286th Rifle Division
| 286th Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941–1945 |
| Country | Leningrad |
The 286th Rifle Division (
Prague Offensive
in early 1945. The division was disbanded soon after the end of the war in the summer of 1945.
History
The 286th began forming on 10 July 1941 at
Leningrad. When the division was sent into combat with the 54th Army in October, its strength, less than half of the authorized division strength, was 6,016 personnel, 102 machine guns, 5 82mm or 120mm mortars, and 27 76mm or larger guns. The division fought as part of the 54th Army on the Leningrad Front until January 1942, when it was transferred to the Volkhov Front's 8th Army. The 286th served with the 8th Army until January 1944, fighting in operations attempting to end the siege of Leningrad.[1]
The division transferred to the 59th Army for the
Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, an attack which would result in Finnish withdrawal from the war. The division fought in the offensive from June to September, when Finland signed a peace treaty with the Soviet Union.[1]
The division was moved south to become part of the 59th Army in September. The 286th spent the rest of the war with the 59th Army. In December the 59th was moved south to join the
Prague Offensive in early May.[1] The division was disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[3]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c Sharp 1996, pp. 61–62.
- ^ Norin 2015.
- ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 413.
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.
- Norin, Eugeny (28 January 2015). "Кто освободил Освенцим?" [Who liberated Auschwitz?]. Sputnik & Pogrom. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- 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.