159th Rifle Division (1940–1941)
159th Rifle Division (1st formation) | |
---|---|
Active | July 1940 – September 1941 |
Country | Soviet Union |
Branch | Red Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | 9,548 personnel [1] |
Engagements | Battle of Kiev (1941) |
The 159th Rifle Division (Russian: 159-я стрелковая дивизия)[N 1] was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II, active from 1940 to 1941.
Formed in Ukraine in mid-1940, the division fought in the Battle of Kiev and was destroyed in encirclement in late September.
Formation
An unrelated 159th Rifle Division, the first Red Army unit to share the designation, was formed in the Ural Military District in September 1939, but was disbanded in January 1940 to form an officer cadet school.[3]
The designation of the 159th was reused for a division formed in July 1940 in the
World War II
The division was at roughly 66% of wartime strength with 9,548 personnel when Operation Barbarossa began on 22 June. They were armed with 8,278 Mosin–Nagant rifles, 3,259 semi-automatic rifles, 305 submachine guns, 391 light machine guns, 173 medium machine guns, 54 45 mm anti-tank guns, 35 76 mm guns, 25 122 mm howitzers, nine 152 mm howitzers, and 147 mortars. Equipment included 395 vehicles and 40 artillery tractors.[1]
The division was able to hold its positions briefly, utilizing the defenses of the 6th (
Lieutenant Colonel
The division was subsequently sent to the city of
The 159th was tasked with defending positions west of Rzhyshchiv to prevent a German crossing of the Dnieper. After five days the division handed over its sector to the 45th Tank Division (fighting as infantry) and went to Kaniv to be rebuilt. The division later defended Kaniv for fifteen days against the German advance and covered the crossing of the Dnieper by the 5th Cavalry Corps. The division then crossed the river and defended positions on the opposite bank. In mid-September Semyonov went to the army staff,[7] and was succeeded on 16 September by Colonel Nikolay Fedotov, deputy commander of another division. In the Battle of Kiev in late September the 159th was destroyed in encirclement with most of the 26th Army, with its commander being reported missing.[8] According to one of the army's last reports, on 22 September, the 159th was fighting in encirclement at Kandybovka northwest of Orzhytsia, and repeated breakout attempts had failed.[9]
On paper, the division, though it had long ceased to exist, was officially disbanded on 27 December 1941.[2]
Footnotes
- ^ The 159th Rifle Division formed in 1940 was referred to as the 159th Rifle Division (1st formation) by the official list of Red Army units compiled postwar because it was the first of three unrelated units designated the 159th Rifle Division active between 1941 and 1945,[2] although it was not the first unit of the Red Army designated the 159th Rifle Division.
References
Citations
- ^ a b Isaev 2004, pp. 60–62.
- ^ a b c d Grylev 1970, p. 78.
- ^ a b Meltyukhov 2008, p. 491.
- ^ Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 180.
- ^ Dvoinykh, Karyaeva & Stegantsev 1993, p. 441.
- ^ a b Tsapayev & Goremykin 2015, pp. 774–775.
- ^ a b c Tsapayev & Goremykin 2014, pp. 356–357.
- ^ Tsapayev & Goremykin 2014, pp. 747–748.
- ^ Isaev 2004, pp. 581–582.
Bibliography
- Dvoinykh, L.V.; Karyaeva, T.F.; Stegantsev, M.V., eds. (1993). Центральный государственный архив Советской армии: Путеводитель [A Guide to the Central State Archive of the Soviet Army] (in Russian). Vol. 2. Minneapolis: Eastview Publications. ISBN 1879944030.
- Grylev, A. N. (1970). Перечень № 5. Стрелковых, горнострелковых, мотострелковых и моторизованных дивизии, входивших в состав Действующей армии в годы Великой Отечественной войны 1941-1945 гг [List (Perechen) No. 5: Rifle, Mountain Rifle, Motor Rifle and Motorized divisions, part of the active army during the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
- Isaev, Alexey (2004). От Дубно до Ростова [From Dubno to Rostov] (in Russian). Moscow: AST. ISBN 5-17-022744-2.
- Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1964). Командование корпусного и дивизионного звена советских вооруженных сил периода Великой Отечественной войны 1941 – 1945 гг [Commanders of Corps and Divisions in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Frunze Military Academy. OCLC 35371247.
- Meltyukhov, Mikhail (2008). Упущенный шанс Сталина. Схватка за Европу: 1939-1941 гг [Stalin's Missed Chance: The Struggle for Europe, 1939–1941] (in Russian) (3rd ed.). Moscow: Veche. ISBN 978-5-9533-2697-1.
- Tsapayev, D.A.; et al. (2014). Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 5. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 978-5-9950-0457-8.
- Tsapayev, D. A.; et al. (2015). Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 4. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 978-5-9950-0602-2.