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169th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 169th Rifle Division began forming as an infantry division of the Red Army in the Ukraine Military District in August 1939, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of the following month. It nominally saw service in the occupation force in western Ukraine in September, but was not in any state to see combat. It played a more active role in the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in June/July 1940. The German invasion in June 1941 found it still in Ukraine, as part of 55th Rifle Corps fighting back to the Dniepr until it was nearly destroyed. It joined the reformed 28th Army after that Army was assigned to Southwestern Front. In May it formed part of the Front's northern shock group for the offensive intended to liberate Kharkiv. While initially hampered by the failure to take the German strongpoint at Ternovaya it gradually developed momentum in cooperation with 175th Rifle Division and ended up deep into the German positions before being struck by an armored counterattack on May 20 and being driven back to near its starting line, at considerable cost. In June it was nearly encircled during Operation Wilhelm, but managed to escape, again with serious losses. At the end of July it was removed to the Stalingrad Military District for rebuilding, joining the reformed 28th Army in the Kalmyk Steppe, but was then moved north in October to 64th Army south of Stalingrad and played a minor role in an offensive to break into the city. At the start of Operation Uranus it was in 57th Army south of the city and quickly penetrated the Romanian positions and exploited westward until coming up against German positions on the southern edge of what was now the Stalingrad Kessel (Pocket). During the operation that eliminated the pocket in January 1943 it was again under 64th Army, now in Don Front. Following the German surrender the 169th was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and sent north to join 11th Guards Army in Western Front, and under these command it took part in the offensive against the Oryol salient in July and August. With the successful conclusion of this operation the division was moved to 63rd Army, which became part of Belorussian Front (later 1st Belorussian) in October, following an advance through northeastern Ukraine. It saw action in eastern Belarus through the fall and winter, being moved to 3rd Army after the 63rd was disbanded, and it would remain in this Army for nearly the entire remainder of the war. In late February 1944 the 169th was awarded a battle honor for its part in the liberation of Rahachow. After a pause in operations in the spring the division fought in Operation Bagration, including taking part in the clearing of the city of Babruysk, and during the pursuit of the defeated forces of Army Group Center won the Order of the Red Banner after taking Vawkavysk, now as part of 2nd Belorussian Front. Before the offensive culminated it advanced past Białystok nearly to the borders of East Prussia. During the Vistula-Oder Offensive in January 1945 the 169th crossed that border and fought in there into March, briefly as part of 3rd Belorussian Front, winning the Order of Suvorov and Order of Kutuzov in the process. It was moved, with 3rd Army, back to 1st Belorussian Front in time for the final assault on Berlin, and fought in the encirclement battle with German 9th Army southeast of the city in the last days of April. It ended the war along the Elbe River and, although it was slated for disbandment during the summer, it continued in service in Belarus until June 1946.
The 169th was based on a cadre from the 45th Rifle Regiment of the 15th Rifle Division as it was converting to a motorized division, and began forming on August 25 and into September 1939 at Kherson and Mykolaiv in the Ukrainian Military District (later, the Odessa Military District). While still forming up it was officially in the third echelon of the Soviet forces as part of 6th Rifle Corps taking part in the Soviet invasion of Poland. It also participated in the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in June/July 1940, under command of 37th Rifle Corps. In early 1941 it was assigned to 55th Rifle Corps in the Kiev Special Military District, along with the 130th and 189th Rifle Divisions.
Kombrig Ivan Evdokimovich Turunov had been appointed to command of the division on January 10, 1940. He had previously led the 99th Rifle Division through all of 1939. His rank was modernized to that of major general on June 5, 1940. On June 22, 1941, the order of battle of the 169th was as follows:
As the German offensive began the division was headquartered northwest of Zhmerynka , but its subunits were spread over 65km in peacetime garrisons around Lipkany, Mohyliv-Podilskyi, and Grushka along the Dniestr River. On June 25 it was assigned to Southern Front, and within days the 55th Corps, minus the 189th Division, came under command of 18th Army.
By July 13 the 169th was holding a front along the Dniestr northwest of Mohyliv-Podilskyi. The 680th Rifle Regiment came under attack from a Romanian force in the area of Nova Ushytsia. The regiment's battery of four 45mm antitank guns was led by Sen. Lt. Labius, and one of his gun layers was Krasnoarmeets Yakov Kharitonovich Kolchak. Allowing a column of Romanian tanks to come as close as 150m before opening fire, in an hour of fighting he destroyed four of them, including two when he had only one other member of his crew remaining. His gun was then crushed by a tank that managed to break into his position. On August 2, on the recommendation of 18th Army's commander, Lt. Gen. A. K. Smirnov, Kolchak was made a Hero of the Soviet Union, while Labius received the Order of Lenin. However, Kolchak had been wounded and left on the battlefield on July 23 and fell into enemy hands before he had been informed of his award. Eventually listed as missing in action he was liberated in Moldova in August 1944 and mobilized again into the Red Army on September 9, being sent to serve in the 168th Penal Company in 57th Army for the duration of the war. He continued to serve with distinction, winning the Order of the Red Banner and Order of the Red Star and rising to the rank of starshina, but he was only informed that he had been awarded the Gold Star when he returned to the USSR. He was presented with this, and its accompanying Order of Lenin, at the Kremlin on March 25, 1947. He went to work in agriculture and as a political representative following this, but died on March 7, 1955 at the age of 36 and was buried near Mykolaiv.
The 169th remained under attack from the Romanian 3rd Army and was soon forced to fall back to the southeast; it was located roughly halfway between its former location and the city of Kodyma by July 23 and then beyond that place by the end of the month. This retreat placed it south of the Axis forces that were proceeding to envelop the 6th and 12th Armies to the north in the Uman area. This was completed on August 1, and over the following days the 169th attempted to aid the breakout of the encircled Soviet forces. While directing his troops from his command post in the Pervomaisk area General Turunov was severely wounded by a shell fragment. He was evacuated by air to Kharkiv, but died in hospital on August 3. He was replaced the next day by Lt. Col. Nikolai Nikolaevich Zelinskii.
Retreating under pressure through the southern Ukraine, by August 12 the division was reduced to two groups, one with a strength of 808 men, and one of just 603 men. The former group was destroyed on August 14, and two days later the latter group was evacuated over the Dniepr River to serve as a cadre for the rebuilding division. By September 1 it was back in the line under command of the reconstructed 6th Army near Dnipro. The order of battle had changed; the 135th Antiaircraft Battalion had been removed to become a separate unit. Lt. Colonel Zelinskii was replaced on October 1 by Col. Samuil Mironovich Rogachevskii. On October 30 the 169th was in 38th Army of Southwestern Front with 4,787 officers and men in the ranks. During October and November it took part in 38th Army's delaying action west and later east of Kharkiv. The city fell to German 6th Army on October 25 after five days of heavy fighting.
On December 26 the 342nd Howitzer Regiment was disbanded and the 307th Light Artillery Regiment became a standard divisional artillery regiment, while the reconnaissance battalion was reorganized as a company, with the same number. As of January 1, 1942, the divisional strength was 5,536 officers and men, half of what was authorized for a rifle division at that time, but about average compared to other such divisions. By this time it had been transferred to 21st Army, still in Southwestern Front. On January 20 Colonel Rogachevskii left the division for the 8th Motor Rifle Division NKVD, which he had been concurrently leading since January 11, and was replaced by Maj. Gen. Mikhail Ivanovich Goryunov until February 27, when Rogachevskii returned while still leading 8th NKVD into April. He was promoted to the rank of major general on May 30. In March the 169th returned to 38th Army, before being moved to the rebuilt 28th Army the next month.
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169th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 169th Rifle Division began forming as an infantry division of the Red Army in the Ukraine Military District in August 1939, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of the following month. It nominally saw service in the occupation force in western Ukraine in September, but was not in any state to see combat. It played a more active role in the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in June/July 1940. The German invasion in June 1941 found it still in Ukraine, as part of 55th Rifle Corps fighting back to the Dniepr until it was nearly destroyed. It joined the reformed 28th Army after that Army was assigned to Southwestern Front. In May it formed part of the Front's northern shock group for the offensive intended to liberate Kharkiv. While initially hampered by the failure to take the German strongpoint at Ternovaya it gradually developed momentum in cooperation with 175th Rifle Division and ended up deep into the German positions before being struck by an armored counterattack on May 20 and being driven back to near its starting line, at considerable cost. In June it was nearly encircled during Operation Wilhelm, but managed to escape, again with serious losses. At the end of July it was removed to the Stalingrad Military District for rebuilding, joining the reformed 28th Army in the Kalmyk Steppe, but was then moved north in October to 64th Army south of Stalingrad and played a minor role in an offensive to break into the city. At the start of Operation Uranus it was in 57th Army south of the city and quickly penetrated the Romanian positions and exploited westward until coming up against German positions on the southern edge of what was now the Stalingrad Kessel (Pocket). During the operation that eliminated the pocket in January 1943 it was again under 64th Army, now in Don Front. Following the German surrender the 169th was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and sent north to join 11th Guards Army in Western Front, and under these command it took part in the offensive against the Oryol salient in July and August. With the successful conclusion of this operation the division was moved to 63rd Army, which became part of Belorussian Front (later 1st Belorussian) in October, following an advance through northeastern Ukraine. It saw action in eastern Belarus through the fall and winter, being moved to 3rd Army after the 63rd was disbanded, and it would remain in this Army for nearly the entire remainder of the war. In late February 1944 the 169th was awarded a battle honor for its part in the liberation of Rahachow. After a pause in operations in the spring the division fought in Operation Bagration, including taking part in the clearing of the city of Babruysk, and during the pursuit of the defeated forces of Army Group Center won the Order of the Red Banner after taking Vawkavysk, now as part of 2nd Belorussian Front. Before the offensive culminated it advanced past Białystok nearly to the borders of East Prussia. During the Vistula-Oder Offensive in January 1945 the 169th crossed that border and fought in there into March, briefly as part of 3rd Belorussian Front, winning the Order of Suvorov and Order of Kutuzov in the process. It was moved, with 3rd Army, back to 1st Belorussian Front in time for the final assault on Berlin, and fought in the encirclement battle with German 9th Army southeast of the city in the last days of April. It ended the war along the Elbe River and, although it was slated for disbandment during the summer, it continued in service in Belarus until June 1946.
The 169th was based on a cadre from the 45th Rifle Regiment of the 15th Rifle Division as it was converting to a motorized division, and began forming on August 25 and into September 1939 at Kherson and Mykolaiv in the Ukrainian Military District (later, the Odessa Military District). While still forming up it was officially in the third echelon of the Soviet forces as part of 6th Rifle Corps taking part in the Soviet invasion of Poland. It also participated in the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina in June/July 1940, under command of 37th Rifle Corps. In early 1941 it was assigned to 55th Rifle Corps in the Kiev Special Military District, along with the 130th and 189th Rifle Divisions.
Kombrig Ivan Evdokimovich Turunov had been appointed to command of the division on January 10, 1940. He had previously led the 99th Rifle Division through all of 1939. His rank was modernized to that of major general on June 5, 1940. On June 22, 1941, the order of battle of the 169th was as follows:
As the German offensive began the division was headquartered northwest of Zhmerynka , but its subunits were spread over 65km in peacetime garrisons around Lipkany, Mohyliv-Podilskyi, and Grushka along the Dniestr River. On June 25 it was assigned to Southern Front, and within days the 55th Corps, minus the 189th Division, came under command of 18th Army.
By July 13 the 169th was holding a front along the Dniestr northwest of Mohyliv-Podilskyi. The 680th Rifle Regiment came under attack from a Romanian force in the area of Nova Ushytsia. The regiment's battery of four 45mm antitank guns was led by Sen. Lt. Labius, and one of his gun layers was Krasnoarmeets Yakov Kharitonovich Kolchak. Allowing a column of Romanian tanks to come as close as 150m before opening fire, in an hour of fighting he destroyed four of them, including two when he had only one other member of his crew remaining. His gun was then crushed by a tank that managed to break into his position. On August 2, on the recommendation of 18th Army's commander, Lt. Gen. A. K. Smirnov, Kolchak was made a Hero of the Soviet Union, while Labius received the Order of Lenin. However, Kolchak had been wounded and left on the battlefield on July 23 and fell into enemy hands before he had been informed of his award. Eventually listed as missing in action he was liberated in Moldova in August 1944 and mobilized again into the Red Army on September 9, being sent to serve in the 168th Penal Company in 57th Army for the duration of the war. He continued to serve with distinction, winning the Order of the Red Banner and Order of the Red Star and rising to the rank of starshina, but he was only informed that he had been awarded the Gold Star when he returned to the USSR. He was presented with this, and its accompanying Order of Lenin, at the Kremlin on March 25, 1947. He went to work in agriculture and as a political representative following this, but died on March 7, 1955 at the age of 36 and was buried near Mykolaiv.
The 169th remained under attack from the Romanian 3rd Army and was soon forced to fall back to the southeast; it was located roughly halfway between its former location and the city of Kodyma by July 23 and then beyond that place by the end of the month. This retreat placed it south of the Axis forces that were proceeding to envelop the 6th and 12th Armies to the north in the Uman area. This was completed on August 1, and over the following days the 169th attempted to aid the breakout of the encircled Soviet forces. While directing his troops from his command post in the Pervomaisk area General Turunov was severely wounded by a shell fragment. He was evacuated by air to Kharkiv, but died in hospital on August 3. He was replaced the next day by Lt. Col. Nikolai Nikolaevich Zelinskii.
Retreating under pressure through the southern Ukraine, by August 12 the division was reduced to two groups, one with a strength of 808 men, and one of just 603 men. The former group was destroyed on August 14, and two days later the latter group was evacuated over the Dniepr River to serve as a cadre for the rebuilding division. By September 1 it was back in the line under command of the reconstructed 6th Army near Dnipro. The order of battle had changed; the 135th Antiaircraft Battalion had been removed to become a separate unit. Lt. Colonel Zelinskii was replaced on October 1 by Col. Samuil Mironovich Rogachevskii. On October 30 the 169th was in 38th Army of Southwestern Front with 4,787 officers and men in the ranks. During October and November it took part in 38th Army's delaying action west and later east of Kharkiv. The city fell to German 6th Army on October 25 after five days of heavy fighting.
On December 26 the 342nd Howitzer Regiment was disbanded and the 307th Light Artillery Regiment became a standard divisional artillery regiment, while the reconnaissance battalion was reorganized as a company, with the same number. As of January 1, 1942, the divisional strength was 5,536 officers and men, half of what was authorized for a rifle division at that time, but about average compared to other such divisions. By this time it had been transferred to 21st Army, still in Southwestern Front. On January 20 Colonel Rogachevskii left the division for the 8th Motor Rifle Division NKVD, which he had been concurrently leading since January 11, and was replaced by Maj. Gen. Mikhail Ivanovich Goryunov until February 27, when Rogachevskii returned while still leading 8th NKVD into April. He was promoted to the rank of major general on May 30. In March the 169th returned to 38th Army, before being moved to the rebuilt 28th Army the next month.