318th Rifle Division (Soviet Union): Difference between revisions
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After months of stalemate, the battle for the Black Sea port of [[Novorossiysk]] began to come to a head on September 9, 1943. By this time all of the 318th was in 18th Army, which was commanded by Col. Gen. [[Konstantin Leselidze|K.N. Leselidze]]. Following a fifteen-minute artillery bombardment and an advance guard of marines, the 1339th Rifle Regiment, commanded by Lt. Col. [[Sergey Kadanchik|S.N. Kadanchik]]:{{quotation|"...descended upon the Tsementnaya wharf. And although not all the regiment managed to land, the men who did get a hold on the shore attacked the enemy fortifications in a massive rush. By dawn they had seized an important strongpoint -- the Proletary cement works. The rest of the regiment joined them the following night."<ref>Leonid Brezhnev, ''Trilogy - Little Land'', International Publishers, New York, 1980, p. 72</ref>}}On his way in, Kadanchik's boat sank after hitting a mine, but he was rescued by a ship returning from the landings and he reached his regiment later that day. The 1339th came under massive pressure from German counterattacks over the next 24 hours which pushed some elements back to the sea, but eventually they held. Kadanchik was killed on September 15 by German artillery, and was posthumously made a [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] three days later. |
After months of stalemate, the battle for the Black Sea port of [[Novorossiysk]] began to come to a head on September 9, 1943. By this time all of the 318th was in 18th Army, which was commanded by Col. Gen. [[Konstantin Leselidze|K.N. Leselidze]]. Following a fifteen-minute artillery bombardment and an advance guard of marines, the 1339th Rifle Regiment, commanded by Lt. Col. [[Sergey Kadanchik|S.N. Kadanchik]]:{{quotation|"...descended upon the Tsementnaya wharf. And although not all the regiment managed to land, the men who did get a hold on the shore attacked the enemy fortifications in a massive rush. By dawn they had seized an important strongpoint -- the Proletary cement works. The rest of the regiment joined them the following night."<ref>Leonid Brezhnev, ''Trilogy - Little Land'', International Publishers, New York, 1980, p. 72</ref>}}On his way in, Kadanchik's boat sank after hitting a mine, but he was rescued by a ship returning from the landings and he reached his regiment later that day. The 1339th came under massive pressure from German counterattacks over the next 24 hours which pushed some elements back to the sea, but eventually they held. Kadanchik was killed on September 15 by German artillery, and was posthumously made a [[Hero of the Soviet Union]] three days later. |
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Meanwhile, other elements of the division were entering the battle.{{quotation|"On the second night the 1337th Regiment went ashore near the power station. Col. V.A. Vrutzkiy, commanding the 318th Rifle Division, landed together with the regiment but contact with him was lost... Leselidze decided to send a senior officer [with another officer] to the power station area to find Vrutzkiy...and report back immediately... Despite the danger they returned... They also brought sad news: Col. Vrutzkiy had suffered severe concussion, lost an eye and been wounded in the arm. Steps were immediately taken to help the division's units which were making slow but sure headway. The divisional commander's duties were temporarily entrusted to the divisional Chief of Staff."}} Shortly afterwards further news was received that Lt. Col. A. Tikhostup, the division's political department head, had |
Meanwhile, other elements of the division were entering the battle.{{quotation|"On the second night the 1337th Regiment went ashore near the power station. Col. V.A. Vrutzkiy, commanding the 318th Rifle Division, landed together with the regiment but contact with him was lost... Leselidze decided to send a senior officer [with another officer] to the power station area to find Vrutzkiy...and report back immediately... Despite the danger they returned... They also brought sad news: Col. Vrutzkiy had suffered severe concussion, lost an eye and been wounded in the arm. Steps were immediately taken to help the division's units which were making slow but sure headway. The divisional commander's duties were temporarily entrusted to the divisional Chief of Staff."}} Shortly afterwards further news was received that Lt. Col. A. Tikhostup, the division's political department head, had been killed.<ref>Brezhnev, pp. 73-75</ref> |
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When Novorossiysk was finally liberated on September 16, the division was awarded its name as an honorific:{{quotation|"NOVOROSSIYSK"...318th Mountain Rifle Division, Col. V.A. Vrutzkiy (until September 11); and Col. M.V. Yevstigneev... The troops who participated in the liberation of Novorossiysk, by the order of the Supreme High Command of September 16, 1943, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 12 artillery salvoes from 124 guns.<ref>http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/1-ssr-4.html Retrieved Dec. 31, 2016</ref>}} |
When Novorossiysk was finally liberated on September 16, the division was awarded its name as an honorific:{{quotation|"NOVOROSSIYSK"...318th Mountain Rifle Division, Col. V.A. Vrutzkiy (until September 11); and Col. M.V. Yevstigneev... The troops who participated in the liberation of Novorossiysk, by the order of the Supreme High Command of September 16, 1943, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 12 artillery salvoes from 124 guns.<ref>http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/1-ssr-4.html Retrieved Dec. 31, 2016</ref>}} |
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Revision as of 03:36, 2 January 2017
| 318th Rifle Division (June 15, 1942 – August 15, 1944) 318th Mountain Rifle Division (August 15, 1944 – 1946) 318th Rifle Division (1946 - 1951) | |
|---|---|
| File:Soviet Major General Vasilii Fedorovich Gladkov.jpg Maj. Gen. V.F. Gladkov, Hero of the Soviet Union | |
| Active | 1942–1951 |
| Land |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg){kind=small} Red Army |
| Typ | Division |
| Role | Infantry |
| Engagements | Battle of the Caucasus Battle of Novorossiysk Taman Peninsula Crimean Campaign Prague Offensive |
| Decorations |  Order of Suvorov 2nd Class |
| Battle honours | Novorossiysk |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Major General A.A. Grechkin Colonel V.A. Vrutzkiy Colonel M.V. Yevstigneev Major General V.F. Gladkov  |
The 318th Rifle Division began forming on June 15, 1942, in and near Novorossiysk on the coast of the Black Sea, as a standard Red Army rifle division; it was later re-formed as a mountain rifle division, but exactly when this happened is disputed among the various sources. It fought in the area it was formed in until September, 1943, and was granted the name of this city as an honorific. In November of that year it took part in the largest Soviet amphibious operation of the war, across the Kerch Straits into the easternmost part of the Crimea, but its small beachhead was eliminated some weeks later. After the Crimea was liberated in May, 1944, it remained there for several months before it was transferred to the Carpathian Mountains west of Ukraine as a mountain division, and spent the remainder of the war fighting through Czechoslovakia in the direction of Prague. The division continued to serve postwar in this same role, but was converted back to a standard rifle division before it was disbanded in the early 1950s.
Formation
The division started forming on June 15, 1942, in the North Caucasus Military District, based on the 78th Rifle Brigade and the 165th Reserve Rifle Regiment.[1][2] at and near Novorossiysk. Its main order of battle was as follows:
- 1331st Rifle Regiment
- 1337th Rifle Regiment
- 1339th Rifle Regiment
- 796th Artillery Regiment
- 433rd Antitank Battalion[3]
The division was formed in 9th Army, but immediately went into the North Caucasus Front reserves, and then into the Transcaucasus Front. As of September 4, while most of the division remained in Front reserves, the 1331st Rifle Regiment was detached to 18th Army in the Black Sea Group of Forces. On September 22, just before the German 17th Army began its offensive towards Tuapse, the 318th was in 47th Army, facing the German V Army Corps and the Romanian Cavalry Corps; it remained under this command until after the German offensive ended in November.[4]
Battle of Novorossiysk
After months of stalemate, the battle for the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk began to come to a head on September 9, 1943. By this time all of the 318th was in 18th Army, which was commanded by Col. Gen. K.N. Leselidze. Following a fifteen-minute artillery bombardment and an advance guard of marines, the 1339th Rifle Regiment, commanded by Lt. Col. S.N. Kadanchik:
"...descended upon the Tsementnaya wharf. And although not all the regiment managed to land, the men who did get a hold on the shore attacked the enemy fortifications in a massive rush. By dawn they had seized an important strongpoint -- the Proletary cement works. The rest of the regiment joined them the following night."[5]
On his way in, Kadanchik's boat sank after hitting a mine, but he was rescued by a ship returning from the landings and he reached his regiment later that day. The 1339th came under massive pressure from German counterattacks over the next 24 hours which pushed some elements back to the sea, but eventually they held. Kadanchik was killed on September 15 by German artillery, and was posthumously made a Hero of the Soviet Union three days later. Meanwhile, other elements of the division were entering the battle.
"On the second night the 1337th Regiment went ashore near the power station. Col. V.A. Vrutzkiy, commanding the 318th Rifle Division, landed together with the regiment but contact with him was lost... Leselidze decided to send a senior officer [with another officer] to the power station area to find Vrutzkiy...and report back immediately... Despite the danger they returned... They also brought sad news: Col. Vrutzkiy had suffered severe concussion, lost an eye and been wounded in the arm. Steps were immediately taken to help the division's units which were making slow but sure headway. The divisional commander's duties were temporarily entrusted to the divisional Chief of Staff."
Shortly afterwards further news was received that Lt. Col. A. Tikhostup, the division's political department head, had been killed.[6] When Novorossiysk was finally liberated on September 16, the division was awarded its name as an honorific:
"NOVOROSSIYSK"...318th Mountain Rifle Division, Col. V.A. Vrutzkiy (until September 11); and Col. M.V. Yevstigneev... The troops who participated in the liberation of Novorossiysk, by the order of the Supreme High Command of September 16, 1943, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 12 artillery salvoes from 124 guns.[7]
Re-formation as Mountain Division
While the division had served in the Caucasus and in 3rd Mountain Rifle Corps in the Crimea as a regular rifle division, it was often referred to as a mountain rifle division, and has been since, in spite of not being organized as such. On August 15, 1944, the 318th was officially converted to the 318th Mountain Rifle Division, with the following order of battle:
- 1331st Mountain Rifle Regiment
- 1337th Mountain Rifle Regiment
- 1339th Mountain Rifle Regiment
- 796th Mountain Artillery Regiment
- 443rd Antitank Battalion
The artillery regiment had two battalions with one battery of 76mm mountain guns and two batteries of 120mm mortars each, while the third battalion had one battery of each. The rifle regiments each had only two battalions with three companies each, averaging 150 men or more per company with a special organization for mountain warfare. In addition, each battalion had a company of 82mm mortars, and another of antitank rifles, and the rifle regiments had a battery each of 107mm mountain mortars for additional support.
In order to fully confirm to the shtat for a Soviet mountain division, the 318th should have been assigned one more rifle regiment. Given the sequence of the numbers of the division's regiments, this would logically have been either the 1333rd or the 1335th. While there is no positive identification of a fourth regiment from either Soviet or German sources, neither of these numbers were used for rifle regiments in any other divisions.[8]
Postwar
By the end of the war, the men and women of the division had earned the full title of 318th Mountain Rifle, Novorossiisk, Order of Suvorov Division (Russian: 318-я горнострелковая Новороссийская ордена Суворова дивизия). In the immediate aftermath, the division served in the 38th Army in the Carpathian Military District.[9]
References
- ^ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. X, Nafziger, 1996, p. 120
- ^ Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p. 115, states the 318th was formed as a mountain division, that the 78th was a mountain rifle brigade, and does not mention the 165th Regiment.
- ^ Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 120
- ^ David M. Glantz, Armageddon in Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 563, 602, 606
- ^ Leonid Brezhnev, Trilogy - Little Land, International Publishers, New York, 1980, p. 72
- ^ Brezhnev, pp. 73-75
- ^ http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/1-ssr-4.html Retrieved Dec. 31, 2016
- ^ Sharp, "Red Death", Soviet Mountain, Naval, NKVD, and Allied Divisions and Brigades 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. VII, Nafziger, 1995, pp. 17-18
- ^ http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=7387 Retrieved Dec. 31, 2016.
- Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
