262nd Rifle Division
(Redirected from
262nd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
)| 262nd Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | July 1941–1946 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Rifle division |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Decorations |
|
| Battle honours | |
The 262nd Rifle Division (Russian: 262-я стрелковая дивизия) was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.
Formed as an NKVD unit in mid-1941, the division saw its first combat on the
Port Arthur
until its disbandment in the summer of 1946.
History
World War II
The 262nd Rifle Division began forming at
Staraya Russa counterattack, and Kleshnin was relieved of command in September and demoted to regimental command in another division.[1][2]
On 19 September, its first Red Army commander, Colonel Matvey Tereshchenko,[3] was assigned. At the time the 262nd was defending positions in the Valdai Hills. In the second half of October, it moved east to the Kalinin Front's 31st Army, which was preparing for the Soviet winter counteroffensive in the Battle of Moscow. The division fought in the Kalinin Defensive Operation and the Kalinin Offensive during the winter campaign. During the latter on 21 December, during the battle for Pushkino, Tereshchenko was killed in action while organizing his troops for an attack.[4] He was replaced by division chief of staff Colonel Vladimir Gorbachyov.[5] The division spent most of the winter of 1941–1942 with the front's 39th Army.[6]
Major General
1st Rifle Corps. It then defended positions on the approaches to Vitebsk, rejoining the 39th Army on 15 December. [7]
The army became part of the
Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive), the division was to attack alongside the 5th Guards Rifle Corps, break through the German defenses on the line of Bondino and Mosino and capture Starinki. It was then to advance on Trubachi alongside the 5th Guards Rifle Corps, outflanking German troops around Vitebsk.[9] In the initial attack, preceded by a 1-hour artillery barrage at 06:00, the tank-supported 262nd broke through the lines of the demoralized German 197th Infantry Division. By 13:00, the 262nd had pushed the 197th back to the Vitebsk–Orsha rail line south of Vitebsk.[10] The 262nd Rifle Division, advancing on the right of the 84th Corps' 164th Rifle Division, pivoted to maintain contact with the 158th Rifle Division east of Vitebsk, while the 164th continued pushing the 197th Infantry Division northwest along the railway line.[11]
On 24 June, after the German
5th Army.[15] On 2 July the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its actions at Vitebsk. [7]
It subsequently advanced into Lithuania during the
Fischhausen in the last months of the war.[7]
In April, the division and the rest of the 39th Army were withdrawn to the
Soviet Far East in May and June in preparation for the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. The 262nd was transported to the Choibalsan area by rail, then marched 400 kilometres (250 mi) to concentration areas south of Tamsagbulag. At the beginning of the invasion on 9 August, the division was part of the 39th Army's 113th Rifle Corps in the Transbaikal Front. The 262nd fought in the Khingan–Mukden Offensive Operation of the invasion. The campaign consisted mainly of fast marches across the Mongolian deserts and the Greater Khingan mountains in temperatures nearing 100 °F (38 °C) with little water.[6] For distinguishing itself in the breakthrough of Japanese fortifications in the Jalainur area and crossing the Greater Khingan, the division was awarded the honorific "Khingan" on 20 September.[7]
Postwar
The division was disbanded in August and September 1946, part of the 39th Army's 113th Rifle Corps, garrisoning
Port Arthur.[16][7] The 25th Guards Machine Gun Artillery Brigade was formed from the headquarters of the division's 662nd Divisional Artillery Brigade.[17]
Commanders
The following officers commanded the division during World War II:[3]
- Major General Mikhail Kleshnin (July–September 1941)[2]
- Colonel Matvey Tereshchenko (19 September–killed in action 21 December 1941)[4]
- Colonel (promoted to Major General 21 May 1942) Vladimir Gorbachyov (after 21 December 1941–25 June 1943)
- Major General Zakhary Usachyov (26 June 1943–after 3 September 1945)
References
Citations
- ^ Vozhakin 2006, p. 265.
- ^ a b Tsapayev & Goremykin 2014a, p. 225.
- ^ a b Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 234.
- ^ a b Tsapayev & Goremykin 2014b, p. 607.
- ^ Tsapayev & Goremykin 2011, p. 26.
- ^ a b c d Sharp 1996, pp. 51–52.
- ^ a b c d e Tsapayev & Goremykin 2014b, p. 719.
- ^ Harrison 2016, p. 76.
- ^ Harrison 2016, pp. 82–83.
- ^ Dunn 2000, p. 123.
- ^ Dunn 2000, p. 124.
- ^ Dunn 2000, p. 105.
- ^ Dunn 2000, p. 125.
- ^ Dunn 2000, p. 129.
- ^ Dunn 2000, p. 131.
- ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 578.
- ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 155.
Bibliography
- Dunn, Walter S. (2000). Soviet Blitzkrieg: The Battle for White Russia, 1944. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 978-1555878801.
- 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.
- Harrison, Richard (2016). Operation Bagration, 23 June–29 August 1944: The Rout Of The German Forces In Belorussia. Solihull: Helion & Company. ISBN 9781912174553. – A translated Soviet General Staff study
- 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.
- Sharp, Charles C. (1996). The Soviet Order of Battle World War II: An Organizational History of the Major Combat Units of the Soviet Army. Vol. 9. West Chester, Ohio: George F. Nafziger. OCLC 258366685.
- Tsapayev, D.A.; et al. (2011). Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 1. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 978-5-9950-0189-8.
- Tsapayev, D.A.; et al. (2014a). Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 3. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 978-5-9950-0382-3.
- Tsapayev, D.A.; et al. (2014b). 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.
- Vozhakin, Mikhail Georgievich, ed. (2006). Великая Отечественная. Комкоры. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Corps Commanders: Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 1. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 5901679083.