The 303rd 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, and in its first formation fought in the central part of the Soviet-German front for a few months, taking part in the first offensive success of the Red Army at Yelnya, before being encircled and annihilated in the fighting around Vyasma. A second 303rd was raised a few months later and fought on, mainly in the central sector of Ukraine. The men and women of the division first distinguished themselves during the summer offensive of 1943, making an assault crossing of the Dniepr River at
Verkhnodniprovsk
Verkhnodniprovsk (or Verkhnyodniprovsk, uk, Верхньодніпровськ, ; russian: Верхнеднепровск) is a city in Kamianske Raion, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. The city is located at confluence of the Samotk ...
and gaining a battle honor for it. A second such honor was won in the spring of 1944 for the division's role in the liberation of the city of
Beltsy in Moldova. It ended the war at Prague, after advancing through Romania, Hungary and Austria. The division was disbanded in 1946.
1st Formation
The division began forming on July 10, 1941 at
Voronezh
Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...
in the
Oryol Military District. Col. Nikolai Pavlovich Rudnev was appointed as commanding officer on the same day. The division's order of battle was as follows:
* 845th Rifle Regiment
* 847th Rifle Regiment
* 849th Rifle Regiment
* 844th Artillery Regiment
* 561st Sapper Battalion
* 741th Signal Battalion
* 365th Reconnaissance Company
Less than a month after forming, the 303rd was assigned to
Reserve Front
The Reserve Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War.
First Formation
The Reserve Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first version was created on July 30, 1941 in a reorganizati ...
, moving to
43rd Army of that Front on August 10, just as that Army was itself forming up. By the end of August it had been shifted to
24th Army, and took part in the third counteroffensive against the
Yelnya Yelnya (russian: Ельня) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Yelnya, Yelninsky District, Smolensk Oblast, a town in Yelninsky District of Smolensk Oblast; administratively incorporated as Yelninskoye Urban ...
salient, beginning on August 30.
The division led the southern Shock Group as part of the planned concentric attack to seal off the salient, and advanced 2km on the first day, and again on the second. After standing off German counterattacks for two days, it again advanced on September 3, with assistance from a tank battalion. It was still about 8km short of linking up with the northern Group when German Army Group Center ordered its forces to withdraw from the salient, which was carried out over the next four days.
Army General G.K. Zhukov gave the 303rd little credit for this success, stating that "The 303rd... operated poorly and without initiative". Consequently, it was not chosen to become one of the
first four Guards rifle divisions. As of September 12 the rifle regiments of the division averaged only 400 men each, indicating excessive casualties.
By the end of September the division was reassigned yet again, to
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 ...
of
Reserve Front
The Reserve Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War.
First Formation
The Reserve Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first version was created on July 30, 1941 in a reorganizati ...
some 200km to the north in the area of
Sychevka Sychyovka (russian: Сычёвка) or Sychevka () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Sychyovka, Sychyovsky District, Smolensk Oblast, a town in Sychyovsky District of Smolensk Oblast; administratively incorp ...
. Before this move could get well underway, the 303rd was swept up in the German
Operation Typhoon
The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive e ...
, and by October 10 was deeply encircled north of
Spas-Demensk
Spas-Demensk (russian: Спас-Де́менскА. М. Прохоров. "Большой энциклопедический словарь". Москва, 1997, p. 1135.) is a town and the administrative center of Spas-Demensky District in ...
. By the end of the month the division was effectively destroyed as a fighting unit, but a cadre survived, and Col. Alexsandr Gavrilovich Moiseevskiy was appointed to its command on October 31. The division lingered on the official order of battle until December 27.
2nd Formation
A new rifle division, initially numbered the 448th, began forming on January 1, 1942, at
Topki Topki (russian: Топки) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Topki (town), Kemerovo Oblast, a town in Kemerovo Oblast;
;Rural localities
* Topki (rural locality), Kemerovo Oblast, a '' selo'' in Topkinska ...
in the
Siberian Military District
The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...
. Its first commander, Col. Lev Ivanovich Ostroukhov, was assigned on that date. It was largely formed from men drafted out of the
Kuzbass coal mining region, and in March was re-designated as the second 303rd Rifle Division. At this time its composition by nationality was recorded as 40% Russian and 60% Siberian and others. It remained in the Siberian District until April. Its order of battle remained the same as that of the 1st formation, although an unknown numbered antitank battalion would have also been included.
Late in that month it moved to the
Moscow Military District
The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military Di ...
and was assigned to the 2nd Reserve Army in the ''STAVKA'' reserves. By July the division was in 3rd Reserve Army when it was re-designated the
60th Army
The Red Army's 60th Army was a Soviet field army during the Second World War. It was first formed in reserve in the Moscow Military District in October 1941, but soon was disbanded. It was formed a second time in July 1942, and continued in servi ...
for front-line service. On July 19 that Army went into
Voronezh Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...
, and on that same date, Col. Konstantin Stepanovich Fyodorovskiy was promoted from chief of staff to divisional command. Promoted to the rank of Major General on January 17, 1944, he remained in command until late December of the same year. The 303rd spent the remainder of 1942 in that Army in that Front, mounting an aggressive defense against what the ''STAVKA'' anticipated to be a German drive to the northeast towards Moscow. In early 1943 it was moved 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 ...
, and then for a month in Voronezh Front reserves for rebuilding.
Following this the 303rd was transferred to
Southwestern Front, and in April to
57th Army of that Front. Following the
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history. ...
, 57th Army was moved to
Steppe Front
The Steppe Front (russian: Степной фронт) was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War which existed from July to October 1943.
History
On 9 July 1943, Stavka designated a new Reserve Front in the Voronezh region, that had ...
(soon to be renamed as
2nd Ukrainian Front
The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War.
History
On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front.
During the Second Jassy–Kishinev O ...
) and in September the division was reassigned to the
7th Guards Army
The 7th Guards Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II and of the Soviet Army during the Cold War.
History
The 7th Guards Army was formed from the 64th Army on April 16, 1943.
64th Army had originally been formed from 1s ...
. The 303rd was destined to remain in that Front for the duration.
Advance
It was in this period, during the
Battle of the Dniepr, that the division was recognized for its efforts in a river-crossing operation at the town of
Verkhnodniprovsk
Verkhnodniprovsk (or Verkhnyodniprovsk, uk, Верхньодніпровськ, ; russian: Верхнеднепровск) is a city in Kamianske Raion, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. The city is located at confluence of the Samotk ...
, and received the following unusual honorific: The division was further recognized on January 8, 1944, with the award of 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 ...
. In February it was moved to the
52nd Army as part of the
78th Rifle Corps, in which it liberated the
Moldovan town of Beltsy on March 26, and earned its second battle honor: However, the Corps' advance ran out of steam the next month outside the Romanian city of
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
.
In June the 303rd was again redeployed, this time to
4th Guards Army
The 4th Guards Army was an elite Guards field army of the Soviet Union during World War II and the early postwar era.
History
On April 16, 1943, the Supreme Command ordered the army to be established. On May 5, 1943, the army was formed on t ...
. In late August, after the start of the
2nd Jassy-Kishinev Offensive the division was moved to Front reserves for re-building during the swift advance through Romania. Re-building complete, in October it was back in 7th Guards Army, this time for the duration, and now serving in Hungary. For most of that period it was under the
27th Guards Rifle Corps
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...
, although in the last two months it also served in both the
24th and
25th Guards Rifle Corps
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...
. During the
Debrecen operation on October 19 the 303rd was urgently summoned to the
Mezőtúr
Mezőtúr is a town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in Hungary, located southeast from Budapest and 88 miles away by rail. It possesses important potteries. Large herds of cattle are reared on the communal lands, which are productive also of whea ...
area in response to a surprise German tank attack. Mezőtúr was taken on October 23, and the east bank of the
Tisza River
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
was reached on the 25th. On November 1 an assault crossing was forced, and over the next four days, in cooperation with the
227th Rifle Division, the city of
Szolnok
Szolnok (; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian Plain, wh ...
was captured. For its contribution to the latter feat the 847th Rifle Regiment was awarded the
Order of Kutuzov, 3rd Degree. On the afternoon of November 6 the division began an advance in the direction of
Kharomkhaz and on the 14th, along with the 227th and
409th Rifle Divisions, penetrated the southern suburbs of
Jászberény
Jászberény is a city and market centre in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in Hungary.
Location
Jászberény is located in central Hungary, on the Zagyva River, a tributary of the Tisza River. It is about from Budapest.
History
The oldest a ...
.
From September 18 to December 5, the 303rd was officially credited with the destruction of up to 1,000 enemy soldiers and officers, 22 tanks, 3 self-propelled guns, 4 armored personnel carriers, 4 other vehicles and 16 machine guns, as well as capturing 75 prisoners-of-war, 20 machine-guns, and other enemy equipment. During the
Siege of Budapest
The Siege of Budapest or Battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet Union, Soviet and Kingdom of Romania, Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital (political), capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the b ...
in December, the division accounted for up to 200 more enemy troops, 8 mortars, 4 guns and 17 machine-guns destroyed, plus 3 tanks, 3 prime movers, 13 guns, 34 other vehicles, 37 machine-guns, and another 105 prisoners-of-war captured. From September 18 to December 14, soldiers of the division were awarded a total of 1,007 orders and medals, including one
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
, eight
Orders of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet Union, Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War b ...
, 12
Orders of Alexander Nevsky, 166
Orders of the Great Patriotic War, 96
Orders of the Red Star, and 724 medals.
While this offensive continued in Hungary, in the face of bitter enemy resistance, on December 21 the division reached positions from Savditse to Setikh. During this advance Major General Fyodorovskiy was mortally wounded by enemy fire, and died of his wounds a week later. Col. Ivan Dmitrievich Panov replaced him in command on December 24, and led the division for the duration of hostilities. On Victory Day the 303rd was just south of
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. By this time the men and women of the division had earned the full title of ''303rd Rifle, Upper Dniepr, Beltsy, Order of the Red Banner Division''. (Russian: 303-я стрелковая Верхнеднепровская Бельцская Краснознамённая дивизия.)
Postwar
The division was initially part of 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 ...
. The division was transferred with the
23rd Rifle Corps
The 23rd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. It was part of the 4th Army. It took part in the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939.
On 22 June 1941 it was part of the Transcaucasian Military District comprising the 136th and 138th Rifl ...
to the
Stavropol Military District
The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also included the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla.
It comprised the Republic of Adygeya, ...
during the summer of 1945. It was based in
Nevinnomyssk
Nevinnomyssk (russian: Невинномы́сск) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on both banks of the Kuban River at its confluence with the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River, south of Stavropol.
The ...
. The division was disbanded there before the summer of 1946, when the 23rd Rifle Corps became part of the
North Caucasus Military District
The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also included the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla.
It comprised the Republic of Adygeya, ...
.
[Feskov et al 2013, pp. 516517]
References
Citations
Bibliography
* pp. 36, 109, 275-76
*
*
External links
Konstantin Stepanovich Fyodorovskiy
{{Soviet Union divisions before 1945
303
__NOTOC__
Year 303 ( CCCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, y ...
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