207th Rifle Division
207th Rifle Division (4 March – 1 June 1941) 207th Rifle Division (April – 2 December 1942) 207th Rifle Division (6 June 1943 – 1946) | |
---|---|
Active | 1941–1946 |
Country | Vistula-Oder Offensive Battle of Berlin |
The 207th Rifle Division began its combat path under unusual circumstances. It was partly formed for the first time as a standard
1st Formation
The 207th Rifle Division began forming on March 4, 1941. Very little is known about this formation:
"[T]his division was officially disbanded on 1 June 1941, before the war started. The personnel were probably needed to fill up the new airborne brigades and antitank brigades being formed."[1]
2nd Formation
The second 207th Rifle Division began forming in April 1942, to begin with in the North Caucasus Military District, based on a cadre from the 52nd Rifle Brigade.[2] It did not have a commander assigned until after it moved to Ivanovo in the Moscow Military District in June. The division's primary order of battle was as follows:
- 594th Rifle Regiment
- 597th Rifle Regiment
- 598th Rifle Regiment
- 780th Artillery Regiment[3]
The division was first assigned to the 10th Reserve Army in the
3rd Formation
A new 207th Rifle Division was formed on June 6, 1943, in the
- Headquarters
- 594th Rifle Regiment
- 597th Rifle Regiment
- 598th Rifle Regiment
- 780th Artillery Regiment
- 420th Separate Destroyer Anti-Tank Battalion
- 338th Separate Sapper Battalion
- 255th Separate Medical-Sanitary Battalion
- 249th Separate Reconnaissance Company
- 400th Separate Communications Company
- 186th Separate Chemical Defense Company
The division remained in 5th Army in Western Front until October,
In December, following the
Cold War
The soldiers of the 207th Rifle Division ended the war with the official title of 207th Rifle, Pomerania, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division. (Russian: 207-я стрелковая Померанская Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия.) The division was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class on 28 May 1945.[11] It went on to serve postwar with its army and its corps in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany. Between 15 and 30 June 1945, receiving reinforcements from the disbanded 238th Rifle Division, the division expanded its rifle regiments to three battalions, forming a training battalion, training artillery battalion and the headquarters of its 415th Artillery Brigade, which included the 780th Gun Artillery Regiment, 693rd Howitzer Artillery Regiment, and the 601st Mortar Regiment. On 1 August 1945 the division included:[7]
- Headquarters
- 594th, 597th, 598th Rifle Regiments
- Headquarters 415th Artillery Brigade
- 780th Gun Artillery, 693rd Howitzer Artillery Regiments, 601st Mortar Battalion
- 420th Separate Destroyer Anti-Tank Battalion
- 912th Separate Communications Battalion
- 338th Separate Sapper Battalion
- 255th Separate Medical-Sanitary Battalion
- 249th Separate Motorized Reconnaissance Company
In addition, the 546th Separate Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion (SU-76, formed from a reorganized self-propelled artillery regiment of the front) and the 953rd Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion became part of the division. The 186th Chemical Defense Company was disbanded.[7]
The division received personnel and equipment from the disbanded units of the
- Headquarters
- 594th, 597th, 598th Rifle Regiments
- 780th Gun Artillery, 693rd Howitzer Artillery Regiments
- 420th Separate Destroyer Anti-Tank Battalion, 953rd Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
- 338th Separate Motorized Sapper Battalion
- 912th Separate Communications Battalion, 255th Separate Medical-Sanitary Battalion
In addition, the 16th Guards Rechitsa Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Bogdan Khmelnitsky Tank Self-Propelled Gun Regiment, reorganized in 1945 from the 16th Guards Tank Brigade, joined the division from the disbanded
In accordance with a directive of 6 May 1954 the 953rd Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion was expanded into the 2072nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment, the 115th Separate Motorcycle Battalion reorganized as the 115th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion (in July), and the 693rd Howitzer Artillery Regiment and 780th Gun Artillery Regiment reorganized as the 693rd and 780th Artillery Regiments, respectively. The division was renumbered as the 32nd Rifle Division on 16 May 1955.[11] Accordingly, its elements also received new numbers:[7]
- 594th Rifle Regiment became 33rd Berlin Rifle Regiment
- 597th Rifle Regiment became 40th Berlin Rifle Regiment
- 598th Rifle Regiment became 41st Berlin Rifle Regiment
- 2072nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment became 933rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment
- 420th Separate Destroyer Anti-Tank Battalion became 34th Separate Destroyer Anti-Tank Battalion
The 32nd Rifle Division was reorganized as the 32nd Motor Rifle Division on 29 April 1957.[12][11] The rifle regiments were reorganized as motor rifle units while retaining their previous designations. The 780th Artillery Regiment and 34th Separate Destroyer Anti-Tank Battalion were disbanded. The following reorganizations also occurred:[7]
- 115th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion to 131st Separate Reconnaissance Company
- 540th Separate Auto Transport Company to 110th Separate Auto Transport Battalion
- 16th Guards Tank Self-Propelled Regiment to 16th Guards Tank Regiment
In 1958 the 40th Motor Rifle Regiment was transferred to the
Commanders
The following officers commanded the division:[11]
- Colonel Semyon Perevyortkin (6 June 1943–25 May 1944)
- Colonel Ivan Mikulya (26 May–30 July 1944)
- Colonel Aleksandr Porkhachev (1 August 1944–8 January 1945)
- Colonel Semyon Sobolev (8 January–19 February 1945)
- Colonel Vasily Asafov (22 February 1945–24 June 1947)
- Major General Vasily Shatilov (24 June 1947–15 June 1948)
- Major General Savva Fomichenko (15 June 1948–11 January 1951)
- Major General Ivan Kuzmich Shcherbina (11 January 1951–30 March 1954)
- Colonel Anatoly Demidovich Andrushchenko (30 June 1954–26 September 1958, major general 8 August 1955)
- Colonel Vasily Mikhailovich Gorshkov (29 November 1958–25 January 1963, major general 7 May 1960)
- Colonel Yevgeny Fyodorovich Teodorovich (25 October 1963–15 May 1968, major general 16 June 1965)
- Colonel Vladimir Nikolayevich Veryovkin-Rakhalsky (15 May 1968–31 July 1970)
- Major General Nikolay Aleksandrovich Stolyarov (31 July 1970–1973)
- Colonel Valentin Matveyevich Pankratov (major general 25 April 1975)
References
Citations
- ^ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. VIII, Nafziger, 1996, p 96
- ^ Walter S. Dunn, Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p 115
- ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. X, 1996, p 82
- ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", pp 82-83
- ^ Dunn, p 132
- ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p 83
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kalashnikov & Dodonov 2019, pp. 412–414.
- ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p 83
- ^ David M. Glantz & Jonathan House, When Titans Clashed, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1995, pp 266, 269
- ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p 83
- ^ a b c d e Kalashnikov & Dodonov 2019, pp. 294–296.
- ^ V.I. Feskov et al 2013, 151.
Bibliography
- Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
- Kalashnikov, K. A.; Dodonov, I. Yu. (2019). Высший командный состав Вооруженных сил СССР в послевоенный период: Справочные материалы (1945-1975) (in Russian). Vol. 4: Командный состав Сухопутных войск (армейское и дивизионное звенья). Часть первая. Ust-Kamenogorsk: Media-Alyans. ISBN 9786017887315.