The 289th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
's
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 ...
, formed twice. The division was first formed in the summer of 1941, after the
German invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...
, and was sent to the front and destroyed in the
Battle of Kiev in September. The division was formed a second time in October 1941 from the 5th Rifle Brigade, a separate infantry brigade fighting in the
Continuation War
The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...
against Finnish and German troops in
Karelia. The new division spent most of the war in Karelia and in the summer of 1944 fought in the
Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, which resulted in the end of the Continuation War in September. The division was stationed at
Belomorsk
Belomorsk (russian: Беломо́рск; krl, Šuomua; fi, Belomorsk/') is a town and the administrative center of Belomorsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the Onega Bay on the shore of the White Sea. Population:
Hi ...
in Karelia until its disbandment after the end of World War II in July 1946.
First Formation
The 289th Rifle Division began forming from reservists on 10 July 1941 at
Lubny
Lubny ( uk, Лубни́, ), is a city in Poltava Oblast (province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Lubny Raion (district), the city itself is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast significance and does no ...
. Its basic order of battle included the 1044th, 1046th, and 1048th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 281st Artillery Regiment. At the beginning of August, the division was assigned to the
Southwestern Front's
26th Army. The division arrived at the 26th Army's positions from 2 to 5 August, taking up a defense along the
Dnieper
}
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 ...
southeast of
Kiev. The division fought in the Battle of Kiev and was destroyed in the Kiev pocket in September, along with most of the 26th Army. While the division was officially disbanded on 19 September, its commander and some remnants escaped to provide a cadre for the division's second formation.
Second Formation
The division's second formation was formed on 15 October 1941 from the 5th Rifle Brigade. The 5th Rifle Brigade had been redesignated on 5 October 1941 from the Murmansk Rifle Brigade,
which was also called the Grivnik Brigade. The Murmansk Rifle Brigade was originally formed in July 1941. The brigade fought alongside the Soviet
88th Rifle Division against the
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
J-Group of the
Finnish III Corps and the German
SS North during
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
. They beat back both forces, forcing the Finno-German troops to retire to the city of
Kestenga
Kestenga (russian: Кестеньга; krl, Kiestinki; fi, Kiestinki), is a rural village in the Loukhsky District of the Republic of Karelia in Russia on the northern shore of Lake Topozero.
It is the administrative centre of the ''Kestenga r ...
, near
Lake Topozero
Lake Topozero (, ) is a large freshwater lake in the Republic of Karelia, northwestern part of Russia. It has an area of long, and a drainage basin of . It is 75.3 km long and 30.3 km wide. Maximum depth is about 50 m. There are more th ...
in September 1941. The brigade consisted of some local militia, the 242nd Rifle Regiment of the
104th Rifle Division and probably an artillery battalion of the same division.
The division fought in Karelia for the rest of the war. In April 1942 it became part of the
32nd Army. From June to August 1944 it fought in the
Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive, during which it fought in the recapture of southern Karelia. The advances made in the offensive resulted in the Finnish ending the Continuation War in September. After the end of the Continuation War, the division became part of the
4th Rifle Corps
The 4th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army, active from the 1920s.
First Formation
It was formed during the Russian Civil War as part of the Western Front of the Red Army in May and June 1922. The corps headquarters was stationed in Vitebsk ...
of the
Belomorsky Military District
The Belomorsky Military District (russian: Беломорский военный округ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, active from in the immediate aftermath of the Russian Civil War and just after the Second World War.
...
at
Belomorsk
Belomorsk (russian: Беломо́рск; krl, Šuomua; fi, Belomorsk/') is a town and the administrative center of Belomorsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the Onega Bay on the shore of the White Sea. Population:
Hi ...
by May 1945.
[Poirier and Connor] The division was disbanded there with the corps on 10 July 1946.
Commanders
The following officer commanded the division's first formation.
* Colonel
Dmitry Makshanov
Dmitri (russian: Дми́трий); Church Slavic form: Dimitry or Dimitri (); ancient Russian forms: D'mitriy or Dmitr ( or ) is a male given name common in Orthodox Christian culture, the Russian version of Greek Demetrios (Δημήτριο ...
(10 July 19 September 1941)
The following officers commanded the division's second formation.
* Colonel Dmitry Makshanov (19 September 20 October 1941)
* Colonel
Nikolai Chernukha
Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to:
People Royalty
* Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855
* Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or Niko ...
(20 October 1941 27 March 1942)
* Major General
Toivo Tommola
Toivo is a masculine given name most commonly found in Estonia and Finland and may refer to:
*Andimba Toivo ya Toivo (1924–2017), Namibian politician and anti-Apartheid activist
*Sigrid Elmblad (1860–1926), Swedish journalist, poet, translator ...
(28 March 1942 28 June 1944)
* Major General Nikolai Chernukha (29 June 1944 9 May 1945)
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
* Poirier and Conner primarily used the wartime files of the German
Foreign Armies East ('FHO') intelligence section, of which substantial sections are now held by the
U.S. National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
*
*
{{Soviet Union divisions before 1945
Infantry divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II
Military units and formations disestablished in 1941