2nd Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division
1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (26 October 1942–5 October 1943) 2nd Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (4 October 1943–20 March 1958) | |
---|---|
Active | October 1942–March 1958 |
Country | Soviet Union |
Branch | Red Army (Soviet Army from 1946) |
Type | Anti-Aircraft Artillery |
Engagements | World War II |
Decorations | |
Baranovichi | |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
The 2nd Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (Russian: 2-я гвардейская зенитная артиллерийская дивизия) was an anti-aircraft artillery division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II and the Soviet Army during the early years of the Cold War.
It was formed in October 1942 as the 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division and was soon sent to the front in the
World War II
The 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command (RVGK) began forming on 26 October 1942 in the Moscow Military District under the command of Colonel (promoted to Major General 29 January 1943) Leonid Polosukhin.[1] It completed its formation on 31 October, and was sent to the Don Front in the Battle of Stalingrad at the beginning of November, arriving by 12 November.[2]
Between 13 November and 31 December, the 1st provided air defense for the
After the German surrender at Stalingrad, the division became part of the
It fought in the
After the end of the offensive, the army was withdrawn to the RVGK and the division was concentrated in the town of
In the same month the 2nd Guards transferred back to the 65th Army, serving with it in eastern Belarus.
According to a report prepared by the division deputy chief of staff in late May, during the war, the 2nd Guards expended 24,508 rounds of heavy anti-aircraft gun ammunition, 227,464 rounds of light gun ammunition, and 169, 413 rounds of machine gun ammunition on air targets, as well as 2,137 rounds of heavy gun ammunition, 4,530 rounds of light gun ammunition, and 6,515 rounds of machine gun ammunition on ground targets. The division's heavy guns were credited with downing 75 enemy aircraft, light guns 332, and machine guns 24, for a total of 431 enemy aircraft downed. The report estimated that it had taken an average of 326 heavy gun rounds to down one aircraft, 685 medium gun rounds to down one aircraft, and 7,059 machine gun rounds to down one aircraft. The division reported its casualties as: 23 officers, 75 sergeants, and 176 privates killed for a total of 274, and 96 officers, 215 sergeants, and 559 privates wounded for a total of 870. Additionally, two 85mm and nineteen 37mm guns were destroyed along with eighteen 12.7mm machine guns, seventeen rangefinders, 98 vehicles, and two radio sets.[19]
By comparison, on 31 January 1945, the division reported a strength of 2,087 men, sixteen 85mm guns, 72 37mm guns, and 39 12.7mm machine guns.[20]
Postwar
Following the end of the war, the division became part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany at Rehagen. On 20 March 1958, it was converted into the 109th Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade.[18]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, pp. 381, 395.
- ^ a b Tsapayev, Vvedensky & Hayrapetyan 2014, p. 254.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1972, p. 17.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1972, p. 73.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1972, p. 111.
- ^ Zaloga & Ness 1998, pp. 128–130.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1972, p. 136.
- ^ a b Tsapayev, Vvedensky & Hayrapetyan 2014, pp. 102–103.
- ^ a b Gurkin et al. 1972, p. 277.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1972, p. 304.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1988, p. 15.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1988, p. 101.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1988, p. 133.
- ^ Dudarenko, Perechnyov & Yeliseyev 1985, p. 42.
- ^ "Alexander Kazakov". Герои страны ("Heroes of the Country") (in Russian). Retrieved 23 November 2017.
- ^ Gurkin et al. 1990, p. 49.
- ^ Tsapayev, Vvedensky & Hayrapetyan 2014, p. 157.
- ^ a b Feskov et al 2013, p. 288.
- ^ Lisnyatsky 1945, p. 1.
- ^ Kalitsky 1945, p. 2.
Bibliography
- Dudarenko, M.L.; Perechnyov, Yu. G.; Yeliseyev, V.T. (1985). Освобождение городов: Справочник по освобождению городов в период Великой Отечественной войны 1941-1945 [Liberation of the Cities: A Handbook of the Liberation of Cities during the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
- 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.
- Gurkin, V.V.; et al. (1972). Боевой состав Советской армии: Часть III (Январь — декабрь 1943 г.) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part III (January–December 1943)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
- Gurkin, V.V.; et al. (1988). Боевой состав Советской армии: Часть IV (Январь — декабрь 1944 г.) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part IV (January–December 1944)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
- Gurkin, V.V.; et al. (1990). Боевой состав Советской армии: Часть V (Январь—сентябрь 1945 г.) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part IV (January–September 1945)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
- 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.
- Tsapayev, D.A.; et al. (2014). Goremykin, Viktor (ed.). Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 2. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 978-5-9950-0341-0.
- Zaloga, Steven J.; Ness, Leland S. (1998). Red Army Handbook 1941–1945. Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-1740-7.
Military documents
- Kalitsky, Colonel (31 January 1945). "Боевое расписание частей 2 гв. зенад РГК" [Combat Schedule of parts of the 2nd Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division RGK]. Pamyat Naroda (in Russian). Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. (Central Archives of the Russian Ministry of Defence, fond 233, opus 2323, file 101, document 95)
- Lisnyatsky, Lieutenant Colonel (29 May 1945). "Основные итоговые данные боевой деятельности 2 гв. зенад РГК за время Отечественной войны" [Results of Combat Actions of the 2nd Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division RGK during the Patriotic War]. Pamyat Naroda (in Russian). Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. (Central Archives of the Russian Ministry of Defence, fond 233, opus 2323, file 101, document 455)
Further reading
- Lavrentyev, K.G. (1984). Гвардейская зенитная. Боевой путь 2-й гвардейской зенитной артиллерийской Барановичской Краснознаменной, ордена Александра Невского дивизии РВГК [Guards Anti-Aircraft: Combat road of the 2nd Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery, Baranovichi, Red Banner, Order of Alexander Nevsky Division RVGK] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. – A history of the division.
Military documents
- "Журнал боевых действий 2 гв. зенад РГК за Отечественную войну" [Combat Journal of the 2nd Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division RGK for the Patriotic War]. Pamyat Naroda (in Russian). Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. 1945. (Central Archives of the Russian Ministry of Defence, fond 233, opus 2323, file 101)