The 3rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division () was an anti-aircraft artillery 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, ...

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 ...

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 opposing ...

. Formed in October 1942, the division was soon sent to the front in the Battle of Stalingrad, providing air defense to the

5th Tank Army 5th Tank Army is the name of several Soviet units during World War II (not to be confused with the 5th Guards Tank Army). Its first formation occurred on 5 June, 1942, commanded by Major-General Alexander Lizyukov, serving under the Bryansk Front ...

. After a brief period in Southwestern Front reserve, the division was sent back into combat with the 6th Army in the

Third Battle of Kharkov The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Army Group South of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February and 15 March 1943. Known to ...

. The division served with the front, which became the

3rd Ukrainian Front The 3rd Ukrainian Front (Russian: Третий Украинский фронт) was a Front of the Red Army during World War II. It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southweste ...

, for the entire war. It supported the

8th Guards Army The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army (abbreviated 8th CAA) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s Southern Military District, that was reinstated in 2017 as a success ...

in the Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive in January 1944, and was awarded the honorific Nikopol for its actions. The division was awarded 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 ...

and the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky for its actions in the war. It was disbanded soon after the end of the war.

World War II

The 3rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division of 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 ...

(RVGK) began forming in late October 1942 in 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 D ...

under the command of Colonel (promoted to Major General on 9 April 1943) Mikhail Kotikov. The 3rd departed for the Southwestern Front on 2 November, and by 10 November its regiments were providing air defense for rifle divisions of the

. The division fought in defensive battles and in

Operation Uranus Operation Uranus (russian: Опера́ция «Ура́н», Operatsiya "Uran") was the codename of the Soviet Red Army's 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis ...

, the counteroffensive in the Battle of Stalingrad, and in

Operation Little Saturn Operation Little Saturn was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The success of Operation Uranus, launc ...

. In the attack of the Southwestern Front the 3rd provided air defense for the army's shock group, advancing 150 kilometers. Its regiments were credited with downing 50 and damaging 17 enemy aircraft, as well as destroying two tanks and killing up to two companies of infantry. By 1 January, the division included the 1084th, 1089th, 1114th, and the 1118th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiments. By 13 February 1943, the division held positions near Bannoye and Bogorodichnoye as part of the front reserve. It transferred to the 6th Army by 20 February to provide air defense for the rail station at

Lozova Lozova ( uk, Лозова́, ) or Lozovaya (russian: Лозова́я) is a city in Kharkiv Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of the Lozova Raion (district). Lozova hosts the administration of Lozova urb ...

as well as artillery ammunition dumps there during the German counterattack,

. Kotikov was appointed commander of the defense of Lozova, and between 25 and 28 February the division fought German tanks and infantry before being forced to retreat. In March, the 1114th and 1118th Regiments were directly subordinated to the front. The entire division was directly subordinated to the front in April, and remained thus for most of the rest of the year. On 7 August, Colonel Savely Chapovsky was appointed division commander. As part of the

(redesignated from the Southwestern Front on 20 October), the division covered the

from December in its attack towards Krivoy Rog and in the subsequent Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive. In January, the division was again directly subordinated to the front, remaining there for the rest of the war. For helping to capture Nikopol on 8 February, the division received the city's name as an honorific. In the spring of 1944, the division fought in the raid into the German rear in Bessarabia. Chapovsky was replaced by deputy division commander Colonel Vasily Gladkov on 31 July before dying of complications from

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part o ...

on 6 August. The 3rd fought in the elimination of the Axis pocket during the

Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

in the summer. On 7 September it was awarded the

, 2nd class for "exemplary fulfillment of command tasks" in breaking through enemy defenses south of Bender and the capture of Kishinev and its "valor and courage". It then advanced into Bulgaria and fought in the Belgrade Offensive. In late 1944 the division moved north into Hungary in the Budapest Offensive, crossing the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

in the area of

Pápa Pápa is a historical town in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 32,473 inhabitants (2011), it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the re ...

and

Dunaföldvár Dunaföldvár is a town in Tolna County, Hungary. Residents are Hungarians, with minority of Serbs. A Bronze Age gold hoard of jewellery was found between Paks and Dunaföldvár on the banks of the Danube in the nineteenth century. The treasure ...

. The 3rd was credited with downing 25 enemy aircraft, destroying 14 pillboxes and 200 vehicles, and killing 4,190 enemy soldiers in 1944. The division was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 2nd class, on 6 January 1945 for its performance in the crossing of the Danube and the breakthrough of Axis defenses. In the spring of 1945, the division provided air defense for the

18th Tank Corps 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

and the

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 the ...

during the Balaton Defensive Operation, the repulse of Operation Spring Awakening, a German counterattack. It ended the war in the

Vienna Offensive The Vienna offensive was an offensive launched by the Soviet 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts in order to capture Vienna, Austria, during World War II. The offensive lasted from 16 March to 15 April 1945. After several days of street-to-street f ...

, advancing into Austria.

Postwar

After the end of the war, the division was disbanded in October, still under Gladkov's command.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{Soviet Union combat support divisions before 1945 Anti-Aircraft Artillery divisions of the Soviet Union Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945