21st Guards Rifle Division

21st Guards Rifle Division (March 17, 1942 - 1946)
Col. D. V. Mikhailov after promotion to major general
Active 1942–1946
Country  Soviet Union
Branch Red Army
Type Division
Role Infantry
Engagements Battles of Rzhev
Operation Seydlitz
Battle for Velikiye Luki
Battle of Nevel (1943)
Courland Pocket
Battle honours Nevel
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Maj. Gen. Denis Vasilevich Mikhailov
Maj. Gen. Ivan Ivanovich Artamonov
Col. Aleksandr Varfomolomeevich Shunkov

The 21st Guards Rifle Division was formed from the 361st Rifle Division on March 17, 1942, in recognition of that division's successes in the attempt to encircle the German 9th Army in the Rzhev area during the Soviet winter counteroffensive of 1941-42. After being partially encircled itself in the spring of 1942, the division was withdrawn for rebuilding, and then played a major role in the Battle of Velikiye Luki in 1942-43. It distinguished itself in the battle for Nevel in October, 1943, for which it was awarded a battle honor. The division went on to complete a combat path through northwestern Russia and into the Baltic States, ending its war containing the German forces trapped in the Courland Peninsula.

Formation

After conversion to a Guards division, its basic order of battle was as follows:

  • 59th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 1200th Rifle Regiment)
  • 64th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 1202nd Rifle Regiment)
  • 69th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 1204th Rifle Regiment)
  • 47th Guards Artillery Regiment (from 925th Artillery Regiment)[1]

The division remained under the command of Col. Denis Vasilevich Mikhailov. Following conversion it joined the rest of 39th Army in attempting to destroy the German forces in and around Olenino, with scant success. A further effort was planned for late May or early June, but this was not implemented, in part due to supply issues; 39th Army in particular was in a deep salient west of Sychevka and east of Belyi. On July 2 the German 9th Army began Operation Seydlitz, during which 39th Army's forces were either fully or partially encircled and forced to break out. 9th Army declared the operation completed, although individual and small groups of Soviet soldiers continued to make their way though the lines for weeks.[2] Later that month the 21st Guards was withdrawn to the Moscow Military District for a complete rebuilding.[3]

Battle of Nevel

As of October 1, the 21st Guards was still in 3rd Shock Army, in Kalinin Front. When the Nevel Offensive Operation began on October 6 the division was in the second echelon, along with the 54 tanks of the 78th Tank Brigade, and had the 59th Guards Rifle Regiment mounted on all available motorised transport. The attack began with a reconnaissance in force at 0500 hrs, followed by a ninety-minute artillery preparation, and then by bombing strikes from Soviet aircraft. When the 28th Rifle Division stepped off at 1000 hrs the German 2nd Luftwaffe Field Division, on the north flank of Army Group Center, was utterly routed, and the right flank of the German 263rd Infantry Division of Army Group North was also crushed.[4]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Guards", Soviet Guards Rifle and Airborne Units 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IV, Nafziger, 1995, p. 51
  2. ↑ Svetlana Gerasimova, The Rzhev Slaughterhouse, ed. & trans. S. Britton, Helion & Co., Ltd, Solihull, UK, 2013, pp. 45, 55-57, 59-64
  3. ↑ Sharp, "Red Guards", p. 51
  4. ↑ David M. Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2016, pp. 26, 38-41

Bibliography

  • 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. p. 307
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