44th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
Encyclopedia
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
.
Although it was an elite formation, the division was destroyed during the Winter War
, after being ordered to help 163rd infantry division to break a Finnish siege on Raate road. On 30 November 1939 it was part of Special Rifle Corps, 9th Army
, together with 54th Rifle Division.
s. The chief of division (nachdiv) was appointed N.Krapivyansky and the chief of staff S.Petrikovsky (Petrenko).
Initial order of battle
By the end of September the Division grew to 6700 bayonets, 450 sabers, 14 [artillery] guns, and from 10 to 18 machine gun
s "Maxim", 5 to 6 Colt
, 20 to 30 Lewis
. Because of that selected regiments were reorganized into brigades. However, the name for the units were nominal as the brigade's headquarters were never formed and functions of kombrigs were performed by the regimental commanders (colonel).
Around that time by the divisional headquarter was formed a company of security out some 700 soldiers. That new unit was planned to be transformed into the 5th Regiment and used as a reserve. Also the 4th Insurgent Regiment was recommissioned as the 6th Insurgent Regiment (commander T.Chernyak) and along with the 1st Regiment of Red Cossacks was soon transferred to the 2nd Insurgent Division. In their place were created the 3rd Insurgent Regiment, later called Novgorod-Sieversky (T.Chernyak) and 4th Insurgent Nezhyn Regiment (P.Nesmeyan) transformed out the security company.
most of the division, however, refused to obey orders except for the Red Cossacks and the 4th Insurgent Nezhyn Regiment. For that the divisional commander N.Krapivyansky was dismissed and tried by court. The new chief of division was appointed I.Lokatosh and political commissar
- I.Panafidin. The name of division also changed to the Special Insurgent Division (order of Military Council of Kursk direction group of forces of November 21, 1918) as well as its formation consisting now only out of two brigades:
It participated during Soviet invasion of Poland
in autumn 1939, later during Winter war
the division was sent to the front as reinforcement for the Soviet 163rd Rifle Division which had attempted to advance into central Finland and which had become surrounded after capturing the town of Suomussalmi
and was suffering heavy casualties. The 163rd Division, which was running short of food, was almost completedly annihilated in combat with the Finnish 9th Infantry Division before the 44th Rifle Division could reach its position. With no ski troops, the 44th Rifle Division was completely road bound in the deep snow. The Finns, mounted on skis, and carrying superior arms (submachineguns), were able to break the route of march of the 44th Division on the road leading to Suomussalmi. By breaking the division into pieces along the road, after Finnish radio intelligence had confirmed that the whole division had entered the Raate road, the Finns were able to annihilate the entire unit. According to Robert Edwards, the division's commander, A. Vinogradev, managed to escape, but later, on the orders of Stalin's
emissary, Lev Mekhlis
, he was shot for incompetence following a sham trial. Of the 44th Division's 17,000 troops, 1000 were captured and 700 escaped. The rest died.
Other records suggest that komdiv Aleksei Vinogradov was sentenced in January 1940 to the Highest Degree of Punishment (VMN
) by the Military Tribunal of the 9th Army. Along with his chief of staff Onufri Volkov on January 11 he was publicly executed in front of formation.
, Kiev Special Military District in June 1941. After Operation Barbarossa
began, wiped out again at Bila Tserkva
in September 1941. Recreated at Leningrad Oct 1941. Fought in northern Russia and Kurland. With 67th Army of the Leningrad Front
in May 1945. Briefly active after the war from 1955 at Buzuluk
in Orenburg Oblast
, being redesignated the 44th Motor Rifle Division in 1957 and then the 270th Motor Rifle Division in 1965.
Red Army handbook History of the 44th Mountainous Rifle Division Brief overlook of the 44th Rifle Division at the Winter War memorial website 20,000 of us went, and returned 217 people Natalia Filipchuk - Голос України №239(4239)
Nikolay Shchors
Nikolay Aleksandrovich Shchors was a Red Army commander, member of the Russian Communist Party, renowned for his personal courage during the Russian Civil War and sometimes being called the Ukrainian Chapayev. In 1918-1919 he fought against the new established Ukrainian government in Kyiv...
, or 44th Kievskaya for short, was an elite military formation of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Although it was an elite formation, the division was destroyed during the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
, after being ordered to help 163rd infantry division to break a Finnish siege on Raate road. On 30 November 1939 it was part of Special Rifle Corps, 9th Army
9th Army (Soviet Union)
The 9th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a Soviet field army, active from 1939 – 43, and then after the war from 1966 to 1989.It was active during the Winter War against Finland as part of the Leningrad Military District, beginning operations at the end of November 1939 under ComKor M.P....
, together with 54th Rifle Division.
Creation
The unit is also famous for being the one of the first military formations out which was formed the short-lived Soviet Ukrainian Army (1918–1919). It was formed by the order no.6 of the Communist Party (Bolshevik) of Ukraine on September 22, 1918 as the 1st Insurgent Division along with the 2nd Insurgent Division. The 1st Insurgent Division was formed out of insurgent squads of Tarashcha and Novgorod-Sieversky uyezdUyezd
Uyezd or uezd was an administrative subdivision of Rus', Muscovy, Russian Empire, and the early Russian SFSR which was in use from the 13th century. Uyezds for most of the history in Russia were a secondary-level of administrative division...
s. The chief of division (nachdiv) was appointed N.Krapivyansky and the chief of staff S.Petrikovsky (Petrenko).
Initial order of battle
- 1st Red Cossacks Regiment (Vitaly Primakov)
- 2nd Insurgent Regiment, later called Tarashcha (V.Balyas, later M.Barona, and then V.Bozhenko)
- 3rd Insurgent Regiment of Bogun, later called simply Bogun (Nikolay ShchorsNikolay ShchorsNikolay Aleksandrovich Shchors was a Red Army commander, member of the Russian Communist Party, renowned for his personal courage during the Russian Civil War and sometimes being called the Ukrainian Chapayev. In 1918-1919 he fought against the new established Ukrainian government in Kyiv...
) - 4th Insurgent Regiment (Ya.Kisel)
By the end of September the Division grew to 6700 bayonets, 450 sabers, 14 [artillery] guns, and from 10 to 18 machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s "Maxim", 5 to 6 Colt
M1895 Colt-Browning machine gun
The Colt-Browning M1895, nicknamed potato digger due to its unusual operating mechanism, is an air-cooled, belt-fed, gas-operated machine gun that fires from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute...
, 20 to 30 Lewis
Lewis Gun
The Lewis Gun is a World War I–era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and widely used by the British Empire. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War...
. Because of that selected regiments were reorganized into brigades. However, the name for the units were nominal as the brigade's headquarters were never formed and functions of kombrigs were performed by the regimental commanders (colonel).
- 1st Brigade of Red Cossacks (1st Regiment and 2nd Regiment) (Vitaly Primakov)
- 2nd Brigade (3rd Bogun Regiment and 2nd Tarashcha Regiment) (Nikolay ShchorsNikolay ShchorsNikolay Aleksandrovich Shchors was a Red Army commander, member of the Russian Communist Party, renowned for his personal courage during the Russian Civil War and sometimes being called the Ukrainian Chapayev. In 1918-1919 he fought against the new established Ukrainian government in Kyiv...
)
Around that time by the divisional headquarter was formed a company of security out some 700 soldiers. That new unit was planned to be transformed into the 5th Regiment and used as a reserve. Also the 4th Insurgent Regiment was recommissioned as the 6th Insurgent Regiment (commander T.Chernyak) and along with the 1st Regiment of Red Cossacks was soon transferred to the 2nd Insurgent Division. In their place were created the 3rd Insurgent Regiment, later called Novgorod-Sieversky (T.Chernyak) and 4th Insurgent Nezhyn Regiment (P.Nesmeyan) transformed out the security company.
Ukrainian-Soviet War
During the preparations for an assault on KharkivKharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
most of the division, however, refused to obey orders except for the Red Cossacks and the 4th Insurgent Nezhyn Regiment. For that the divisional commander N.Krapivyansky was dismissed and tried by court. The new chief of division was appointed I.Lokatosh and political commissar
Political commissar
The political commissar is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education and organisation, and loyalty to the government of the military...
- I.Panafidin. The name of division also changed to the Special Insurgent Division (order of Military Council of Kursk direction group of forces of November 21, 1918) as well as its formation consisting now only out of two brigades:
- 1st brigade (P.Kovtun) (Novgorod-Sieversky Regiment - T.Chernyak and Nezhyn Company - P.Nesmeyan)
- 2nd brigade (N.Shchors) (Bogun and Tarashcha Regiments)
Winter War (Destruction at the Battle of Raate Road)
Soviet invasion of Poland
Soviet invasion of Poland can refer to:* the second phase of the Polish-Soviet War of 1920 when Soviet armies marched on Warsaw, Poland* Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939 when Soviet Union allied with Nazi Germany attacked Second Polish Republic...
in autumn 1939, later during Winter war
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
the division was sent to the front as reinforcement for the Soviet 163rd Rifle Division which had attempted to advance into central Finland and which had become surrounded after capturing the town of Suomussalmi
Suomussalmi
Suomussalmi is a municipality in Finland and is located in the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish...
and was suffering heavy casualties. The 163rd Division, which was running short of food, was almost completedly annihilated in combat with the Finnish 9th Infantry Division before the 44th Rifle Division could reach its position. With no ski troops, the 44th Rifle Division was completely road bound in the deep snow. The Finns, mounted on skis, and carrying superior arms (submachineguns), were able to break the route of march of the 44th Division on the road leading to Suomussalmi. By breaking the division into pieces along the road, after Finnish radio intelligence had confirmed that the whole division had entered the Raate road, the Finns were able to annihilate the entire unit. According to Robert Edwards, the division's commander, A. Vinogradev, managed to escape, but later, on the orders of Stalin's
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
emissary, Lev Mekhlis
Lev Mekhlis
Lev Zakharovich Mekhlis was a Jewish-Soviet statesman and party figure.-Career:He however served incompetently as a party commissar at the front during World War II, among his mistakes being failures, in conjunction with General Dmitri Kozlov, which meant the Crimean Front was defeated and had to...
, he was shot for incompetence following a sham trial. Of the 44th Division's 17,000 troops, 1000 were captured and 700 escaped. The rest died.
Other records suggest that komdiv Aleksei Vinogradov was sentenced in January 1940 to the Highest Degree of Punishment (VMN
VMN
-Electronics and Networking:* Virtual mail network* Virtual manufacturing network* Virtual machine network* * Virtual Medical Network* Virginia Microenterprise Network* Visicom Media Network* Vision and Memory Neuroimaging Lab at Tufts University...
) by the Military Tribunal of the 9th Army. Along with his chief of staff Onufri Volkov on January 11 he was publicly executed in front of formation.
Later history
Recreated after its destruction and part of 13th Rifle Corps, 12th Army12th 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:...
, Kiev Special Military District in June 1941. After Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
began, wiped out again at Bila Tserkva
Bila Tserkva
Bila Tserkva is a city located on the Ros' River in the Kiev Oblast in central Ukraine, approximately south of the capital, Kiev. Population 203,300 Area 34 km².-Administrative status:...
in September 1941. Recreated at Leningrad Oct 1941. Fought in northern Russia and Kurland. With 67th Army of the 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. Briefly active after the war from 1955 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...
, being redesignated the 44th Motor Rifle Division in 1957 and then the 270th Motor Rifle Division in 1965.
Structure
On July 8, 1939:- 25th Infantry Regiment
- 146th Infantry Regiment
- 305th Infantry Regiment;
- 122nd Artillery Regiment
- 179th Howitzer Artillery Regiment
- 312th Independent Tank Battalion
- 66th Separate Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun Company
- 56th Separate Anti-Tank Battalion
- 61st Separate Battalion
- 12th Separate Battalion
- 4th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion
- 42nd Separate Motor Battalion
- 5th Separate Decontamination Company
- 38th Artillery Battalion
- 113th Separate Repair Company
- 78th Medical Battalion;
- Mobile Field Hospital
- 156th Field Postal Station;
List of commanders
- July 1919 - August 1919 - Ivan Dubovoi
- August 1919 - Nikolai Shchors
- August 1919 - September 1919 - Ivan Dubovoi
- September 1919 - October 1919 - Mironov
- October 1919 - Petr Volkov
- October 1919 - January 1922 - Ivan Dubovoi
- 1930s - D.Kozlov
- 1930s - Yaroslav Shtrombakh
- January 1939 - January 1940 - Aleksei Vinogradov
- January 1940 - P.Furt
- January 1940 - September 1941 - Semyon Tkachenko
Sources
- Neihorster, Leo, World War II Armed Forces, Orders of Battle and Organizations
- Edwards, Robert, The Winter War, Pegasus Books, New York, 2008 ISBN 978-933648-50-7
External links
How in the Karelian snowfields was lost the elite Ukrainian Division - Ukrayinska PravdaUkrayinska Pravda
Ukrayinska Pravda is a popular Ukrainian internet newspaper, founded by Georgiy R. Gongadze in April, 2000...
Red Army handbook History of the 44th Mountainous Rifle Division Brief overlook of the 44th Rifle Division at the Winter War memorial website 20,000 of us went, and returned 217 people Natalia Filipchuk - Голос України №239(4239)