Dear fellow countrymen! On May 6, 2016, a memorial plaque “Teachers of the Ukhtym School - Participants of the Great Patriotic War” will be unveiled in the village of Ukhtym. The search I conducted in the information space of the Internet made it possible, to a certain extent, to restore the combat path of our teachers: I.I. Egoshina, A.D. Alexandrova, V.V. Snigirev and I.S. Leushina.

Unfortunately, the award sheets, which indicate the numbers of military units from the battalion to the front, have not yet been posted by the RF Ministry of Defense on the “Memory of the People” website for the remaining front-line teachers, which does not allow us to trace their combat path. There is only information that A.A. Anisimova, I.M. Korotaev, I.A. Torkhov were awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st or 2nd degree, in 1985 in connection with the 40th Victory Day.

At the same time, we managed to find very interesting information about Arkady Alekseevich Kovrov, who worked as a teacher at the Ukhtym school in the pre-war period. I want to talk about this today. The information is taken from the “Journal of Combat Operations of the 11th Army”, “Journal of Combat Operations of the 182nd Infantry Division”, combat reports of the 140th Regiment and the website “North-Western Front. Demyansk Cauldron.

Sincerely, graduate of Ukhtym high school in 1964

Kostyaev Alexander Ivanovich, St. Petersburg

Kovrov Arkady Alekseevich born in 1918 in the village of Kovrovy, Vaskovsky village council, Belokholunitsky district, on February 10, 1940 he was called up by the Bogorodsky RVK for active military service, and in December 1941 (date not established) he went missing.

At the beginning of the war A.A. Kovrov ended up on the Northwestern Front as part of the 140th Infantry Regiment of the 182nd Infantry Division, which was formed in the fall of 1940 on the basis of the 2nd Tartu Estonian National Division, after Estonia joined the USSR. The division's personnel wore the uniform of the Estonian army, but with insignia adopted in the Red Army. Before the war, the 140th Infantry Regiment was stationed in the Estonian city of Võru. All weapons were foreign, mostly English-made.

On June 27, 1941, an order was received to redeploy the division as part of the 22nd Rifle Corps to the area of ​​Ostrov (Pskov Region) and join the 11th Army. Upon arrival on July 9th, the division took up a defensive line and engaged two regiments of German infantry, supported by 40 tanks, artillery and mortars. The division withstood the onslaught of the Germans, knocking out 6 enemy tanks.

Having brought up fresh forces to 2 infantry regiments with the support of 67 tanks, the Germans launched a new offensive, they managed to push back the division's units and, using maneuver, encircled the 140th and 232nd rifle regiments along with an artillery regiment.

In the very first battles, the Estonians, who at that time formed the basis of the personnel of the 182nd division, began to desert and go over to the side of the enemy units. From the report of Major Shepelev to the intelligence department of the North-Western Front dated July 14, 1941: “A significant part of the Estonian commanders and Red Army soldiers went over to the side of the Germans. There is hostility and distrust of Estonians among the fighters.”

On July 16, 1941, the encircled regiments broke through the ring and fought out of the cauldron, taking up defense on the outskirts of the city of Dno (Pskov region) - a large railway junction of strategic importance. However, large enemy forces broke through the defenses of the 182nd Infantry Division and tried to encircle it.

By 07/24/41, the division, following the orders of the command, retreated to a new defensive line in order to prevent the enemy from breaking through to the Volot railway station (Novgorod region). Conducting fierce defensive battles with superior enemy forces at this line, the regiments of the 182nd division repeatedly launched counterattacks, during which 25 tanks, 15 guns were destroyed, and trophies were captured: over 20 motorcycles, 18 vehicles and much other military equipment. The enemy lost up to a motorized infantry regiment killed and wounded in these battles.

The next line of defense for the 182nd division was the approaches to the city of Staraya Russa (Novgorod region), which, unfortunately, also had to be abandoned and, retreating to the east, cross the Polist and Lovat rivers.

On August 14, 1941, the enemy was driven back from the river line. Lovat to the city of Staraya Russa and the division went on the offensive in a western direction, crossing the river, with the goal of capturing the northern part of the city of Staraya Russa. However, the Germans brought an air corps into battle, which bombed division units during September 17, 18 and 19, 1941, carrying out 800-1000 sorties per day, after which, having concentrated forces to 2 infantry divisions, it went on the offensive and pushed units of the 182nd division back to the eastern bank of the river. Lovat.

On August 24, 1941, the 140th joint venture was temporarily assigned to the 180th rifle division, which lost up to 60% of its personnel in the battles for Staraya Russa.

On August 29-31, 1941, the 180th Division, fighting with the enemy at the line of the villages of Bolshoye Voloskovo - Bykovo - Navelye - Kulakovo - Dreglo - Shkvarets - Pustynka, stopped the advance of the Nazi troops. The enemy, who was rushing towards the city of Valdai, did not go beyond this line. This line became the first on the Northwestern Front where the enemy was stopped and never again advanced into the interior of the country. At the request of the Division Veterans Council, in 1968, a monument was erected near the village of Dubrova, Parfinsky district, with the inscription: “At this point, on August 31, 1941, the 180th Infantry Division stopped the advance of the Nazi troops. Eternal memory to the heroes who died for the freedom and independence of our Motherland!”

From the operational report of the chief of staff of the 140th joint venture, Captain Shurpo, to the headquarters of the 180th infantry regiment on September 1, 1941, “The regiment took up defensive positions on the right bank of the Volozha River. On August 30-31, the regiment fought and lost 24 people wounded and 5 people killed. The regiment is engaged in engineering work on defense and camouflage equipment."

09/04/41 from 6.00 the 180th division went on the offensive. From the operational report of the chief of staff of the 140th joint venture, Captain Shurpo, to the headquarters of the 180th infantry division: “During the day on September 4, the regiment led an attack on the village. Bol. Voloskovo. Having reached 400-500 m from the village. Bolshoye Voloskovo, having reached the Kolpinko stream, the units were met with mortar and machine gun fire and fire from armored vehicles... Behind the Kolpinko stream a wire fence was installed, and behind it there were trenches. When trying to move further into the village. Bol. Voloskovo units were met by heavy enemy fire. The units, suffering losses, were forced to lie down at the turn of the river. Kolpinko. At night, having dug in, we established surveillance.”

Since September 9, 1941, the 180th Division held occupied lines, including 140 SP Lake. Babiye from the village. Bol. Volosko, Mal. Volosko improved the previous area of ​​defense and periodically went on the offensive (September 24, 25 and 26), but, encountering stubborn enemy resistance, did not have much success.

On 10/16/41 at 15.30, the 140th joint venture arrived at the disposal of its native 182nd Infantry Division and after the march concentrated in the area of ​​Upolozy, Sukhonivochka, Shtapolk - Upolozy.

10/17/41 At 6.00 the enemy (units of the 3rd SS Motorized Infantry Division “Totenkopf”, which had been opposing the 182nd SD since September 24, 1941) began artillery preparation along the entire front of the division. At 9.15 the enemy went on the offensive in the direction of the village of Bely Bor and occupied it at 10.00. The 140th joint venture held back the onslaught of a numerically superior enemy from the direction of Bely Bor.

The village of Bely Bor still exists today, located not far from the Demyansk-Yazhelbitsy road. Units of the SS division “Totenkopf”, with the support of Luftwaffe airfield units, defending the village and the road, in October-December 1941, turned it into a serious stronghold, which later became one of the key nodes of the “Demyansk Pocket”.

On 10/18/41, in the morning, units of the 182nd division received a combat order to restore the situation and destroy the enemy in the area of ​​the villages of Bely Bor, Ilyina Niva and MTS. At 8.00 the units went on the offensive. Particularly fierce battles, reaching hand-to-hand combat, took place in the direction of 140 SP. In fierce battles that day with the SS men, the 140th joint venture lost 106 people killed. and wounded 48 people. The brutal fascists, suffering huge losses from our artillery and rifle fire, brought more and more fresh forces into battle, putting up stubborn resistance to the advancing units of the division, holding the occupied line, trying to go on a counteroffensive. The fighting continued until dark, and there was relative calm at night.

10/19/41 at 2.00 a combat order was received to go on the offensive again in the morning. The 140th SP was supposed to strike at the southern outskirts of the village of Bely Bor and, through joint actions with the 254th SD, take possession of it.

10.20.41 In the area of ​​the village of Bely Bor, the enemy conducted heavy artillery fire on the battle formations of the 140th joint venture from 15.30 to 16.05.

On 10.21.41 at 7.30 the enemy in the 171SP and 140SP sector went on the offensive, but was stopped by rifle and machine-gun fire. At 14.00 the offensive was repeated in cooperation with 4 tanks, but the tanks going ahead encountered our minefield and were blown up. The remaining 2 tanks returned. The enemy infantry was scattered by rifle and machine-gun fire.

On October 23, 1941, the enemy showed no activity during the night. At 5 o'clock, a force of up to 2 platoons went on combat reconnaissance. The commander of the 3rd battalion of the 140th joint venture allowed them to come to a distance of 30 m, after which he personally destroyed almost everyone with light machine gun fire.

Having suffered significant losses in fierce battles with units of the SS division "Totenkopf", on October 28, 1941, the 182nd division received reinforcements of 476 people, incl. 140 joint venture – 134 people.

On October 31, 1941, units of the 182nd Division again went on the offensive, encountering stubborn resistance from the SS men. By 16.00, the 140th joint venture with an attached tank company entered the central part of the village of Bely Bor, fighting street battles.

01.11.41 The division continued to fulfill its task of capturing the village of Bely Bor. The 140th joint venture captured the eastern outskirts and center of the village.

03.11.41 Enemy at 19.30 after 30 minutes. artillery preparation went on a counter-offensive with a force of up to 2 companies and pushed back from the eastern outskirts of the village of Bely Bor the units of the 140th joint venture, which, under the influence of heavy fire and enemy attacks, left the village, retreated east of 300-400 meters and entrenched itself.

On the night of November 5-6, after a 10-minute artillery barrage, our units of the 140th SP, 46th SP and 936th SP broke into the village of Bely Bor and fought street battles. By 1.00 140SP, having reached the western outskirts of the village, fought with small groups of the enemy holed up in houses. At 10.00 the regiment was cut off from the command post and left there only in the morning of November 7th, taking up its original positions.

On November 7, 1941, units of the 182 SD were putting themselves in order after the battles of November 6. The enemy was not active, just like on the 8th and the first half of November 9th.

On 09.11.41 at 15.10, the enemy, having carried out a strong 10-minute fire raid, carried out combat reconnaissance with a force of up to 1.5 companies in small groups along the entire front of the division. The enemy was repulsed by the fire of machine guns and our artillery and, having suffered heavy losses, took up their previous defensive positions, leaving a mass of dead and wounded on the battlefield. Our units, remaining in the same grouping, continued to defend the occupied areas.

From November 10 to November 26, units of the 182nd division did not engage in combat, but were engaged in strengthening defensive areas and preparing for winter. The enemy did not show any noticeable activity, except for an attempt at reconnaissance by force on November 12, which was scattered by fire from our battery.

On November 27, the 140SP, together with units of other regiments, conducted combat reconnaissance in order to reveal the enemy’s defense system along the entire front of the 182nd division, but to no avail. Losses amounted to 4 people. killed, 24 wounded, including 140SP, 1 and 16 people, respectively.

On November 28, the enemy tried to launch an attack on the division’s front line of defense, but was repulsed by our machine gun fire with heavy losses, after which he showed no activity.

On November 29-30 and December 1-12, the division continued to occupy a defensive line, the enemy occasionally fired artillery and mortars, and at night illuminated the area with rockets.

On December 13, 1941, the division had the task of opening the enemy’s defenses and his grouping and establishing the composition of forces with a private attack on nameless heights at 6.00. At 6.00 the signal was given to go on the attack.

The 140th SP battalion, attacking, threw grenades at the dugouts and lay down. Only the sapper platoon went on the attack and managed to blow up 1 dugout. After an attack by a sapper platoon, the enemy opened heavy fire and the battalion, suffering losses, retreated to its original position. After this, the battalion twice tried to go on the attack and both times, suffering losses, retreated to its original position without any results. At 15.00, the battalion, according to a verbal order from the division commander, was withdrawn from the battle and took its previous position.

The 171st SP battalion approached the enemy dugouts to launch an attack. At 7.00 the 8th Infantry Company attacked two dugouts. At the same time, the company commander, Jr., was mortally wounded. Lieutenant Telegin and the company lost control. The enemy, taking advantage of the confusion, launched a counterattack with a force of up to 2 platoons. Subsequent attempts to attack the enemy together with the 140th SP battalion were unsuccessful; the battalion retreated to its original position, suffering heavy losses.

As a result of this battle, the division lost: 140 SP, 14 people killed, 34 people wounded; 171 SP killed 17 people, wounded 30.

Considering that the following days of December 1941, units of the division, including the 140th joint venture, did not fight, defending their previous sectors, and the enemy did not show much activity, there is every reason to assume that the former teacher of the Ukhtym school - a private of the 140th rifle regiment of the 182nd rifle division - disappeared without lead during the battle on December 13, 1941.

In turn, the 3rd SS Division “Totenkopf” was surrounded on February 8, 1942 along with 5 more German divisions in the “Demyansk Pocket”, and when breaking out of it, it lost most of its personnel.

Igor ABROSIMOV

DEFEAT OR VICTORY?

Offensive operation of the Southern Front in July - August 1943 on the Miuss River

I. Preface: The answer cannot be found...
II. Southern Front on the eve of the summer campaign (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
III. Wehrmacht on the Miuss Front
IV. The operation has begun...
V. Counterstrike
VI. Air confrontation (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
VII. Afterword: military events in the cultural and historical aspect
Notes and appendices - Literature

II. Southern Front on the eve of the summer campaign (1, 2)

The troops of the Southern Front, renamed from Stalingrad in January 1943, having liberated Rostov in battle, approached the Miuss River on February 16. On February 17, as a result of a bloody assault, the village of Matveev Kurgan, a communications center on the left, eastern bank of the river, which the enemy turned into a defense hub, was captured. The Germans were forced to retreat to the western bank of the Miuss, and Soviet troops, continuing heavy offensive battles, reached the river along the entire middle course on a broad front during February. Until February 28, the Red Army tried to continue its advance to the West, overcome enemy defenses and force the Miuss, but these efforts were not crowned with success. Over the next almost five months, the Soviet-German front in this sector remained stable.

The defensive formations of the Southern Front from the Sea of ​​Azov, somewhat east of Taganrog, which remained under German occupation, reached the Miuss River, and then, in a strip of approximately 80 km, ran along its left bank and went to the eastern outskirts of the city of Krasny Luch, occupied by the enemy. Further, the front line, about 70 km long, stretched to the bend of the Seversky Donets northwest of Voroshilovgrad.

Since March 1943, the front troops were commanded by Colonel General F.I. Tolbukhin, who in the pre-war years served as chief of staff of the Transcaucasian Military District, and after the outbreak of hostilities he was successively chief of staff of the Transcaucasian, Caucasian and Crimean fronts. Before his appointment as front commander, Tolbukhin commanded a combined arms army for eight months. Having started the war as a major general, in March 1943 he became a lieutenant general, and in April, three months before the start of the offensive on Miusse, he received the extraordinary rank of colonel general. Thus, his experience of independent leadership of an operational-strategic formation at the beginning of the July offensive was limited to only four months. Moreover, Tolbukhin did not have the experience that the leader of a front-line formation receives during a major offensive operation.

The front headquarters and control were located in the city of Novoshakhtinsk, 70 km from the front line. In April 1943, the headquarters was headed by Major General S.S. Biryuzov, who had experience in commanding an infantry division, and from April 1942, he served as chief of staff of the army for a year. Later, in his memoirs, Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky described Tolbukhin as a man with a gentle character, who was successfully complemented in this regard by Biryuzov, firm and adamant in implementing the decisions made. It is known at the same time how important it is for achieving success to unite the efforts of the commander and his chief of staff, who complement each other in their abilities and qualities of a military leader. Member of the Military Council of the Front, Lieutenant General K.A. Gurov was a strong political worker who fought from the first days of the war as a member of the Military Council of the Army. But, both as a commander and as a chief of staff, he had no experience of leadership at the level of a front-line formation. However, we must not forget that Tolbukhin, Biryuzov, and Gurov went through the harsh, months-long school of the Stalingrad Front, advancing thanks to the real combat successes of the troops they led.

Coordination of the actions of the front-line command, bearing in mind the need to compensate for their lack of experience and correct mistakes in a timely manner, was carried out by the institute of representatives of the Supreme Command Headquarters. Such an organization increased the level of strategic leadership of troops and made it possible to maintain close interaction between fronts and branches of the armed forces. Representatives of the Headquarters had the broadest powers; tasks were set for them, as a rule, by Stalin personally and they were sent to where strategic and important front-line operations were supposed to be carried out. On the eve of the offensive on the Miuss River, one of the highest-ranking representatives of the Headquarters, Chief of the General Staff and Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky, arrived on the Southern Front.

It should be noted that this was one of the most difficult periods of Vasilevsky’s activity during all the war years. A few days before arriving on the Southern Front, he was recalled from the Voronezh Front, as he displeased Stalin with the unsuccessful actions associated with the introduction of the strategic reserves of the Headquarters - 5 Guards - into the battle on the southern front of the Kursk Bulge. army of Lieutenant General A.S. Zhadov and 5th Guards. Tank Army Lieutenant General of Tank Forces P.A. Rotmistrov. To coordinate the actions of the Voronezh and Steppe fronts, Stalin sent G.K. Zhukov there, and Vasilevsky went to the Southern Front, where a smaller-scale operation was planned, the results of which, however, could also be of considerable importance for the situation on the entire Soviet-German front.

The decision to transition the Southern Front to active operations was made by Headquarters after a long operational pause. It was expected that the Wehrmacht would launch an offensive in the area of ​​the Kusky salient, troops were concentrated there, and the main reserves were deployed to this strategic direction. Since the possibility of an enemy attack in the Southern Front was not excluded, Tolbukhin’s troops also prepared to repel attacks and lined up their battle formations in accordance with defensive tasks. That is why the preparation for the offensive operation, which began only after July 5, when the Wehrmacht attacked the battle formations of the Central and Voronezh fronts on the Kursk ledge, was carried out in a short time, within one week.

By the end of the day on July 14, when Vasilevsky appeared at the command post of the commander of the Southern Front, the planning and accelerated regrouping of troops were basically completed, the units occupied the starting lines for the attack. So the contribution of Vasilevsky, an experienced staff planner who had successfully completed all stages of staff work at the highest level, could not be decisive in this case. As for the guardianship on the part of the Headquarters representative already during the operation, then, in all likelihood, those shortcomings in planning, which will be discussed below, did not allow him to significantly contribute to the success of the battle.

Vasilevsky, being an adherent of a business-like and calm manner of communication with subordinates, which, against the backdrop of the tough and uncompromising style of most wartime military leaders, was perceived as unusual gentleness, never allowed himself to achieve his assigned tasks with shouts and threats. In his memoirs, he later wrote that “... it was not always easy to remain calm and not allow yourself to raise your voice. But you will clench your fists, sometimes it hurts, and you will remain silent, you will refrain from swearing and shouting.” Vasilevsky did not resort to hasty removal of commanders and superiors from their positions, much less to repressive actions. This is probably why, in order to maximize the pressure on the command, there was another representative of Headquarters on the Southern Front - Marshal of the Soviet Union S.K. Timoshenko. In any case, let us mention this as an example, it was Timoshenko at the command post of the 2nd Guards. The army of Lieutenant General Ya.G. Kreiser, in the presence of Vasilevsky, Tolbukhin and Gurov, tried, already at the final stage of the offensive of the Southern Front, to firmly understand and find those responsible for the unsuccessful course of the operation. The meeting ended with the removal from office of the army commander, accused of failure to comply with a combat order. Despite Kreiser's explanations, Tymoshenko, unwilling to accept any justification, harshly stated: “If the army is not able to complete the task, the army commander is to blame.”

Of course, the activities of the Headquarters representatives in those conditions had a positive impact in the preparation and conduct of major operations. However, the nervousness caused by the constant presence of high representatives with emergency powers, in a number of cases, did not at all contribute to the successful activities of the front command. Moreover, representatives of the Headquarters could not replace front-line command in the daily preparation of troops for combat activities, or monitor the solution to hourly emerging operational and organizational problems during the operation. Ultimately, success or failure in command and control was determined by the front commander, his headquarters, and all the numerous front-line services. That is why the talent and experience of front-line leadership, supported by the precise activities of the multi-link mechanism of central military command, were, as a rule, decisive.

Let us emphasize once again that the command of the Southern Front did not have enough experience in conducting large offensive operations in the summer of 1943. It was later, over time, that Tolbukhin grew to the level of a major military leader; it was later that the headquarters learned to effectively plan and implement strategic operations in practice. It should be added that when this happened, at the last stage of hostilities, there was no longer any need for the emergency activities of Headquarters representatives, who were no longer sent to the field as guardians and supervisors.

2.
Let us consider the composition and deployment of the troops of the Southern Front before the start of the operation. In order not to bore the reader with details related to the combat composition of units and formations, which is still impossible to do without in this case, most of this kind of information is given in the corresponding appendices and notes. The Appendices and Notes section also contains a diagrammatic map of the Mius offensive operation.

On the left, coastal flank of the Southern Front, the 44th Army deployed under the command of Lieutenant General V.A. Khomenko, which included four rifle divisions - the 130th (Colonel K.V. Sychev), the 151st (Major General D.P.Podshivailov), 248th (Colonel N.Z.Galai) and 416th (Colonel D.M.Syzranov).

The 130th Rifle Division was re-formed on the Southern Front in May 1943 using the 156th and 159th Separate Rifle Brigades, which had been in bloody battles and suffered heavy losses from December 1942 to January 1943. Less than two months before the start of the July offensive, the division was staffed, replenished, mainly with recruits, but the quantitative composition was not brought, as usual in rifle troops, to the regular level, not to mention the fact that the training and cohesion of units, subunits and headquarters , it was not really possible to achieve in such a short period. The division commander, Colonel K.V. Sychev, who graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff on the eve of the war, served in staff positions and had limited experience in independent command of a formation, holding the post of deputy commander until his new appointment and only for two months - commander of the 126th Infantry Division .

The 151st Rifle Division was introduced into the Active Army in August 1942, operated as part of the Transcaucasian and North Caucasian fronts and was transferred to the control of the Southern Front in February 1943, after the Red Army reached Miuss. The division was headed by an experienced commander, Major General D.P. Podshivailov, who started the war as a regiment commander and commanded divisions since March 1942. He was awarded the rank of general in November 1942, which indicates successful activity as a division commander. Podshivailov commanded the 151st Rifle Division from April 1943 until the end of the war.

After the defeat, the 248th Rifle Division was re-formed in September 1942 using the personnel of two cadet regiments of Astrakhan military schools and was then introduced into the Stalingrad Front. Its commander, Colonel N.Z. Galai, began the war as a regiment commander who arrived from the Far East, and from December 1942 commanded the 248th Infantry Division, which allowed him to gain some command experience and get to know the formation’s personnel well.

The 416th Infantry Division was formed in 1942 in Azerbaijan, mainly from the local rural population, and was then replenished, both in the usual manner and through marching units, which consisted of residents of this republic. The division took part in hostilities in the North Caucasus from November 1942. From December 1942 until the end of the war, the division was commanded by Colonel D.M. Syzranov, who was first appointed commander of the formation and who became the third commander of the division after its introduction into the Army. The division covered a wide front strip - from the shore of the Taganrog estuary to the Miuss River and further along the river bank.

The 44th Army, whose command united rifle divisions that had limited combat capability, was not assigned any active tasks. It had to firmly hold the defense and divert the enemy's attention by carrying out a demonstration of the offensive with the forces of just one reinforced rifle regiment. In this regard, during the period of urgent preparation for the offensive operation, three rifle divisions that were previously part of the army - the 320th, 387th and 347th - were placed under the control of the neighboring 28th Army. Before the start of the operation, the 33rd and 32nd tank brigades were also transferred to the 28th and 5th shock armies, respectively. At the same time, the most combat-ready 151st Rifle Division, remaining subordinate to the 44th Army, did not occupy a defense and was listed in the reserve of the front commander.

The army commander, Lieutenant General V.A. Khomenko, served in the border troops of the NKVD before the war, since 1940 he was the head of the border troops of the Moldavian and Ukrainian SSR and on the eve of the war he was appointed deputy commander of the Kyiv Special Military District for rear protection. From the first months of hostilities, Major General Khomenko commanded the 30th Army on the Western Front in the Smolensk and Kalinin directions. Serving as army commander was not easy for Khomenko. In the most difficult days for the country and the army, during the Battle of Moscow in November 1941, he displeased Stalin as army commander and was appointed, with demotion, deputy commander of the troops of the Moscow defense zone.

It is difficult to assess the fairness of this decision. According to the testimony of General D.D. Lelyushenko, who replaced Khomenko as commander of the 30th Army, Vasily Afanasyevich was a brave, competent, worthy military leader, and the failure that befell the army in the Klin area was explained by the enemy’s advantage in the direction of the main attack, where the weakened ones held the defense army divisions. On the other hand, it is quite understandable why Khomenko, whose service was in the border troops and who did not receive serious training as a commander of a combined arms formation, was replaced by a more experienced military leader in the current tense situation.

After spending many months on the sidelines in a virtually non-combatant formation and again placed at the head of a combined arms army only in September 1942, Khomenko commanded the 58th and then the 44th Army on the North Caucasus and Southern fronts. Without taking an active part in the July battles on Miussa, the 44th Army in the subsequent period participated in the liberation of Donbass and Left Bank Ukraine. In November 1943, in the Nikopol area, Khomenko, having gone to the front line together with the commander of the army artillery, Major General S.A. Bobkov, and a group of commanders, got lost and mistakenly ended up in the location of enemy troops. The commander's motorcade was unexpectedly fired upon at close range; miraculously, only one car, the last to move, managed to return to its own. The seriously wounded Khomenko was captured along with the operational documents that were with him and probably died soon. Stalin was extremely angry at the circumstances of the loss of two military generals, especially since the Germans wrote in their leaflets that they voluntarily went over to the side of the enemy. Things got to the point that the administration of the 44th Army was disbanded and its troops were transferred to other formations. This is how Khomenko’s life tragically ended just three months after the battle on Miussa.

The central section of the front, in the zone of which it was planned to deliver the main blow, was occupied by the 28th Army under the command of Lieutenant General V.F. Gerasimenko. The 28th Army included six rifle divisions - 271st (Colonel I.P. Govorov), 118th (Colonel F.G. Dobrovolsky), 127th (Colonel F.M. Rukhlenko), 320th (Colonel P.N. Krivulin), 347th (Colonel A.Kh. Yukhimchuk) and 387th (Colonel M.G. Krymov). The 28th Army was strengthened by the 33rd Guards. separate tank brigade (Colonel I.M. Babenko). and 1st Guards. separate breakthrough tank regiment.

The 271st Rifle Division of Colonel I.P. Govorov was defeated in the Crimea in the spring of 1942 and, after being staffed with personnel and equipment, was reintroduced into battle in the North Caucasus only in November. Like other formations that suffered significant losses on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front and were withdrawn to the rear for reorganization, it was staffed with military recruits from the indigenous population of Transcaucasia. Since February, the division occupied positions on Miussa. The new division commander began his duties in April 1943, during the operational pause.

Also, after the defeat in Crimea in the spring of 1942, the 118th Infantry Division under Colonel F.G. Dobrovolsky was re-formed, which took part in the battle for the Caucasus from November. Its commander was only sent to the Active Army in May 1943 from the post of head of the infantry school and was immediately appointed division commander. Before the war, before serving in military educational institutions, holding the positions of chief. regimental headquarters and deputy the chief of staff of the division, never commanded a formation or even a unit.

The 127th Rifle Division (3rd formation) was recruited on the Southern Front in May 1943 from personnel of the 52nd and 98th separate rifle brigades. The problems that always faced the newly formed formation were aggravated by the fact that the division had to advance in the main attack zone of the front. One can only note that in this case its commander, Colonel F.M. Rukhlenko, was an experienced and energetic commander. Having started the war as a regiment commander, from the spring of 1942 he commanded a number of divisions.

The 320th Infantry Division was less fortunate with its leadership. In the first six days of the operation, until July 22, the division was commanded by Colonel P.N. Krivulin, who was removed from office and put on trial by a military tribunal. He was replaced for a few days by Colonel Hero of the Soviet Union D.V. Kazak, who before this appointment was the commander of a rifle regiment and briefly commanded a division, and then by Major General I.I. Shvygin. The latter received the rank of general even before the war, commanded the Hanko fortified area and a rifle division on the Leningrad Front in 1941, and, arriving on the Southern Front in 1943, was appointed commander of the 40th Guards. rifle division, and on July 30 transferred to the 320th rifle division.

It is difficult to assess what kind of experience and ability to command a formation assigned to attack in the main direction had the commander of the 347th Infantry Division, Colonel A.Kh. Yukhimchuk, who commanded the regiment from the first days of the war, then held the post of chief of staff of the division and was appointed division commander only in May 1943, as well as the commander of the 387th Infantry Division, Colonel M.G. Krymov. Note that Krymov first took command of the division less than three weeks before the start of the operation, and before that he served in military intelligence, taught at military schools, was transferred to the reserve and again drafted into the Red Army in 1943.

The commander of the 28th Army, Lieutenant General V.F. Gerasimenko, served in the Red Army since the Civil War and, having gone through all the previous levels of command and staff work, while graduating from the Frunze Military Academy in 1931, became in 1935. chief of staff of the rifle division. In 1937, in an atmosphere of repression among the senior and senior command staff of the Red Army, Gerasimenko’s career took off, who was appointed commander of the rifle corps, and a year later deputy commander of the largest Kyiv military district. Since 1940, he has commanded the troops of the Volga Military District. The rapid growth of the young general at a time when many vacant positions appeared, caused not only by repression, but also by the deployment of new formations and associations of the Red Army, is not surprising. Worker-peasant origin, party membership since 1920, academic education and a certain, although insufficient for such high positions, experience in command and staff work, put Gerasimenko among the most promising military leaders of the Red Army.

In 1941, on the basis of the administration of the Volga Military District, the administration of the 21st Army was formed, and Vasily Filippovich became its commander. In June-July 1941, the 21st Army and the 13th Army, to which Gerasimenko was transferred, suffered heavy defeats, and therefore the commander was recalled to the command of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR, and then appointed deputy commander of the Reserve Front for the rear, later successively - assistant chief of logistics of the Red Army and commander of the troops of the Stalingrad Military District. In September 1942, in the extreme situation of the enemy offensive, when the enemy approached Stalingrad, Gerasimenko was again returned to a responsible combat post, appointed commander of the 28th Army. On a relatively calm section of the front, the 28th marched all the way to Rostov and further to the Miuss River. Both in the July battles on the Miuss Front and later, during the almost four-month offensive, until November 1943, he did not have any special opportunities to show himself as a promising military leader. Having handed over command of the 28th Army in November, Gerasimenko did not hold front-line positions until the end of the war. He was entrusted with the posts of commander of rear military districts.

Further north, in the central sector of the front, the stronger 5th Shock Army under the command of Lieutenant General V.D. Tsvetaev formed its battle formations along the left bank of the Miuss. The army was used to deliver the main attack on the second, northern sector, with seven rifle divisions. 4th Guards (Colonel S.I. Nikitin), 34th Guards. (Colonel F.V. Brailyan) and 40th Guards. (Colonel D.V. Kazak) rifle divisions were part of the 31st Guards. rifle corps, commanded by Major General A.I. Utvenko. The 96th Guards were directly subordinate to the army. (Colonel S.S. Levin), 126th (Colonel A.I. Kazartsev), 221st (Colonel I.I. Blazhevich), 315th (Colonel D.S. Kuropatenko) rifle divisions, as well as 1 -I'm Guards fighter brigade. . The army was strengthened by the 32nd Guards. tank brigade (Colonel F.A. Grinkevich) and the 22nd Guards. separate tank regiment.

4th Guards The rifle division was formed before the war as the 161st Rifle Division and transformed into a Guards Division in September 1941. The division took part in the Battle of Stalingrad, reached the Miuss River in the second half of February 1943, and until mid-March fought bloody but unsuccessful battles with the goal of breaking through the “Miuss Front”. Before the start of the July offensive, while on the defensive, it was replenished with personnel. The division commander, Colonel S.I. Nikitin, took office on the eve of the operation, in June 1943.

34th Guards The rifle division was formed in the summer of 1942 on the basis of the 7th Airborne Corps among eight airborne corps, reorganized into rifle divisions and advanced to the southern sector of the front. These divisions received the rank of guards during their formation, had well-trained personnel from paratroopers, but suffered heavy losses. As a result, by the summer of 1943, the rank and file of the divisions was almost completely renewed. 34th Guards The rifle division took part in the Battle of Stalingrad, then in the battles for Rostov and in February reached Miuss. Colonel F.V. Brailyan commanded the division since February 1942, after the death of its first commander, who had previously headed the 17th Airborne Corps, Major General I.I. Gubarevich.

40th Guards the rifle division was also formed in the summer of 1942 on the basis of the 6th Airborne Corps. The division was commanded by Colonel D.V. Kazak, appointed shortly before the start of the July offensive. As already mentioned, before this appointment he commanded an infantry regiment.

31st Guards The rifle corps, which controlled the three guards divisions listed above, was re-formed on the Southern Front in April 1943. Major General A.I. Utvenko, who had previously commanded the 33rd Guards, was appointed its commander at the same time. rifle division of the 2nd Guards. army. General Utvenko is a fairly famous military leader who wrote his name in the history of the Great Patriotic War. In the battles near Yelnya in August 1941, he commanded a rifle regiment, was noticed by the commander of the Western Front, G.K. Zhukov, and with the rank of major was appointed commander of the 19th Rifle Division. His immediate superior, Major General Ya.G. Kotelnikov, who commanded this division, was removed from office for “inactivity and failure to comply with combat orders” and the case was transferred to the military prosecutor. Utvenko successfully commanded the division in the heavy battles of the summer and autumn of the first war year, and in October, when the formation fell into the “Vyazma cauldron,” he fought his units out of encirclement. After reorganization, Utvenko's division took part in the counteroffensive near Moscow. Commanding the 33rd Guards. rifle division, Utvenko in the summer of 1942, on the distant approaches to Stalingrad, again withdrew the formation from the operational encirclement. The image of Utvenko is known to readers of the military prose of K. Simonov, who knew him personally and considered him a ready-made prototype for the hero of the novel. When the corps command and control level was recreated, the young general, who showed his best side as a division commander, received a higher appointment.

96th Guards The rifle division was formed in April 1942 as the 258th Rifle Division (2nd formation), participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, and then in the Rostov offensive operation, after which it reached Miuss. During the battles near Rostov, the division suffered heavy losses. In January 1943, for example, after leaving the operational encirclement, 128 people remained in the 405th Infantry Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel A.I. Tantsyura). In May 1943, the division and its regiments became guards. During the attack on Rostov, in January 1943, Lieutenant Colonel S.S. Levin was appointed division commander, who was awarded the next rank in March. Since 1924, after graduating from the infantry school, Levin held various command and staff positions. He fought from the very beginning of the war, before being appointed commander of the formation he was the chief of staff of the division.

The 126th Rifle Division, which took part in the Battle of Stalingrad, was practically destroyed in August 1942. On September 1, it had about 1 thousand personnel out of the original 13 thousand. without artillery. Since March 1943, the division was commanded by Colonel A.I. Kazartsev. His service took place in the Far East, where he held various command positions. After graduating from the Frunze Military Academy in 1936, Kazartsev moved to staff work and was the chief of staff of a rifle division and corps. Since the summer of 1942, as commander of the 87th Infantry Division, Kazartsev participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, however, in December of the same year, due to the enormous losses that the formation suffered, he was relieved of his post. Only in March 1943, during the operational pause, did he receive command of the 126th Infantry Division, which was hastily restored after the summer defeat of 1942 and continued to participate in hostilities.

The 221st Infantry Division was just finishing its formation, which was carried out on the basis of the 79th Infantry Brigade. Colonel I.I. Blazhevich held various command and staff positions before the war, was a teacher, and at the beginning of hostilities he was appointed commander of the airborne brigade of the 6th Airborne Corps, reorganized in 1942 into the 40th Infantry Division . Since August 1942, as commander of the rifle regiment of the 40th Guards. Infantry division Blazhevich participated in the battles on the Stalingrad and then the Southern fronts and first took the post of division commander three weeks before the start of the July offensive. The young division commander received a unit under his command, the combat strength of which was too early to talk about.

The 315th Infantry Division was formed in February 1942 and was introduced into the Active Army in August. The division took part in the Battle of Stalingrad and the Rostov offensive operation. The losses suffered by the formation in these battles were moderate for those times. Colonel D.S. Kuropatenko commanded a number of rifle divisions from February 1942, and in February 1943 he was put in charge of the 315th Rifle Division. Despite the fact that in December 1942 Kuropatenko was removed from command of the 126th Infantry Division of the Stalingrad Front, he was a fairly experienced commander who successfully coped with his duties. It was not without reason that in September 1943 he was awarded the rank of general.

The commander of the 5th Shock Army, Lieutenant General V.D. Tsvetaev, was undoubtedly a more prominent figure than the commanders mentioned above - Khomenko and Gerasimenko. It was not without reason that already in September 1943 he received the rank of colonel general, and in April 1945, for the successes of the armies he led and for his personal courage and heroism, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Only in 1943 did Tsvetaev join the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), ceasing to be a “black sheep” among the senior commanders of the Red Army in this regard. Having begun service in the tsarist army in 1913 and graduating from the Tiflis Military School, he commanded a company and battalion with the rank of lieutenant in the First World War. Since 1918, Tsvetaev continued to serve in the Red Army, participated in the Civil War, and commanded a division. In 1927 he completed the Advanced Courses for Senior Commanders at the Frunze Military Academy and in 1931 he was transferred to teaching at this academy. In 1937, Tsvetaev was returned to the command post, appointed commander of a rifle division. A year and a half after this appointment, Vyacheslav Dmitrievich was arrested and was in prison under investigation for more than a year. In 1939, after the case was terminated, he returned to the ranks of the Red Army and headed to the Frunze Military Academy, where a few months before the start of the war he became the head of the department.

During the military operations, Tsvetaev successfully commanded an operational group on the Karelian Front, was deputy army commander, and in December 1942 he took over 5 units. an army that took part in the Battle of Stalingrad as part of the Southwestern Front, in the Rostov offensive operation of 1943 as part of the Southern Front, and since the spring has occupied the defense on Miussa. At the head of one of Tolbukhin’s armies, aimed at breaking through the “Miuss Front,” there was thus a military leader with sufficient combat experience and outlook, with a high level of military culture by those standards.

The right flank of the Southern Front was provided by the 51st Army under the command of Lieutenant General G.F. Zakharov. The neighbor of the 51st Army on the right was the 3rd Guards. Army of the Southwestern Front. Seven rifle divisions were united under the control of the 51st Army. 50th Guards (Colonel K.A. Sergeev), 54th Guards. (Major General M.M. Danilov) and 91st (Colonel I.M. Pashkov) rifle divisions were part of the 3rd Guards. rifle corps., 87th (Colonel M.S. Ekhokhin), 302nd (Colonel A.P. Rodionov) and 346th (Major General D.I. Stankevsky) rifle divisions - part of the 54th Rifle Division Corps, 99th Infantry Division (Colonel D.A. Lisetsky) was under direct army subordination. The army was strengthened by the 6th Guards. tank brigade (Colonel V.F. Zhidkov). The 51st Army received an auxiliary task - through active offensive operations of three rifle divisions of the 54th Rifle Corps, pin down enemy forces and push them westward.

The most combat-ready component of G.F. Zakhrov’s army is the 3rd Guards. The rifle corps under the command of Major General A.I. Belov, two of whose three divisions were also guards, did not receive an active task in the auxiliary, pinning strike. Such a decision was in accordance with the Headquarters directive, which pointed to the need to preserve the combat potential of the guards formations, which consisted of the most experienced and stable troops. Guards formations were to be used only in the direction of the main attacks or for counterattacks in order to localize the enemy's obvious successes. 3rd Guards The rifle corps was formed in March 1943 as the 29th rifle corps of the Southwestern Front and was transformed into a guards corps in April, transferred to the Southern Front.

50th Guards the rifle division was formed at the end of 1941 as the 124th rifle division and in November 1942 it was transformed into a guards division. Like most divisions of the Southern Front, it took part in the Battle of Stalingrad. From July 1942 until his appointment in March 1943, the corps commander of the division was commanded by Major General A.I. Belov, who began the war as commander of a rifle regiment. In February 1943, he was replaced in this post by Colonel K.A. Sergeev.

54th Guards The rifle division, formed in April 1942 on the basis of the 51st Rifle Brigade as the 119th Rifle Division, also became a guards division during the Battle of Stalingrad, in December 1942. At the same time, Colonel M.M. Danilov was appointed commander of the division, He began the war as chief of staff of the regiment and, from May 1942, commanded a rifle regiment before being appointed to the division. In January 1943, Danilov became a major general. Along with the presentation of the Guards banner to the division, the assignment of the rank of general to its commander shows that the command highly appreciated the results of Danilov’s activities during the Battle of Stalingrad.

The 91st Rifle Division was formed at the beginning of 1942 in the Transcaucasian Military District, in April 1942 it was introduced into the Active Army and in August it was advanced to the Stalingrad direction. Two days before the start of the July offensive on Miusse, Colonel I.M. Pashkov, who had commanded a number of divisions since the beginning of 1942, was appointed division commander.

The 54th Rifle Corps was formed on the Southern Front only in June 1943. Major General T.K. Kolomiets, who in 1942 commanded a combined arms army and was demoted to the corps, was appointed commander of the corps. The corps directorate, formed during the operational pause, did not have time before the start of the July offensive, like many other corps-level directorates, which is quite natural, to acquire the necessary experience in managing troops.

The 87th Rifle Division was formed in March 1942 (3rd formation) and from July 1942 it operated in the Stalingrad direction, took part in the attack on Rostov and at the end of February 1943 reached Miuss. From December 1942, the division was commanded by a lieutenant colonel, from February 1943 by Colonel M.S. Ekhokhin, who replaced Colonel A.I. Kazartsev, who was removed from his post after heavy losses suffered by the division, as mentioned above. Previously, Ekhokhin did not command a rifle division; he served as chief of staff of a cavalry division. Having gone through many months of intense battles with the formation, by the beginning of the July offensive of 1943 he had acquired some experience in command at the division level. Ekhokhin died literally in the last days of the operation, on August 2, 1943.

The 302nd Rifle Division was formed in the summer of 1941 as a mountain rifle division. From the beginning of 1942, it fought in the Crimea and the North Caucasus, from July - in the Stalingrad direction, and participated in the Rostov offensive operation in January-February 1943. From February 1943, the division was commanded by Colonel A.P. Rodionov.

The 346th Rifle Division, formed in August 1941, operated on the Western Front, then was transferred to the Stalingrad direction. From November 1942, the division was commanded by Major General D.I. Stankevsky, his command was not unsuccessful, judging by the fact that in February 1943 he was awarded the rank of general.

The 99th Rifle Division, which was directly subordinate to the army commander, was formed only in May 1943 on the basis of the 99th Rifle Brigade and could not achieve a high level of combat effectiveness during this time. From the moment of its formation, the division was commanded by Colonel D.A. Lisetsky.

The commander of the 51st Army, G.F. Zakharov, was a figure no less prominent than V.D. Tsvetaev. Like Tsvetaev, he participated in the First World War, commanding a company with the rank of second lieutenant. From 1918 he served in the Red Army, in 1919 he joined the RCP (b). In the period between the wars, while at command posts, he continued his military education, graduating from the Shot courses in 1923, from the Frunze Military Academy in 1933, and from the General Staff Military Academy in 1939, which in itself promoted him to the ranks of promising commanders of the Red Army. It is quite understandable why, after graduating from the academy, given his worker-peasant origin and level of education, Zakharov was appointed chief of staff of the Ural Military District. On the eve of the war, after the district headquarters was transformed into the headquarters of the 22nd Army, Zakharov became its chief.

As chief of staff of the army, having gone through heavy battles with the Western Front in the first months of the war, Zakharov was appointed in August as chief of staff of the Bryansk Front. During the Battle of Moscow, being deputy commander of the troops of the Western Front, he came under the direct leadership of G.K. Zhukov, who appreciated the abilities of his deputy and namesake. It was not without reason that since 1942, Georgy Fedorovich, on the recommendation of Zhukov, was sent to replace the displaced generals in order to rectify the situation in the most critical sectors of the front and held the posts of chief of staff of the North Caucasus direction, the South-Eastern Front, which defended Stalingrad, and deputy commander of the troops of the Stalingrad Front.

Zakharov commanded the 51st Army from February 1943. As already mentioned, during the July battles on the Miuss River, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Guards. army instead of Y.G. Kreiser, who was removed from office. For almost six months in 1944, Zakharov commanded the 2nd Belorussian Front, received the rank of army general, and then again became the head of the army, this time the 4th Guards. The demotion was due to the fact that, on the personal instructions of Stalin, Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief Marshal G.K. Zhukov was simultaneously appointed commander of the 1st Belorussian Front. In this regard, Marshal G.K. Rokossovsky, who held this position, moved to command the 2nd Belorussian Front, replacing Zakharov. However, commanding the 4th Guards. army, and then as deputy commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front, Zakharov found himself in the center of intense battles on Lake Balaton, as a result strengthening his authority as a major military leader. During the war, he turned out to be one of the few who avoided removal from their positions for obvious or imaginary failures and omissions in their activities, although he was not awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The 2nd Guards was deployed in the second front echelon. army under the command of Lieutenant General Ya.G. Kreizer, the most powerful and combat-ready army of the Southern Front, which was intended to develop success in the direction of the main attack. 2nd Guards The army was formed according to the order of the Headquarters of October 23, 1942 on the basis of the 1st Reserve Army. The formation was carried out in the rear of the country, in the areas of Tambov, Ranenburg, Michurinsk and Morshansk. Until the end of December, going through the stage of staffing and training of personnel, the army remained in the Headquarters Reserve, at the decisive stage of the Battle of Stalingrad it was introduced into the Stalingrad Front and then became subordinate to the Southern Front. Under the control of the 2nd Guards. Before the start of the July operation on Miuss, the army consisted of six rifle divisions. 24th Guards (Major General P.K. Koshevoy), 33rd Guards. (Colonel I.V. Gribov) and 86th Guards. (Colonel V.P. Sokolovsky) rifle divisions were part of the 1st Guards. Rifle Corps, 3rd Guards. (Major General K.A. Tsalikov), 9th Guards. (Colonel G.Ya. Kolesnikov) and 87th Guards. rifle divisions (Colonel K.Ya. Tymchik) - part of the 13th Guards. rifle corps. Two mechanized corps were introduced into the 2nd Army - the 2nd Guards. mechanized corps (Major General K.V. Sviridov) and 4th Guards. mechanized corps (Lieutenant General of Tank Forces T.I. Tanaschishin).

When forming the 1st Guards. The rifle corps used the already existing command and corps units that arrived from the North-Western Front, where the rifle formations of this corps remained, embroiled in heavy fighting. The corps headquarters gained sufficient experience during the war, and the command was headed by Major General I. I. Missan, who also arrived from the North-Western Front. From the beginning of the war, he commanded the 180th Infantry Division, which was reorganized for military merit into the 28th Guards, showing himself to be the best division commander. Having no previous leadership experience at the corps level and not even having previously operated with his division as part of a corps formation, he could rely on the support and experience of his headquarters.

24th Guards rifle division before being transferred to the Headquarters Reserve in October and joining the 2nd Guards. The army fought heavy battles on the Volkhov Front in the Sinyavino area and suffered heavy losses. When staffing up to full staff strength more than 13 thousand people. The division received cadets from military schools and sailors from the Pacific Fleet as reinforcements, which made it possible to prepare well-trained and disciplined units at the reorganization stage. Since July 1942, the division was commanded by Major General P.K. Koshevoy, who was awarded the rank of general in October of the same year. Before the war, having graduated from the Frunze Military Academy, he served as chief of staff of the division and in 1940 was appointed commander of the division, which was included in the Army in November 1941. By the beginning of the operation on the Miuss River, he was one of the most skillful, experienced, and promising commanders of the Red Army. It was not without reason that in August 1943 Pyotr Kirillovich was appointed corps commander.

33rd Guards The rifle division was formed on the basis of the 3rd Airborne Corps in May 1943 and in the summer of the same year received a baptism of fire on the distant approaches to Stalingrad. In the fall, it was allocated for reorganization and replenished the thinned personnel of paratroopers with Komsomol volunteers and sailors of the Pacific Fleet, which made it possible to prepare units no less trained and disciplined than in the 24th Guards Rifle Division. From April 1943, the division was commanded by Major General N.I. Seliverstov, who at the same time received the rank of Major General. Judging by his promotion in rank, he successfully commanded the 347th Rifle Division before this new appointment and replaced Major General A.I. Utvenko, who was transferred to command the 31st Rifle Corps of the 5th Infantry Division. army.

86th Guards The rifle division was transformed from the 98th Rifle Division, which in October 1942, not yet a guards division, became part of the 2nd Guards. army. Colonel V.P. Sokolovsky commanded the division from May 1943.

For the 13th Guards. Rifle Corps of Major General P.G. Chanchibadze, the department was created again only in November 1943. Chanchibadze, like Missan, also had no experience of leadership at the corps level; before his new appointment, he commanded the included corps of the 49th Guards . rifle division. In addition, the newly appointed commander was deprived of much-needed assistance from a truly efficient headquarters, newly formed under his command. However, by the time of the operation on Miussa, after the battles through which the formation went through during the Battle of Stalingrad, a certain positive shift in this regard could not but occur. Composition of the divisions of the 1st Guards. and 13th Guards. The rifle corps has not undergone major changes since its formation in October–November, which also contributed to an increase in the level of command and control.

3rd Guards The rifle division, among the first four, became a guards division in the difficult September days of 1941, having been transformed from the 153rd rifle division. Major General K.A. Tsalikov commanded the formation since October 1942, when the division was transferred to the General Headquarters reserve and became part of the 2nd Guards. army. After infantry school, from 1932 Tsalikov commanded a platoon and company, and then, having graduated from the Frunze Military Academy in 1938, he was soon appointed chief of staff of the division. Having started the war in that position, he was already placed at the head of the division in September 1941, showing himself to be a skillful and proactive leader. In November 1942, Tsalikov was awarded the rank of major general.

49th Guards the rifle division became a guards division, like the 3rd Guards, among the first in September 1941 (2nd Guards Motorized Rifle Division). In October 1942, after the General Headquarters was transferred to the reserve, it was transferred to the 2nd Guards. Army and reorganized into the 49th Guards, and its commander P.G. Chanchibadze was transferred to the post of commander of the 13th Guards. rifle corps. In April 1943, Colonel G.Ya. Kolesnikov took command of the division.

87th Guards The rifle division in April 1943 was transformed into a guards division for successes in the battles for Stalingrad from the 300th rifle division. Was under army subordination in the 2nd Guards. army and after being awarded the rank of guards was included in the 13th Guards. rifle corps (instead of the 387th rifle division that had been part of it since the formation). Colonel K.Ya. Tymchik, who began the war as a regiment commander, commanded the division from February 1943, taking office with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

2nd Guards mechanized corps, commanded by Major General K.V. Sviridov (4th Guards, 5th Guards and 6th Guards Mechanized Brigades, 37th Guards Tank Brigade, 99th Motorcycle Battalion, 744- 1st separate anti-tank fighter division, 408th separate guards mortar division of rocket launchers) was deployed during the formation of the 2nd Guards. army based on the 22nd Guards. rifle division. The division's rifle units and separate tank brigades were formed. Commanded the 22nd Guards. rifle division K.V. Sviridov, who took command of the corps, and the divisional control became the corps control of the armored forces formation. It is unlikely that such an urgent change in the nature of combat activity was without complications, but over the six months during which the corps went through difficult military trials, a certain amount of experience at all levels of the formation, experience in command and staff activities, was acquired and accumulated.

4th Guards mechanized corps (13th Guards, 14th Guards and 15th Guards Mechanized Brigades, 36th Guards Tank Brigade, 62nd Motorcycle Battalion, 348th Separate Guards Mortar Division of rocket launchers, 591- th anti-aircraft artillery regiment), commanded by Lieutenant General of Tank Forces T.I. Tanaschishin, 2nd Guards. The army was reinforced on the eve of the operation. The corps was reorganized from the 13th Tank Corps, which was introduced into the Army in June 1942. In January 1943, the corps became a guards mechanized corps and became part of the troops of the Southern Front.

In addition to the listed formations, the 2nd Guards. armies included the 7th Guards. a separate breakthrough tank regiment and the 1543rd heavy self-propelled artillery regiment, which was transferred to the direct subordination of the 2nd Guards. mechanized corps.

It should be noted that all rifle divisions of the 2nd Guards. The armies were guards and were consolidated into guards rifle corps, all brigades of the guards mechanized corps were also guards. In December 1942, the number of personnel and weapons of the guards rifle divisions were expanded compared to other formations, in particular, the number of mortar and artillery weapons and automatic small arms increased. However, the capabilities of rifle formations without reinforcement, primarily by field and anti-tank artillery of the RVGK and tanks for direct infantry support, did not allow them to independently solve combat missions both in the offensive and in defense. To successfully solve problems, mechanized corps could not do without reinforcement with artillery units.

Commander of the 2nd Guards. army Ya.G. Kreiser served in the Red Army since 1921, and since 1928 - in the 1st Moscow Proletarian Division. He went through all levels of command positions, from platoon commander to regiment commander. In addition to the infantry school, which he graduated from in 1923, he had command courses “Shot” under his belt. In 1939, the rifle regiments of the formation were reorganized into divisions, and Kreiser was appointed assistant commander, and then, at the age of 34, commander of the 172nd Rifle Division. After completing short-term training courses for command personnel at the Frunze Military Academy in 1941, on the eve of the war, he became commander of the 1st Motorized Division. This division was stationed in the Moscow Military District, being the successor to the 1st Moscow Proletarian Division, and remained exemplary, participating in parades in Moscow and demonstration exercises. Red Army soldiers and commanders of this division underwent additional selection.

One of the best formations of the Red Army, led by a decisive and courageous commander, distinguished itself in heavy defensive battles on the Berezina in July 1941, and Colonel Kreizer, among the first senior commanders, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Since August 1941, Yakov Grigorievich has commanded the 3rd Army, however, the young and untrained army commander was unable to fully cope with the tasks facing the formation commander. In December 1941, Kreiser was recalled from the front, underwent a short-term retraining course at the Military Academy of the General Staff, after which he fought as deputy army commander until October 1942. In October - November Kreiser was placed at the head of the 2nd Guards. The army, which was at the stage of formation in the Reserve Headquarters, did not conduct combat operations. Only in February 1943, after the participation of the 2nd Guards. army in the Battle of Stalingrad under the command of Lieutenant General R.Ya. Malinovsky and its transition to defense at Miussa, the Headquarters considered it possible, taking into account the strong-willed qualities and authority among his subordinates, to appoint Kreiser as commander of the current formation. Not being an outstanding military leader, he remained in command until the end of the war, unable to avoid being transferred to the same position in the 51st Army during the July battles on Miuss, which then and subsequently operated in secondary sectors of the front.

The front reserve consisted of the 4th Guards. cavalry corps (9th and 10th Guards, 30th Cavalry Divisions) Lieutenant General T.T. Shapkin and 140th Tank Brigade (Colonel I.M. Babenko). In the Rostov area there were the 1st Guards, 78th and 116th fortified areas (URs). The front also consisted of four separate divisions of armored trains - the 28th, 30th, 33rd and 46th, which were supposed , despite their vulnerability, especially from enemy tanks and aircraft, to be actively used, taking into account the developed railway network of Donbass. On the Southern Front in the summer of 1943, armored trains were mainly used together with units of the 44th Army to cover the sea coast on the left flank, as well as to protect railway communications in the immediate operational rear of the front.

Artillery support for units and formations, along with military artillery, was provided by the artillery of the RVGK, transferred to the disposal of the front. At the same time, as a rule, a heavy cannon artillery regiment, a mortar regiment, an anti-tank artillery regiment and an anti-aircraft artillery regiment were organizationally introduced into each combined arms army on a permanent basis, while remaining a means of the RVGK.

The artillery group of the RVGK of the Southern Front, including army artillery, consisted of the 4th Guards. light artillery brigade, 6th Guards. and 114th cannon artillery brigade, 5th Guards. howitzer artillery brigade, 20th Guards. howitzer artillery brigade BM and the 33rd mortar brigade, which were under the control of the 2nd Guards. breakthrough artillery division, six separate cannon (heavy cannon) artillery regiments - 110th Guards, 506th, 1095th, 1101st, 1105th, 1162nd, three separate howitzer artillery regiments - 85th Guards ., 274th, 331st, two anti-tank artillery brigades - 8th and 15th and twelve separate anti-tank artillery regiments - 13th, 113th Guards, 14th, 521st , 530th, 747th, 764th, 1246th, 1250th, 1255th, 491st, 507th, 19th mortar brigade and five separate mortar regiments - 113th Guards, 125th, 483rd, 488th, 489th.

All of the listed artillery formations and units, most from the very beginning of the operation, some, like the 8th anti-tank artillery brigade, were transferred to the operational subordination of the combined arms armies at the beginning of the offensive. The exception was the 7th Guards. cannon artillery regiment from the 6th Guards. cannon artillery brigade, which remained in the front reserve.

The front-line operational group of guards mortar units (rocket-propelled mortars), which increased the fire impact on enemy battle formations, included the 13th Guards. mortar brigade and seven guards. mortar regiments - 2nd Guards, 4th Guards, 19th Guards, 21st Guards, 23rd Guards, 48th Guards, 51st Guards.

Air defense was provided by the 2nd, 18th and 15th anti-aircraft artillery divisions attached to all three armies, which were assigned offensive missions in the main direction. Air cover for the troops was also provided by five separate anti-aircraft artillery regiments of the MZA - 77th Guards, 607th, 1485th, 1530th and 1617th, with one to two additional regiments for each army. In addition, the 223rd, 416th, 459th and 622nd separate anti-aircraft artillery regiments covered the rear facilities of the front, and the 1600th, 1601st, 1602nd and 1603rd – the airfields of the 8th Air Army . Considering the length of the front line, the depth of the combat formations of the troops and the presence of numerous rear facilities, the front anti-aircraft artillery group could not carry out its tasks at the proper level.

Notes and appendices - References - see

Abstract on the topic:

180th Rifle Division (1st formation)

Plan:

Introduction

• 1 History
• 2 Full name
• 3 Composition
• 4 Submission
• 5 Commanders
• 6 Interesting facts

Introduction

In total, the 180th Infantry Division was formed 2 times. See list of other formations

180th Rifle Division, military unit of the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War.

1. History

Formed in August-September 1940, after the annexation of Estonia to the USSR, as part of the 22nd Rifle Corps on the basis of the 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions of the Estonian People's Army. The division's personnel remained in the uniform of the Estonian army, but with Soviet insignia. It must be borne in mind that until December 31, 1939, there was another 180th Infantry Division, on the basis of which, in particular, the Yeletsk and Oryol infantry schools were created.

In the active army during the Great Patriotic War from June 22, 1941 to May 3, 1942.

On June 22, 1941, it was stationed in Võru and Petseri, but did not take part in the border battle.

From July 1, 1941, it was transferred by rail to Porkhov; from July 2, 1941, it was concentrated in the Porkhov area; on July 3, 1941, three echelons of the division arrived; there were 9 echelons on the way.

On July 4, 1941, the division had: command personnel - 1030 people, junior command personnel - 1160 people, rank and file - 9132 people. Total - 11322 people. Horses - 3039. Rifles - 11645, mortars - 35, light machine guns - 535, heavy machine guns - 212, large-caliber - 3, anti-aircraft - 24, DP - 5, walkie-talkies - 0, 37 mm guns - 31, 45 mm - 58, 76 mm - 74, 76 mm anti-aircraft - 4, 122 mm - 14, 152 mm - 12, armored vehicles - 6, motor vehicles - 72.

By July 8, 1941, it took up defense near Porkhov at the Shakhnovo-Zhiglevo line, entered into battles with enemy reconnaissance units, and from July 9, 1941 - with the main units.

With the outbreak of hostilities, the division experienced mass desertions and defections to the enemy.

“A significant part of the Estonian commanders and Red Army soldiers went over to the side of the Germans. There is enmity and distrust of Estonians among the fighters.”

However, one should not a priori classify any Estonian as a defector; a sufficient number fought with dignity against the German troops.

By July 11, 1941, the division was forced to leave Porkhov, crossed to the eastern bank of the Shelon, retreating to the Dno, and was again attacked by the enemy south of the Dno on July 18, 1941, after which the division retreated towards Staraya Russa.

By July 28, 1941, the division retreated to the area northwest of Staraya Russa, where it was almost immediately attacked. Conducts fierce battles on the northern approaches to Staraya Russa, in particular for the village of Nagovo, after which the division retreated to the area of ​​​​Senobaza and Dubovits. To the left of the division the 254th Infantry Division was fighting. Particularly heavy fighting in the division's zone took place on August 4, 1941, when the division's defense was broken through, and on August 8, 1941, when the division was forced to retreat beyond Staraya Russa and further east to the Parfino region, crossing the Lovat River on August 13, 1941

Counterattacks in the area of ​​Staraya Russa, Kholm (1941)

The division went on the offensive from the Parfino area on August 15, 1941, crossed Lovat on August 15, 1941, fought in Staraya Russa on August 17, 1941, liberating most of the city with other units, but was forced to leave the city on August 20-21, 1941, 22 August 1941, having again crossed to the eastern bank of Lovat and by that time having lost up to 60% of its personnel in battles.

Leaving Staraya Russa, the division retreated to the village of Dubrovy on the Kolpinka River east of Lake Peipsi, where in the former Polava region at the border of the villages of Bolshoye Volosko - Bykovo - Navelye - Kulakovo - Dreglo - Shkvarets - Pustynka, it took up defense. On August 29-31, 1941, she fought with the enemy, who was striving for the Novgorod-Valdai highway and managed to stop the enemy troops. In that place there now stands an obelisk with the inscription: “At this line, the soldiers of the 180th Infantry Division stopped the advance of the Nazi troops on August 31.”

After this, the division is located approximately on the same lines, occupying a line 40-45 kilometers long and waging constant private battles, so, on September 26, 1941, it was fighting on the line: Bolshoye Volosko, Kulakovo, Dreglo, Tsyblovo, Gorodok, Lutovnya.

Demyansk offensive operation (1942)

On January 7, 1941, it went on the offensive during the Demyansk offensive operation. In the offensive, the division was supported by the 29th separate ski battalion, 30th separate ski battalion, 150th separate tank battalion, 246th corps artillery regiment and 614th corps artillery regiment; from the rear it attacked the fortified point of the 290th infantry division Yuryevo on the shore of Lovat, then continued the attack on Parfino and Pola. Having reached Parfino with all its equipment through impassable swamps, only by February 9, 1942, the division, together with the 254th Infantry Division, liberated Parfino, and on February 23, 1942, Pola, then continued the offensive.

On March 25, 1942, the division was hastily, on a 100-kilometer march, transferred to the line of the Redya River, where it repelled the desperate attacks of German troops in the area of ​​​​the villages of Malye and Bolshie Gorby

2. Full name

180th Rifle Division

3. Composition

• 21st Infantry Regiment
• 42nd Infantry Regiment
• 86th Infantry Regiment
• 627th Artillery Regiment
• 629th Howitzer Artillery Regiment (until 10/04/1941)
• 15th separate anti-tank fighter division
• 321st anti-aircraft battery (150th separate anti-aircraft artillery division)
• 90th reconnaissance company (90th reconnaissance battalion)
• 33rd Engineer Battalion
• 137th separate communications battalion
• 9th Medical Battalion
• 182nd separate chemical defense company
• 383rd Motor Transport Company (until 10/10/1941 383rd Motor Transport Battalion)
• 440th field bakery
• 46th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
• 787th Field Postal Station
• 467th field cash desk of the State Bank

4. Submission

5. Commanders

• Missan, Ivan Ilyich (06/03/1941 - 05/03/1942), colonel

6. Interesting facts

• In the fall of 1992, nearby in the Demyansky district, searchers found a buried safe in which the battle banner of the 86th Infantry Regiment was discovered - one of only three such post-war finds.

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This abstract is based on an article from Russian Wikipedia. Synchronization completed 07/16/11 20:52:19
Similar abstracts: 41 separate rifle brigades were formed on the basis of the Order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR I.V. Stalin No. 00105 dated October 14, 1941 in pursuance of the Resolution of the State Defense Committee No. 796ss of October 14, 1941 from October 20, 1941 in the Siberian Military District in the city of Tatarsk, Novosibirsk region according to the staff of the cadet rifle brigade. The brigade was staffed by cadets from military schools and regimental schools of the Siberian Military District, political fighters conscripted by local party bodies, soldiers recovering from injury, as well as soldiers and commanders called up by the local RVC from the reserves and mobilization. Colonel Mikhail Gavrilovich Kryukov was appointed commander of the brigade, and regimental commissar Stepan Romanovich Frolov was appointed military commissar of the brigade. .
Compound:
- 3 separate rifle battalions (715 people each)
- separate artillery division of regimental guns (eight 76 mm guns)
- separate anti-tank artillery division (12 57 mm caliber guns)
- separate mortar division (16 82 mm mortars and 8 120 mm mortars)
- separate mortar battalion (82 mm mortars)
- separate company of machine gunners
- separate reconnaissance company
- separate company of anti-tank rifles (consisting of 2 platoons)
- separate air defense platoon
- separate communications battalion
- separate sapper company
- separate automobile company
- separate medical and sanitary company
- field postal station 1599
In total, the brigade consisted of 4,334 people, 149 light and heavy machine guns, 612 PPSh machine guns, 48 ​​anti-tank rifles, 178 vehicles and 818 horses.
On December 6, 1941, the 41st separate rifle brigade loaded at the TATAR station of the West Siberian Railway and left in echelon for the Western Front. From December 18 to 22, 1941, the brigade unloaded at the ZAGORSK station (now the city of SERGIEV POSAD) in the Moscow region, where it became part of the 1st Shock Army of the Western Front. According to the combat orders of the headquarters of the 1st Shock Army, the 41st separate rifle brigade from December 23 to 28, marching along the route: the village of MITINO, Sergiev Posad district - the city of DMITROV - the city of YAKHROMA, Dmitrov district - the village of KONOVOVO - the village of SPASSKOE, Klin district. According to the combat order of the headquarters of the 1st Shock Army No. 0141 dated December 29, 1941, by 17:00 on December 30, 1941, it reached the concentration point - the village of CHASCH, Volokolamsk district, Moscow region. Along the route, units and units of the brigade were additionally armed with small arms, mortars and anti-tank rifles.
At 20 o'clock on December 30, 1941, the 3rd separate rifle battalion of the brigade of captain Sergei Alexandrovich GAVRILOV replaced units of the 62nd separate rifle brigade near the village of BOTOVO, Volokolamsk district, Moscow region, on the night of January 3, 1942, the remaining units and subunits of the brigade replaced the 29th separate rifle brigade in positions near village of BORODINO, Lotoshinsky district, Moscow region. From 10:30 a.m. on January 4, 1942, the brigade advanced with the task of capturing the village of BRENEVO, Lotoshinsky district, Moscow region. The main blow was delivered by the 1st separate rifle battalion of senior lieutenant Konstantin Vasilyevich FOKIN, located on the left flank. The offensive was delayed by strong enemy artillery and mortar fire. On the night of January 5, units of the brigade were forced to retreat to their original positions. On January 5, the brigade received an order with 1 and 2 separate rifle units to again advance on BRENEVO. Due to heavy losses, the offensive was disrupted. The night attack on the village was also thwarted. During the offensive, the chief of the 2nd part of the brigade headquarters, senior lieutenant BABINTSEV Stepan Aleksandrovich, his assistant senior lieutenant ZHILENKO Nikolai Alexandrovich, the commander of the 1st rifle battalion, senior lieutenant FOKIN Konstantin Vasilyevich, his chief of staff lieutenant TRAPEZNIKOV Ivan Kirillovich, military commissars of the 1st and 2nd separate rifle battalions were seriously wounded , a separate mortar battalion, almost all rifle company commanders and their deputies, platoon commanders, as well as many other brigade officers were killed or wounded.
On the night of January 6, the main forces of the brigade were joined by the 3rd separate rifle battalion, which arrived from the area of ​​the village of BOTOVO. The battalion received orders in the morning to attack the village of BRENEVO, advancing on the left flank. The 2nd separate rifle battalion advanced on the right flank, the 1st battalion in the second echelon. From 12.30 to 14.30 artillery preparation was carried out. At 14:30, the battalions reached their starting position for the attack and, coming under heavy enemy mortar fire, suffered heavy losses: in the 3rd separate rifle battalion alone, 13 people were killed and 103 were wounded. Having failed to achieve success in the offensive, the brigade, by order of the headquarters of the 1st Shock Army, stopped the offensive. Having set up a strong military guard, the units retreated to a grove 1 km north of BRENEVO. On January 7, 1942, the 41st separate rifle brigade received the task of going on the defensive and holding a grove 1 km north of the village of BRENEVO.
On January 10, 1942, at 8 a.m., the troops of the right wing of the Western Front, consisting of the 1st Shock, 20th and 16th armies, after an hour and a half of artillery preparation, launched a decisive offensive near VOLOKOLAMSK in the general direction of the city of GZHATSK.
The threat of encirclement arose for the Nazi troops located on the territory of the Lotoshinsky district. Hitler's command decided to withdraw troops from the Lotoshin ledge. On the night of January 10-11, 1942, the 2nd and 3rd separate rifle battalions of the 41st separate rifle brigade undertook reconnaissance in force, assigning one reinforced platoon each to carry out this task. Having reached a line 100 meters from Brenevo, the platoons, under the influence of strong machine-gun and mortar fire from the enemy, were withdrawn to their original position, losing 9 people killed and 28 wounded. On January 15, 1942, by order of the headquarters of the 1st Shock Army, the brigade took over the sector on the right flank of the 44th separate rifle brigade. On the morning of January 16, the Germans began to retreat, burning settlements behind them and mining roads.
By the end of January 16, 1942, 41 separate rifle brigades liberated the villages and villages: Plaksino, Brenevo, Chekchino, Gory, Vorobyovo, Oreshki, Gavrilovo, Lotoshino, Mamonovo, Astrenevo, Izdatel, Vysochki, Luzhki, Staro-Lisino, Ushakovo, and January 17 went to the village of Mikhalevo, Lotoshtnsky district, Moscow region. In the village of Ushakovo, the Germans abandoned a large-caliber cannon during their retreat. The brigade headquarters gave the order to the 2nd separate rifle battalion from the village of Turovo at 3 a.m. on January 17 to pursue the enemy along the route: the village of Lotoshino, the villages of Redkino, Streshnevy Gory, Dulepovo, Lotoshino district. January 17, 1942 Colonel M.G. Kryukov handed over the brigade to Lieutenant Colonel Miroshnichenko. Having brought up the rear and artillery in the area of ​​the village of Mikhalevo, the brigade launched an attack on the village of Ramenye, Shakhovsky district, Moscow region, from 15:30 on January 17, 1942. The enemy, withdrawing the main forces to the west, in the area of ​​​​the village of Ramenye, the village of Voskresenskoye, Shakhovsky district, Moscow region, left large rearguards, reinforced with mortars and machine guns. At 7 o'clock on January 19 the village of Ramenye was occupied, and at 7 o'clock 30 minutes the ancient village of Voskresenskoye was occupied. The enemy hastily retreated to the villages of Manezh and Ploskoye, Shakhovsky district. During the retreat, the Germans set fire to the northern part of the village. The attack on the village of Ramenye was carried out boldly and decisively, despite heavy mortar fire, soldiers of the 3rd separate rifle battalion quickly burst into the village through the fire of burning buildings and did not allow the southern and eastern parts of the village to be set on fire, as well as to blow up ammunition depots and a church prepared for explosion Resurrection of the Word. Without stopping in Ramenye and Voskresensky, the battalions of the brigade, pursuing the enemy, by 13 o'clock the main forces entered the village of Ploskoye, and the advanced units reached the villages of Yakutino, Zuborevo, Torzhok district of the Kalinin (now Tver) region.
During the pursuit of the enemy, units and units of the brigade liberated the village of Ramenskoye, the villages of Voskresenskoye, Pyankino, Kharitonovo, Novo-Mikhailovskoye, Manezh, Ploskoye, Tarasovo in the Shakhovsky district of the Moscow region, Yakutino and Zuborevo in the Torzhoksky district of the Kalinin (now Tver) region. During the occupation of these villages, the brigade blew up 2 planes and captured rich trophies: 3 tanks, 2 tractors, 158 cars, 7 motorcycles, 4 machine guns, 2 tractors, 2 ammunition depots. For successful military operations, the commander and commissar of the 41st separate rifle brigade were thanked by order of the Commander of the Western Front No. 033/op dated January 22, 1942.
Having made a march on the orders of the commander of the 1st Shock Army, the 41st separate rifle brigade by January 22, 1942 concentrated in the villages of Kopylovo, Kryukovo, Semchino, Nekrasino, the workers' village of Turkmen, Klinsky district, Moscow region, where units and subunits were putting themselves in order until February 2, 1942 , received reinforcements, were equipped with weapons, equipment and horses, and were engaged in combat training. The units were located crowded, because some villages were burned during the retreat of the Germans. For example, in the village of Nekrasino, out of 56 households, only 16 remain.
For the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command on the front of the fight against the German invaders in the battles near Moscow and the valor and courage shown at the same time, on behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, by order to the troops of the Western Front No. 0100 of January 30, 1942, 37 soldiers and commanders of 41 separate rifle brigades awarded orders and medals, of which the Order of the Red Banner - 2 people (Lieutenant Grigory Ivanovich Golovach posthumously), the Order of the Red Star - 14 people, the Medal "For Courage" - 15 people (Lieutenant Ivan Fedorovich Koshkin and Red Army soldier Andrei Akimovich Kanupa posthumously), the medal "For military merit" - 6 people.
On February 2, 1942, 41 separate rifle brigades as part of the 1st Shock Army were sent to the Northwestern Front in the area of ​​Staraya Russa. Here forces were gathered to destroy the 16th fascist army surrounded in the “Demyanov cauldron”. From February 2 to 4, on the basis of a combat order from the headquarters of the 1st Shock Army, units and divisions of the brigade loaded at the Reshetnikovo station of the Oktyabrskaya railway in the Klin district of the Moscow region, from where they departed in five echelons to the Lyubnitsa station of the Oktyabrskaya railway in the Valdai district of the Novgorod region. By 12 o'clock on February 9, 1942, the brigade unloaded at the Lyubnitsa station and marched in echelon to the concentration area: the villages of Lyskovo - Kraskovo (now do not exist) of the Starorussky district of the Leningrad (now Novgorod) region. On February 12, 1942, the brigade concentrated in the area of ​​​​the villages of Sychevo and Davydovo, Starorussky District, and on February 13, 1942, according to the combat order of the headquarters of the 1st Shock Army, it took up defense along the northwestern edge of the grove, 2 km south of the village of Lipovets (now the Lipovitsy tract) of the Starorussky District, replacing battalion of the 188th rifle division.
Since February 15, 1942, 41 separate rifle brigades as part of the 11th Army of the North-Western Front fought for almost a month in the area: the village of Sychevo, a grove east of Derevkovo, the village of Chirikovo, Starorussky district, Leningrad (now Novgorod) region.
On February 15, 1942, the enemy continued to defend itself along the entire front of the 11th Army. The 41st Special Brigade, together with the 254th Infantry Division, from 15.00, in cooperation with units of the 1st Shock Army, went on the offensive and fought for the villages of Chirikovo and Derevkovo. As a result of the day's battle, the Soviet units of the villages of Chirikovo and Derevkovo were not occupied due to heavy enemy fire.
On February 18, 1942, the 41st Brigade firmly held the defense line: the villages of Bolshaya Kozina, Malaya Kozina and east of the village of Chirikovo.
From February 22 to 24, 1942, units of the 11th Army fought in separate sectors in small formations with the goal of pinning down the enemy and preventing him from drawing forces to the 1st Shock Army sector. Intensified reconnaissance by combat and observation was carried out. The enemy in some areas tried to restore their position and push back the Soviet units: from the direction of Veresokovo to the Bolshevik collective farm, Shishimorovo, from Novoselitsa, Malovo to Lukino, from Rashacha to Bol. and Mal. Voronovo, but all enemy attempts were repelled with heavy losses. During the night and day of February 24, 1942, the 41st Special Brigade handed over the defense line in the forest area east of Chirikovo to units of the 180th Infantry Brigade.
From April 8 to May 4, 1942, the 41st separate rifle brigade as part of the 1st Shock Army fought fierce battles in the Borisovo-Ramushevo highway area. The enemy, trying to break through to the encircled 16th Army, sent large forces with tanks and aircraft. Units of the brigade saddled the highway and their battle formations were subjected to air bombing 6-7 times a day. The brigade's fighters showed resilience and repeatedly launched counterattacks, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. During these days, the commander, chief of staff and military commissar of the brigade were wounded.
On April 30, 1942, the enemy, after a lengthy artillery, mortar and aviation preparation, at 11.00 from the southern and northwestern outskirts of the village of Ramushevo to 1.5 infantry regiments and 10 tanks, went on the offensive along the highway to Kobylkino and pushed back units of the 1st Shock Army in a southern direction. The German offensive was supported by strong artillery and mortar fire from the villages of Omychkino, Novo-Ramushevo, Gorushka-1, Kudrovo, Starorussky district, aviation in groups of 5 to 12 aircraft with short breaks from 7.00 to 15.00 bombed the battle formations of units of General Zakhvataev’s group in the Ramushevo area. The 27th, 41st, 47th separate rifle brigades and the 397th rifle division fought a stubborn battle with the advancing enemy 2 km south of Ramushevo.
In June 1942, the 41st separate rifle brigade was reorganized into the 180th rifle division of the 2nd formation.
The 180th Rifle Division took part in the Ostrogozh-Rossoshan offensive operation on January 13-27, 1943. She distinguished herself in the battles for the liberation of Kyiv and was awarded the honorary title "Kyiv" (11/7/1943). The 180th Rifle Kiev Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov II degree division took part in the battles for the liberation of Mogilev-Podolsk, Romania (Iasi, Ploesti), Hungary (Debrecen, Székesfehérvár, Budapest), Austria (Korneyburg, Vienna), Czechoslovakia (Bratislava, Olomouc, Brno, Prague).

From the memoirs of Gavril Semenovich Kozhevnikov, commander of the 42nd Infantry Regiment of the 180th Infantry Division.

   During the Great Patriotic War, I had to fight on many fronts. But especially memorable are the battles near Rzhev, during the crossing of the Dnieper and the battles in January 1943 on the Voronezh Front, when I commanded the 42nd Infantry Regiment, 180th Infantry Division in the Ostrogozh-Rossoshansky operation to defeat the Nazi invaders.
   On January 14, 1943, the 3rd Tank Army began its offensive, which included our 180th Infantry Division under the command of Major General Maloshitsky. The offensive began from the Kantemirovka area and the Pasekovo railway station. On January 16, our division entered the city of Rossosh from the direction of Mitrofanovka.
   ... The enemy retreated fighting. The battle for the city of Rossosh took on the character of short but heated battles. The enemy resisted fiercely in the area of ​​the railway station, on the station streets, on the northern outskirts of the station and at the poultry farm, where large ammunition depots were located.
   The headquarters of the 42nd Infantry Regiment was located on Proletarskaya Street, in house No. 54.
   ... The commander of the 180th Infantry Division, Major General Maloshitsky, arrived at the headquarters of the 42nd Infantry Regiment and gave a combat order: in cooperation with the 86th Infantry Regiment, encircle and destroy the enemy on Yanvarskaya Street.
   There are only a few hours left to prepare for the offensive. As a result of our rapid offensive, which began at 10 o'clock (note - illegible, clarify!) on January 16, the enemy was defeated, and the city of Rossosh was completely cleared of fascists. The order of the commander of the 180th Infantry Division was carried out by the soldiers of the 42nd and 82nd Infantry Regiments.
   ... And on January 18, 1943, we were given a new task: to encircle and destroy the enemy located in the area of ​​the Nachalo state farm, the villages of Sotnitskoye and Popovka. We also completed this task successfully. We captured 550 enemy soldiers and officers alone. The above settlements were liberated from the Nazi invaders.
   ... At the same time, the 86th Infantry Regiment liberated the village of Novopostoyalovka from Nazi gangs. The commander of the 86th Infantry Regiment, Comrade, also died there. A. Zaikin.
   For military deeds in defeating the Nazi invaders, particularly distinguished soldiers and officers were awarded government awards, including me, who was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
   Thus, the defeat of a large enemy group was completed, the city of Rossosh and its surroundings were cleared of fascists on January 17, 1943 by the 106th Tank Brigade under the command of Colonel Alekseev, the 180th Infantry Division under the command of Major General Maloshitsky, the 13th Motorized Rifle brigade under the command of Lieutenant Colonel I.I. Fesin. The first head of the garrison in Rossoshi was appointed deputy commander of the 180th Rifle Division of the Guard, Colonel E.N. Pavlov-Razin.

G. Kozhevnikov. Honorary citizen of the city of Rossosh, retired lieutenant colonel.
F. 5297, op. 4, no. 374, pp. 3-8. Script.