The Demyansk Pocket was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February to 21 April 1942.
The Battle of Krasny Bor was part of the Soviet offensive Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda in the Eastern Front of World War II. It called for a pincer attack near Leningrad to build on the success of Operation Iskra and completely lift the siege of Leningrad, in the process encircling a substantial part of the German 18th Army. The offensive near the town of Krasny Bor formed the western arm of the pincer. The Soviet offensive began on Wednesday, 10 February 1943, and produced noticeable gains on the first day but rapidly became a stalemate. The strong defense by the Spanish Blue Division and the German SS Polizei Division gave the German forces time to reinforce their positions. By February 13, the Soviet forces had ceased their offensive in this sector.
Operation Iskra, a Soviet military operation in January 1943 during World War II, aimed to break the Wehrmacht's siege of Leningrad. Planning for the operation began shortly after the failure of the Sinyavino Offensive. The German defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad in late 1942 had weakened the German front. By January 1943, Soviet forces were planning or conducting offensive operations across the entire German-Soviet Front, especially in southern Russia; Iskra formed the northern part of the wider Soviet 1942–1943 winter counteroffensive.
The Toropets–Kholm offensive was a military operation conducted south of Lake Ilmen by the Red Army during World War II, from 9 January–6 February 1942. The operation contributed to the formation of the Kholm Pocket and the encirclement of the Wehrmacht's II Army Corps in the Demyansk Pocket.
The Northwestern Front was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-created on 22 June 1941, the first day of the Eastern Front on the basis of the Baltic Special Military District. On 22 June the Front consisted of the 8th, 11th, and 27th Armies, as well as the 5th Airborne Corps and the headquarters of the 65th Rifle Corps.
Leningrad strategic defensive operation is the term in Soviet historiography for the defensive operations in the area south of Leningrad by the Red Army and the Soviet Navy during World War II from 10 July to 30 September 1941. The following operations are considered as part of the strategic operation:
The 34th Army was part of the Red Army during the Second World War. The army was formed on 16 July 1941 in the Moscow Military District.
Mikhail Semyonovich Khozin was a Soviet general.
The Red Army's 54th Army was a Soviet field army during the Second World War. It was first formed in the Leningrad Military District in August, 1941, and continued in service in the northern sector of the Soviet-German front until the end of 1944. It spent much of the war attempting to break the German siege of Leningrad, in which it helped to achieve partial success in January, 1943, and complete success one year later. During these operations the soldiers of the 54th served under five different commanders, most notably Col. Gen. Ivan Fedyuninsky in the winter of 1941–42. After helping to drive Army Group North away from Leningrad and into the Baltic states in the first nine months of 1944, the army was deemed surplus to requirements on the narrowing front, and was officially disbanded on the last day of the year.
The 68th Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army. It was formed in February 1943 from the headquarters of the 57th Army and fought in the Battle of Demyansk (1943) and the Staraya-Russa Offensive (1943), part of Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda. After spending several months in reserve, the army fought in the Battle of Smolensk (1943) between August and October. The army was disbanded in November and its troops became part of the 5th Army.
The 25th Cavalry Division was a mounted division of the Red Army that served for just over a year in the Great Patriotic War. It was formed in the summer of 1941 and served in the region south and west of Leningrad during the following months against the advance of Army Group North during Operation Barbarossa. It survived a German armored counterattack before being pulled back into the reserves in September. In January 1942, it was assigned to the Mobile Group of 2nd Shock Army to take part in the Lyuban Offensive Operation. This offensive aimed to encircle and destroy the German forces besieging Leningrad; in the event, 2nd Shock was itself encircled and forced to break out as individuals and small groups from May into July. The 25th Cavalry was disbanded, and its survivors were used to help rebuild the badly depleted 19th Guards Rifle Division, while the 25th's commanding officer took over the latter division.
The 370th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as a standard Red Army rifle division, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Siberian Military District. After forming, the division was initially assigned to the 58th (Reserve) Army, but was soon reassigned to 34th Army in Northwestern Front, and until March 1943, was involved in the dismal fighting around the Demyansk salient. After this was evacuated the division took part in equally difficult combat for the city of Staraya Russa. Near the end of that year the division was reassigned to 2nd Baltic Front, and spent several months in operations near Nevel and north of Vitebsk. In the spring of 1944, its combat path shifted southwards when it was moved to 69th Army in 1st Belorussian Front, south of the Pripet Marshes. In August it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Kovel. It went on to help form and hold the bridgehead over the Vistula at Puławy, and in January 1945, joined the drive of 1st Belorussian Front across Poland and into eastern Germany, earning the battle honor "Brandenburg". It was disbanded later that year.
The 391st Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and fought the German Operation Barbarossa. 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 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 43rd Guards Rifle Division was an elite Latvian infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.
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 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.
The 259th Rifle Division was formed from reservists as a standard Red Army rifle division, 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. It was assigned to the 34th Army of Reserve Front before the end of July, but this Army was soon reassigned to Northwestern Front. Under these commands it took part in the Staraya Russa offensive operation in August. It suffered significant casualties in its first operation but after falling back toward Leningrad it took part, as part of 52nd Army, in both the defense of Tikhvin and the following counteroffensive that retook the city in one of the first major German reverses. In the new year the 259th was involved in the Lyuban offensive, mostly under command of the ill-fated 2nd Shock Army, and this struggle continued into June. Enough of the division escaped encirclement that it avoided disbandment, and it was sufficiently restored by late August that it was committed to the second Sinyavino offensive, eventually becoming encircled again and forced to break out, at considerable cost. In early October it was withdrawn to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for a lengthy period of restoration, well into 1943, in 2nd Reserve Army, as it moved well to the south.
The 182nd Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army following the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939 and utilizing the personnel of two divisions of the Estonian People's Army. At the outbreak of war with Germany it was still in Estonia, part of the 22nd Rifle Corps of Northwestern Front's 27th Army. It quickly lost strength, both due to combat losses and to the desertion of large numbers of ethnic Estonians from the ranks. The remainder concentrated near Porkhov by the beginning of July. During that month the 182nd, now under command of 11th Army, took part in the counterstroke at Soltsy against LVI Motorized Corps, and a further action near Staraya Russa in August, both of which slowed the advance of Army Group North toward Leningrad. During 1942 and 1943, under 11th, 27th, and 34th Armies, the division would repeatedly attempt to regain Staraya Russa, while the battles for Demyansk went on to its east through most of this period. The evacuation of the Demyansk salient in February 1943 freed up German forces to reinforce a much shorter line, which stymied Marshal G. K. Zhukov's Operation Polar Star. The front began to move again during the Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive in January/February 1944; Staraya Russa finally fell after holding out for over 30 months and near the end of February the 182nd, now under command of 1st Shock Army in 2nd Baltic Front, won an honorific for its part in the liberation of Dno. At the start of the summer offensive into the Baltic states it was in 22nd Army, still in 2nd Baltic. It was under these commands at it advanced through Latvia and into northern Lithuania before being transferred to 43rd Army of 1st Baltic Front in late September. It was almost immediately involved in this Army's rapid advance on Memel, which was reached on October 10. It was impossible to take this heavily fortified city with the means at hand, so the 182nd went over to the defense on the border of East Prussia. When the winter offensive began the division was soon involved in the fighting for Tilsit, and two of its rifle regiments would receive decorations. Following this it pushed through to the Kurisches Haff, and began isolating the German forces in Königsberg. It played little part in the eventual capture of this city, but in April, as part of 2nd Guards Army, it was involved in the clearing of the Samland Peninsula. In the last days of the war the 182nd returned to 43rd Army, now in 2nd Belorussian Front. It would be disbanded in July.
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