88th Guards Rifle Division

The 88th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 99th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It would become one of the most highly decorated rifle divisions of the Red Army.

The 99th had distinguished itself in the fighting around Stalingrad as part of 66th Army but was transferred to 62nd Army near the end of the battle and when that Army became the 8th Guards Army the 88th Guards joined the 28th Guards Rifle Corps and it would serve under these commands for the duration. The division inherited the Order of the Red Banner that the 99th had won in July 1941. The Army failed to penetrate into the Donbass in July, but when the offensive was renewed in August it joined the summer offensive through eastern Ukraine to the Dniepr River. In mid-October the division would win an honorific for its part in the liberation of Zaporozhye. Through the winter it would take part in the battles in the great bend of the Dniepr, now as part of 3rd Ukrainian Front. It soon also won the Order of Suvorov in recognition of its role in the fighting along the Inhulets River and the subsequent exploitation to the west. Following the liberation of Odessa in April 1944 it advanced into the estuary of the Dniestr River but, unable to find a viable crossing, backtracked to the north and then became involved in defensive fighting for a bridgehead south of Grigoriopol. After the Front went over to the defense the 8th Guards Army was transferred to 1st Belorussian Front where it remained for the duration. The 88th Guards earned another decoration for its part in breaking the German defense west of Kovel in the later stage of Operation Bagration and after helping to liberate the city of Lublin entered the bridgehead over the Vistula at Magnuszew in the first days of August.

During the Vistula-Oder Offensive several of the division's regiments and other subunits were recognized with honorifics or decorations for their success in the advance into Poland. In early February the 88th Guards helped to expand a bridgehead over the Oder River near Küstrin and remained in that position until the final offensive on Berlin began in mid-April. The division and its units collected further honors during this offensive and ended the war in the center of the city near the Zoological Garden. The 88th Guards was assigned to occupation duty in the Soviet sector of Germany but was disbanded in early 1947.

Formation

At the beginning of March 1943 the 99th Rifle Division was part of 62nd Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command ''en route'' to the Kupiansk region following the victory at Stalingrad; by April 1 the Army had been assigned to Southwestern Front as it reorganized as the 8th Guards Army. On April 17 the division was redesignated as the 88th Guards; it would receive its Guards banner on May 17. It inherited the Order of the Red Banner won by the 99th on July 22, 1941 in recognition of its role in the border battles near Przemyśl; this was the first decoration awarded to any Red Army unit following the German invasion. The 266th Guards Rifle Regiment also retained the Order of the Red Banner that had been presented to the 1st Rifle Regiment on February 22, 1941 in recognition of the 23rd anniversary of the Red Army. Once the division completed its reorganization its order of battle was as follows:
* 266th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 1st Rifle Regiment)
* 269th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 197th Rifle Regiment)
* 271st Guards Rifle Regiment (from 206th Rifle Regiment)
* 194th Guards Artillery Regiment (from 22nd Artillery Regiment)
* 96th Guards Antitank Battalion
* 93rd Guards Reconnaissance Company
* 102nd Guards Sapper Battalion
* 157th Guards Signal Battalion (later 2nd Guards Signal Company)
* 98th Guards Medical/Sanitation Battalion
* 92nd Guards Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company
* 94th Guards Motor Transport Company
* 91st Guards Field Bakery
* 90th Guards Divisional Veterinary Hospital
* 981st Field Postal Station
* 706th Field Office of the State Bank
The division remained under the command of Maj. Gen. Vladimir Yakovlevich Vladimirov, who had commanded the 99th since October 1941. In late April it was assigned to the 28th Guards Rifle Corps along with the 39th and 79th Guards Rifle Divisions; the 88th Guards would remain under this Corps command in the 8th Guards Army for the duration of the war. On May 14 General Vladimirov was made the chief-of-staff of 8th Guards Army and three days later Maj. Gen. Grigorii Ivanovich Vekhin was moved from command of the 152nd Rifle Division to take over the 88th Guards. During early July it was reported that the personnel of the division were roughly 70 percent Russian, with the remaining 30 percent of several Asian nationalities.

Into Ukraine

On July 17, days after the German offensive at Kursk was suspended, Southwestern Front began an offensive against the German 1st Panzer Army in an effort to force the Severskii Donets River and advance into the Donbass. While the 8th Guards was able to force a crossing and establish a bridgehead it was halted by counterattacks and the effort was suspended on July 27. On the same day Col. Ivan Nikitovich Esin took over command of the 88th Guards, but he would hold this post only until August 7 when he was replaced by Col. Boris Nikiforovich Pankov. This officer would be promoted to the rank of major general on November 17 and would lead the division, apart from two short breaks, for the duration of the war.

A renewed offensive began on August 13 and although Southwestern Front was initially unable to penetrate the front of 1st Panzer Army south of Izium the Southern Front broke through the recreated 6th Army beginning on August 18. By August 23 1st Panzer was also in trouble with its army corps south of Izium reduced to a combat strength of just 5,800 men and unable to hold a continuous line. On the 31st Field Marshal E. von Manstein was finally authorized to withdraw both armies to the Kalmius River, effectively beginning the race to the Dniepr. In a slashing attack on the morning of September 6 Southwestern Front rammed through a mechanized corps and nine rifle divisions north of the boundary between the two German armies, unhinging the Kalmius line.

During the Battle of the Dniepr, 8th Guards Army closed on the city of Zaporozhye, which had been von Manstein's headquarters in early September. On Hitler's orders 1st Panzer Army held a bridgehead over the river centered on the city. Southwestern Front's first attack on October 1 made minor gains that were soon erased by counterattacks. This led to a week-long pause in operations for regrouping. On the morning of October 10 the 8th and 3rd Guards Armies renewed the offensive against the bridgehead beginning with a very powerful artillery preparation. While the bridgehead line held the casualties on both sides were very heavy and the commander of 1st Panzer Army again requested permission to withdraw, which was refused. A night attack on the 13th, supported by another massive artillery bombardment, compelled the German forces to abandon the city the next day. In recognition of its role in this success, the men and women of the division were awarded the city's name as an honorific:On October 20 Southwestern Front was redesignated as 3rd Ukrainian Front.

Battles in the Dniepr Bend

Both 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts attempted to rush the cities of Nikopol and Krivoi Rog in December but this was unsuccessful. 3rd Ukrainian faced a well-fortified line along the Kamianka River. On January 10, 1944 it attacked in the direction of Apostolove but this effort also failed after a week. A revised plan called for the 46th Army, 8th Guards Army and the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps to remount the offensive on Apostolove with the objective of reducing Nikopol in cooperation with 4th Ukrainian Front. This new effort began on January 30 and the defense system covering the two cities was finally cracked on February 5 when Apostolove was taken, splitting the 6th Army. 46th and 8th Guards Armies now turned west toward the Inhulets River while elements of 4th Ukrainian Front cleared Nikopol on February 9. Krivoi Rog was covered in part by defenses along the Inhulets which were breached by 8th Guards at Shyroke on February 6 but it wasn't until February 22 that the city was liberated by 37th Army. At this point 3rd Ukrainian Front was poised to strike along the Mykolaiv - Odessa axis.

During the battle for Shyroke on February 12 Jr. Sgt. Sergei Dmitrievich Romanovtsev distinguished himself for his leadership of a heavy machine gun section of the 266th Guards Rifle Regiment and became a Hero of the Soviet Union. In the fighting for a bridgehead over the Inhulets he and his team repulsed seven German counterattacks with their fire. He would be awarded his Gold Star on June 3.

Battles on the Dniestr

It recognition of its role in the fighting for the Inhulets and the subsequent liberation of Novyi Buh the division was awarded the Order of Suvorov, 2nd Degree, on March 19. As the Odessa Offensive continued in early April the 8th Guards Army was advancing through difficult conditions along the southernmost sector of the front in Ukraine, along the northern shores of the Black Sea. Mykolaiv had been liberated on March 28 and shortly after several German and Romanian divisions were trapped at Rozdilna. The Front's center and left flank armies now advanced directly on Odessa and on April 10 that city was liberated by a three-pronged attack by 8th Guards, 6th and 5th Shock Armies. During this fighting on April 5 General Pankov was wounded and hospitalized; while he recovered he was replaced in command of the division by Col. Efim Timofeevich Marchenko but would return to his position on June 25.

Following this, 8th Guards Army advanced into the estuary of the Dniestr River by April 13 with the 28th Guards Corps reaching southwestward toward Ovidiopol. A force of cavalry from Pliyev's Cavalry-Mechanized Group had been encircled here by German forces escaping from Odessa and once these were relieved the Corps attempted to cross the estuary but this was stymied by spring flood waters and shortages of supplies and equipment. To escape this strategic dead end the Corps was ordered to backtrack north to Palanka where it rejoined the rest of 8th Guards Army by the end of the month.

In early May the Army was ordered north along the east bank of the river to relieve 5th Guards Army in the bridgehead it held at Tașlîc. This relief occurred over the nights of May 5, 6 and 7. The 88th Guards took up positions at the northern end of the bridgehead facing the remnants of the 17th Infantry Division south of Grigoriopol. All this activity was not missed by the Axis forces on the west bank, and very early on May 10 the XXXX Panzer Corps launched a powerful attack to drive in the bridgehead before the relief operation was complete. After several hours of heavy fighting the forward defenses of the 39th and 79th Guards Divisions had to be abandoned and the Corps commander, Maj. Gen. S. I. Morozov, was forced to personally gather reserves to defend the village of Puhăceni; this included heavy antiaircraft guns commanded by Cpt. V. G. Zaitsev who had gained fame as a sniper at Stalingrad. On the second day the pressure on 28th Guards Corps relented somewhat as the panzers wheeled southwards to strike the positions of 4th Guards Rifle Corps at Șerpeni which covered the Army's only crossing point at Butor. Over the next two days the assault forced the bridgehead back until it was about 11km wide but only 1-3km deep. On the morning of May 14 units of the 29th Guards Rifle Corps entered the bridgehead and partially relieved the 39th Guards, helping to stabilize the situation; late on May 18 this division turned its defensive sector over to the 88th Guards and was evacuated to the "Vinogradar" Collective Farm on the Dniestr's east bank. Due to this setback, among others, the Soviet offensive was halted, and would not resume until August.

Operation Bagration

At a ''STAVKA'' conference held in Moscow in the last days of May it was decided to reassign the 8th Guards Army to the left wing of the 1st Belorussian Front as part of the preparations for the main Soviet summer offensive. The Army would remain in this Front for the duration of the war. This movement was not completed until late June, after the first phase of the offensive was completed, but in time to take a leading role in the Lublin–Brest Offensive. The 8th Guards was one of five combined-arms armies and a tank army ordered to be prepared to attack by July 17 in the direction of Siedlce and Lublin, with part of these forces to capture Brest in conjunction with the Front's right wing forces. The 11th Tank Corps was designated as the Army's mobile group. The 88th Guards played a leading role in breaking through the German defense west of Kovel, in recognition of which it would be awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 2nd Degree, on August 9.

By the end of July 22 the 3rd Tank Corps, advancing as the vanguard of 28th Guards Corps, reached the Wieprz River and seized a bridgehead from the march; the next day the two corps jointly took the city of Lublin. At this time the 28th Guards Corps was operating along the left flank of 8th Guards Army and the Army was advancing at a pace of up to 27km per day. Brest was liberated on July 28 after which the Front commander, Marshal K. K. Rokossovskii, directed his main forces along the Warsaw axis. During the night of August 1 the 8th Guards Army seized a bridgehead over the Vistula in the Magnuszew area. During the following days the main forces of the Army were ferried across and by the end of August 2 had expanded the bridgehead to 19km in width and up to 6km in depth. Through the rest of the month until August 28 the 8th Guards Army continued to expand its foothold in cooperation with the 69th Army at Puławy, repelling numerous German tank and infantry counterattacks and eventually reaching the mouth of the Pilica River

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