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69th Rifle Division
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69th Rifle Division
The 69th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army, formed twice.
It was first formed in 1936 from the 3rd Kolkhoz Rifle Division in the Soviet Far East, and in the spring of 1941 converted to the 69th Motorized Division. Sent west after the start of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, it was reorganized into the 107th Tank Division shortly after arriving at the front. The division fought in the Battle of Smolensk before being redesignated the 107th Motor Rifle Division in September. The 107th fought in the Battle of Moscow and became the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division in honor of its actions in the battle.
The 69th Rifle Division was reformed in December 1941, distinguishing itself in at least two battles. It was credited with the liberation of the town of Sevsk on 26 August 1943. On 15 October 1943 it made a successful assault crossing of the Dnepr River south of Gomel; 21 officers and men of the division were decorated as Heroes of the Soviet Union for this action. Postwar, the 69th was withdrawn to Vologda, where it remained for the rest of its existence. Between 1946 and 1953 it was reduced to the 25th Separate Rifle Brigade. It became the 69th Motor Rifle Division in 1957 and was reduced to a storage base in 1989.
Using German Foreign Armies East intelligence data, Poirer and Connor wrote that the division was first organized as the 69th Motorized Rifle Division and was established at Kuibyshev in the Russian SFSR sometime in the early 1930s. However, Crofoot and Avanziani write that the division was established at Khabarovsk, RSFSR, in early 1936 from a cadre provided by the 3rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union).
According to the most recent Russian sources, the 69th was originally formed as the 3rd Kolkhoz Rifle Division of the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army in 1932. On 21 May 1936, the division was released from Kolkhoz duty and redesignated the 69th Rifle Division. In March 1941, it was reorganized as the 69th Motorized Division, and its 8th Rifle and 222nd Artillery Regiments were disbanded. A separate unit of the 2nd Red Banner Army, the division was stationed in the Blagoveshchensk area.
On 22 June 1941, the day Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began, Porfiry Chanchibadze was serving as commander of the division's 120th Rifle Regiment. Shortly after the German invasion began, the division was sent west to the front by a General Staff directive of 25 June. On 10 July it unloaded in the Nelidovo and Olenino area. On 15 July (17 July according to rkka.ru), it became the 107th Tank Division. After making a 200-kilometer march, the 107th joined the Reserve Front's 30th Army and took up defensive positions on the line of Bely and Yelnya. During the Battle of Smolensk, the division attacked with 200 tanks on 20 July towards Dukhovshchina in an attempt to take Smolensk, but was repulsed with heavy losses. The division then fought in defensive battles on the Western Front, and had 153 tanks at the beginning of September. Soon after it was redesignated as the 107th Motorized Division, and Chanchibadze became the divisional commander.
On 1 October, the division had only 125 tanks: three KV tanks, 23 T-34s, one BT, 92 T-26s and six T-37s. In early October, the 107th fought in heavy fighting, trapped in a pocket by Operation Typhoon in the Volynovo, Samsonikha, and Bykovo areas. In seventeen days it was able to break out of the encirclement and reach the Mozhaisk Defense Line. Replenished with personnel, artillery, and tanks, the 107th then held positions on the Lama River. In three days of defensive battles in the area of Ilyinsky, Domarino, and Pokrovskoye, the division was credited with destroying 46 tanks, four armored vehicles, and ten guns and mortars. On 12 January 1942, in recognition of its achievements, the 107th was converted into an elite Guards unit, the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.
The division was reformed at Tashkent, in the Central Asia Military District, from December 1941 to 14 February 1942. For the duration of the war its main order of battle was as follows:
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69th Rifle Division
The 69th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army, formed twice.
It was first formed in 1936 from the 3rd Kolkhoz Rifle Division in the Soviet Far East, and in the spring of 1941 converted to the 69th Motorized Division. Sent west after the start of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, it was reorganized into the 107th Tank Division shortly after arriving at the front. The division fought in the Battle of Smolensk before being redesignated the 107th Motor Rifle Division in September. The 107th fought in the Battle of Moscow and became the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division in honor of its actions in the battle.
The 69th Rifle Division was reformed in December 1941, distinguishing itself in at least two battles. It was credited with the liberation of the town of Sevsk on 26 August 1943. On 15 October 1943 it made a successful assault crossing of the Dnepr River south of Gomel; 21 officers and men of the division were decorated as Heroes of the Soviet Union for this action. Postwar, the 69th was withdrawn to Vologda, where it remained for the rest of its existence. Between 1946 and 1953 it was reduced to the 25th Separate Rifle Brigade. It became the 69th Motor Rifle Division in 1957 and was reduced to a storage base in 1989.
Using German Foreign Armies East intelligence data, Poirer and Connor wrote that the division was first organized as the 69th Motorized Rifle Division and was established at Kuibyshev in the Russian SFSR sometime in the early 1930s. However, Crofoot and Avanziani write that the division was established at Khabarovsk, RSFSR, in early 1936 from a cadre provided by the 3rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union).
According to the most recent Russian sources, the 69th was originally formed as the 3rd Kolkhoz Rifle Division of the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army in 1932. On 21 May 1936, the division was released from Kolkhoz duty and redesignated the 69th Rifle Division. In March 1941, it was reorganized as the 69th Motorized Division, and its 8th Rifle and 222nd Artillery Regiments were disbanded. A separate unit of the 2nd Red Banner Army, the division was stationed in the Blagoveshchensk area.
On 22 June 1941, the day Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began, Porfiry Chanchibadze was serving as commander of the division's 120th Rifle Regiment. Shortly after the German invasion began, the division was sent west to the front by a General Staff directive of 25 June. On 10 July it unloaded in the Nelidovo and Olenino area. On 15 July (17 July according to rkka.ru), it became the 107th Tank Division. After making a 200-kilometer march, the 107th joined the Reserve Front's 30th Army and took up defensive positions on the line of Bely and Yelnya. During the Battle of Smolensk, the division attacked with 200 tanks on 20 July towards Dukhovshchina in an attempt to take Smolensk, but was repulsed with heavy losses. The division then fought in defensive battles on the Western Front, and had 153 tanks at the beginning of September. Soon after it was redesignated as the 107th Motorized Division, and Chanchibadze became the divisional commander.
On 1 October, the division had only 125 tanks: three KV tanks, 23 T-34s, one BT, 92 T-26s and six T-37s. In early October, the 107th fought in heavy fighting, trapped in a pocket by Operation Typhoon in the Volynovo, Samsonikha, and Bykovo areas. In seventeen days it was able to break out of the encirclement and reach the Mozhaisk Defense Line. Replenished with personnel, artillery, and tanks, the 107th then held positions on the Lama River. In three days of defensive battles in the area of Ilyinsky, Domarino, and Pokrovskoye, the division was credited with destroying 46 tanks, four armored vehicles, and ten guns and mortars. On 12 January 1942, in recognition of its achievements, the 107th was converted into an elite Guards unit, the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.
The division was reformed at Tashkent, in the Central Asia Military District, from December 1941 to 14 February 1942. For the duration of the war its main order of battle was as follows: