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165th Rifle Division

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165th Rifle Division (July 8, 1940 - December 27, 1941)
165th Rifle Division (December 1941 - June 1946)
Active1940–1946
Country Soviet Union
Branch Red Army
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsBattle of Kiev (1941)
Battle of Lyuban
Battle of Krasny Bor
Battle of Nevel (1943)
Operation Bagration
Lublin–Brest offensive
Vistula–Oder offensive
East Pomeranian offensive
Battle of Berlin
DecorationsOrder of the Red Banner Order of the Red Banner (2nd Formation)
Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class Order of Kutuzov (2nd Formation)
Battle honoursSiedlce (2nd Formation)
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Col. Ivan Vasilevich Zakharevich
Col. Pavel Ivanovich Solenov
Col. Vasilii Ivanovich Morozov
Col. Nikolai Ivanovich Kaladze

The 165th Rifle Division was originally formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the North Caucasus Military District in July 1940, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. It was still in that District at the time of the German invasion, and it was soon moved to the vicinity of Kyiv as part of Southwestern Front. It would remain defending south of the Ukrainian capital into September, eventually as part of 37th Army, when it was deeply encircled and destroyed.

A new 165th was created in January 1942 in the Ural Military District based on a 400-series division that began forming the previous month. After forming up until April it was sent west by rail where it was assigned to Leningrad Front. In early June, as part of 59th Army, it took part in attacks to re-establish ground communications with the encircled 2nd Shock Army, but suffered heavy losses without gaining any meaningful success. It was then withdrawn to second echelon, now in 52nd Army of Volkhov Front, where it remained until February 1943. when it was thrown into another abortive operation south of Leningrad, again suffering heavy casualties.

1st Formation

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The division first began forming on July 8, 1940, at Ordzhonikidze in the North Caucasus Military District. Its order of battle on June 22, 1941, was as follows:

  • 562nd Rifle Regiment
  • 641st Rifle Regiment
  • 751st Rifle Regiment
  • 608th Artillery Regiment[1]
  • 199th Antitank Battalion
  • 451st Antiaircraft Battalion
  • 199th Reconnaissance Battalion
  • 206th Sapper Battalion
  • 305th Signal Battalion
  • 164th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
  • 153rd Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Platoon
  • 199th Motor Transport Battalion
  • 155th Field Postal Station
  • 41st Field Office of the State Bank

Col. Ivan Vasilevich Zakharevich took command of the division on July 16, where he would remain for the duration of the 1st formation. At the start of the German invasion it was part of 64th Rifle Corps, with the 175th Rifle Division.[2] After a brief period to complete its mobilization it began moving by rail, with its Corps, toward the front in early July, concentrating at Rudnevka by July 12.[3] 64th Corps was now in the reserves of Southwestern Front.[4]

Defense of Kyiv

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The 13th and 14th Panzer Divisions reached the Irpin River west of Kyiv on July 11 after breaking through Southwestern Front near Zhytomyr. The German command was divided on plans to directly attack Kyiv to seize its crossings over the Dniepr River, but by July 13 German reconnaissance made it clear that Soviet fortifications and troop concentrations ruled out any possibility of taking the city by surprise. Kyiv would remain in Soviet hands for more than two further months. At about the same time the 64th Corps moved into positions along the Irpin, with the 175th west and southwest of Boiarka, and the 165th further southwest.[5] In Order No. 034/op of August 1 the commander of the Southwestern Direction, Marshal S. M. Budyonny, wrote:

For a long time now, the 64th Rifle Corps has been demonstrating low combat effectiveness. Both divisions of this corps, and especially the 165th, leave the battlefield at the first appearance of the enemy. On July 31, the 165th division again failed to fulfil its combat mission and retreated to the Vasilkov line.[6]

During late July and into early August the XXIX Army Corps of German 6th Army made numerous attempts to capture Kyiv, but all of these were foiled. As German forces advanced on Boiarka 64th Corps was split apart, with the 165th pushed across the Dniepr and the 175th falling back by August 11 into the Kiev Fortified Region, defending the city's southwestern sector.[7] As of the beginning of the month the Corps was being disbanded and the 165th came under direct command of Southwestern Front. Later in August it was subordinated to the new 37th Army,[8] which was tasked with continuing the defense of Kyiv. Meanwhile, the 2nd Panzer Group and 2nd Army of Army Group Center began their drives southward. By September 10 the remnants of 5th and 37th Armies were grouped north of Kozelets but on September 16 the 2nd Panzer linked up with the 1st Panzer Group of Army Group South well to the east and the Army was deeply encircled.[9] As of September 15 the 165th had been effectively destroyed, but in common with most of the encircled divisions of Southwestern Front it officially remained on the books until December 27, when it was finally written off.

2nd Formation

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The 436th Rifle Division began forming in December 1941 until January 23, 1942 at Kurgan in the Ural Military District. On the latter date it was redesignated as the new 165th Rifle Division.[10] Its order of battle was very similar to that of the 1st formation:

  • 562nd Rifle Regiment
  • 641st Rifle Regiment
  • 751st Rifle Regiment
  • 608th Artillery Regiment[11]
  • 199th Antitank Battalion
  • 199th Reconnaissance Company
  • 202nd Sapper Battalion
  • 305th Signal Battalion (later 305th Signal Company)
  • 164th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
  • 533rd Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Platoon
  • 199th Motor Transport Company
  • 149th Field Bakery
  • 914th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
  • 1670th Field Postal Station
  • 1091st Field Office of the State Bank

Col. Pavel Ivanovich Solenov was appointed to command on the date of redesignation. The division remained forming and training in the Ural District into April, when it began moving west by rail, joining the 6th Guards Rifle Corps in Leningrad Front by the beginning of May.[12] When it left the Urals the 165th was at full strength with over 12,000 officers and enlisted personnel allotted.[13] It joined the active army on May 7.

Battle of Lyuban

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Battle of Lyuban

By late April the Red Army's winter counteroffensive had wound down to a halt from sheer exhaustion without many of the STAVKA's objectives being attained. One of these was breaking the siege of Leningrad. 2nd Shock and 54th Armies attempted to break through to the city from the south and east beginning in early January but 2nd Shock had become immobilized in a deep salient without reaching the initial objective of Lyuban. By May it was necessary to rescue the Army from its predicament in the forests and thawing swamps. It had been encircled in late March, but soon partially relieved when a narrow corridor was forced through the German lines near Miasnoi Bor. This route became practically useless when it was flooded by the spring rains.[14]

On April 30 the commander of the recently-designated Volkhov Group of Forces, Lt. Gen. M. S. Khozin, ordered the commander of 2nd Shock, Lt. Gen. A. A. Vlasov, to take up an all-round defense. Meanwhile, Khozin began planning for a new operation to enlarge the corridor between Miasnoi Bor and Spasskaya Polist, which was submitted to the STAVKA on May 2. To this end the 6th Guards Corps was to be reinforced with the 4th and 24th Guards Rifle Divisions plus the 24th and 58th Rifle Brigades, all of which required refitting, which was to be completed by mid-May. The Corps was then to widen the corridor, reinforce 2nd Shock, and join in a combined attack with 59th Army to encircle and eliminate the German forces in the Chudovo area. On May 12 Khozin reported that German reinforcements were arriving at Spasskaya Polist and north of Lyubtsy, which seemed to indicate another effort would be made to cut 2nd Shock's communications. He now directed Vlasov to prepare for a breakout operation by stages.[15]

The breakout battle began on May 16 and continued for several days, but proved largely futile, at significant cost to both those inside and outside the pocket. At 1720 hours on May 21 the STAVKA sent orders for 2nd Shock to break out once and for all and to clear German forces from the east bank of the Volkhov River at Kirishi and Gruzino no later than June 1. Also on May 21 orders arrived to send 6th Guards Corps, minus the 165th, to reinforce Northwestern Front's operations in the Demyansk region. By now, 2nd Shock had lost as much as 70 percent of its original strength and was lacking all types of supplies. On May 24 it began the first phase of its withdrawal from its most advanced positions, and Army Group became alarmed that it might escape. To this end, on May 30 the XXXVIII and I Army Corps launched a joint attack to finally cut the corridor to the pocket. This was complete by noon on May 31st.[16] In a desperate effort to reopen the gap the 165th was thrown into battle near Miasnoi Bor on June 1, without artillery support, and soon lost 50 percent of its combat strength without any success, and was replaced by the 374th Rifle Division. The division returned to the attack on June 5, gaining some 700m-800m. The inspector of Leningrad Front's political department, Sen. Battalion Commissar Roginskii, reported:

From the very beginning of the offensive, there was disorganization and poor management on the part of the command staff.
At 14:00, a mass escape from the battlefield of fighters began, including some of the middle command staff, and only through measures taken by the [political] workers of the Army, the Front Command Post, as well as individual commanders and political workers of the division, was the escape from the battlefield stopped. As a result, the division lost the initiative in the offensive and retreated to its original position.[17]

On June 17 Khozin removed Colonel Solenov from command, replacing him with Col. Vasilii Ivanovich Morozov, who had been leading the 58th Rifle Brigade.[18] The 165th remained in the breakthrough area and on June 23 managed to briefly link up with 2nd Shock in the Teremets-Kurlyandskii area. This was part of a final effort by 59th and 2nd Shock Armies which saw some 6,000 men escape from the trap before all communications with the pocket were lost and organized efforts ceased.[19]

Battle of Krasny Bor

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As of the beginning of July the 165th was pulled back to the second echelon of 52nd Army facing Spasskaya Polist. This Army was part of the re-formed Volkhov Front and the division would remain in the same general area while it was slowly rebuilt until January 1943.[20][21] In January 1943 it was moved to the Front reserves and then joined 54th Army, still in Volkhov Front.[22] The division re-entered combat on February 16 as part of that Army's Krasnoborsk-Smerdinsk 0peration south of Pogoste. The 165th attacked with the 7th Guards Tank Brigade and 14th Rifle Brigade in an effort to cut the Shapki–Lyuban road, but the only actual accomplishment was to temporarily break the encirclement of Morozov's former 58th Brigade. This was followed by a German counterattack which enveloped the 641st Rifle Regiment and other elements of the division plus the 7th Guards Tanks. Some of the troops escaped the trap on February 21 and the next day heavy fighting broke out throughout the division's zone which even involved Morozov's headquarters.[23]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. VIII, Nafziger, 1996, p. 81
  2. ^ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 12
  3. ^ Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 82
  4. ^ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 24
  5. ^ David Stahel, Kiev 1941, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2012, pp. 77-80
  6. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20140101052005/http://bdsa.ru/documents/html/donesaugust41/410801.html. In Russian. Retrieved August 22, 2024
  7. ^ Stahel, Kiev 1941, pp. 81, 84-85
  8. ^ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 33, 43
  9. ^ Stahel, Kiev 1941, pp. 210, 228-29
  10. ^ Walter S. Dunn Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 99
  11. ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. X, Nafziger, 1996, p. 66
  12. ^ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, pp. 76, 81
  13. ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 66
  14. ^ David M. Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2002, pp. 177-78, 182, 189-91
  15. ^ Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, pp. 191-96
  16. ^ Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, pp. 198-99, 201-03
  17. ^ http://www.e-reading.org.ua/bookreader.php/1000831/Daynes_Vladimir_-_Shtrafbaty_i_zagradotryady_Krasnoy_Armii.html. In Russian. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  18. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20110813111828/http://generalvlasov.ru/documents/zapiska-o-srive-boevoi-operacii-voisk-2-udarnoi-armii.html. In Russian. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  19. ^ Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, p. 205
  20. ^ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 120
  21. ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 66
  22. ^ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 33, 58
  23. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20101215193548/http://www.profcom.spb.ru/fso-veteran.shtml. In Russian. Retrieved August 26, 2024.

Bibliography

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