The 281rd Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

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, afte ...

during

World War II 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 opposing ...

. Formed in the summer of 1941, the division fought in the siege of Leningrad until the end of the siege in early 1944, when it advanced into eastern Estonia. The 281st was soon moved north to fight against Finland during the summer of that year, and after Finland's withdrawal from the war fought in battles in East Prussia and Poland during early 1945. The division was disbanded in the summer of 1945.

History

The 281st Rifle Division began forming on 10 July 1941 at Leningrad from reservists. The division's basic order of battle included the 1062nd, 1064th, and the 1066th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 816th Artillery Regiment. It was brought up to strength in July by around 3,000 untrained civilians from Leningrad volunteer "fighter battalions." On 13 August, it was sent to the defensive line at Kingisepp, south of the city. For most of the rest of the year, the 281st was a "fire brigade", directly subordinated to the Leningrad Front. On 17 December, the division transferred to the 54th Army, which was fighting to the east of the

Volkhov River The Volkhov (russian: Во́лхов) is a river in Novgorodsky and Chudovsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Kirishsky and Volkhovsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia. It connects Lake Ilmen and Lake Ladoga and forms pa ...

. The 281st fought in the Volkhov area as part of the 54th Army, which became 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 ...

. After the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive ended the siege of Leningrad in February 1944, the Volkhov Front was disbanded, and the division became part of the 8th Army. The 282nd fought in the

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 54 ...

area but was soon transferred to the 98th Rifle Corps. The 98th Rifle Corps became part of the 23rd Army, and the division fought in the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, a Soviet attack in 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 ...

during the summer of 1944, which resulted in the withdrawal of Finland from the war in September. After spending September in 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 Stav ...

, the 281st and the 98th Rifle Corps moved south to become part of the

2nd Shock Army The 2nd Shock Army (russian: 2-я Ударная армия) was a field army of the Soviet Union during the Second World War. This type of formation was created in accordance with prewar doctrine that called for Shock Armies to ''overcome diffi ...

. The 282nd fought in the East Prussian Offensive and the East Pomeranian Offensive in early 1945. At the end of the war the 98th Rifle Corps was directly subordinated to the

2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front ( Russian: Второй Белорусский фронт, alternative spellings are 2nd Byelorussian Front) was a military formation, of Army group size, of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. Soviet army g ...

and placed in the reserve in Germany. Postwar, the division was disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the

Northern Group of Forces The Northern Group of Forces (; ) was the military formation of the Soviet Army stationed in People's Republic of Poland, Poland from the end of World War II, Second World War in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the fal ...

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* * {{Soviet Union divisions before 1945 Infantry divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945