The 296th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

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 ...

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 opposin ...

, formed twice. Its first formation was formed in the summer of 1941 and destroyed during

Case Blue Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the German Armed Forces' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of the Cauca ...

, the German summer offensive in the North Caucasus, in 1942. Reformed in the summer of 1943 in Georgia, the division's second formation never saw combat and was disbanded in 1946.

History

First Formation

The division began forming on 2 July 1941 in the

Odessa Military District The Odesa Military District (russian: Одесский военный округ, ОВО; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operat ...

. Its basic order of battle included the 962nd, 964th, and the 966th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 813th Artillery Regiment. By 20 August, the division had been assigned to the Southern Front's 9th Army. In October, the 296th was transferred to the 18th Army, and in February 1942 it was moved into the front reserve. The division was sent to the front with the 37th Army a month later. With the 37th Army, the 296th escaped the disaster in the

Second Battle of Kharkov The Second Battle of Kharkov or Operation Fredericus was an Axis counter-offensive in the region around Kharkov against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted 12–28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front during World War II. Its objectiv ...

. The division was soon transferred back to the 9th Army, with which it retreated into the Caucasus after the start of the German summer offensive,

, in June. The 296th suffered heavy losses during the retreat, and on 5 August was disbanded. Its remnants were used to reinforce the 242nd Rifle Division.

Second Formation

The division was reformed on 16 July 1943 from training units in Georgia, part of the

Transcaucasian Military District The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the Soviet Union. It was disbanded by being redesignated as a Grou ...

, and never saw combat. The division spent the rest of the war as part of the

12th Rifle Corps The 12th Rifle Corps () was an infantry corps of the Red Army during the interwar period and World War II, formed four times. The corps headquarters was briefly active between late 1922 and early 1923 as part of the Separate Caucasus Army, and ...

or the

13th Rifle Corps The 13th Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army, first formed in 1922. On October 12, 1922, the Corps began forming in the Turkestan Front. Alexander Todorsky became the corps commander. The corps participated in the suppression of the B ...

, under which it guarded the Turkish and Iranian borders. In May 1945, the 296th was part of the 12th Rifle Corps. In September, when the corps became part of the Tbilisi Military District, the 296th was stationed at

Poti Poti ( ka, ფოთი ; Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near t ...

. The division was disbanded there by 1946.

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 1946