The 265th Motor Rifle Division () was a motorized infantry division of the
Soviet Army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
.
The division traced its heritage back to the 265th Rifle Division, which was formed in mid-1941 from an
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
division. The 265th fought in the
Continuation War and the
siege of Leningrad
The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...
through 1944 and the
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
After the Vistula– ...
in 1945. Postwar, it was withdrawn to the Soviet Union and downsized into a rifle brigade before being expanded into the 71st Mechanized Division in 1953. It was relocated to
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
and converted into the 119th Motor Rifle Division in 1957 before relocating to the
Soviet Far East
The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
in 1964 and being renumbered as the 265th Motor Rifle Division. It spent the rest of its career in the Far East and was downsized into a storage base in 1989.
History
World War II
The 265th Rifle Division began forming on 26 June 1941 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 Di ...
as the 17th NKVD Mountain Division. It was one of the fifteen
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
divisions that began forming on 26 June and was transferred to the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
in early July. The 265th, whose major subunits included the 450th, 941st, and 951st Rifle Regiments, the 798th Artillery Regiment, and the 224th Anti-Tank Battalion, remained in the Moscow Military District at least until 10 July, and later that month moved to
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
with a 1500-man cadre of NKVD personnel. In early August it joined the
23rd Army, fighting in the
Continuation War north of Leningrad on the
Karelian Isthmus
The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...
. On 26 August, its first Red Army commander, Major
Ivan Prytkov, was assigned to the division.
On 14 October, the division was transferred to the
Neva River
The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it i ...
front, south of the city. In November it became part of the
8th Army, which was part of the
Volkhov Front
The Volkhov Front (russian: Волховский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group ...
from early 1942. In November 1943, the 265th was withdrawn to the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command
The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK ( ru , РВГК)) comprises reserve military formations and units; the Sta ...
and from February 1944 was either part of the
Leningrad Front
The Leningrad Front (russian: Ленинградский фронт) was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front
The Karelian Front ...
or the
3rd Baltic Front
The 3rd Baltic Front (russian: 3-й Прибалтийский фронт) was a front of the Red Army 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 ...
until the end of 1944. Between June and July, it was part of the
21st Army's
110th Rifle Corps
Eleven or 11 may refer to:
*11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12
* one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11
Literature
* ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn
*''El ...
for the
Svir–Petrozavodsk Offensive on the Karelian Isthmus, which eventually forced Finland out of the war. In August the 265th became part of the 3rd Baltic Front reserves, and in October it was with 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 ...
's
7th Rifle Corps in the
2nd Baltic Front
The 2nd Baltic Front (russian: 2-й Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War.
History
The 2nd Baltic Front was formed on October 20, 1943 as a result of the renaming of the Baltic ...
. Just before the
Vistula–Oder Offensive began in January 1945, the division transferred to 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 ...
. It fought in the advance through Poland and in the
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
After the Vistula– ...
in April and May 1945. During the war, the division was awarded the honorific "
Vyborg
Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...
".
Postwar
As of 1 December 1945, the division was still with the 3rd Shock Army's 7th Rifle Corps in eastern Germany, part of the
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
The Western Group of Forces (WGF),. previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG). and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG),. were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupati ...
. On 6 June 1946, the 265th was withdrawn to 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 Di ...
with the 7th Rifle Corps, which was disbanded. The 265th further relocated to
Shuya in the
Gorky Military District Gorky may refer to:
;People
*Maxim Gorky (1868–1936), Russian author and political activist, founder of socialist realism
*Arshile Gorky (1904–1948), Armenian-American abstract expressionist painter
;Inhabited localities
*Gorky, name of Nizhny ...
as part of the
1st Guards Rifle Corps
The 1st Guards Special Rifle Corps (Russian: 1-й особый гвардейский стрелковый корпус ''1-ĭ osobyĭ gvardyeĭskiĭ strelkovyĭ korpus'') was a hastily formed Red Army blocking formation active briefly in 1941, d ...
, where it became the 34th Separate Rifle Brigade. In October 1953, it was expanded into the 71st Mechanized Division. By the beginning of August 1956, the 71st was relocated from
Ivanovo
Ivanovo ( rus, Иваново, p=ɪˈvanəvə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Russia. It is the administrative center and largest city of Ivanovo Oblast, located northeast of Moscow and approximately from Yaroslavl, Vlad ...
to
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
, and on 5 June 1957 was converted into the 119th Motor Rifle Division, part of the
10th Army Corps (formerly the
10th Rifle Corps
The 10th Rifle Corps (Military Unit Number 16058 until June 1956) was an infantry corps of the Red Army, which later became the 10th Army Corps after the Second World War.
Interwar period
The corps was formed by an order dated 12 July 1922 in ...
) in the
Baltic Military District. Beginning on 11 July 1964, the division was relocated from Vilnius to the
Amur Oblast. It was replaced at Vilnius by the
107th Motor Rifle Division.
On 11 January 1965, the division was renumbered as the 265th Motor Rifle Division. In the Far East, the division was stationed at
Vozzhayevka (near
Belogorsk Belogorsk or Bilohirsk (russian: Белогорск; uk, Білогірськ) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia and Ukraine.
;Urban localities
*Belogorsk, Amur Oblast, a town in Amur Oblast; administratively incorporated as a ...
), and became part of the
35th Army from 1969. In the late 1980s, the division's 421st Motor Rifle Regiment was based at
Pozdeyevka, the 373rd Tank Regiment and division headquarters at Vozzhayevka, the 695th Motor Rifle Regiment and 798th Artillery Regiment at
Srednebelaya, and the 212th Motor Rifle Regiment at
Cheremkhovo
Cheremkhovo ( rus, Черемхо́во, p=tɕɪrʲɪmˈxovə) is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
History
Cheremkhovo was founded in 1772.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of adm ...
. On 25 October 1989, it was downsized into the 5507th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base.
Commanders
The following officers commanded the division during World War II:
* Major
Ivan Prytkov (26 August–22 October 1941)
* Major General (23 October–7 December 1941)
* Colonel
Yakov Yermakov (8 December 1941 – 25 June 1942)
* Colonel
Boris Ushinsky (26 June 1942)
* Colonel
Yevgeny Pereverzev (27 June–12 August 1942)
* Colonel Boris Ushinsky (14 August 1942 – 23 February 1944)
* Colonel
Fyodor Andreyev (24 February–27 September 1944)
* Major General (28 September 1944–after 9 May 1945)
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
265th Rifle Division website
{{Soviet Union divisions
Military units and formations established in 1965
Military units and formations disestablished in 1989
Motor rifle divisions of the Soviet Union