128th Rifle Division
| 128th Rifle Division (August 19, 1939 – July 1945) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1939–1945 |
| Country | .svg.png){kind=small} Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg.png){kind=small} Red Army (1939-46) |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | Winter War Operation Barbarossa Baltic operation Luga Defensive Line Sinyavino offensive (1942) Operation Iskra Mga offensive Leningrad–Novgorod offensive Kingisepp–Gdov offensive Pskov-Ostrov offensive Tartu offensive Sandomierz–Silesian offensive Upper Silesian offensive Prague offensive |
| Decorations |  Order of the Red Banner |
| Battle honours | Pskov |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Maj. Gen. Aleksandr Semyonovich Zotov Col. Fyodor Ivanovich Komarov Maj. Gen. Ivan Fyodorovich Nikitin Col. Leonid Gavrilovich Sergeev Maj. Gen. Fyodor Nazarovich Parkhomenko Col. Pavel Andreevich Potapov Maj. Gen. Dmitrii Akimovich Lukyanov Col. Efrem Ignatevich Dolgov |
The 128th Rifle Division was first formed as an infantry division of the Red Army on August 19, 1939, in the Urals Military District, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of the following month. It was formed mostly of personnel of Uzbek nationality and was known as an "Uzbek" division until 1941. After seeing brief service in the war against Finland in early 1940 as part of 8th Army it remained in the Leningrad area and then the occupied Baltic states, being assigned to 11th Army in Lithuania in early 1941. In the opening hours of the German invasion it was outflanked to the north and south by panzer formations.
Formation
The division was formed in Sverdlovsk Oblast in the Urals Military District on August 19, 1939, based on a cadre from the 65th Rifle Division's 311th Rifle Regiment. Kombrig Aleksandr Semyonovich Zotov, who had been serving as deputy commander of the 97th Rifle Division, was given command the same day; he would have his rank modernized to that of major general on June 4, 1940. The majority of the division's recruits were from Uzbekistan and was referred to as an "Uzbek" division prior to 1941. It saw limited service in February/March 1940 during the last stages of the Winter War against Finland as part of 14th Rifle Corps on the Loimola axis. At the time of the German invasion on June 22, 1941, the division was under direct command of 11th Army[1] and its order of battle was as follows:
- 374th Rifle Regiment
- 533rd Rifle Regiment
- 741st Rifle Regiment
- 292nd Artillery Regiment[2]
- 481st Howitzer Artillery Regiment (until September 11, 1941)
- 251st Antitank Battalion
- 349th Antiaircraft Battery (later 260th Battalion, until February 1, 1943)
- 391st Mortar Battalion (from November 2, 1941, until November 5, 1942)
- 119th Reconnaissance Company (later 119th Battalion)
- 148th Sapper Battalion
- 212th Signal Battalion (later 212th Signal Company)
- 132nd Medical/Sanitation Battalion
- 267th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company (later 207th)
- 215th Motor Transport Company (later 76th Battalion)
- 332nd Field Bakery (later 116th Motorized Field Bakery)
- 492nd Divisional Veterinary Hospital
- 48687th Field Postal Station (later 54th)
- 5473rd Field Office of the State Bank (later 655th)
At this time it was the extreme left flank division of the Baltic Special Military District from the Lithuania/Belarus border to a point northwest of Seirijai, where it tied in to the 126th Rifle Division.[3] General Zotov had his headquarters in a forest 5km west of that place, with elements of the division spread along the border from Lazdijai to Simnas.[4] The forward detachment along the border consisted of the 741st Regiment and the 2nd Battalion of the 374th Regiment; the 292nd Artillery covered the approaches to Seirijai.
The District commander, Col. Gen. F. I. Kuznetsov, had disregarded the instructions of the NKO and General Staff to avoid any action that might be taken as a provocation. On June 15, alarmed by intelligence reports of the German buildup, issued orders to increase force readiness along the frontier. Without directly mentioning the buildup he stated, "Today, as never before, we must be fully combat ready. Many commanders do not understand this. But all must firmly and clearly understand that at any moment we must be ready to fulfill any combat mission." After receiving further intelligence two days later Kuznetsov ordered his forces to full military readiness on June 18. While his actions were brave in going against orders from the top and militarily correct, it's unlikely that they made any real difference when the war began.[5]
Baltic Operation
The boundary between the Baltic and Western Special Military Districts (soon redesignated as Northwestern and Western Fronts) was known to German intelligence and was an obvious place for 12th Panzer Division of 3rd Panzer Group's LVII Motorized Corps to break through the Soviet front. The XXXIX Motorized Corps was deployed to penetrate at the junction of the 128th and 126th Divisions. Altogether the 3rd Panzer Group deployed over 600 tanks in a formation that was intended to guard against counterattacks by tanks and infantry. Gen. H. Hoth later wrote:
The commanding officers of the 39th Panzer Corps sent both tank regiments and part of the 20th Motorized Division along the Suwałki–Kalvaria motorway with the aim of capturing heights south of Kalvaria, which had important tactical value. Those forces were excessive, and such an outlay was not justifying itself.
Individual battalions at the border were pushed aside and larger units were bypassed, leaving the 128th outflanked north and south. 7th Panzer Division was close to Kalvaria by 0800 hours and aiming for the bridges over the Neman River at Alytus.[6]
Postwar
When the shooting stopped the men and women of the division shared the full title of 128th Rifle, Pskov, Order of the Red Banner Division. (Russian: 128-я Псковская Краснознамённая стрелковая дивизия.) According to STAVKA Order No. 11096 of May 29, part 8, 118th Corps and the 128th were listed as among those to be "disbanded in place".[7] In accordance to this directive the division was disbanded in July.
References
Citations
- ^ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 7
- ^ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. VIII, Nafziger, 1996, p. 65
- ^ Artyom Drabkin & Alexei Isaev, Barbarossa Through Soviet Eyes, trans. C. Summerville, Pen & Sword Books, Ltd., Barnsley, UK, 2012, p. xi
- ^ Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 65
- ^ David M. Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1998, pp. 104-05
- ^ Drabkin & Isaev, Barbarossa Through Soviet Eyes, pp. xi, 41-42
- ^ STAVKA Order No. 11096
Bibliography
- Grylev, A. N. (1970). Перечень № 5. Стрелковых, горнострелковых, мотострелковых и моторизованных дивизии, входивших в состав Действующей армии в годы Великой Отечественной войны 1941-1945 гг [List (Perechen) No. 5: Rifle, Mountain Rifle, Motor Rifle and Motorized divisions, part of the active army during the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. p. 63
- Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1964). Командование корпусного и дивизионного звена советских вооруженных сил периода Великой Отечественной войны 1941–1945 гг [Commanders of Corps and Divisions in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Frunze Military Academy. p. 162
External links
- Aleksandr Semyonovich Zotov
- Ivan Fyodorovich Nikitin
- Fyodor Nazarovich Parkhomenko
- Pavel Andreevich Potapov
- Dmitrii Akimovich Lukyanov
