127th Rifle Division (May 1943 formation)

127th Rifle Division (3rd formation) May 1943 – June 1945 Soviet Union Red Army / Soviet Army Infantry World War II Chistyakov The May 1943 formation of the 127th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, the third unit to bear the designation during World War II. History 127th Rifle Division 1943–1945 547th Rifle Regiment 549th Rifle Regiment 555th Rifle Regiment 1034th Artillery Regiment 411th Separate Anti-Tank Battalion 221st Reconnaissance Company 329th Sapper Battalion 717th Separate Communications Company (reorganized as 679th Separate Communications Battalion 5 November 1944)Grylev 1970b 109 249th Medical Battalion 152nd Separate Chemical Defense Company 533rd Motor Transport Company 377th Field Bakery 848th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 2198th Field Postal Station 1183rd (former 492nd) Field Office of the State BankGrylev 1970a 63 The 127th Rifle Division was formed on 10 May 1943 from the 52nd and 98th Separate Rifle Brigades, part of the 28th Army of the Southern Front.Журнал боевых действий штаба 28 А https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=130222713 live 2021-08-12 Pamyat Naroda 12 https://web.archive.org/web/20210812002438/https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=130222713 2021-08-12 The division included the 547th, 549th, and 555th Rifle Regiments, the 1034th Artillery Regiment, and smaller elements, reusing the numbers of previous formations of the 127th.Grylev 1970a 63 Colonel Fyodor Maximovich Rukhlenko, deputy commander of the 315th Rifle Division, was appointed commander. On 6 August, for "making a false report on the combat actions of the division," Rukhlenko was relieved of command.Tsapayev Goremykin 2014b 248–249 The division was part of the 28th Army on 9 August when Colonel Margazian Galliulovich Krymov, commander of the 387th Rifle Division of the army, transferred to command it. The division went on the offensive against the German fortified Mius-Front on 24 August in the region of Saur-Mogila, the key to the German defense of the Donbass. After capturing Saur-Mogila, the division captured Chistyakovo on 2 September and Gorlovka on 4 September. On 8 September, for distinguishing itself in the battles for the capture of the Donbass the division received the name of Chistyakovo as an honorific. Continuing the offensive, the division fought its way to the Dnieper. The division was pulled from the front on 21 September and two days later transferred to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. The 127th, as part of the 1st Guards Army, arrived on the 1st Ukrainian Front in the Kiev region on 12 November. In early December, Krymov was relieved of command of the division for "poor leadership and lack of care for the living conditions and supply of personnel."Tsapayev Goremykin 2015 450–452 Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Ivanovich Katrich, deputy commander of the 328th Rifle Division of the army, temporarily commanded the division from 12 December to 11 January 1944, leading it in the Zhitomir–Berdichev offensive. During the offensive, the division participated in the capture of Zhitomir as part of the 1st Guards Army.Tsapayev Goremykin 2015 172–173 Colonel Ivan Pavlovich Govorov, deputy commander of the 99th Rifle Division of the army, took command of the 127th on 12 January. At the time, the division was on the defensive near Kraspol. From March the division successfully fought in the Proskurov–Chernovitsy Offensive. For the capture of Proskurov, the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 3 April.Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a 315–316 From 19 July the division fought in the Lvov–Sandomierz offensive, during which it fought in the capture of Berezhany, Rogatin, Khodorov, and Zhidechuv. From 5 August the division was in reserve and fought in the suppression of Banderites in the rear of the 1st Ukrainian Front.Tsapayev Goremykin 2014a 617–619 Major General Semyon Ivanovich Mladentsev took command of the 127th on 25 September. In October, the division fought in the final stage of the Battle of the Dukla Pass as part of the 38th Army. Its units attacked from the north of the fortified point of Polyany, ensuring the capture of Dukla Pass. On 30 October the division was pulled out of the fight, then from 29 November joined the 3rd Guards Army in the defense of the Sandomierz bridgehead.Tsapayev Goremykin 2015 851–853 From January 1945 the 127th attacked during the Vistula–Oder, Sandomierz–Silesian, Lower Silesian, and Berlin Offensives. On 25 April Mladentsev was transferred to serve as deputy commander of the 120th Rifle Corps,Tsapayev Goremykin 2015 851–853 and Colonel Nikolai Viktorovich Krasovsky, commander of the 197th Rifle Division of the army, took command of the 127th. During the Berlin Offensive, the division broke through German defenses on the Neisse and Spree, fighting in the destruction of the Halbe pocket in the region of Luckenwalde. The division ended the war in the Prague offensive and for its "exemplary completion of combat missions, valor and courage" during the capture of Prague was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class, on 4 June.Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b 367 On the same day, the three rifle regiments and artillery regiment of the division were awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky and the 411th Separate Anti-Tank Battalion the Order of the Red Star for their contributions to the destruction of the Halbe pocket.Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b 399–403 After the end of the war, the division was disbanded in June.Tsapayev Goremykin 2015 425–427 References Citations Bibliography Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union https://archive.org/details/rkkaawards119201944/ 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. 1967a Moscow ru 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 Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union https://archive.org/details/rkkaawards219451966 Сборник приказов РВСР, РВС СССР, НКО и Указов Президиума Верховного Совета СССР о награждении орденами СССР частей, соединениий и учреждений ВС СССР. Часть II. 1945 - 1966 гг. 1967b Moscow ru 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 II. 1945–1966 http://www.soldat.ru/doc/perechen/ Перечень No. 5. Стрелковых, горнострелковых, мотострелковых и моторизованных дивизии, входивших в состав Действующей армии в годы Великой Отечественной войны 1941-1945 гг. Grylev A. N. 1970a Voenizdat Moscow ru List (Perechen) No. 5: Rifle, Mountain Rifle, Motor Rifle and Motorized divisions, part of the active army during the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945 http://www.soldat.ru/doc/perechen/ Перечень No. 22. Отдельных батальонов, дивизионов, рот, колонн и отрядов связи, входивших в состав Действующей армии в период Великой Отечественной войны 1941-1945 гг. Grylev A. N. 1970b Voenizdat Moscow ru List (Perechen) No. 22: Separate communications battalions, companies, columns, and detachments, part of the active army during the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945 Tsapayev D. A. Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь Goremykin Viktor Kuchkovo Pole 2014a 978-5-9950-0382-3 3 Moscow Russian The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary 1 Tsapayev D.A. Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь Goremykin Viktor Kuchkovo Pole 2014b 978-5-9950-0457-8 5 Moscow ru The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary 1 Tsapayev D. A. Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь Goremykin Viktor Kuchkovo Pole 2015 978-5-9950-0602-2 4 Moscow Russian The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary 1 Category:Infantry divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II Category:Military units and formations established in 1943 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Category:Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner