operation 1945, Kindle ed., part II, ch. 20
  36. ↑ Soviet General Staff, The Berlin Operation 1945, Kindle ed., part II, ch. 20
  37. ↑ http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/5-germany.html. In Russian. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  38. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b, p. 270.
  39. ↑ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b, pp. 349, 351, 355.
  40. ↑ "Дука Михаил Ильич".
  41. ↑ Feskov et al 2013, p. 401.

Bibliography

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