416th Rifle Division

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21st Motor Rifle Division
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416th Rifle Division (9 December 1941 – 27 January 1942)
416th Rifle Division (15 March 1942 – 1946)
Active1941–1946
Country 
Vistula-Oder Offensive
Battle of Küstrin
Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Col. S. P. Storozhilov
Col. V. T. Maslov
Mjr. Gen. D. M. Sizranov

The 416th Rifle Division was formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division late in 1941, after the Soviet winter counteroffensive had begun, but was soon re-designated. A second formation began in March 1942, this time as an Azerbaijani National Division and was completed in July, after which it remained serving in the southern sectors of the Soviet-German front until the autumn of 1944, when it was redeployed to Poland in anticipation of the final offensives into the German heartland. The 416th compiled a record of service comparable to any majority-Russian unit, and saw postwar service in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.

1st formation

The first 416th Rifle Division began forming on December 9, 1941, in the Moscow Military District. Its primary order of battle was as follows:

  • 1368th Rifle Regiment
  • 1373rd Rifle Regiment
  • 1374th Rifle Regiment
  • 1054th Artillery Regiment

The division was still forming up on January 27, 1942, when it was re-designated as the 2nd formation of the

146th Rifle Division while still in the Moscow region.[1]

2nd formation

The second 416th Rifle Division began forming on March 15, 1942, at

Transcaucasus Military District,[2] this time as a division of Azerbaijani nationals.[3] It continued to form up in this District until July.[4]
The division's primary order of battle remained as above, and was completed as follows:

  • 444th Antitank Battalion
  • 348th Sapper Battalion
  • 921st Signal Battalion
  • 222nd Reconnaissance Company

Operational history

The division was first assigned to the

3rd Guards Army.[6]

In February 1944, the division made its first major shift of commands, to the

Dniestr River. On the night of 18–19 April, 37th Corps attempted an assault crossing to seize the German strongpoint at Talmazy, but was unsuccessful; the 416th was in reserve during this attack. A further effort was made in early May with similar results, and after several successful German counterattacks, the front went over to the defense in mid-May.[7]

The division participated in the

East Pomeranian Offensive,[8] during which it played a main role in the capture of the fortified city of Küstrin,[9]
leading to the final offensive on Berlin.

During the

City Palace the next day. The division also helped capture the Reichsbank on May 1.[10] The soldiers of the 416th ended the war with the official title of 416th Rifle, Taganrog, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division. (Russian: 416-я стрелковая Таганрогская Краснознамённая ордена Суворова дивизия.) It went on to serve postwar in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.[11]

Postwar

A T-64 of the division in the 1980s at Perleburg

After the war, the division became the 18th Mechanised Division, then the 18th MRD in 1957. The division was part of the

3rd Red Banner Army from 1957 to 1964. In 1965 it became the 21st Motor Rifle Division, remaining in the 2nd Guards Tank Army in Germany. After the end of the Cold War it was withdrawn to Omsk, became the 180th Motor Rifle Brigade in August 1993 (with some personnel transferred in from the 56th Training Motor Rifle Division also in Omsk), and finally the 139th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base in 1997, and then disbanded only in 2007.[12]

By September 1995, some 107 T-90 tanks had been produced, located in the Siberian Military District.[13] A U.S. report said that "..with only 150 built by mid-1998, the Siberian Military District's 21st Motor Rifle Division received [some of] these MBTs and formed a tank regiment.""[14]

Russian forum sites[15] however cast some doubt on whether the numbering of the Weapons and Equipment Storage Base, sourced from Lensky, is correct.

In popular culture

The 416th Rifle Division is featured in the 1975 Azerbaijani film Bir alaydan olanar.[16]

References

  1. ^ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p 115
  2. ^ Walter S. Dunn, Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p 108
  3. ^ David M. Glantz, Colossus Reborn, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2005, p 595, states that at formation the division was 95% Azerbaijani.
  4. ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. X, Nafziger, 1996, p 133
  5. ^ Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2005, pp 114, 433-34, 438
  6. ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p 133
  7. ^ Glantz, Red Storm Over the Balkans, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2007, pp 33, 119-22, 155-56, 286, 315
  8. ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p 133
  9. ISBN 9780811708296
    .
  10. ISBN 978-1136324567
    .
  11. ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 379
  12. ^ Holm, Michael. "21st Motorised Rifle Division". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  13. ^ Warford, James M (September–October 1997). "The Russian T-90S: Coming into Focus" (PDF). Armor. US Army. pp. 26–28. quoting Russian newspaper sources
  14. ^ Adam Geibel, "Did the Rebels Misidentify Knocked-Out Tanks?," Armor Magazine, November-December 2000, p.27
  15. ^ "ВИФ2 NE : Ветка : 21-я мсд (Омск) - 180-я омсбр - 139-я бхвт".
  16. ^ This is a link to the main Azerbaijani Wikipedia page, from where the reader can search the name of the film.
  • 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
    .

Further reading

External links

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