The 290th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. Formed in the summer of 1941, the 290th fought in the Battle of Smolensk, Operation Bagration, the Vistula–Oder Offensive, and the East Pomeranian Offensive during the rest of the war before its postwar disbandment in 1946.

History

The 290th began forming on 12 July 1941 at Kalyazin in the Moscow Military District from reservists. Its basic order of battle included the 878th, 882nd, and the 885th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 827th Artillery Regiment. After only five weeks, the division was assigned to the 50th Army. In late September, the division was encircled in the Bryansk pocket by Operation Typhoon, the German advance on Moscow. The division's remnants broke out from the pocket by 23 October. On 27 November the 827th Artillery Regiment was removed from the division and replaced by the 1420th Artillery Regiment on 22 January 1942. In May, the 290th transferred to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

's 10th Army. During the last four months of 1943, the division was part of the 33rd Army,

49th Army "Thank God for Mississippi" is an adage used in the United States, particularly in the South, that is generally used when discussing rankings of U.S. states. Since the U.S. state of Mississippi commonly ranks at or near the bottom of such rankings ...

, and the 68th Army, as it advanced from Smolensk to the Mogilev- Orsha line on the Dnieper. At the end of the year, the 290th transferred back to the 10th Army, but in spring 1944 it was moved to the 49th Army. The division fought in Operation Bagration and was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class, for recapturing

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

. By August it began to outrun its supply lines, and received 1200 rear area conscripts and militia from Grodno, and 380 newly drafted civilians from areas it advanced through as replacements. In September, the 290th was transferred to the 3rd Army of 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 ...

, with which it fought in the Vistula–Oder Offensive and the East Pomeranian Offensive in early 1945. At the very end of the war, the 3rd Army was 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 ...

, and became part of the front reserve during the Battle of Berlin. By the end of the war, the division's honorifics were "Mogilev, Order of the Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov." The division was relocated to Chavusy in the Minsk Military District with the 35th Rifle Corps in the summer of 1945, and disbanded there in June 1946 along with the corps.

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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 1946 Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner