| 50th Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1936–1947 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg) Red Army /Soviet Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations | |
| Battle honours |
|
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Arkady Boreyko |
The50th Rifle Division was an infantry division of theRed Army from 1936 to 1946. The division took part in theSoviet invasion of Poland and theWinter War. After Germany launchedOperation Barbarossa, the 50th fought in theBattle of Moscow, theBattles of Rzhev, theDonbass Strategic Offensive, theDnieper–Carpathian Offensive, theFirst andSecond Jassy–Kishinev Offensive, theVistula–Oder Offensive and theBerlin Offensive.[1]
In May 1936, the division was formed from Construction Headquarters No. 27 as the Urovskaya Division of the Polotsk Fortified Region.[2] It took part in theSoviet invasion of Poland in September 1939. On 17 September, it was part of the3rd Army's4th Rifle Corps.[3] On 2 October, it was transferred to the10th Rifle Corps of the same army.[4]
The 50th Rifle Division then fought in theWinter War. On 28 December, it was stationed in the region nearLake Sukhodolskoye. On 18 January 1940, it was subordinated to the13th Army. The division became part of the30th Rifle Corps on 30 January. On 21 January, the division went to the front lines. From 1–2 February, it fought in thePasuri village on theKarelian Isthmus. On 11 February, it again attacked Finnish positions at Pasuri. It broke through the Finnish positions at Salmenkayta due to its artillery support, which damaged the morale of the defenders.[5] On 23 February, it was stationed near theSalmenkayta River.[6] Between 1–7 April, the division was transported by train back toBelarus.[4]
The division was then based inLida and was part of the21st Rifle Corps. In January 1941, it returned to Polotsk.[2] On 22 June, Germany attacked the Soviet Union inOperation Barbarossa. According to theWestern Front order of 24 June, the 21st Rifle Corps, including the division, became part of the 13th Army. It defended the line of theViliya River northwest ofMolodechno. The division received orders to advance onAshmyany. However, divisional intelligence discovered that German armored and motorized forces were present in the town. The division was forced to retreat towards Molodechno under pressure from the German motorized troops. After the German capture ofMinsk on 26 June, 13th Army was split into several groups. Molodechno was captured by German troops the next day.[7] The 50th Rifle Division then retreated along the northern flank towards theBerezina River north ofBarysaw.[4] On the morning of 30 June, the division was in region ofLahoysk andPlyeshchanitsy. The remnants of the64th Rifle Division and the100th Rifle Division's 331st Rifle Regiment were attached to the division there. On 1 July, the division withdrew from Plyeshchanitsy. On 2 July, the division was attacked by German troops of the20th Motorized Division advancing down the Logoysky road and was forced to retreat fromBegoml. However, the division was able to hold the German advance for three days during fighting north of Barysaw.[8] On 5 July, the division began the retreat toSyanno and was fighting nearVitebsk from 7 July. On 11 July, it was sent toVelizh to be rebuilt due to heavy losses. On 14 July, German troops attacked Velizh and the division had to retreat to the east.[9]
On 23 July, remnants of the division were withdrawn from the fighting with the intention of reinforcing positions 12 kilometers east ofVyazma. The division became part of19th Army's[10] reserve on 2 August. On 6 August, the division was sent back into combat during theBattle of Smolensk. The division advanced 17 kilometers fromYartsevo and then held defensive positions on the line of Ryadnyi, Osipova and Chistaya. The division was still holding the positions on 3 October, southeast ofDukhovshchina, but on 4 October, it withdrew to the line of theVop River and defend the east bank at Kurganova, Podylische and Ozerische, repulsing German attempts at crossing the river. On 5 October, army commanderIvan Konev ordered the division to move to Vyazma. Due to various motor transport delays, the division didn't arrive at Vyazma until 7 October. Upon its arrival, the division was ordered by Rokossovsky to defend the northern approaches to the city. Due to the German advance, the division was then forced to retreat to the east.[11] It was able to escape being encircled in theVyazma Pocket.[9]
On 19 October, the division fought in the battle forVereya but was immediately removed and transferred to the area of Dorokhovo and Shchalikovo, covering theMozhaysk approaches. Having made a night march, the division arrived at the Shchalikovo area by the morning of 20 October and fought in combat with advancing German troops. By the evening of 20 October, the division moved across theProtva River near Alexino and Petrischeva. It then withdrew to Dorokhov, where it organized a defence. The division was assisted by the remnants of the19th and103rd Rifle Divisions. On 23 October, the division came under heavy attack along with the22nd Tank Brigade and was forced to retreat eastwards. On 25 October, more than 800 personnel of the 230th Reserve Training Rifle Regiment, attached to the division, were killed in the village ofGorbovo [ru]. By 31 October, the division had stopped its retreat atTuchkovo.[9]
From 16 November to 11 December, it held the line atPolushkino, Hertz and Agafonov. On 2 December, it was involved in heavy fighting in the villages of Trioitskye, Kriushi and Vlasov. On 11 December, it went on the offensive, crossing theMoskva River on 13 December and capturing several villages. The division continued to advance and by 20 December had capturedKrasotinom,Kozhin and the village ofKagonovich on the south bank of the Moskva. On 21 December, German troops launched a heavy counterattack and the division was forced to withdraw across the river.[9]
On 11 January 1942, the division began a renewed offensive and recaptured Tuchkovo. On 12 January, it continued to advance in towards Mozhaisk and surrounded German troops in Beloborodova. On 13 January, it capturedDubrovka. Continuing to pursue the German troops from Dorokhovo, the division by 16 January was at the line ofKostino,Krasny Stan, Alexandrovo,Mikhailovsky, andBugaylovo. By the morning of 17 January, the division had captured the village of Pervomaisk. On 19 January, the division, in conjunction with the20th Tank Brigade, bunkered down in the area ofMakarovo andTeterino. From then until April, it was fighting west ofGzhatsk, where the division met resistance from German troops and fought there until the beginning of 1943. At the beginning of 1943, the division was transferred to the line of theSiversky Donets, where theVoroshilovgrad Offensive had recently failed. The division took up positions at the bend of theSiversky Donets but upon arrival attacked and captured a bridgehead across the river at the village ofTatyanovka. However, the division was forced to retreat to the other bank and was relocated downstream to the Sidorovka area.[9]
On 17 July, the division crossed the Donets during theIzyum-Barvenkovo Offensive and was able to capture a small bridgehead. The division participated in theDonbass Strategic Offensive from 13 August. It advanced throughPavlogradsky District. During theZaporizhia Offensive, the division participated in the capture ofZaporizhia on 14 October. On 14 October 1943, the division was awarded the honorific "Zaporizhia" for its actions during the capture of the city. During theAleksandriia–Znamenka Offensive during November and December, the division advanced to the area ofZnamenka.[9]
The division resumed the offensive on 5 January 1944 during theKirovograd Offensive. By 7 January, it had capturedKirovograd and was awarded the honorific of that name two days later. From 9 to 12 January, it led the advance onAlt Danzig. Advancing on the right flank of the9th Guards Airborne Division, the division began the drive onPervomaisk during theUman–Botoșani Offensive on 3 March. On 29 March, it received theOrder of the Red Banner for its actions during the offensive. At the beginning of April, the division became part of the front reserve. By May, it had been transferred to the bridgehead on thePrut north ofIași. During May and June, it led the defence of the bridgehead at the key position of Ollarilor. On 19 August, the division began to advance[12] and led fighting 13 kilometers north of Iași ("Jassy"). The division was one of the units fighting in the capture of Iași on 21 August. On 5 September, the division was placed in reserve and transferred to theVolodymyr-Volynskyi. From there it was sent to the area ofGmina Jeżowe, Rozvaduv and Rudnik.[9]
The division became part of the 52nd Army's73rd Rifle Corps from January 1945.[1] On 17 January 1945, the division resumed the offensive in theSandomierz–Silesian Offensive. It advanced towardStaszów,Radomsko, andGmina Rychtal. On 25 January, it fought in the capture ofOleśnica and by the end of the month was atBreslau. The division fought in the siege of Breslau. On the night of 30 January, the division crossed the Oder 10 kilometers northwest of Breslau. From February onwards, it fought in theLower Silesian Offensive. It received theOrder of Suvorov 2nd class on 19 February 1945 for its actions. During fierce fighting at the end of March, it advanced toBunzlau. It then fought in theBerlin Offensive from 16 April. On that day, it led the fighting for Gross Krausha, 9 kilometers north ofGörlitz. In May, the division fought in thePrague Offensive. It advanced on Prague from the north throughMladá Boleslav. The division ended the war in Prague. It was still subordinated to the52nd Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front at the end of the war.[13] On 26 May, the division was awarded theOrder of Kutuzov 2nd class.[2][9]
Postwar, the division transferred toSambir in theCarpathian Military District with the corps. The division was disbanded in 1947.[14]
The following officers commanded the division:[4]
The 50th Rifle Division included the following units:[2]
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Guards units marked inbold. | |||||||||
