8th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
Encyclopedia
The 8th Rifle Division was a military formation of the Soviet Union
's Red Army
in the Winter War
, the Soviet invasion of Poland
, and World War II
. It was formed three times up to and during World War II and a fourth time in the 1950s.
The division was given a number of awards during the 1920s and 1930s. On 8 December 1921 it was given the name "Minsk." On 29 February 1928 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner
. On 26 July 1926 it was named "Dzerzhinsky," and in 1932 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
. A reference to being 'formed at Semipalatinsk prior to 1936' in Poirer and Connor's Red Army Order of Battle is not confirmed by Russian sources and appears to be incorrect. Its full title appears to have become the 8th Minsk Red Banner Order of Red Banner of Labor Dzerzhinsky Rifle Division.
Brigade Commander Vladimir Yakovlevich Kolpakchi took command in 1937. The division took part in the Polish Campaign as part of the 16th Rifle Corps, 11th Army. Brigade Commander Fursin(?) held command from December 1940 (1939?) to 4 February 1940. On 22 January 1940, it was part of the 13th Rifle Corps of the Northwestern Front during the Winter War
, but had been shifted to the 23rd Rifle Corps by 31 January 1940. On 5 February 1940 Brigade Commander Fedor Dmitrievich Rubtsov took command. On 8 March 1940 it was part of the Northwestern Front's 15th Rifle Corps. On 27 April 1940 Colonel
Nicholas I. Fomin took command from Rubtsov.
On 22 June 1941, it was part of the 1st Rifle Corps, 10th Army
, itself part of the Western Front. Major components at the beginning of Operation Barbarossa
seem to have included the 151st, 229th, and 310th Rifle Regiments, the 62nd Light Artillery
Regiment, the 117th Howitzer
Artillery
Regiment, and the 2nd Reconnaissance Company.
During the Second World War it was part of the 'Operational Army' from 22 June 1941 to 4 July 1941.
It was stationed at Łomża. In accordance with the Western Special Military District covering plan, the division was to take up positions in the Osovetsky Fortified Region and along the 1939 state border with German-occupied Poland in the areas of Shchuchin, Brzozowo, Ptak, and Servatki.
On the first day of the war the Division HQ
came under aerial bombardment. On 23 June 1941 the Division held the front in the Ščučyn
region as well. On 25 June 1941 the division conduct a withdrawal while the Bialystok
and, because the prisoners were rounded up. On 27 June 1941, at the headquarters of the front had no information not only about the division, but also on 10th Army
, which included the division.
According to the Russian Wikipedia entry, by 1 July 1941 the division was still part of 1st Rifle Corps, but 1st Rifle Corps had been resubordinated directly to Western Front. In early July, the division was destroyed in the Bialystok
area, as part of the German encirclement west of Minsk but separate groups of unorganised resistance continued until the end of July. The division was officially disbanded on 19 September 1941.
. By 10 July 1941, the regiments of the division had been moved to the forest near Nicholas Urupino and Buzlanova. In late July, the division engaged in the construction of defensive lines on the Mojaisk line of defense.
From at least 1 August 1941 to its destruction, the division was part of the 32nd Army, itself part of the Reserve Front. On 4 August 1941 the division took positions on the Rzhev
-Vyazma
line of defence, and from 30 August 1941, in positions on the eastern shore of the Dnieper River
as well. On 24 August 1941 the formation was formally renamed the 8th Rifle Division. It included the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th Rifle Regiments.
In October, in connection with the beginning of the German Operation Typhoon it moved to the east of Yelnya
. The division entered combat on 4 October 1941, the next day, 5 October 1941, losing more than half of its personnel. On 6 October 1941 it was cut off from the main body. Some of the division's surviving fighters were able to join partisan
units.
While the division was effectively destroyed on 6–7 October 1941 it was not formally disbanded until 30 November 1941.
in the Central Asian Military District on 25 December 1941. In early 1942 it was redesignated as the 8th Rifle Division. Its rifle regiments, inherited from the original division, were the 151st, 229th, and 310th. Its full name became the 8 Rifle Yampol'skaya Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division, after winning the honourific 'Yampol'.
On 1 April 1942 the division was part of the Stavka Reserve. By 1 July 1942 it had been assigned to the Bryansk Front
's 42nd Army. By 1 October it was part of 13th Army
, and stayed assigned to that formation until at least July 1943.
On 1 July 1943 it was assigned to the Soviet Central Front
's 13th Army
, as part of the 15th Rifle Corps. It participated in the Voronezh-Kastornoye, Eastern Carpathians, and the Prague
offensives, the Battle of Kursk
, the crossing of the Dnieper and the Desna
and Pripyat River
s. It defended Mtsensk
, participated in the liberation of Kromy
, Nevel
, Novgorod-Seversky, and Chernigov.
The division was part of the 18th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front
in May 1945. Third Formation ordered to disband in May 1945 by Stavka Order 11095 (GSVOG) but did not actually disband until July 1945.
The division's fourth formation was created in the Kiev Military District
in 1955, reporting directly to district or to the 1st Guards Army. In 1957 it was reorganised as the 153rd Motor Rifle Division and moved to the Carpathian Military District
. (Armies of the Bear)
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....
's Red Army
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...
in 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...
, the Soviet invasion of Poland
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...
, and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was formed three times up to and during World War II and a fourth time in the 1950s.
First Formation 1918 - 1941
The division was formed by executive order of the Moscow district military office as the 8th Infantry Division based on 5th Moscow Infantry Division, 1st Infantry Division in Tula, 2nd Infantry Division, Tambov and Kaluga Infantry Division. On 11.10.1918 it was renamed the 8th Infantry Division.The division was given a number of awards during the 1920s and 1930s. On 8 December 1921 it was given the name "Minsk." On 29 February 1928 it was awarded the 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...
. On 26 July 1926 it was named "Dzerzhinsky," and in 1932 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
. A reference to being 'formed at Semipalatinsk prior to 1936' in Poirer and Connor's Red Army Order of Battle is not confirmed by Russian sources and appears to be incorrect. Its full title appears to have become the 8th Minsk Red Banner Order of Red Banner of Labor Dzerzhinsky Rifle Division.
Brigade Commander Vladimir Yakovlevich Kolpakchi took command in 1937. The division took part in the Polish Campaign as part of the 16th Rifle Corps, 11th Army. Brigade Commander Fursin(?) held command from December 1940 (1939?) to 4 February 1940. On 22 January 1940, it was part of the 13th Rifle Corps of the Northwestern Front 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...
, but had been shifted to the 23rd Rifle Corps by 31 January 1940. On 5 February 1940 Brigade Commander Fedor Dmitrievich Rubtsov took command. On 8 March 1940 it was part of the Northwestern Front's 15th Rifle Corps. On 27 April 1940 Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Nicholas I. Fomin took command from Rubtsov.
On 22 June 1941, it was part of the 1st Rifle Corps, 10th Army
10th Army (Soviet Union)
The 10th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a field army active from 1939 to 1944.The Army was formed in September 1939 in the Moscow Military District, and then deployed to the Western Special Military District...
, itself part of the Western Front. Major components at the beginning of 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...
seem to have included the 151st, 229th, and 310th Rifle Regiments, the 62nd Light Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
Regiment, the 117th Howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
Artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
Regiment, and the 2nd Reconnaissance Company.
During the Second World War it was part of the 'Operational Army' from 22 June 1941 to 4 July 1941.
It was stationed at Łomża. In accordance with the Western Special Military District covering plan, the division was to take up positions in the Osovetsky Fortified Region and along the 1939 state border with German-occupied Poland in the areas of Shchuchin, Brzozowo, Ptak, and Servatki.
On the first day of the war the Division HQ
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
came under aerial bombardment. On 23 June 1941 the Division held the front in the Ščučyn
Šcucyn
Shchuchyn is a town in the Hrodna Voblast of Belarus. It is the center of the Shchuchyn district. The population is nearly 18,000.-History:...
region as well. On 25 June 1941 the division conduct a withdrawal while the Bialystok
Bialystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Located on the Podlaskie Plain on the banks of the Biała River, Białystok ranks second in terms of population density, eleventh in population, and thirteenth in area, of the cities of Poland...
and, because the prisoners were rounded up. On 27 June 1941, at the headquarters of the front had no information not only about the division, but also on 10th Army
10th Army (Soviet Union)
The 10th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a field army active from 1939 to 1944.The Army was formed in September 1939 in the Moscow Military District, and then deployed to the Western Special Military District...
, which included the division.
According to the Russian Wikipedia entry, by 1 July 1941 the division was still part of 1st Rifle Corps, but 1st Rifle Corps had been resubordinated directly to Western Front. In early July, the division was destroyed in the Bialystok
Bialystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Located on the Podlaskie Plain on the banks of the Biała River, Białystok ranks second in terms of population density, eleventh in population, and thirteenth in area, of the cities of Poland...
area, as part of the German encirclement west of Minsk but separate groups of unorganised resistance continued until the end of July. The division was officially disbanded on 19 September 1941.
Second Formation 1941
The division was ordered to reform in 1941. On 2 July 1941 the division reformed in the Krasnopresnensky Raion of Moscow, as the 8th Krasnopresnenskaya Peoples' Militia Rifle Division under the command 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...
. By 10 July 1941, the regiments of the division had been moved to the forest near Nicholas Urupino and Buzlanova. In late July, the division engaged in the construction of defensive lines on the Mojaisk line of defense.
From at least 1 August 1941 to its destruction, the division was part of the 32nd Army, itself part of the Reserve Front. On 4 August 1941 the division took positions on the Rzhev
Rzhev
Rzhev is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population:...
-Vyazma
Vyazma
Vyazma is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk and Mozhaysk. Throughout its turbulent history, the city defended western approaches to the city of Moscow...
line of defence, and from 30 August 1941, in positions on the eastern shore of the Dnieper River
Dnieper River
The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...
as well. On 24 August 1941 the formation was formally renamed the 8th Rifle Division. It included the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th Rifle Regiments.
In October, in connection with the beginning of the German Operation Typhoon it moved to the east of Yelnya
Yelnya
Yelnya is a town and the administrative center of Yelninsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna River from Smolensk. Population: -History:...
. The division entered combat on 4 October 1941, the next day, 5 October 1941, losing more than half of its personnel. On 6 October 1941 it was cut off from the main body. Some of the division's surviving fighters were able to join partisan
Soviet partisans
The Soviet partisans were members of a resistance movement which fought a guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union during World War II....
units.
While the division was effectively destroyed on 6–7 October 1941 it was not formally disbanded until 30 November 1941.
Third Formation
The Third Formation of the 8th Rifle Division traces its origins to the 458th Rifle Division, which was formed in Semipalatinsk and AyaguzAyaguz
Ayagoz or Ayakoz City of regional submission in Kazakhstan, administrative centre Ayagoz districts of the East Kazakhstan area. It's located in eastern Kazakhstan, till both parties of the proceeding river Ayagoz. The population is over 40,000 ....
in the Central Asian Military District on 25 December 1941. In early 1942 it was redesignated as the 8th Rifle Division. Its rifle regiments, inherited from the original division, were the 151st, 229th, and 310th. Its full name became the 8 Rifle Yampol'skaya Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division, after winning the honourific 'Yampol'.
On 1 April 1942 the division was part of the Stavka Reserve. By 1 July 1942 it had been assigned to the Bryansk Front
Bryansk Front
The Bryansk Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War.General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first formed in mid-late August 1941, comprising, in Erickson's words, 'on paper two armies, 50th and 13th, with eight rifle divisions each, three...
's 42nd Army. By 1 October it was part of 13th Army
13th Army (Soviet Union)
The 13th Army was a name given to several field armies of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first created during the Russian Civil War...
, and stayed assigned to that formation until at least July 1943.
On 1 July 1943 it was assigned to the Soviet Central Front
Soviet Central Front
The Central Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War.The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war...
's 13th Army
13th Army (Soviet Union)
The 13th Army was a name given to several field armies of the Soviet Union's Red Army, first created during the Russian Civil War...
, as part of the 15th Rifle Corps. It participated in the Voronezh-Kastornoye, Eastern Carpathians, and the Prague
Prague Offensive
The Prague Offensive was the last major Soviet operation of World War II in Europe. The offensive, and the battle for Prague, was fought on the Eastern Front from 6 May to 11 May 1945. This battle for the city is particularly noteworthy in that it ended after the Third Reich capitulated on 8 May...
offensives, 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,...
, the crossing of the Dnieper and the Desna
Desna River
Desna is a river in Russia and Ukraine, left tributary of the Dnieper. The word means "right hand" in the Old East Slavic language. Its length is , and its drainage basin covers ....
and Pripyat River
Pripyat River
The Pripyat River or Prypiat River is a river in Eastern Europe, approximately long. It flows east through Ukraine, Belarus, and Ukraine again, draining into the Dnieper....
s. It defended Mtsensk
Mtsensk
Mtsensk is a town in Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Zusha River northeast of Oryol. It stands on the Moscow–Simferopol highway. Population: 28,000 ....
, participated in the liberation of Kromy
Kromy
Kromy is a urban locality Kromy is a urban locality Kromy is a urban locality (an urban-type settlement and the administrative center of Kromskoy District of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Kroma River (a tributary of the Oka) southwest of Oryol. Population:...
, Nevel
Nevel
Nevel is a town and the administrative center of Nevelsky District of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on Lake Nevel southeast of Pskov. Population:...
, Novgorod-Seversky, and Chernigov.
Subordination 1944-45
- 1st Ukrainian Front1st Ukrainian FrontThe 1st Ukrainian Front was a front—a force the size of a Western Army group—of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War.-Wartime:...
, 60th Army, 23rd Rifle Corps - on 1 January 1944, - 1st Ukrainian Front1st Ukrainian FrontThe 1st Ukrainian Front was a front—a force the size of a Western Army group—of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War.-Wartime:...
, 18th Army18th Army (Soviet Union)The 18th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was formed on 21 June 1941 on the basis of HQ Kharkov Military District and armies of the Kiev Special Military District.The Army's commander in 1941 was General-Leitenant Andrew Kirilovych Smirnov...
, 17th Guards Rifle Corps - on 01.07.1944, - 4th Ukrainian Front4th Ukrainian FrontThe 4th Ukrainian Front was a front of the Red Army during World War II...
(front-line submission) - to 01.10.1944 - 4th Ukrainian Front4th Ukrainian FrontThe 4th Ukrainian Front was a front of the Red Army during World War II...
, 16th Army16th Army (Soviet Union)The 16th Army was a Soviet field army active from 1940 to 1945.-First Formation, 16th Army:Before Operation Barbarossa, HQ 16th Army was formed in July 1940 in the Transbaikal Military District . General Lieutenant М. F. Лукин took command...
- on 1 January 1945, - 4th Ukrainian Front4th Ukrainian FrontThe 4th Ukrainian Front was a front of the Red Army during World War II...
, 18th Army18th Army (Soviet Union)The 18th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was formed on 21 June 1941 on the basis of HQ Kharkov Military District and armies of the Kiev Special Military District.The Army's commander in 1941 was General-Leitenant Andrew Kirilovych Smirnov...
, 17th Guards Rifle Corps - on 01.04.1945
The division was part of the 18th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front
4th Ukrainian Front
The 4th Ukrainian Front was a front of the Red Army during World War II...
in May 1945. Third Formation ordered to disband in May 1945 by Stavka Order 11095 (GSVOG) but did not actually disband until July 1945.
The division's fourth formation was created in the Kiev Military District
Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District was a Russian unit of military-administrative division of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Ukrainian Army, RKKA, and Soviet Armed Forces...
in 1955, reporting directly to district or to the 1st Guards Army. In 1957 it was reorganised as the 153rd Motor Rifle Division and moved to the Carpathian Military District
Carpathian Military District
The Carpathian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1945 after the conclusion of the Second World War to 1990-91. It became part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1991 and was disbanded by being redesignated the Western Operational Command later in the 1990s.Two...
. (Armies of the Bear)