| 260th Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active |
|
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg) Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Engagements | 1st formation: 2nd formation: |
| Decorations |
|
| Battle honours | Kovel (2nd formation) |
The260th Rifle Division (Russian:260-я стрелковая дивизия) was an infantry division of theRed Army duringWorld War II, formed twice.
Formed in mid-1941, the division was destroyed duringOperation Typhoon later that year. It was reformed in early 1942 and fought in theBattle of Stalingrad, then was relocated to participate inOperation Kutuzov and the advance into eastern Belarus from mid to late 1943. In early 1944 it was again shifted to northwestern Ukraine, advancing into Poland during mid-1944 as part ofOperation Bagration. The division received theOrder of the Red Banner and theKovel honorific in recognition of actions in northwestern Ukraine, and in early 1945 participated in theVistula–Oder Offensive, theEast Pomeranian Offensive, and theBerlin Offensive, receiving theOrder of Suvorov, 2nd class, for its actions. Remaining in eastern Germany for several months after the end of the war, it was relocated to theMoscow Military District for disbandment in 1946.
The division began forming on 2 July 1941 nearKalinin, part of theMoscow Military District. It included the 1026th, 1028th, and 1030th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 689th Artillery Regiment. The 260th spent about a month forming near Kalinin, and on 15 August was relocated south to the frontline nearTula, where it joined the50th Army of theBryansk Front, under the command of ColonelVasily Khokhlov. The division fought in the direction ofBryansk andKaluga.[2] The division was still holding positions there when the German2nd Panzer Group attacked inOperation Typhoon, the attack beginning theBattle of Moscow. At the time, the 260th fielded 9,755 men, 324 machine guns, 98 artillery pieces and mortars, four anti-aircraft guns, and fifteen anti-tank guns. It was surrounded in the Bryansk pocket but escaped complete destruction. Despite this, only 1,000 officers and men were left in the division by early November. It was withdrawn into the reserve north of Tula, and its remnants were disbanded on 17 November due to a lack of resources to rebuild it since the front was under unrelenting pressure from German attacks.[3]
The division was reformed under the command of ColonelAlexander Chizhov between April and 13 May 1942 atVolokolamsk, just west of Moscow in theMoscow Military District, from the 55th Rifle Brigade.[4] It included the 1026th, 1028th, and the 1030th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 738th Artillery Regiment. The 260th was assigned to the Moscow Defense Zone in July, and then to theVoronezh Front reserves in September. In late September it was moved to the front as part of the1st Guards Army of theDon Front, holding positions to the northwest ofStalingrad. In late September, for "nonfulfillment of military tasks" in theSamofolovka area, Chizhov was relieved of command and demoted to become chief of staff of the273rd Rifle Division.[5] He was replaced by ColonelGrigory Miroshnichenko, who led the 260th in counterattacks against German troops who had broken through to theVolga from the Samofolovka area. From late September, it led attacks in an attempt to capture Khutor Borodkin. The 1st Guards Army was withdrawn to theReserve of the Supreme High Command (RVGK) in mid-October, and the division transferred to the24th Army of the front.[6]
The division fought in theBattle of Stalingrad duringOperation Uranus andOperation Koltso between November 1942 and February 1943, successively part of the 24th and65th Armies of the Don Front. Until January, it fought in theKotluban area at checkpoint 564. Beginning on 18 January, the 260th advanced on theBarrikady Factory. After the battle ended with the surrender of the German6th Army in early February,[7] the 260th was transferred to the Don Front reserve, then to theStalingrad Group of Forces.[6]
At the end of March, the division relocated to theTula area as part of the11th Army in the RVGK. The army transferred to theWestern Front on 12 July and to the Bryansk Front on 30 July, fighting inOperation Kutuzov and theBryansk Offensive during the summer offensive. About 18 August Miroshnichenko was seriously wounded and evacuated to a hospital;[6] he was replaced by ColonelStepan Maximovsky. The 260th became part of the army's53rd Rifle Corps in August, fighting in battles forBryansk and the crossing of theDesna River, during which Maximovsky was wounded and evacuated.[8] He was briefly replaced by ColonelGennady Pankov, who was in turn replaced by ColonelVasily Bulgakov in November, when it was part of theBelorussian Front during theGomel–Rechitsa Offensive. During that operation, the division crossed theSozh River and helped captureGomel. After it transitioned to the defensive on the approach toZhlobin and the disbandment of the 11th Army, the division and its corps became part of the63rd Army. In December the division fought in attacks to the north of Gomel andZhlobin.[9][10]
The division transferred back to the RVGK in the Moscow Military District at the end of January, and was briefly assigned to the70th Army, joining the125th Rifle Corps, which was in the process of formation, in February. With the corps, the division was sent to the47th Army of the Belorussian Front in theSarny area later that month. With the army it fought in attacks towardsKovel. For its actions at Kovel the 260th received the honorific Kovel and theOrder of the Red Banner. In May it transferred to the army's129th Rifle Corps. The 260th fought inOperation Bagration between June and August, crossing theWestern Bug and participating in the capture of theWarsaw suburb ofPraga during theLublin–Brest Offensive. In December Bulgakov was replaced by ColonelIvan Popov after the former departed for courses.[10] At the beginning of January 1945 ColonelYakov Gorshenin replaced Popov. The division fought in the Warsaw–Poznan Offensive of theVistula–Oder Strategic Offensive from January 1945, distinguishing itself in the capture of Jabłonna, the crossing of theVistula, and the battle for Warsaw, and the siege ofBromberg. In February, the division transferred to the army's77th Rifle Corps. On 6 April it received theOrder of Suvorov, 2nd class, for its actions. The division went on to fight in theEast Pomeranian Offensive and theBerlin Offensive, in the battles forDeutsch-Krone andSchneidemuhl, the crossing of theOder and theHavel and the capture ofBrandenburg. Gorshenin was demoted promoted to deputy corps commander after late April,[11] being replaced by Major GeneralPyotr Polyakov. The 260th ended the war with the corps in the Berlin Offensive in May.[7]
Postwar, the division became part of theGroup of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany with the 129th Rifle Corps, still part of the 47th Army. In early 1946, it was transferred to the7th Rifle Corps of the3rd Shock Army.[12] In June 1946, the 260th was withdrawn with the corps to theMoscow Military District, where it was disbanded.[13]
The following officer commanded the division's first formation:[14]
The following officers commanded the division's second formation:[14]
