World War II 75th Guards Rifle Division

1 world war ii

1.1 battle of kursk
1.2 chernigov-pripyat offensive (1943)
1.3 kiev offensive operations
1.4 operation bagtration
1.5 baltic operations
1.6 east pomeranian offensive
1.7 composition
1.8 awards , honorifics of division units
1.9 commanders

1.9.1 division commander
1.9.2 deputy division commander political affairs
1.9.3 heads of political department
1.9.4 chiefs of staff
1.9.5 division artillery commander
1.9.6 regimental commanders

1.9.6.1 212th guards rifle regiment
1.9.6.2 231st guards rifle regiment
1.9.6.3 241st guards rifle regiment
1.9.6.4 159th guards artillery regiment


1.9.7 battalion commanders

1.9.7.1 84th separate guards antitank battalion

world war ii

officers , men of division taking guards oath on 1 march 1943. major general vasily gorishny shown holding flag, colonel ilya vlasenko left.

the division formed on 1 march 1943 redesignation of 95th rifle division (second formation), made guards unit courage , heroism in defense of stalingrad. structure included 90th, 161st, , 241st rifle regiments, , 57th artillery regiment, became 212th, 231st, , 241st guards rifle regiments, , 159th guards artillery regiment, respectively, on 4 april, , other smaller units. division commanded major general vasily gorishny, led division rest of war. part of central front reserve, joined 13th army in may. in reserve, 75th guards brought full strength , replenished losses @ stalingrad.

battle of kursk

vlasenko, gorishny, colonel a.v. mukhin, , lieutenant colonel , writer konstantin simonov @ command post of 75th guards rifle division near ponyri during battle of kursk

during july 1943, part of army s 17th guards rifle corps alongside 70th guards rifle division, division fought in battle of kursk. facing 1 of main german thrusts in area of ponyri 2 sovkhoz, 75th guards helped repulse attack, positioned in second defensive belt. on 6 july, second day of battle, 70th , 75th guards, supported 9th , 16th tank corps, attacked 2nd panzer division, positioned between bobrik , saborovka, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) start line. in fierce fighting, 2nd panzer managed expand bridgehead on svapa river. @ ponyri, 75th guards 84th separate guards anti-tank battalion attacked tiger tanks, managed claim 5 panzer ivs 45 mm anti-tank guns. @ 19:30, german tanks , infantry attacked division s flank , rear west of snova after pushing 6th guards rifle division back. 75th guards speedily regrouped , repulsed german attack, destroying 30 tanks according soviet reports. on 7 july german attacks @ ponyri 2 continued, attack thirty tanks , infantry 9th panzer division achieving limited advance against 75th guards 17:00. during day infantry division supported tanks , anti-tank guns in inflicting heavy losses on attacking german tanks. on afternoon of 10 july, after german troops retreated original positions, 75th guards participated in general counterattack in sector. regrouping , exploiting breakthrough, division went on offensive during operation kutuzov on 15 july. exemplary fighting performance, division awarded order of red banner on 21 july 1943. 25 july, 75th guards reached line of glazunovka , nizhny tagino, overcoming stiff german resistance. 5 soldiers of division made heroes of soviet union (all posthumously), , 173 officers , men recognized awards , medals.

chernigov-pripyat offensive (1943)

one of 4 mass graves of soldiers died in liberation of village of yasnogorodka in 1943

the division s soldiers helped clear left-bank ukraine during chernigov-pripyat offensive of central front, part of 70th army , 60th army s 30th rifle corps. helping clear bakhmach, division given honorific bakhmach on 9 september. on 25 september parts of division crossed dnieper river in area of tarasovichi , yasnogorodka , seized bridgehead. during subsequent weeks, 75th guards fought in fierce fighting expand bridgehead. courage shown in battle, 63 officers , men of division made heroes of soviet union, , 829 recognized awards , medals.

kiev offensive operations

in october , november 1943, division, part of 60th army of 1st ukrainian front, fought in kiev offensive operation. january july 1944 division fought part of 65th army of belarusian (from 17 february 1st belarusian) front. on 6 january, division numbered 7,516 personnel, including 821 officers , 2,214 non-commissioned officers. between 8 , 14 january, 75th guards fought in kalinkovichi–mozyr offensive, aimed capture kalinkovichi , mozyr in eastern belarus. division part of 105th rifle corps along 132nd , 253rd rifle divisions @ time. in first echelon, 75th guards , 132nd tasked taking davydovichi, kholodniki, , domanovichi. after corps breakthrough, 1st guards tank corps exploit , encircle kalinkovichi northwest. assault began @ 09:40 hours on 8 january, before end of artillery bombardment. division , rest of corps ran strong german opposition, , limited advance achieved. 75th guards unable advance , retreated jumping-off positions @ end of first day. after several days of indecisive fighting, 1st guards tank corps committed achieve breakthrough on 11 january. division covered corps realignment on new direction of advance.

the infantry-supported tank attack broke through german line, , division cooperated 1st guards tank corps 17th guards tank brigade in attack on 5th panzer division positions along , east of shatsilki–kalinkovichi road, ran fierce resistance. assisted airstrikes , artillery bombardment, tank brigade able capture village of anisovichi. 69th , 75th guards rifle divisions cleared 65th army lines of communications , supply of german troops, enabling 1st guards tank corps continue advancing south. in afternoon of 12 january, 2 rifle divisions provided support 15th , 17th guards tank brigades in successful assaults on fortified villages of turovichi , zapolye, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) kalinkovichi.

the final assault on kalinkovichi began on 13 january, time german troops had begun withdrawing new defensive positions along ipa river, northwest of town. facing strong resistance rear guards, 1st guards tank corps briefly halted advance 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) kalinkovichi @ midday in order call in airstrikes , allow 105th rifle corps catch up. last village strongpoint on road kalinkovichi, antonovka, captured assault of 105th rifle corps , 1st guards tank corps. division supported tanks until latter reached outskirts of town, shifted west towards ipa.

for exemplary fighting performance in offensive, 75th guards rifle division awarded order of suvorov, 2nd class, on 15 january. during subsequent ozarichi–ptich offensive 16 30 january, division held in general reserve. along rest of 105th rifle corps, 75th guards positioned in second echelon of reinforced shock group included 69th, 82nd, , 162nd rifle divisions in first echelon after advance on northern sector of penetration bogged down. first echelon able break through , on 31 january second echelon committed expand penetration west , east capture ground north of savichi , town of syshchichi east. in mid-february division supported local offensive of 48th army part of 95th rifle corps, achieved gain of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi).

operation bagtration

personnel of division s 585th medical battalion, 1944

during operation bagration, red army s westward offensive through belarus, began on 23 june, division part of 105th rifle corps in first echelon of 65th army. on 24 june, led attack on german trenches held 36th infantry division. following breakthrough of german defenses, 75th guards supported exploitation 1st guards tank corps. in stubborn fighting, division helped take parichi. division participated in destruction of german pocket in bobruisk area during bobruisk offensive , fought in minsk offensive. captured city of baranovichi in july, , given order of red banner second time on 5 july 1944.

baltic operations

from august 1944 end of war, division part of 61st army. in september, 75th guards transferred army białystok pskov area. part of 3rd , 1st baltic fronts, division participated in clearing baltic region, fighting in latvia, lithuania, , estonia. division fought in riga offensive september, , helping capture city 212th guards rifle regiment , 159th guards artillery regiment received honorific riga, 241st guards rifle regiment awarded order of red banner, , 231st guards rifle regiment awarded order of suvorov, 3rd class.

in december, along army, transferred 1st belorussian front. during vistula–oder offensive, division advanced west across poland. courage shown in battle on vistula, 3 officers , men of division made heroes of soviet union, , hundreds recognized awards , medals.

east pomeranian offensive

the division fought in east pomeranian offensive. courage shown in battle on oder, 8 officers , men of division made heroes of soviet union, , 1317 recognized awards , medals. last operation of division in world war ii battle of berlin. division ended fighting on 3 may 1945, when linked troops ninth united states army s 102nd infantry division[10][10] on elbe near wittenberg. during war, 13,824 of division s officers , men awarded awards , medals, including 74 made heroes of soviet union. 75th guards division ranked third among rifle divisions of red army number of heroes of soviet union – 167th rifle division had 108 heroes , 25th guards rifle division had 77 heroes.

composition

the 75th guards rifle division included following units in april 1943:

212th guards rifle regiment (former 90th rr of 95th rd)
231st guards rifle regiment (former 161st rr of 95th rd)
241st guards rifle regiment (former 241st rr of 95th rd)
159th guards artillery regiment (former 57th ar of 95th rd)
84th separate guards antitank battalion (former 97th satb of 95th rd)
155th machine-gun battalion (to 15 april 1943)
73rd separate guards reconnaissance company (former 13th rc of 95th rd)
87th separate guards sapper battalion (former 48th sb of 95th rd)
106th separate guards communications company (former 119th scc of 95th rd)
585th (80) medical battalion (former 103rd mb of 95th rd)
77th separate guards chemical defence company (former 30th scds of 95th rd)
726th (79) trucking company (former 283rd tc of 95th rd)
660th (74) field bakery (former 174th fb of 95th rd)
678th (78) divisional veterinary hospital (former 7th dvh of 95th rd)
1593rd (25703) field post office (former 1766th (2054) fpo of 95th rd)
652nd (44705) field ticket office of state bank (former 1723rd (652) fto of 95th rd)

awards , honorifics of division units

212th guards rifle regiment - honorific riga, order of red banner, order of suvorov, 3rd class
231st guards rifle regiment - order of red banner, order of suvorov, 3rd class
241st guards rifle regiment - order of red banner
159th guards artillery regiment - honorific riga, order of red banner
84th separate guards antitank battalion - order of lenin
87th separate guards sapper battalion - order of red star

commanders

gorishny (center) regimental commanders, 1944


division commander

major general vasily gorishny (ru) (1 march 1943 – may 1946)

deputy division commander political affairs

colonel ilya vlasenko (1 march 1943 – june 1944)

heads of political department

colonel arkady ryabov (1 march – may 1943)
lieutenant colonel boris pakin (january 1945 – may 1946)

chiefs of staff

colonel georgy klymenko (february 1943 — end of 1943)
colonel boris galperin (december 1944 — 1946)

division artillery commander

colonel aristo dalakishvili (1 march 1943 — may 1946)

regimental commanders
212th guards rifle regiment

colonel mikhail semyonovich borisov (ru) (1 march 1943–killed in action 9 february 1944)
colonel iosif chusovitin (28 february – 28 november 1944)
lieutenant colonel mikhail trygubenko (acting; december 1944)
lieutenant colonel (promoted colonel) afanasy vorobiev (9 january 1945 – may 1946)

231st guards rifle regiment

lieutenant colonel fyodor makovetsky (ru) (1 march 1943 – critically wounded january 1944)
lieutenant colonel vasily maksimov (13 january 1944 – 9 january 1945)
lieutenant colonel adelzyan zalialov (9 january – 4 june 1945)
lieutenant colonel georgy svyrydenko (4 june 1945 – may 1946)

241st guards rifle regiment

lieutenant colonel nikolay budarin (ru) (1 march 1943 – killed in action 6 november 1943)
major panteley nechay (acting; november–december 1943)
lieutenant colonel (promoted colonel) leonid myroshnychenko (december 1943 – 22 november 1944)
lieutenant colonel aleksandr voloshanenko (22 november 1944 – may 1946)

159th guards artillery regiment

lieutenant colonel nikanor lyovkin (ru) (1 march – november 1943)
lieutenant colonel (promtoed colonel) pavel rylkov (december 1943 – critically wounded 17 february 1945)
lieutenant colonel subbotin (february–march 1945)
lieutenant colonel korotkikh (april – 5 october 1945)
lieutenant colonel grigory zagorulko (5 october 1945 – may 1946)

battalion commanders
84th separate guards antitank battalion

major ivan yasko (1943 – may 1946)




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^ rkka - 75-я Бахмачская дважды Краснознаменная гвардейская стрелковая дивизия [75th guards rifle division]. 
^ Боевые действия Красной Армии в ВОВ [75th guards rifle division].