The 329th Rifle Division was first formed in September 1941, 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, afte ...
rifle division, 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 ...
. This formation was assigned to the Western Front in mid-December as the Soviet winter counter-offensive west of Moscow was developing, but had the misfortune to be cut off and destroyed behind German lines. The division was formed again nearly two years later, this time in
1st Ukrainian 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 ...
, and served with distinction with this Front during the final twelve months of the war, winning honors for its roles in the fighting in Poland, Breslau and Berlin before ending the war near Prague.
1st Formation
The division first formed on 1 September 1941 in the Oryol Military District at Voronezh, right alongside the 327th Rifle Division. Col. Nikolai Matveevich Makovchuk took command the same day and remained in that post until 7 February 1942. The division's basic order of battle was as follows:
* 1110th Rifle Regiment
* 1112th Rifle Regiment
* 1114th Rifle Regiment
* 895th Artillery Regiment
In late October the division was assigned to 26th Reserve Army, which was forming up in the
Reserve of the Supreme High Command
The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the ''Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK ( ru , РВГК)) comprises reserve military formations and units; the Stav ...
. At the beginning of December, the 329th was in the Moscow Defense Zone in the 60th Reserve Army before being reassigned to 5th Army in Western Front.
Battle of Moscow
5th Army went over to the counteroffensive on December 6. By the close of December 11 the 329th, along with the 108th, 144th, and 19th Rifle Divisions had pierced the defensive front of the German 252nd, 87th, 78th and (coincidentally) 329th Infantry Divisions, and had reached the area of Lokotnya and Kolyubakovo. Western Front issued further orders for a continuation of the offensive on December 13. As well, Maj. Gen. Lev Dovator's
2nd Guards Cavalry Corps
The 3rd Cavalry Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army.
History
As part of the 11th Army, it took part in the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939.
The Corps was recreated on November 20, 1941 on the basis of the Dovator Cavalry Group.
For i ...
was moved to the 5th Army sector in the woods north of
Kubinka
Kubinka (russian: Ку́бинка) is a town in Odintsovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Setun River, west of Moscow. Population:
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History
Kubinka, founded in the 15th century, may have been named after Prince , a ...
. After a series of quick blows the rifle divisions mentioned above, plus the 50th, went over to the attack. Due to strong enemy resistance and extensive fortifications the assault made little immediate headway. However, enough of a gap was forced in the German line on the boundary between the 329th and the 19th divisions that the cavalry was able to pass through along a forlorn and roadless forest sector, beginning a deep raid which would disrupt and demoralize the enemy; already on the next day 5th Army resumed its advance. On December 20, the 19th and 329th Rifle Divisions forced the
Ruza River
The Ruza (russian: Руза) is a river in the Moscow Oblast in Russia, left tributary of the Moskva.33rd Army, which was driving through the lines of Army Group Center towards
Vyasma
Vyazma (russian: Вя́зьма) is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast, and Mozhaysk. Throu ...
. This objective was not quite reached, and the army was cut off behind German lines by counterattacks in early February. On the 8th, the division came under the command of Col. Kornei Mikhailovich Andrusenko. By the beginning of May, Western Front was developing a plan to break through to these isolated pockets with major forces and to hold them as staging areas for further operations. On May 10, Colonel Andrusenko handed command of the division to Col. Nikolai Lavrentevich Soldatov, who would hold the post until the division was disbanded. On May 20, by Front order, the "Special Group of General Belov" was created and consisted of Lt. Gen. Pavel Belov's
1st Guards Cavalry Corps
1st Guards Cavalry Zhytomyr Red Banner Corps (Russian: 1-й гвардейский кавалерийский Житомирский Краснознаменный корпус) was a military unit of the Soviet Red Army which was renamed from ...
, the 329th Rifle Division, units of the
4th Airborne Corps The 4th Airborne Corps was an airborne corps of the Red Army in World War II. It fought in the Vyazma airborne operation, an unsuccessful landing during the Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive.
History
The corps was formed in the spring of 1941 in the West ...
, and several large partisan detachments. However, the plan was never implemented, due to renewed German offensive action and the poor organization of the airlift operations that were intended to support Group Belov. Late winter snow and early spring mud had delayed the inevitable, but by the end of the month the Germans had reduced the remaining men of the 329th to small, barely organized groups. The division was carried under the Western Front reserves until June, but by then it was clear that not enough of these men would slip out of the forests and back to Soviet lines, and on August 22 the unit was officially disbanded.
Colonel Andrusenko was one of those fortunate enough to escape, but his story nearly ended tragically as he was put on trial before the military tribunal of Western Front "for criminal inaction" during the encirclement battle. On April 6 he was deprived of his military rank and sentenced to death. He applied to the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR for a pardon, and on May 4 his sentence was reduced to 10 years in the
Gulag
The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
without full loss of rank, although he was demoted to Major. The sentence was also deferred until after the end of the war, so he continued to serve at the front. While Andrusenko had a further run-in with the military authorities later that year, he went on to regain his rank, be awarded the Gold Star
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...
for his leadership in crossing the
Dniepr
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The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...
After an effective absence of more than two years from the Red Army order of battle, a new 329th Rifle Division was formed on 4 May 1944, in 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 ...
of
1st Ukrainian 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 ...
, near
Lutzk
Lutsk ( uk, Луцьк, translit=Lutsk}, ; pl, Łuck ; yi, לוצק, Lutzk) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Volyn Oblast (province) and the administrative center of the surrounding Luts ...
in the
Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exis ...
. Maj. Gen. Aleksei Aleksandrovich Yamanov was appointed as commanding officer on the same date; he was replaced by Maj. Gen. Zakhar Trofimovich Trofimov on July 26 when Yamanov was promoted to command of
21st Rifle Corps
The 21st Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. It was part of the Western Front. It took part in the Great Patriotic War.
The headquarters formed in the Moscow Military District in September 1939. Assigned to the WSMD with the 17th, 2 ...
. The division remained in the same army and Front for the duration of the war. For most of 1944 it was in either 21st or
22nd Rifle Corps
The 22nd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army, formed thrice. It was initially formed from the Estonian Army after the Soviet occupation of that country in June 1940. The corps was destroyed during the Baltic Operation. After large-scale de ...
, but during the last weeks of the war it was in 120th Rifle Corps.Sharp, ''"Red Swarm"'', p. 125 General Trofimov made way for Col. Ivan Ivanovich Yaremenko to take command a month later, and Yaremenko would remain there until the first few days of the next year.
During the Vistula-Oder Offensive, on 15 January 1945 the division was recognized for its role in the liberation of the Polish city of Kielce:
The division saw one more change of command on 4 February, when Col. Fyodor Fyodorovich Abashev took command and led the division to the war's end. On 5 April, the 329th was recognized for its contributions in the fighting around Breslau with the award of the
Order of Kutuzov
The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established ...
. When the division completed its combat path in Czechoslovakia in May, it carried the full title of ''329th Rifle, Keletz,
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800).
History
The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 19 ...
, Order of Kutuzov Division''. (Russian: 329-я стрелковая Келецкая орденов Суворова и Кутузова дивизия.)
Postwar
On June 4 the 329th gained further distinction for its role in liquidating enemy forces in the southeast sector of the city during the Battle of Berlin 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 t ...
. The division was disbanded "in place" 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 ...
329
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Year 329 (Roman numerals, CCCXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Constantinus (or, le ...