212th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

The 212th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was badly damaged and then redesignated about five weeks after the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

After redesignation the division was nearly trapped in the Kiev encirclement but managed to escape. It then moved to Bryansk Front and served under several army commands during the winter and spring of 1942 until it was caught up in the German summer offensive. It was encircled with most of 40th Army and took heavy losses before its remnants managed to cross to the east bank of the Don River. What remained of the division was moved to the Volga Military District for rebuilding, after which it was assigned to 66th Army north of Stalingrad. It was again badly depleted in the October battle south of Kotluban and was soon after disbanded.

A new 212th Rifle Division was formed in June 1943 based on two rifle brigades in 50th Army of Western Front. It was soon involved in a flanking role in the operation to liberate the Oryol salient after which it joined the advance south of Smolensk, winning a battle honor, and later in fighting in support of the efforts of Western Front to seize Orsha as part of 10th Army. After nearly two months in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command it was redeployed to 61st Army, south of the Pripyat Marshes; it remained in this Army for the duration of the war. In the later stages of the destruction of Army Group Center it advanced through the western Pripyat, earning the Order of the Red Banner in the process while all four of its regiments soon won the same decoration for helping to retake the city and fortress of Brest. Along with its Army it was again moved to the Reserve and redeployed, now to the Baltic States, gaining a further decoration in the fighting for Riga. It was in 80th Rifle Corps in 61st Army of 1st Belorussian Front during the advance through Poland and into Germany in early 1945, largely in a secondary role but winning further distinctions on the way. It ended its combat path along the Elbe River. Despite its outstanding record it was disbanded within months of the German surrender.

212th Motorized Division

The division began forming in March 1941 as part of the prewar buildup of Soviet mechanized forces in the Kiev Special Military District as part of the 15th Mechanized Corps. Once formed its order of battle was as follows:
* 669th Motorized Rifle Regiment
* 692nd Motorized Rifle Regiment
* 131st Tank Regiment
* 655th Artillery Regiment
* 37th Antitank Battalion
* 202nd Antiaircraft Battalion
* 292nd Reconnaissance Battalion
* 380th Light Engineering Battalion
* 593rd Signal Battalion
* 210th Artillery Park Battalion
* 379th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
* 678th Motor Transport Battalion
* 141st Repair and Restoration Battalion
* 41st Regulatory Company
* 470th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company
* 698th Field Postal Station
* 582nd Field Office of the State Bank
Maj. Gen. of Technical Troops Sergei Vasilevich Baranov was appointed to command on March 11. The 131st Regiment was equipped with four battalions totalling 220 light tanks, either T-26 or BT models; the 292nd Reconnaissance Battalion also contained a light tank company of 17 vehicles. The 655th had only one battalion of medium guns, but worse, like most of the "motorized" divisions, the 212th was almost entirely lacking in trucks and tractors, so the guns it had could only be moved by improvised means.

At the start of the German invasion the Kiev District was redesignated as Southwestern Front and the 15th Mechanized Corps, which also contained the 10th and 37th Tank Divisions plus the 25th Motorcycle Regiment, was under command of 6th Army. It was deployed in the Army's rear generally east and west of Brody.

Battle of Brody

By the second day of the German invasion the XXXXVIII Motorized Corps' 11th Panzer Division was driving east toward Dubno, northeast of Brody, but was coming under attack from the 37th Tank Division in the area of Kozin. The 212th's mobility issues were preventing it from keeping up with the 37th, while the 10th Tank Division was engaged with rear elements of 11th Panzer near Lopatyn; in fighting at Radekhov it claimed 20 panzers knocked out for the loss of 26 of its own. By the 27th the division had managed to link up with 10th Tanks east of Lopatyn, facing the flanking forces of the XXXXIV Army Corps as 37th Tanks moved northwest from Brody in support. As of July 1 the remnants of 15th Mechanized Corps had left 6th Army and had come under direct command of the Front, and had retreated to positions about 30 km south of Brody.

By July 10 the Corps was back under 6th Army and was falling back toward Berdychiv which marked the limit of 11th Panzer's advance by the end of July 14. During the next week the Corps was forced away from the Army, which was in the process of being encircled in what became the Uman pocket, and the 212th was reassigned to 26th Army, still in Southwestern Front. On July 29 the fiction of it being a motorized division was finally dropped and it was officially redesignated as the 212th Rifle Division. On the same day General Baranov was taken prisoner. He would be executed while in German captivity in February 1942.

1st Formation

Under the circumstances, in full retreat toward the Dniepr River after taking heavy casualties in the border battles, the division's order of battle was largely theoretical until it had a chance to thoroughly reorganize but eventually was as follows:
* 669th Rifle Regiment
* 692nd Rifle Regiment
* 587th Rifle Regiment (later 131st)
* 354th Artillery Regiment (later 655th)
* 37th Antitank Battalion
* 208th Antiaircraft Battery (later 202nd Antiaircraft Battalion)
* 292nd Reconnaissance Battalion
* 380th Sapper Battalion
* 593rd Signal Battalion
* 379th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
* 84th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company
* 214th Motor Transport Company (later 678th Motor Transport Battalion)
* 470th Field Bakery
* 25th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
* 908th Field Postal Station
* 582nd Field Office of the State Bank
Col. Vasilii Vladimirovich Bardadin was appointed to command on the day the division was redesignated. Two days later it was attempting to hold positions south of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi against the 60th Motorized Division but by the end of August 11 it had fallen back to southeast Cherkasy along the Tiasmyn River.

Battle of Kiev

The 38th Army was added to the Front in August and by the start of September the 212th had been moved to that command. At this point, as the largest part of the Front was being threatened with encirclement the main task of 38th Army was to contain the bridgehead over the Dniepr held by 1st Panzer Group at Kremenchuk. The division was on the northwest facing of this position, west of Kozelshchyna. The panzer group attacked northward on September 11 and soon broke through the Soviet lines, driving toward a linkup with 2nd Panzer Group which was pushing south. The 212th was forced off to the northwest across the Sula River near Orzhytsia. This placed the division inside the rapidly forming pocket, but along with the 297th Rifle Division it was moved to the Front reserves and managed to slip out to join what remained of the Front's forces as part of 21st Army in the Kursk area in October.

Case Blue and Battle of Stalingrad

On October 6 Colonel Bardadin left command of the 212th and was replaced by Col. Ivan Maksimovich Shutov. The division was reassigned in November to 3rd Army, still in Southwestern Front. During December this Army was moved to Bryansk Front, and the division remained in this Army as it rebuilt until it was moved to 13th Army in March. The next month it was moved again, now to 40th Army in the same Front. It was still under these commands when the German summer offensive began in late June.

The 212th was positioned south of Tim and when the attack began on June 28. Following a 30-minute artillery preparation and accompanied by strong air support, the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps struck at the boundary between the 160th and the 121st Rifle Division, driving the latter off to the north. XXXXVIII Panzer Corps fielded roughly 325 tanks while 40th Army had only about 250 in its entire sector. The 160th and the 212th to its south faced the 24th Panzer Division with the ''Großdeutschland'' Division escheloned to its left which jointly destroyed their defenses before advancing 16 km to the Tim River where the 24th Panzer seized a railroad bridge intact.

40th Army's commander, Maj. Gen. M. A. Parsegov, reported that his divisions had suffered "significant losses" but "had not lost their combat capabilities" while urgently requesting assistance from his Front commander, Lt. Gen. F. I. Golikov. On June 29, despite intermittent heavy rains and thunderstorms the XXIV Panzer Corps struck the 160th and 121st along the Kshen River, leaving the latter in complete disarray. This was already nearly 30 km behind the lines held by the Army when the offensive began. By now the 212th, along with the 160th, 45th and 62nd Rifle Divisions, had been loosely pocketed west of Stary Oskol between the XXXXVIII Panzer and the VIII Army Corps.

By late on July 1 the situation facing 40th Army and its neighbors to the south was producing consternation within the ''STAVKA''. Overnight the Front headquarters belatedly authorized Parsegov to pull his left wing back to the Olym and Oskol Rivers but this had to be carried out "under conditions of the complete absence of control on the part of 40th Army's commander and staff, who by this time were already situated in Voronezh." Early on July 3 Parsegov was replaced by Lt. Gen. M. M. Popov who scrambled to create a defense for the city. During July 4 the 212th made its way to the Don River south of Voronezh, moving perilously between the spearheads of the two panzer corps as further inclement weather hampered German operations. While as many as half of 40th Army's personnel successfully reached and crossed the Don the 212th, 45th and 62nd were among those that no longer existed as organized combat formations. On July 15 Colonel Shutov left command of the division and was replaced by Col. Georgii Ivanovich Anisimov. By the beginning of August the remnants of the three divisions, along with the 141st Rifle Brigade, which had also been caught in the pocket, were moved to the Volga Military District in and around Saratov for rebuilding. As it rebuilt the personnel of the division were noted as being mostly of Kazakh, Uzbek, Tatar and Ukrainian nationalities of the year groups from 1899 to 1923, a highly diverse cadre.

Fourth Kotluban Offensive

One month later the 212th and 62nd Divisions had been assigned to the 10th Reserve Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, joining the 252nd and 277th Rifle Divisions. The German 6th Army had reached Stalingrad on August 23 by driving a narrow corridor from the Don to the Volga and fighting for the city itself began on September 14. On September 29 Stalin dispatched Army Gen. G. K. Zhukov and Col. Gen. A. M. Vasilevskii to examine the possibilities of a strategic counteroffensive in the area. Zhukov was specifically directed to Don Front, commanded by Lt. Gen. K. K. Rokossovskii, who confirmed that his Front lacked the strength necessary to mount a credible counteroffensive. In response, on October 1 the ''STAVKA'' issued orders to reinforce the Front with seven fresh rifle divisions from 10th Reserve Army, including the 212th. They were slated to arrive between October 7–14.

At this time the 62nd Army, isolated within the city, was under extremely heavy pressure from German forces pushing into the factory district. Beginning on September 3 the forces of Stalingrad Front north of the Don-Volga corridor had launched several offensives based on Kotluban in an effort to, ideally, relieve the siege of 62nd Army or, at minimum, divert German forces away from the city. These were directed largely against the XIV Panzer Corps which had originally created the corridor. By October Don Front had taken over this sector and Rokossovskii was preparing for a further effort to break the corridor, what has become known as the Fourth Kotluban Offensive. After leaving the Reserve the 212th was assigned to 66th Army.

The plan for the offensive called for a shock group deployed on the right (west) flank of 66th Army and the left flank of 24th Army to penetrate the German defenses in the 15 km-wide sector north and northeast of Kuzmichi and to advance southeastward toward Orlovka. It was to begin on October 20 and achieve its objective five days later. The 66th Army shock group consisted of the 212th, 62nd, 252nd and 226th Rifle Divisions from the Reserve, supported by the full-strength 91st, 121st and 64th Tank Brigades, each with a complement of roughly 53 tanks. The first three divisions, each with a tank brigade in direct support, formed the first echelon and would attack from the upper reaches of the Sukhaya Mechetka ''Balka'' to northeast of Kuzmichi, with the 226th in second echelon. The immediate objectives were Hills 112.7 and 139.7 and, ultimately, Orlovka. Fire support consisted of 664 guns and mortars and Guards-mortars from 12 regiments. The Army's remaining nine rifle divisions were to provide supporting attacks, but were all severely understrength. In light of earlier costly failures Rokossovskii later admitted that he expected the assault to achieve very little:At the end of October 21 the 212th was reported as attacking south of Hill 130.7, having advanced 300m from its jumping-off positions after encountering heavy fire. The next day the 252nd captured the region of the Motor Tractor Station 8 km northeast of Kuzmichi and this success allowed the 212th to advance to Hill 128.9 by 1400 hours. On October 23 the division advanced 1,000m from its jumping-off positions and began fighting for the northwestern slopes of Hill 139.7. On the following day the 226th Division was committed in an increasingly futile effort to maintain the offensive. By October 27 it was clear to both sides that it had run its course and although the ''STAVKA'' claimed German casualties of up to 7,000 personnel and 57 tanks the formerly fresh rifle divisions were no longer combat-effective.

In the preparations for Operation Uranus, which would finally encircle the German 6th Army, Rokossovskii ordered seven rifle divisions, including the 212th, to be disbanded by November 2, with their remaining soldiers to be redistributed among the 66th and 24th Armies. The division was officially disbanded on December 8. Colonel Anisimov was moved to command of the 252nd. He would go on to command several rifle corps during the war and gained the rank of lieutenant general in February 1944.

2nd Formation

A new 212th Rifle Division was formed on June 8, 1943 in 50th Army of Western Front, based on the 125th Rifle Brigade and the 2nd formation of the 4th Rifle Brigade.

4th Rifle Brigade

The 1st formation of this brigade was one of a small number of pre-war rifle brigades and was part of the 1st Red Banner Army of Far Eastern Front at the time of the German invasion. It was soon disbanded to help bring the rifle divisions and fortified regions in this front up to full strength.

The 2nd formation began in October and November in the Fergana region of Uzbekistan in the Central Asia Military District as an "Uzbek" national unit. Before it completed forming it was moved by rail to the Moscow Military District where it completed forming for about a month in the Moscow Defence Zone before going to the front in January 1942. In February it was assigned to the 5th Guards Rifle Corps in the reserves of Western Front and on March 17, along with the rest of the Corps it entered the front lines of the 16th Army in that Front. The 4th Brigade remained in this Army for slightly more than a year, from August 11 onward usually as a separate brigade directly under Army command. On April 19, 1943 it was transferred to the 50th Army where it helped form the new 212th Rifle Division.

125th Rifle Brigade

This brigade began forming in December 1941 in the Urals Military District but it was not considered complete until May 1942 when it was assigned to Western Front. Upon arrival it joined the 7th Guards Rifle Corps in the Front reserves. After two months in these reserves the brigade went to the 33rd Army and remained under that command either as a separate unit or assigned to 7th Guards Corps until January 1943 when it returned to the Front reserves. In February the 125th joined the 8th Guards Rifle Corps, initially as part of 10th Army, but between February 28 and March 3 it was transferred to 16th Army. This Army had been ordered to carry out an offensive toward Zhizdra and Oryol from the north and the 8th Guards Corps (11th, 31st Guards and 217th Rifle Divisions, 125th and 128th Rifle Brigades, plus three tank brigades) now formed its shock group, attacking southward at dawn on March 4 from a 6 km-wide bridgehead over the Yasenka River, 11 km north of Zhizdra. It faced forces of the 5th Panzer, 208th and 211th Infantry, and a few days later elements of 9th Panzer Division as well. In four days of intense fighting the Corps managed to gain only 3–4 km at a heavy cost in casualties. After a regrouping the offensive was renewed on March 7 with even less success and the entire effort was suspended on March 10. The 125th Brigade began in the Corps' second echelon but also suffered significant losses following the regrouping. On April 19, after leaving 8th Guards Corps, the brigade was reassigned to 50th Army, joining the 4th Brigade.

Once the division completed forming its order of battle, based on the ''shtat'' (table of organization and equipment) of December 10, 1942, was as follows:
* 369th Rifle Regiment
* 669th Rifle Regiment
* 692nd Rifle Regiment
* 655th Rifle Regiment
* 37th Antitank Battalion
* 292nd Reconnaissance Company
* 380th Sapper Battalion
* 593rd Signal Battalion (later 395th Signal Company)
* 379th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
* 84th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company
* 73rd Motor Transport Company
* 327th Field Bakery
* 25th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
* 18058th Field Postal Station
* 1613th Field Office of the State Bank
Col. Andrei Prokopevich Maltsev, who had been in command of 4th Brigade, took command of the division on the day it officially formed. Between the two brigades there were eight rifle battalions, two mortar battalions and two artillery battalions to provide personnel and equipment so the formation proceeded quickly.

Operation Kutuzov

50th Army was located well to the north of the German summer offensive and played no direct role in it, but once the forces of German 9th Army had been stymied on the north face of the salient the ''STAVKA'' ordered the Bryansk Front and the southern armies of Western Front to attack the north face of the German salient around Oryol. 50th Army's main mission was to secure the right (north) flank of 11th Guards Army, but also to launch an attack of its own on its left flank on a 6 km-wide front with the 212th and 324th Rifle Divisions toward the Kolpinomarker 199.9 sector. This effort would be supported by the fire of three artillery regiments, an artillery battalion, a mortar battalion and two Guards-mortar regiments. The attack would be supported by the 64th Rifle Division and the objective was to encircle and destroy units of the 134th Infantry Division and subsequently to advance toward Zikeevo and capture it.

The assault began on the morning of July 13 following a short artillery preparation. By 0700 hours both the 212th and 324th had forced the Zhizdra River

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