270th Rifle Division
Encyclopedia
The 270th Rifle Division was a Red Army
infantry
division
formed twice during World War II, in 1941 and 1942. After World War II it became a motor rifle division and became part of the Russian Ground Forces
after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
, in July 1941. It consisted of the 973, 975, 977 Rifle, and 810 Artillery Regiments. By August 1941 it was with the 12th Army
, Southwest Front. Elements of the division fought with the Southwestern Front at the Second Battle of Kharkov
in May 1942. That same month, the division was wiped out at Izyum. Recreated at Voronezh in the Ural Military District, Oct 1942. The division fought at Stalingrad (Nov. 1942), after which it was assigned to the 69th Army, and fought with it during the Third Battle of Kharkov
in February 1943, and later at the Battle of Kursk
in July 1943, where 69th Army, as part of Voronezh Front
, took the main thrust of the southern German attack. Fought at Demidov, Sep. 1943. Took part in Operation Bagration in June 1944. The division was serving with 4th Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front
) in May 1945. Honorifics were "Demidov, Polotsk," Order of the Red Banner
. At some point after 1945 the division was reduced to the 41st Rifle Brigade. From around 1945 to the end of the 1960s the division was based at Buzuluk
in Orenburg Oblast
.
In 1953 41st Rifle Brigade was expanded into the 270th Rifle Division. In 1954 the Division participated in the Totskoye range nuclear tests. In 1955 (sometime between January and May) the 270th Rifle Division was renamed the 44th Rifle Division
. In 1957 the 44th Rifle Division became the 44th Motor Rifle Division. In 1965 the 44th Motor Rifle Division was renamed the 270th Motor Rifle Division. The numbering of the regiments changed also. At the end of the 1960s the 270th Motor Rifle Division was relocated from the South Ural mountains to the Far East Military District, joining the 15th Army at Khabarovsk in 1969. During 19.08.67-03.03.70 was кадрированной 270 мсд (»»-61304).
On August, 19th, 1967 the division was reformed in the Far East Military District, without a formal designation or barracks location, and was linked for administration purposes to the 129th Motor Rifle Division. The Code name of the division was 61304. On March 3, 1970, the 270th Motor Rifle Division was formally re-formed, based in the city of Khabarovsk. The division was a part of 15th Army (Combined Arms) of the Far East Military District.
deployed at Gorki
(nowadays – Nizhni Novgorod), was transferred to the Far East Military District as part of a motor-rifle division.
In October, 1967 the regiment arrived at Князе-Волконское and joined the 129th Motor Rifle Training Division of the FEMD. At the end of 1970 the Red Small river Красная Речка and as part of the 270 MRD переподчинена 45-му to the army case (45th Army Corps?) has been relocated in a settlement.
From November 1, 1972 the regiment became part of the 15th Army (Combined Arms).
Since October 1974 of shelfs has been entered into structure of forces of immediate reaction. In December, 1994 of shelfs доукомплектован up to staff(state) of a wartime. 8 – on January, 9th, 1995 the staff has decreased in the Chechen Republic for actions in structure of federal armies.
On September 1, 1997 the regiment was transferred from 270th Motor Rifle Division to the 81st Guards Motor-Rifle Order of the Red Banner
Order of Suvorov
Division.
On June 6, 1999 the regiment was resubordinated from the 81st Guards Motor Rifle Division back directly under command of HQ Far East Military District.
and is part of the 35th Army
. It comprises the 509th Tank Regiment, and the 102nd, 478th, and 882nd Motor Rifle Regiments, as well as the 470th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment.
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
formed twice during World War II, in 1941 and 1942. After World War II it became a motor rifle division and became part of the Russian Ground Forces
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
History
It was first established at Melitopol, in the Odessa Military DistrictOdessa Military District
The Odessa Military District was a military administrative division of the Imperial Russian military, the Soviet Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was known under such name from around 1862 to 1998. It was reorganized as part of the Military of Ukraine and the Military of Moldova in...
, in July 1941. It consisted of the 973, 975, 977 Rifle, and 810 Artillery Regiments. By August 1941 it was with the 12th Army
12th Army (Soviet Union)
The Soviet Union's 12th Army was a field army formed multiple times during the Russian Civil War and World War II.-Civil War & Polish-Soviet War:...
, Southwest Front. Elements of the division fought with the Southwestern Front at the Second Battle of Kharkov
Second Battle of Kharkov
The Second Battle of Kharkov, so named by Wilhelm Keitel, was an Axis counter-offensive against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted from 12 May to 28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front during World War II. Its objective was to eliminate the Izium bridgehead over Seversky Donets, or the...
in May 1942. That same month, the division was wiped out at Izyum. Recreated at Voronezh in the Ural Military District, Oct 1942. The division fought at Stalingrad (Nov. 1942), after which it was assigned to the 69th Army, and fought with it during the Third Battle of Kharkov
Third Battle of Kharkov
The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of offensive operations on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by the German Army Group South against the Red Army, around the city of Kharkov , between 19 February and 15 March 1943...
in February 1943, and later at the Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
in July 1943, where 69th Army, as part of Voronezh Front
Voronezh Front
The Voronezh Front was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the town of Voronezh on the Don River....
, took the main thrust of the southern German attack. Fought at Demidov, Sep. 1943. Took part in Operation Bagration in June 1944. The division was serving with 4th Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front
Leningrad Front
The Leningrad Front was first formed on August 27, 1941, by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front, during the German approach on Leningrad .-History:...
) in May 1945. Honorifics were "Demidov, Polotsk," Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
. At some point after 1945 the division was reduced to the 41st Rifle Brigade. From around 1945 to the end of the 1960s the division was based at Buzuluk
Buzuluk
Buzuluk is a town in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, located on the Samara, Buzuluk, and Domashka Rivers northwest of Orenburg. Population: It was founded in 1736 as the fortress of Buzulukskaya on the Samara River near the mouth of the Buzuluk River along Russia's southern frontier. It was later moved...
in Orenburg Oblast
Orenburg Oblast
Orenburg Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Orenburg. From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name Chkalov Oblast in honor of Valery Chkalov...
.
In 1953 41st Rifle Brigade was expanded into the 270th Rifle Division. In 1954 the Division participated in the Totskoye range nuclear tests. In 1955 (sometime between January and May) the 270th Rifle Division was renamed the 44th Rifle Division
44th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 44th Kievskaya of the Red Banner Rifle Division of Nikolay Shchors, or 44th Kievskaya for short, was an elite military formation of the Soviet Union....
. In 1957 the 44th Rifle Division became the 44th Motor Rifle Division. In 1965 the 44th Motor Rifle Division was renamed the 270th Motor Rifle Division. The numbering of the regiments changed also. At the end of the 1960s the 270th Motor Rifle Division was relocated from the South Ural mountains to the Far East Military District, joining the 15th Army at Khabarovsk in 1969. During 19.08.67-03.03.70 was кадрированной 270 мсд (»»-61304).
On August, 19th, 1967 the division was reformed in the Far East Military District, without a formal designation or barracks location, and was linked for administration purposes to the 129th Motor Rifle Division. The Code name of the division was 61304. On March 3, 1970, the 270th Motor Rifle Division was formally re-formed, based in the city of Khabarovsk. The division was a part of 15th Army (Combined Arms) of the Far East Military District.
Motor Rifle Regiment (Khabarovsk)
In August 1967, a regiment (likely to have been the 882nd Motor Rifle Regiment) of the 60th Tank Division of the Moscow Military DistrictMoscow Military District
The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:In the beginning of...
deployed at Gorki
Gorki
Gorki may refer to:*Gorki, Russia, name of several inhabited localities in Russia*Gorki , originally named "Gorky", Belgian band of Luc De Vos-See also:*Gorki , a station of the Kazan Metro, Kazan, Russia*Gorky...
(nowadays – Nizhni Novgorod), was transferred to the Far East Military District as part of a motor-rifle division.
In October, 1967 the regiment arrived at Князе-Волконское and joined the 129th Motor Rifle Training Division of the FEMD. At the end of 1970 the Red Small river Красная Речка and as part of the 270 MRD переподчинена 45-му to the army case (45th Army Corps?) has been relocated in a settlement.
From November 1, 1972 the regiment became part of the 15th Army (Combined Arms).
Since October 1974 of shelfs has been entered into structure of forces of immediate reaction. In December, 1994 of shelfs доукомплектован up to staff(state) of a wartime. 8 – on January, 9th, 1995 the staff has decreased in the Chechen Republic for actions in structure of federal armies.
On September 1, 1997 the regiment was transferred from 270th Motor Rifle Division to the 81st Guards Motor-Rifle Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
Order of Suvorov
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov is a Soviet award, named after Aleksandr Suvorov , that was established on July 29, 1942 by a decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This decoration was created to award senior army personnel for exceptional leadership in combat operations...
Division.
On June 6, 1999 the regiment was resubordinated from the 81st Guards Motor Rifle Division back directly under command of HQ Far East Military District.
Status today
Today the division is based at Krasnaya Rechka, near KhabarovskKhabarovsk
Khabarovsk is the largest city and the administrative center of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some from the Chinese border. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia...
and is part of the 35th Army
35th Army (Soviet Union)
The 35th Red Banner Army is a field army of the Russian Ground Forces.The 35th Army was originally formed within the Soviet Red Army in July 1941 on the basis of 18th Rifle Corps, and joined the Far Eastern Front. Within Far Eastern Front it comprised 35th, 66th, 78th Rifle Divisions, the 109th...
. It comprises the 509th Tank Regiment, and the 102nd, 478th, and 882nd Motor Rifle Regiments, as well as the 470th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment.
Sources and references
- 270 RD: http://www.theeasternfront.co.uk/Battles/battles2ndbattleofkharkov.htm
- 270 RD: http://samsv.narod.ru/Div/Sd/sd270/default.html
- Robert Poirier and Albert Conner, Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War, Navato, Calif., Presidio Press, c1985, pp. 365–366.