The Soviet 117th Rifle Division was a rifle division that served during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Originally formed in 1939 destroyed and reformed during the war.

History

First Formation

Formed on 23 August 1939 in the

Volga Military District The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at different ...

, under the command of Colonel

Spiridon Chernyugov Spiridon Sergeyevich Chernyugov (; 27 December 1900 – 1 November 1960) was a Soviet Army major general. Chernyugov joined the Red Guards in late 1917 and transferred to the Red Army in early 1918, serving as an orderly and later as a Red Army ma ...

. On 22 June 1941 the division was still located in the district. The division was assigned to the 21st Army moving from the Volga Military District to

Gomel Gomel (russian: Гомель, ) or Homiel ( be, Гомель, ) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census). Etymology There are at least six narratives of the o ...

in the

Western Special Military District Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

when the war started. The army was to attack north from Gomel area into the flank and rear of the German advance. On 5–6 July 1941 the division attacked across the

Dnepr River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

Zhlobin Zhlobin ( be, Жло́бін; russian: Жло́бин, pl, Żłobin, lt, Žlobinas) is a city in the Zhlobin District of Gomel Region, Belarus, located on the Dnieper river. As of 2017, the population was 76,078. The city is notable for being ...

as part of the

63rd Rifle Corps The 63rd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army during World War II, formed twice. First formation The corps headquarters was first formed during September 1939 in the Volga Military District. It was part of the 21st Army in June 1941, with th ...

and 21st Army. Of the 12,000 men assigned to the division and despite the support of the 546th Corps Artillery Regiment the division lost almost 20% of its strength in the space of two days. By 12 July the division was retreating back behind the Dnepr River. By early September when the German 2nd Panzer Group struck south the division, along with most of the Central and Southwestern Fronts in the Kiev Pocket and annihilated. The division headquarters was disbanded on 20 September 1941.

Subordinate Units

*240th Rifle Regiment *269th Rifle Regiment *275th Rifle Regiment *322nd Light Artillery Regiment *707th Howitzer Regiment *222nd Antitank Battalion *321st Anti-aircraft Battalion *Tank Battalion (with 54 BT and

T-26 The T-26 tank was a Soviet light tank used during many conflicts of the Interwar period and in World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and was one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930s until its light ...

tanks)

Second Formation

The second formation was formed on 7 January by redesignating the 308th Rifle Division at Ivanovo in the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military D ...

. In late February the division left the Moscow Military District and moved to the

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of World War II, named for the city of Kalinin. It was formally established by Stavka directive on 17 October 1941 and allocated three armies: 22nd, 29th Army a ...

reserves. In March the Front assigned the division to the

3rd Shock Army The 3rd Shock Army (russian: Третья ударная армия) was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The "Shock" armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces ...

and it remained in that army until February 1943. In February the division went back into Kalinin Front reserves as part of the 2nd Guards Rifle Corps and as part of this corps was assigned to the 22nd Army. In April 1943 the 22nd Army was transferred from the Kalinin to the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-cr ...

. In September 1943 the division was moved to the

4th Shock Army The 4th Shock Army was a combined arms army of the Soviet Armed Forces during World War II. The Army was formed from the 27th Army on 25 December 1941 (1st formation) within the Northwestern Front. On 1 October 1942 it included the 249th, ...

, which became part of the

1st Baltic Front The First Baltic Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenko, succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. I ...

after 20 October 1943. In February 1944 the division briefly served in the 1st Baltic Front's 43rd Army and then went into STAVKA reserves and moved south. In late April 1944 the division was assigned to the 91st Rifle Corps in the 69th Army of the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Белорусский фронт, ''Perviy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian") was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army ...

. The division spent the rest of war under this command structure.

Subordinate Units

*240th Rifle Regiment *269th Rifle Regiment *275th Rifle Regiment *322nd Artillery Regiment *222nd Antitank Battalion

References

{{Soviet Union divisions before 1945 Infantry divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II Military units and formations established in 1939 1939 establishments in the Soviet Union

History

First Formation

Subordinate Units

Second Formation

Subordinate Units

See also

References