390th Rifle Division
390th Rifle Division | |
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Country | Soviet Union |
Branch | Red Army |
Type | Rifle division |
Engagements |
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Commanders | |
Notable commanders |
The 390th Rifle Division (Russian: 390-я стрелковая дивизия) was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. It was formed twice, first in August 1941, and after its destruction in 1942, re-formed in 1944.
The division landed in eastern
The division was reformed in the Far East in November 1944 and fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria before being disbanded postwar in late 1945.
First formation
Formation
The division began formation as part of the
Kerch landing
In December 1941 and January 1942, the division and the rest of the 51st Army fought in the Kerch–Feodosiya landing operation, which began the
Operations in February and March 1942
In February, the 390th Rifle Division became an Armenian national division as part of an attempt to overcome the language barrier, as the majority of its troops still could not speak Russian fluently.[8] As a result of mass desertions of the Caucasian troops during the previous fighting,[3] the Armenian officer Colonel Simon Zakian replaced Vinogradov as commander of the division on 24 February.[2] The 51st Army launched an attack on 16 March, with the 390th and 398th Rifle Divisions in reserve. On the night of 17–18 March, the 390th and 398th were moved up to their jumping-off positions in the area of Korpech village. The attacks of the two divisions began at 10:00 on 18 March, and the 390th, advancing in conjunction with the 55th Tank Brigade, overcame German resistance and captured two trench lines of the German main defensive line. By the end of the day, they had dug in on the new positions. On the morning of 19 March, Zakian committed his reserve, the 784th Rifle Regiment, into the battle. However, the rest of the attacks were unsuccessful. After army commander Vladimir Lvov received reports of a German buildup, the offensive was halted.[9]
On 20 March, the Germans counterattacked with the 22nd Panzer Division, which had recently arrived in Crimea, and took the Soviet defenses by surprise in the early morning fog. They attempted to eliminate the penetration that the 390th and 398th Rifle Divisions had made into their lines and break through the hastily prepared forward defenses of the 51st Army. Parts of the 390th began to retreat towards Height 28.2, but the situation was restored by the personal intervention of the 143rd Rifle Brigade's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Georgy Kurashvili, who rallied the troops to defend Korpech.[10] Major Mushegh Malkhasyan's 789th Rifle Regiment was the first hit by the German tank attack, but the regiment was able to separate the German tanks from their infantry and break up the counterattack. Major L.G. Akopov's 792nd Regiment also participated in heavy fighting against the German attack. German tanks, supported by a company of infantry, broke through the 390th's line and attacked the divisional command post, forcing Zakian and his chief of staff to lead rear units in a counterattack. The German assault was eventually repulsed, and Soviet sources claim 17 tanks were destroyed.[9] A second attack against the 398th Division followed but also failed. The Germans then followed up with a more powerful assault at the junction of the 390th and the 83rd Marine Rifle Brigade on the division's right flank. This third German assault was repulsed by Soviet anti-tank fire.[11]
From 26 to 29 March, the division's 789th Regiment and the
Operation Bustard Hunt
On 8 May, after days of heavy aerial bombardment, the final German offensive in the Kerch Peninsula,
Second formation
The division began re-forming from a cadre of rifle brigades on 22 November 1944 as part of the
Commanders
The division's first formation was commanded by the following commanders:[2]
- Colonel Ivan Vinogradov (19 August 1941 – 23 February 1942)
- Colonel Simon Zakian (24 February – c. 31 March 1942)[22]
- Colonel Ivan Lyudnikov (1 April – 18 April 1942)[22]
- Colonel Hmayak Babayan (19 April – 14 June 1942)
The division's second formation was commanded by the following officer:[2]
- Colonel Ivan Teplyakov (22 November 1944 – 3 September 1945)
Composition
The division's first formation included the following units:[16]
- 784th Rifle Regiment
- 789th Rifle Regiment
- 792nd Rifle Regiment
- 954th Artillery Regiment
- 147th Separate Destroyer Anti-Tank Battalion
- 182nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battery (formerly 678th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion)
- 678th Mortar Battalion
- 453rd Reconnaissance Company
- 672nd Sapper Battalion
- 842nd Separate Communications Battalion
- 476th Medical-Sanitary Battalion
- 469th Separate Chemical Defense Company
- 506th Auto-Transport Company
- 814th Field Bakery (formerly 241st Mobile Field Bakery)
- 816th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
- 1449th Field Post Office
- 720th Field Cash Office of the State Bank
The division's second formation included the following units:[16]
- 425th Rifle Regiment
- 513th Rifle Regiment
- 554th Rifle Regiment
- 1042nd Artillery Regiment
- 475th Separate Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion
- 424th Separate Destroyer Anti-Tank Battalion
- 106th Reconnaissance Company
- 244th Sapper Battalion
- 1025th Separate Communications Battalion
- 354th Medical-Sanitary Battalion
- 233rd Separate Chemical Defense Company
- 716th Auto-Transport Company
- 612th Field Bakery
- 469th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
- 3157th Field Post Office
- 2001st Field Cash Office of the State Bank
References
Citations
- ^ a b c Feskov, Kalashnikov & Golikov 2003, p. 108.
- ^ a b c d e Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, pp. 288–289.
- ^ a b Myakushev 2015.
- ^ Bezugolny 2015.
- ^ Dunn 2007, p. 78.
- ^ Sarkisyan 1983, p. 44.
- ^ Sarkisyan 1983, pp. 54–57.
- ^ Sarkisyan 1983, p. 58.
- ^ a b Sarkisyan 1983, pp. 60–62.
- ^ Isaev 2016, p. 29.
- ^ Sarkisyan 1983, p. 62.
- ^ Sarkisyan 1983, pp. 63–64.
- ^ Sarkisyan 1983, p. 65.
- ^ a b Sheynman.
- ^ Sarkisyan 1983, pp. 67–69.
- ^ a b c d Grylev 1970.
- ^ Dunn 2007, p. 97.
- ^ Zolotaryov 1996, p. 228.
- ^ Dunn 2007, p. 150.
- ^ Glantz 2003, pp. 269–270.
- ^ Feskov et al. 2013, pp. 579–580.
- ^ a b Sarkisyan 1983, p. 64.
Bibliography
- Bezugolny, Alexei (2015). ""Смешанный национальный состав дивизий создаёт огромные трудности ...". Участие представителей народов Кавказа в боях за освобождение Крымского полуострова в декабре 1941 — мае 1942 года" ["Mixed ethnic composition of the division creates tremendous difficulties ...": Participation of Caucasian soldiers in the battles for the liberation of Crimea between December 1941 and May 1942]. Voyenno-istorichesky Zhurnal (Military-Historical Journal) (in Russian) (4): 17–22. ISSN 0321-0626. Archived from the originalon 2017-03-18. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
- Dunn, Walter S. (2007). Stalin's Keys to Victory: The Rebirth of the Red Army. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3423-3.
- Feskov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Golikov, V.I. (2003). Красная Армия в победах и поражениях 1941–1945 гг [The Red Army in the Victories and Defeats of 1941–1945] (PDF) (in Russian). Tomsk: Tomsk University Press. ISBN 978-5-7511-1624-8.
- 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 978-5-89503-530-6.
- Glantz, David M. (2003). The Soviet Strategic Offensive in Manchuria, 1945: 'August Storm'. London: Frank Cass. ISBN 978-1-135-77499-8.
- Grylev, A.N. (1970). "Перечень № 5. I. Стрелковые и горнострелковые дивизии" [List (Perechen) No. 5 Part I. Rifle and Mountain Rifle Divisions] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
- Isaev, Alexei (March 2016). "Крымская ошибка Манштейна" [The Crimean Error of Manstein]. Voyenno-istorichesky Zhurnal (Military-Historical Journal) (in Russian) (3): 27–30.
- 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.
- Myakushev, Sergey Davidovich (2015). "История подвига военных медиков на Керченском полуострове в 1942 г. должна быть написана. Комментарий историка" [The History of the feat of the field medics on the Kerch Peninsula in 1942 needs to be written: Comments of a historian]. Otechestvennyye Arkhivy (Archives of the Fatherland) (in Russian) (4): 103–116. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
- Sarkisyan, Semyon (1983). 51-я армия: Боевой путь 51-й армии [51st Army: Combat path of the 51st Army] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. OCLC 11158136.
- Sheynman, Leonid. "Бабаян Амаяк Григорьевич" [Babayan Hmayak Grigoryevich]. warheroes.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2014-04-11. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
- Zolotaryov, Vladimir, ed. (1996). Русский архив: Великая Отечественная. Ставка ВГК: Документы и материалы. 1942 год [Russian Archive: The Great Patriotic War: Stavka VGK: Documents and Materials for 1942] (in Russian). Vol. 16. Moscow: TERRA. ISBN 978-5-300-00173-5.