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348th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
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348th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 348th Rifle Division was first formed in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Kuybyshev. It was assigned to 60th Reserve Army shortly after forming and took part in the winter counteroffensive in front of Moscow. Until the end of 1942 it was involved in the dismal and costly battles around the Rzhev Salient, until it was shifted to take part in the equally difficult fighting around the Demyansk Salient. Both of these German positions were evacuated in March 1943, and, after rebuilding, the division returned to the front to take part in the summer offensive along the Smolensk axis. During Operation Bagration the 348th distinguished itself in the liberation of Bobruysk, and received the name of that city as an honorific. Not long after it was also decorated for its role in the liberation of Białystok. In 1945 it helped to liberate northern Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive, before being reassigned to 3rd Belorussian Front in East Prussia. In the last weeks of the war it formed part of the reserves of 1st Belorussian Front during the Berlin Operation.
The division officially formed on August 15, 1941, in the Volga Military District at Kuybyshev. Its order of battle was as follows:
Colonel Anisim Stefanovich Liukhtikov was assigned to command of the division on the day it began forming, and he continued in command until September 21, 1942, being promoted to the rank of Major General on August 4 of that year.
In November the division was transferred to the Moscow Military District and added to the 60th (Reserve) Army which was forming there. On November 29 it was assigned to the 30th Army in Western Front. On December 1 it unloaded and concentrated in the area of Zaprudnaya. At the outset of the Moscow counteroffensive on December 6 the division, along with the 18th and 24th Cavalry Divisions, was directed to make a secondary attack toward Rogachevo. In late December the division, along with 30th Army, was shifted to Kalinin Front, and the 348th remained there until the end of 1942. For most of the year it was under command of 30th Army, but in August it was one of the first formations assigned to the re-forming 39th Army, and served in it until December. In September, General Liukhtikov was appointed to command of 39th Army rear services, and Col. Ivan Afanasevich Ilichev was given command of the 348th, which he would hold until April 21, 1943.
During the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation, 39th Army was positioned at the apex of the Rzhev Salient, roughly along the line of the upper Volga River. The 348th, which had been in Front reserve for rebuilding for about one month, was the Army's reserve formation. Maj. Gen. A. I. Zygin, commander of 39th Army, had been assigned a rather simple mission which was largely diversionary while the main effort to pinch out the salient took place farther south. His plan was to pinch out a salient of his own, using his 135th, 158th, and 373rd Rifle Divisions, plus two tank brigades, to encircle the German 206th Infantry Division, allowing him to commit the 348th to advance on the town of Olenino beginning on the third day. The key to the operation was seizing the fortified village of Urdom.
When the attack opened on November 25, the other forces of 39th Army did make some initial progress against the thinly-held German lines, and expanded their bridgeheads across the Volga on each side of the 206th Division. Zygin, however, was not fully aware of the presence of elements of 14th Motorized and Grossdeutchland Divisions in reserve. Between them they were able to assist the 206th to contain and even push back the Soviet bridgeheads across the Volga, so the battle became a frontal offensive, and the 348th would remain in reserve until greater progress was made. On November 28, 39th Army tried to renew the offensive, but by the end of the next day Urdom was still in German hands. On November 30, the division was finally committed to the fight for Urdom, and with the help of the remnants of 135th and 373rd Rifle Divisions and a handful of KV heavy tanks to reduce German pillboxes, the village finally fell. However, the German lines held, and this advance marked the end of 39th Army's progress during the operation.
After Operation Mars was closed down, the 348th was reassigned to Northwestern Front, first, briefly, to 1st Shock Army, then to the Front reserves, and finally to 53rd Army, where it was intended to take part in the final liquidation of the Demyansk Pocket. This was forestalled by Hitler's decision to abandon the pocket voluntarily, which began on February 17, 1943. While this move freed up German forces for service elsewhere, it did the same for the Red Army, and on March 11, in the face of a deteriorating situation in the Kursk region, the STAVKA issued the following directive (No. 30071), in part:
"1. Form a Reserve Front effective at 2400 hours on 13 March 1943. 2. The Reserve Front will include: a) The 2nd Reserve Army, consisting of the 129th, 235th, 250th, 348th, 380th, and 397th Rifle Divisions, re-stationed in the Yelets, Lipetsk, and Lebedyan regions..."
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348th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 348th Rifle Division was first formed in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Kuybyshev. It was assigned to 60th Reserve Army shortly after forming and took part in the winter counteroffensive in front of Moscow. Until the end of 1942 it was involved in the dismal and costly battles around the Rzhev Salient, until it was shifted to take part in the equally difficult fighting around the Demyansk Salient. Both of these German positions were evacuated in March 1943, and, after rebuilding, the division returned to the front to take part in the summer offensive along the Smolensk axis. During Operation Bagration the 348th distinguished itself in the liberation of Bobruysk, and received the name of that city as an honorific. Not long after it was also decorated for its role in the liberation of Białystok. In 1945 it helped to liberate northern Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive, before being reassigned to 3rd Belorussian Front in East Prussia. In the last weeks of the war it formed part of the reserves of 1st Belorussian Front during the Berlin Operation.
The division officially formed on August 15, 1941, in the Volga Military District at Kuybyshev. Its order of battle was as follows:
Colonel Anisim Stefanovich Liukhtikov was assigned to command of the division on the day it began forming, and he continued in command until September 21, 1942, being promoted to the rank of Major General on August 4 of that year.
In November the division was transferred to the Moscow Military District and added to the 60th (Reserve) Army which was forming there. On November 29 it was assigned to the 30th Army in Western Front. On December 1 it unloaded and concentrated in the area of Zaprudnaya. At the outset of the Moscow counteroffensive on December 6 the division, along with the 18th and 24th Cavalry Divisions, was directed to make a secondary attack toward Rogachevo. In late December the division, along with 30th Army, was shifted to Kalinin Front, and the 348th remained there until the end of 1942. For most of the year it was under command of 30th Army, but in August it was one of the first formations assigned to the re-forming 39th Army, and served in it until December. In September, General Liukhtikov was appointed to command of 39th Army rear services, and Col. Ivan Afanasevich Ilichev was given command of the 348th, which he would hold until April 21, 1943.
During the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation, 39th Army was positioned at the apex of the Rzhev Salient, roughly along the line of the upper Volga River. The 348th, which had been in Front reserve for rebuilding for about one month, was the Army's reserve formation. Maj. Gen. A. I. Zygin, commander of 39th Army, had been assigned a rather simple mission which was largely diversionary while the main effort to pinch out the salient took place farther south. His plan was to pinch out a salient of his own, using his 135th, 158th, and 373rd Rifle Divisions, plus two tank brigades, to encircle the German 206th Infantry Division, allowing him to commit the 348th to advance on the town of Olenino beginning on the third day. The key to the operation was seizing the fortified village of Urdom.
When the attack opened on November 25, the other forces of 39th Army did make some initial progress against the thinly-held German lines, and expanded their bridgeheads across the Volga on each side of the 206th Division. Zygin, however, was not fully aware of the presence of elements of 14th Motorized and Grossdeutchland Divisions in reserve. Between them they were able to assist the 206th to contain and even push back the Soviet bridgeheads across the Volga, so the battle became a frontal offensive, and the 348th would remain in reserve until greater progress was made. On November 28, 39th Army tried to renew the offensive, but by the end of the next day Urdom was still in German hands. On November 30, the division was finally committed to the fight for Urdom, and with the help of the remnants of 135th and 373rd Rifle Divisions and a handful of KV heavy tanks to reduce German pillboxes, the village finally fell. However, the German lines held, and this advance marked the end of 39th Army's progress during the operation.
After Operation Mars was closed down, the 348th was reassigned to Northwestern Front, first, briefly, to 1st Shock Army, then to the Front reserves, and finally to 53rd Army, where it was intended to take part in the final liquidation of the Demyansk Pocket. This was forestalled by Hitler's decision to abandon the pocket voluntarily, which began on February 17, 1943. While this move freed up German forces for service elsewhere, it did the same for the Red Army, and on March 11, in the face of a deteriorating situation in the Kursk region, the STAVKA issued the following directive (No. 30071), in part:
"1. Form a Reserve Front effective at 2400 hours on 13 March 1943. 2. The Reserve Front will include: a) The 2nd Reserve Army, consisting of the 129th, 235th, 250th, 348th, 380th, and 397th Rifle Divisions, re-stationed in the Yelets, Lipetsk, and Lebedyan regions..."