The 293rd Rifle Division began service as a standard
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 ...
rifle division shortly after the German invasion. It served in the
defense of Kiev, and managed to escape encirclement, spending the winter along the front near Kursk. It fought in the unsuccessful Soviet offensive on Kharkov in May, 1942. In the early summer the division fought along the Don River against the
German offensive, and after rebuilding in the
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
, where it played a leading role in the encirclement and destruction of
German Sixth Army, for which it was raised to Guards status as the
66th Guards Rifle Division as the battle was still ongoing. A second 293rd was raised a few months later and won distinction against the Japanese in Manchuria in August 1945.
1st Formation
The division began forming on July 18, 1941 at
Sumy, based on various reserve formations from
Sumy Oblast
Sumy Oblast ( uk, Сумська́ о́бласть, translit=Sumska oblast; also referred to as Sumshchyna – uk, Су́мщина) is an oblast (province) in the northeastern part of Ukraine. Population: The oblast was created in its most r ...
,
Chernivtsi Oblast and
Kharkiv Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast ( uk, Харківська́ о́бласть, translit=Kharkivska oblast), also referred to as Kharkivshchyna ( uk, Ха́рківщина), is an oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luhans ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
.
[47th Anniversary of the 66th Brigade]
/ref> Major General Pavel Lagutin
Pavel Filippovich Lagutin (Russian: Павел Филиппович Лагутин; 27 January 1896–31 January 1975) was a Soviet Army lieutenant general who commanded the 293rd Rifle Division during World War II. He led the 293rd from its forma ...
would command the division throughout its 1st formation. Its main order of battle was as follows:
* 1032nd Rifle Regiment
* 1034th Rifle Regiment
* 1036th Rifle Regiment
* 817th Artillery Regiment.
The 293rd was almost immediately assigned to Southwestern Front to complete its formation. On August 18, it was assigned to 40th Army
The 40th Army (, ''40-ya obshchevoyskovaya armiya'', "40th Combined Arms Army") of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War fro ...
of that front, defending the northeast shoulder of the Kiev salient; as a result it escaped being encircled in the German offensive in September. In the second week of that month it was defending the towns of Krepali and Vorozhba
Vorozhba (, ) is a city in Bilopillia Raion, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and north ...
from elements of the German 2nd Panzer Group
The 2nd Panzer Army (german: 2. Panzerarmee) was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 2nd Panzer Group on October 5, 1941.
Organisation
Panzer Group Guderian (german: Panzergruppe Guderian) was formed on 5 June 1940 ...
, but was soon retreating by way of Sumy to the vicinity of Kursk
Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...
, where it would spend a relatively uneventful winter, becoming involved on the periphery of the fighting near Kharkov
Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine. in the spring.
Following this, the division was assigned to the 21st Army, where it remained for almost a year. In this army it offered resistance to the German summer offensive along the Don River, and managed again to escape when four of the army's divisions were cut off. The army crossed to the east bank of the Don and in July became part of Stalingrad Front. By this time the 293rd was no longer combat capable. On June 15 the division's strength returns showed a total of just 1,374 men, with six field guns and three antitank guns. Various divisional assets were transferred to 76th Rifle Division 76th may refer to:
*76th Academy Awards ceremony honored films of 2003
* 76th Air Army, an air army of the Soviet Air Forces from 1949 to 1980 and from 1988 to 1998
*76th Air Assault Division (Russia), a division of the Russian Airborne Troops base ...
of the same army while the divisional cadre was sent into reserve at Buzuluk in the South Urals for rebuilding over the next three months.
When this was complete in late October the division had a strength of 10,420 officers and men, less than 500 short of full complement at that period. Broken down by nationality, there were 4,523 Russians, 1,225 Ukrainians and Belorussians, 2,280 Kazakhs, 269 Jews, three men from the Baltic republics and one Chechen; the remaining troops came from several other Central Asian nationalities. Two-thirds of the officers and about 20 percent of the NCOs and men were members of the Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
or the Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
. The rebuilt division soon rejoined 21st Army, once again in Southwestern Front.
In early November, the 293rd entered the Kletskaya bridgehead on the west bank of the Don in preparation for Operation Uranus. On the 14th, the 1034th Rifle Regiment staged a reconnaissance-in-force
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmishers, ...
against the German and Romanian lines; at a cost of 106 dead and 277 wounded or shell-shocked, this attack uncovered the entire enemy fire plan in preparation for the main offensive which began on the 19th. The full division participated in the breakthrough of the German/Romanian front, reaching Kalach-na-Donu a day after it was liberated by the armored forces and the encirclement completed. This was followed by a five-day battle for the village of Illarionovskaya.
During the following month, 21st Army, transferred to Don Front The Don Front was a front of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War, which existed between September 1942 and February 1943, and was commanded during its entire existence by Konstantin Rokossovsky. The name refers to Don River, Russia.
For ...
for Operation Ring
Operation Ring (russian: link=no, Операция «Кольцо», translit=Operatsia Kol'tso; hy, «Օղակ» գործողություն, ), known in Azerbaijan as Operation Chaykand ( az, Çaykənd əməliyyatı) was the codename for th ...
, was in the westernmost sector of the encircling lines, gradually pushing east. The 293rd liberated Pitomnik on January 16, 1943, and Gumrak on the night of January 21/22. On that same date, Stalin's order No. 34 was received:
In April, 21st Army would be reorganized as the 6th Guards Army.
2nd Formation
The second 293rd Rifle Division was one of six new divisions formed in the Transbaikal in mid-July, 1943. Col. Stepan Mikhailovich Sgibnev was appointed to command on July 15, and he would remain in this post for the duration. The division's order of battle remained the same as the first formation. It spent most of the remainder of the war in the 2nd Rifle Corps
The 2nd Rifle Corps was an infantry corps of the Red Army during the interwar period and World War II, formed twice.
First formation
It was formed in September 1922 as the 2nd Army Corps in accordance with orders dated 10 June, 18 July, and 12 ...
in the Transbaikal Front reserves, but in June, 1945 it was transferred as a separate rifle division to 36th Army of the same front for the duration. When the Soviet Union declared war on Japan on August 9, 1945, the division joined in the advance into Manchuria as part of Gen. Fomenko's Operational Group. This group overwhelmed the under-manned Japanese fixed fortifications at Chalainor- Manzhouli on the first day, and the remainder of the campaign was a mostly unopposed pursuit. In recognition of this success, the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...
. It was disbanded later in spring and summer 1946 with 36th Army.
In popular culture
Mansur Abdulin's memoir Red Road from Stalingrad
''Red Road from Stalingrad'' is a war memoir written by Mansur Abdulin, published in Russian in 1991 and in English in 2004. In it, Abdulin recounts his service in the 293rd Rifle Division, which became the 66th Guards Rifle Division, in 1942-4 ...
() is based on his experiences fighting as an ordinary soldier in the 293rd (and later the 66th Guards) at Stalingrad and afterwards. It was published in Russian in 1991 and in English in 2004.[Preface by Artem Drabkin in Abdulin, pp. vii–viii]
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
* p. 249
*
External links
Pavel Filippovich Lagutin
{{Soviet Union divisions before 1945
293
__NOTOC__
Year 293 ( CCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, ...
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