Recent from talks
22nd Guards Rifle Division
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
22nd Guards Rifle Division
The 22nd Guards Rifle Division was a division in the Soviet Armed Forces. The division was unique in being the only Guards rifle division formed twice during the Second World War. It was first formed from the 363rd Rifle Division in March 1942. Soon after forming it provided a command cadre for the second formation of the 53rd Army in Kalinin Front. Later, in the fall of that year, the division provided most of its personnel and equipment to form the new 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps, and was then disbanded. In April 1943, a new 22nd Guards was formed from the second formation of the 150th Rifle Division in the Moscow Military District, and went on to serve for the duration in 10th Guards Army. This formation first saw service in Operation Suvorov, the summer offensive of Western Front that liberated Smolensk in late September, and then fought through the autumn and winter in grinding battles towards the city of Orsha. During the summer offensive of 1944 it helped break the Panther Line in western Russia and then advanced into Latvia, winning a battle honor for its part in the liberation of Riga, before ending the war in Lithuania, helping to contain the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket. It was disbanded shortly after the war.
The 363rd Rifle Division became the 22nd Guards on March 17, 1942, the same day its "sister" division, the 361st, became the 21st Guards Rifle Division, both in Kalinin Front. Its order of battle was as follows:
Col. Karp Vasilyevich Sviridov remained in command from the 363rd, and would hold this position throughout the first formation, being promoted to major general on October 1. It was part of Kalinin Front during its entire first formation, beginning in 30th Army before being moved to 11th Army. In April the division supplied the officers and men to form a new headquarters for the re-formed 53rd Army. Beginning on October 15 the 22nd Guards, over the course of the next four weeks, had most of its men and equipment used to create the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps, and when this was completed on November 16, the division was disbanded.
On April 19, 1943, a new 22nd Guards Rifle Division was formed, based on the second formation of the 150th Rifle Division, in accordance with a decree of the STAVKA dated April 16. At the time, the division was in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command in the Moscow Military District. Its order of battle was very similar to that of the first formation, with several exceptions as follow:
The division did not include a mortar battalion. It inherited the "Siberian" (sometimes "Siberian Volunteer") honorific from the 150th, but not the "Stalin" title. It was under the command of Col. Nikolai Olimpievich Ruz from the day of its conversion. By June 1 the division was in the 10th Guards Army's 19th Guards Rifle Corps along with the 56th and 65th Guards Rifle Divisions. It would remain in this Army, mostly under command of this Corps, for the duration of the war.
The Front's main effort was made between Yelnya and Spas-Demensk by 10th Guards and 33rd Armies. The 10th Guards' 15th and 19th Guards Corps were deployed on a 10 km-wide sector between Mazovo and Sluzna; the 56th and 65th Guards Divisions were in the first echelon with the 22nd Guards in the second. Each division had about 8,000 personnel on strength. The 5th Mechanized Corps was assembled behind the Army, ready to exploit the expected breakthrough. The operational objective for the first day of the offensive was the town of Pavlinovo situated on the Smolensk - Spas-Demensk railway, 10 km to the south. The German defense in this sector was based on the Büffel-Stellung position, held by XII Army Corps. That Corps' 260th and 268th Infantry Divisions had both been reduced to just two infantry regiments and held very wide sectors, but the terrain was heavily wooded and dotted with numerous fortified villages. Furthermore, two key German positions at Gnezdilovo and nearby Hill 233.3 had not been identified by Soviet intelligence and so escaped the preparatory bombardment.
That bombardment began at 0440 hours and continued until 0630, consuming more than 50 percent of Western Front's available ammunition. Shortly after crossing the start line the 56th and 65th Guards ran into heavy resistance from the 499th Regiment of the 268th Infantry. That Division's artillery broke up the assault groups before they could make any progress while a pair of German assault guns picked off advancing T-34s of the supporting 119th Tank Regiment. However, here and there some small detachments found a way through. The 56th managed to carve out a 1 km-deep penetration near Kamenka but it was soon evident that 19th Guards Corps had been stopped cold. The 15th Guards Corps made somewhat greater progress against the portion of the 499th Regiment that it faced. By the early afternoon the commander of Western Front, Col. Gen. V. D. Sokolovsky, was already making command changes and committing additional forces. During the rest of the afternoon the 10th Guards Army's infantry gradually outflanked the remaining strongpoints of the 499th Regiment and once night fell the 268th Infantry was authorized to pull back 2–3 km to form a new line. Meanwhile, a battlegroup of the 2nd Panzer Division, de-training near Yelnya, was ordered to march to support that Division.
The offensive resumed at 0730 hours on August 8 after a 30-minute artillery preparation. The 65th Guards, now reinforced by the 22nd Guards and the 1st Assault Engineer-Sapper Brigade, remained stymied in front of Hill 233.3, held by a single German battalion. However the two German divisions were being drained by steady losses. A further effort by the two Guards divisions on August 9 was thrown back by a furious counterattack. The Hill was not finally taken until the evening of August 10 after a massive assault led by the reinforcing 29th Guards Rifle Division supported by the 23rd Tank Brigade. A few hours earlier the 56th Guards had captured the village of Delyagino, causing the German forces to retreat 2 km to the south. These gains unhinged the Büffel-Stellung and allowed 10th Guards Army to finally reach the Smolensk - Spas-Demensk railway; the XII Corps was now forced to trade space for time until Sokolovsky's offensive outran its logistical support. Western Front's artillery had already shot off almost all of its available ammunition.
Hub AI
22nd Guards Rifle Division AI simulator
(@22nd Guards Rifle Division_simulator)
22nd Guards Rifle Division
The 22nd Guards Rifle Division was a division in the Soviet Armed Forces. The division was unique in being the only Guards rifle division formed twice during the Second World War. It was first formed from the 363rd Rifle Division in March 1942. Soon after forming it provided a command cadre for the second formation of the 53rd Army in Kalinin Front. Later, in the fall of that year, the division provided most of its personnel and equipment to form the new 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps, and was then disbanded. In April 1943, a new 22nd Guards was formed from the second formation of the 150th Rifle Division in the Moscow Military District, and went on to serve for the duration in 10th Guards Army. This formation first saw service in Operation Suvorov, the summer offensive of Western Front that liberated Smolensk in late September, and then fought through the autumn and winter in grinding battles towards the city of Orsha. During the summer offensive of 1944 it helped break the Panther Line in western Russia and then advanced into Latvia, winning a battle honor for its part in the liberation of Riga, before ending the war in Lithuania, helping to contain the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket. It was disbanded shortly after the war.
The 363rd Rifle Division became the 22nd Guards on March 17, 1942, the same day its "sister" division, the 361st, became the 21st Guards Rifle Division, both in Kalinin Front. Its order of battle was as follows:
Col. Karp Vasilyevich Sviridov remained in command from the 363rd, and would hold this position throughout the first formation, being promoted to major general on October 1. It was part of Kalinin Front during its entire first formation, beginning in 30th Army before being moved to 11th Army. In April the division supplied the officers and men to form a new headquarters for the re-formed 53rd Army. Beginning on October 15 the 22nd Guards, over the course of the next four weeks, had most of its men and equipment used to create the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps, and when this was completed on November 16, the division was disbanded.
On April 19, 1943, a new 22nd Guards Rifle Division was formed, based on the second formation of the 150th Rifle Division, in accordance with a decree of the STAVKA dated April 16. At the time, the division was in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command in the Moscow Military District. Its order of battle was very similar to that of the first formation, with several exceptions as follow:
The division did not include a mortar battalion. It inherited the "Siberian" (sometimes "Siberian Volunteer") honorific from the 150th, but not the "Stalin" title. It was under the command of Col. Nikolai Olimpievich Ruz from the day of its conversion. By June 1 the division was in the 10th Guards Army's 19th Guards Rifle Corps along with the 56th and 65th Guards Rifle Divisions. It would remain in this Army, mostly under command of this Corps, for the duration of the war.
The Front's main effort was made between Yelnya and Spas-Demensk by 10th Guards and 33rd Armies. The 10th Guards' 15th and 19th Guards Corps were deployed on a 10 km-wide sector between Mazovo and Sluzna; the 56th and 65th Guards Divisions were in the first echelon with the 22nd Guards in the second. Each division had about 8,000 personnel on strength. The 5th Mechanized Corps was assembled behind the Army, ready to exploit the expected breakthrough. The operational objective for the first day of the offensive was the town of Pavlinovo situated on the Smolensk - Spas-Demensk railway, 10 km to the south. The German defense in this sector was based on the Büffel-Stellung position, held by XII Army Corps. That Corps' 260th and 268th Infantry Divisions had both been reduced to just two infantry regiments and held very wide sectors, but the terrain was heavily wooded and dotted with numerous fortified villages. Furthermore, two key German positions at Gnezdilovo and nearby Hill 233.3 had not been identified by Soviet intelligence and so escaped the preparatory bombardment.
That bombardment began at 0440 hours and continued until 0630, consuming more than 50 percent of Western Front's available ammunition. Shortly after crossing the start line the 56th and 65th Guards ran into heavy resistance from the 499th Regiment of the 268th Infantry. That Division's artillery broke up the assault groups before they could make any progress while a pair of German assault guns picked off advancing T-34s of the supporting 119th Tank Regiment. However, here and there some small detachments found a way through. The 56th managed to carve out a 1 km-deep penetration near Kamenka but it was soon evident that 19th Guards Corps had been stopped cold. The 15th Guards Corps made somewhat greater progress against the portion of the 499th Regiment that it faced. By the early afternoon the commander of Western Front, Col. Gen. V. D. Sokolovsky, was already making command changes and committing additional forces. During the rest of the afternoon the 10th Guards Army's infantry gradually outflanked the remaining strongpoints of the 499th Regiment and once night fell the 268th Infantry was authorized to pull back 2–3 km to form a new line. Meanwhile, a battlegroup of the 2nd Panzer Division, de-training near Yelnya, was ordered to march to support that Division.
The offensive resumed at 0730 hours on August 8 after a 30-minute artillery preparation. The 65th Guards, now reinforced by the 22nd Guards and the 1st Assault Engineer-Sapper Brigade, remained stymied in front of Hill 233.3, held by a single German battalion. However the two German divisions were being drained by steady losses. A further effort by the two Guards divisions on August 9 was thrown back by a furious counterattack. The Hill was not finally taken until the evening of August 10 after a massive assault led by the reinforcing 29th Guards Rifle Division supported by the 23rd Tank Brigade. A few hours earlier the 56th Guards had captured the village of Delyagino, causing the German forces to retreat 2 km to the south. These gains unhinged the Büffel-Stellung and allowed 10th Guards Army to finally reach the Smolensk - Spas-Demensk railway; the XII Corps was now forced to trade space for time until Sokolovsky's offensive outran its logistical support. Western Front's artillery had already shot off almost all of its available ammunition.