377th Rifle Division
| 377th Rifle Division (August, 1941 – 1945) | |
|---|---|
 Prewar photo of Maj. Gen. N. P. Kovalchuk | |
| Active | 1941 - 1945 |
| Land |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg){kind=small} Red Army |
| Typ | Division |
| Role | Infantry |
| Engagements | Battle of Leningrad Lyuban Offensive Operation Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive Battle of Narva Pskov-Ostrov Offensive Baltic Offensive Riga Offensive Courland Pocket |
| Decorations |  Order of the Red Banner |
| Battle honours | Valga |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Col. Kantemir Aleksandrovich Tsalikov Maj. Gen. Nikolai Prokopevich Kovalchuk Col. Semyon Sergeevich Safronov Col. Timofei Dmitrievich Dudorov Col. Andrei Markovich Kartavenko |
The 377th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August, 1941 in the Urals Military District. It followed a very similar combat path to that of the 374th and 376th Rifle Divisions. It joined the fighting front in December with the 4th Army, and then briefly came under command of 2nd Shock Army, but soon moved to the 59th Army along the Volkhov River, and continued to serve in this Army's battles near Leningrad until early 1944. The division took very heavy casualties and was partly or fully encircled at several times along with the units of 2nd Shock Army during the Lyuban Offensive. After rebuilding the division held the Army's bridgehead over the Volkhov during 1943, and finally advanced during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive in January, 1944, taking part in the assault that liberated Novgorod. During the spring the division saw heavy fighting in the battles for Narva before moving south for the summer offensive into the Baltic states. In September it won a battle honor in the liberation of Valga, and in October also received the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Riga. The division ended the war in Latvia, helping to contain and reduce the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket, and was disbanded later in 1945.
Formation
The 377th began forming in August, 1941 in the Urals Military District[1] at Chebarkul in the Chelyabinsk Oblast, based on the first wartime shtat (table of organization and equipment) for rifle divisions. Its order of battle was as follows:
- 1247th Rifle Regiment
- 1249th Rifle Regiment
- 1251st Rifle Regiment
- 933rd Artillery Regiment[2]
- 381st Antiaircraft Battery (later 657th Antiaircraft Battalion) (until April 25, 1943)
- 384th Antitank Battalion (from January 20, 1942)
- 423rd Mortar Battalion (until October 25, 1942)
- 432nd Reconnaissance Company
- 440th Sapper Battalion
- 768th (later 821st) Signal Battalion (later 821st Signal Company)
- 455th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
- 448th Chemical Protection (Anti-gas) Company
- 485th Motor Transport Company
- 224th Field Bakery
- 793rd Divisional Veterinary Hospital
- 1444th Field Postal Station
- 743rd Field Office of the State Bank
Col. Kantemir Aleksandrovich Tsalikov was assigned to command of the division on September 15, and he would remain in command until September 7, 1942. In November the division was assigned to the 39th Army, but was reassigned to the 4th Army in the Volkhov Front by December 17. It was moved to 2nd Shock Army for a few weeks in January, 1942, but by January 21 it was finally assigned to the 59th Army, where it would remain until February, 1944.[3]
Lyuban Offensive Operation
Volkhov Front, including 59th Army, began the offensive on Lyuban, which was intended to break the German siege of Leningrad, on the morning of January 6, but the Soviet forces were far from fully prepared and by the end of the day this initial assault expired in the face of heavy resistance. On January 10 the STAVKA called a three day halt in the attacks. During this period Stalin sent his special emissary and "fixer" L. Z. Mekhlis to the Front to supervise the attack preparations. While personally he was universally loathed and feared, Mekhlis' interventions were in some respects positive:
"For example, when he learned that the attacking armies were without artillery and that the available guns lacked vital parts, including optical instruments and communications equipment, Mekhlis informed Stalin. Soon, General N. Voronov, the chief of the Red Army's Artillery was sent to Malaya Vishera with several railway cars containing the missing equipment."[4]
Volkhov Front and the 54th Army of Leningrad Front resumed the offensive early on January 13 preceded by much improved artillery preparation. On January 17, 2nd Shock resumed its attack, supported by more than 1,500 aircraft sorties, and finally penetrated the Germans' first defensive positions on the west bank of the Volkhov, advanced 5 - 10 km and created conditions that Front commander Army Gen. K. A. Meretskov considered favorable for developing success. Early on the 22nd, he proposed to the STAVKA, in part: "The Front reserve will consist of the 46th Tank Brigade and the 377th Rifle Division in the Glady region and the 87th Cavalry Division in the Bolshaia Vishera region."[5]
Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive
In preparation for this upcoming offensive, in November the 377th came under its first corps command, the 112th Rifle Corps,[6] where it would remain until April, 1944.
Baltic Offensive
At the beginning of August the 377th was in 1st Shock Army, now in the 3rd Baltic Front, moving south towards Pskov near the shores of Lake Pskov.[7] Over the next six weeks the division fought its way into Latvia and Estonia, moving to the 111th Rifle Corps of 67th Army, and on September 19 it was recognized as follows:
"VALGA... 377th Rifle Division (Col. Dudorov, Timofei Dmitrievich)... The troops who participated in the liberation of Valga, by the order of the Supreme High Command of September 19, 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 12 artillery salvoes from 124 guns.[8]
By early October the 377th was near the Gulf of Riga in the area of Salacgrīva.[9] The division played a major role in the liberation of Riga, and was recognized with the award of the Order of the Red Banner on October 31.[10]
Battle of Courland
After the battle for Riga the 3rd Baltic Front was disbanded and by the end of the month the 377th was transferred with its 112th Corps to the 1st Shock Army in 2nd Baltic Front. It remained in that Army until April 1945, mostly in 112th Corps, but that month the Corps was transferred back to 67th Army,[11] which was now part of the Courland Group of Forces of Leningrad Front.[12] The division ended the war near the Baltic Sea, still watching over the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket.
Postwar
The division ended the war with the full title: 377th Rifle, Valga, Order of the Red Banner Division (Russian: 377-я стрелковая Валгинская Краснознамённая дивизия). It was disbanded later in 1945.
References
Citations
- ^ Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p. 79
- ^ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p. 101
- ^ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 101
- ^ Note that the 377th received its 384th Antitank Battalion on January 20.
- ^ David M. Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad, 1941-1944, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2002, pp. 158, 160-64
- ^ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 300
- ^ Multi-Man Publishing, Inc., Baltic Gap, Millersville, MD, 2009, p. 19
- ^ http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/1-ssr-1.html. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ Multi-Man Publishing, Baltic Gap, p. 36
- ^ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a, p. 542.
- ^ Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 101
- ^ Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1945, p. 150
Bibliography
- Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1967a). Сборник приказов РВСР, РВС СССР, НКО и Указов Президиума Верховного Совета СССР о награждении орденами СССР частей, соединениий и учреждений ВС СССР. Часть I. 1920 - 1944 гг [Collection of orders of the RVSR, RVS USSR and NKO on awarding orders to units, formations and establishments of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Part I. 1920–1944] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|authors=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Grylev, A. N. (1970). Перечень № 5. Стрелковых, горнострелковых, мотострелковых и моторизованных дивизии, входивших в состав Действующей армии в годы Великой Отечественной войны 1941-1945 гг [List (Perechen) No. 5: Rifle, Mountain Rifle, Motor Rifle and Motorized divisions, part of the active army during the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) p. 156 - Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1964). Командование корпусного и дивизионного звена советских вооруженных сил периода Великой Отечественной войны 1941 – 1945 гг [Commanders of Corps and Divisions in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Frunze Military Academy.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|authors=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help) p. 284
