The 287th 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 twice. It was first formed in the summer of 1941 and destroyed in the Bryansk pocket in the fall of 1941. The division was reformed in late December, including elements of the first formation, and served throughout the war before being disbanded in the summer of 1945.

History

First Formation

The 287th began forming around 10 July 1941 at

Yelets Yelets, or Elets (russian: Еле́ц), is a city in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Bystraya Sosna River, which is a tributary of the Don. Population: History Yelets is the oldest center of the Central Black Earth Region. It was me ...

, part of the

Orel Military District The Orel Military District ( rus, Орловский военный округ (ОрВО), r=Orlovskiy voyennyy okrug (OrVO), p=) was a military district of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Soviet Union. Established in 1918 ...

. Its basic order of battle included the 866th, 868th, and 870th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 851st Artillery Regiment. While still forming, the division was assigned its commander on 20 July and became part of the

Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front (russian: Брянский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it first f ...

reserves on 15 August. At the end of September, the division, possibly still trying to complete its formation, was trapped in the Bryansk pocket after the 2nd Panzer Group broke through the Soviet lines. On 3 October, the division was moved up from the reserve by rail and its eleven trains were unloaded at Brasovo station, 75 kilometers south of

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban la ...

. Between 3 and 5 October the division conducted unsuccessful counterattacks. The 287th was virtually destroyed by mid-October, but was not officially disbanded until 27 December.

Second Formation

The second formation of the 287th began forming in late December at

Lipetsk Lipetsk ( rus, links=no, Липецк, p=ˈlʲipʲɪtsk), also romanized as Lipeck, is a city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh River in the Don basin, southeast of Moscow. Populat ...

with the same basic organization as the first formation, and quickly became part of the

while still forming. Its first units were formed from the remnants of the 287th's first formation that had escaped from the Bryansk pocket. The 287th joined the 3rd Army in January, and was assigned its commander in late February. The division fought in battles on the Bryansk Front and in May 1943 was transferred to the 63rd Army, still on the same front. In October, the army was transferred to the Belorussian Front, and on 20 December the 287th was transferred to the 13th Army. The division subsequently became part of the army's 24th Rifle Corps. By April 1944, its divisional anti-tank battalion was equipped with older model 76 mm M1936 or 76 mm M1939 (USV) guns. In July the division transferred to the army's 102nd Rifle Corps. The 287th transferred to the 38th Army's

67th Rifle Corps The 67th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army during World War II, formed twice. First formation The corps was formed in March 1940 in the Kharkov Military District with the 102nd Rifle Division, 132nd, and 151st Rifle Divisions, 194th Sep ...

in November, and from December 1944 to the war's end was part of the

3rd Guards Army The 3rd Guards Army () was a field army of the Soviet Red Army that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The army fought in the Battle of Berlin, during which it mopped up German resistance around Cottbus. 1942 to 1945 It was formed o ...

's 76th Rifle Corps. The division fought in the

Berlin Offensive 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– ...

from late April 1945. On 25 April, its commander, Major General Iosif Pankratov, was killed by a large mine blast. By the end of the war, the division's honorifics were "Novograd-Volynsky, twice Order of the Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, and Bogdan Khmelnitsky." The division was disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the

Central Group of Forces The Central Group of Forces (Russian: Центральная группа войск) was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and tr ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{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 Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner