| 31st Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1925 – 1946 |
| Disbanded | July 1946 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg) Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Decorations |
|
| Battle honours | Stalingrad |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | |
The31st Rifle Division was aninfantry division of theSoviet Union'sRed Army during theinterwar period andWorld War II.
Formed in 1925 nearStalingrad, the division was garrisoned in the city until 1940, when it was transferred toYerevan to strengthen the Iranian and Turkish borders. The 31st remained there until October, when it was sent north to theBlack Sea coast and fought in theBattle of Rostov. DuringCase Blue in mid-1942 the division retreated south into the Caucasus, then advanced north beginning at the end of the war when the German retreat from the region began. In the northern hemisphere spring of 1943 it was relocated north, fighting in theBattle of the Dnieper late that year. It fought in theSecond Jassy–Kishinev Offensive in the summer of 1944 and advanced into Romania before being transferred to Poland and fighting in theVistula–Oder Offensive in early 1945. It fought in theBerlin Offensive and was disbanded postwar in western Ukraine in mid-1946.
The division was formed in the area of the villages ofKalach, Prutboy,Kalitva,Nizhny Charskaya, andVerkhne Charskaya from the 93rd Red Banner Rifle Regiment nearStalingrad, part of theVolga Military District, on 2 October 1925. On 29 April 1927 it received the honorific "Stalingrad" after moving to the city. In that year the 31st included the 91st Astrakhan, 92nd Leningrad, and 93rd Don Rifle Regiments. The 31st remained part of the district until January 1940,[1] when it was relocated toYerevan and became part of theTranscaucasian Military District. It was also stationed nearGusar,Khachmas, andQuba. The division's main body, excluding the headquarters, moved to the Iranian and Turkish borders in April, engaging in strengthening the border defenses by building roads and fortifications.[2]
The division beganWorld War II in the district's40th Rifle Corps alongside the9th Rifle Division. It included the 75th, 177th, and the 248th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 32nd Light Artillery Regiment and the 104th Sapper Battalion. In July it became part of the newly formed45th Army, covering the Turkish border. After the Red Army suffered heavy losses in theBattle of Kiev and in theDonbas, the 31st was one of the divisions sent north to fill the gap. By 12 October, it was atTaganrog on the coast of theBlack Sea, assigned to the Taganrog Group, which became part of the56th Army in November. With the army, the division fought in theBattle of Rostov and on theMius during the winter of 1941–1942.[3]
WhenCase Blue, the German summer offensive of 1942, began, the army and the division retreated into the Caucasus. In July it was transferred to the12th Army and in August to theNorth Caucasian Front's18th Army. The 31st suffered heavy losses in the defense ofTuapse, and on 29 August it was reinforced by the 818th Rifle Regiment, formed from the remnants of the9th NKVD Motorized Division, which replaced the disbanded 177th Regiment. At the end of the year, when the German retreat from the Caucasus began after their defeat in theBattle of Stalingrad, the division was transferred to the46th Army, advancing north along the Black Sea coast.[3]
Between March and May 1943, the 46th Army and the 31st Division were moved north in theReserve of the Supreme High Command (RVGK), joining theSouthwestern Front. The division remained with the army in the front, which became the3rd Ukrainian Front on 20 October, until the end of 1943. During theBattle of the Dnieper, the division was transferred to the2nd Ukrainian Front's4th Guards Army. It advanced into Romania in theSecond Jassy–Kishinev Offensive with the front during July and August 1944, mostly part of the 4th Guards Army. In September, the division was withdrawn to the RVGK with the52nd Army's78th Rifle Corps. The division went back into combat in October with the corps and army, part of the1st Ukrainian Front.[3]
From January 1945, it fought in theVistula–Oder Offensive. In February, the 32nd Artillery Regiment was equipped with twenty76 mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) and twelve122 mm howitzer M1938 (M-30), practically full strength by the 1942–1943 tables of equipment and organization, but the regiment's vehicle park was very diverse, incorporating 29Lend-LeaseStudebaker US6 2½-ton 6x6 trucks, a 1½-ton Lend-LeaseChevrolet G506 truck, five Soviet-made trucks, four captured German trucks, and six Soviet tractors. Towards the end of the war, despite a chronic shortage of riflemen, the division's artillery remained at full strength. The division fought in theBerlin Offensive in April.[3] From 6 to 11 May, the 31st fought in thePrague Offensive, during which the army advanced south intoCzechoslovakia fromBunzlau, reaching theLabe River northeast ofPrague by the end of the operation.[4] During the war, it was awarded theOrder of the Red Banner, theOrder of Suvorov 2nd class, and theOrder of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd class.[5]
The division and its corps were relocated to Poland with the 52nd Army in the area ofKielce,Częstochowa, andKraków in June. It became part of theNorthern Group of Forces there. In the fall of 1945, the army and the 31st Division with the corps were relocated to theSlavuta in theLvov Military District in western Ukraine.[6] The division was disbanded in July 1946 along with the corps in theCarpathian Military District.[5]
The following officers are known to have commanded the division:[7]
