| 109th Motorized Division (January, 1940 – July 19, 1941) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1940–1941 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg) Red Army |
| Type | Division |
| Role | Mechanized Infantry |
| Engagements | Operation Barbarossa Battle of Kiev |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Col. Nikolai Pavlovich Krasnoretskii |
The109th Motorized Division was formed from the109th Rifle Division in January, 1940, in theTransbaikal Military District. It was one of the first Red Army mechanized divisions formed and also one of the first to be fully equipped with motor vehicles and tanks. Shortly before the German invasion, in late May, 1941, it began moving west by rail, arriving in western Ukraine on June 18. The division went into action on June 26, but by early July had lost most of its tanks and trucks. It was soon pulled back into the reserves of Southwestern Front and converted into the304th Rifle Division.
The 109th Rifle Division had first formed on April 15, 1939, atTatarsk in theSiberian Military District, part of the12th Rifle Corps. Col. Nikolai Pavlovich Krasnoretskii was appointed to command on June 1, and he would hold that post through the division's existence. In January, 1940, the division began re-forming as a motorized division, in accordance with aPeople's Commissariat of Defense order of December 7, 1939. After conversion, its order of battle was revised to the following:
The 16th Tank Regiment was formed between January 29 and February 18, 1940 from the tank battalions of the93rd,94th, 109th, and the152nd Rifle Division. The reorganization was completed on May 17, by which time the tank battalion of the65th Motorized Division, whose conversion was cancelled, was added to complete the organization of the 16th Tank Regiment.[1] By July, the division was at full strength with 275 light tanks when it was assigned to5th Mechanized Corps. It was previously part of the12th Rifle Corps. It was stationed atChita until late May, 1941, when it began moving westward via the Trans-Siberian Railway.[2]
On June 18, advance elements of the division had reachedBerdichev andProskurov in western Ukraine and began de-training. Most of 5th Corps' other elements had been diverted to theWestern Front once the invasion began, so the 109th was the only division under the Corps' command when it first went into combat atOstrog on June 26. Due to this splitting the division fought as part of the improvised "Group Lukin" (named after the commander of16th Army), and after July 2 under command of5th Army, in 5th Mechanized Corps,[3] facing13th Panzer Division north of Ostrog.[4] The fighting over the next ten days, with little in the way of artillery or air support, cost the division almost all its tanks and motorization. On July 6, the 109th was equipped with 113BT tanks, 11BA armored cars, 285 trucks and cars, and 9 tractors. It had 2,705 officers and men on strength.[1] On July 12 what remained was withdrawn into the reserves ofSouthwestern Front, and over the course of several days was converted into the 304th Rifle Division.[5][6]
