134th Rifle Division
The 134th Rifle Division was first formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in early September 1939 in the Kharkov Military District, based on the shtat of September 13. At the start of the German invasion in June 1941 it was part of 19th Army, located in the Poltava Oblast, but soon began moving by rail toward Vitebsk, coming under command of Western Front. After offloading it made several futile counterattacks but as the LVII Motorized Corps pushed north it was cut off from its Army, forced to attach itself to 22nd Army, and then became encircled in the area of Nevel. Roughly half of its personnel were able to escape, but the divisional commander was killed. The remnants of the division were moved to the reserves of 30th Army in mid-August for rebuilding and replenishment, but were moved northwest of Bely to defend that axis when 22nd Army was defeated near Toropets in the last days of the month. It remained in these positions through most of September, moving to the reserves of Western Front before redeploying to the Vyazma axis, north of the Moscow-Minsk highway, just before Army Group Center began its final offensive toward Moscow. In the first days it returned to 19th Army and held its positions until the German pincers had nearly closed when it was authorized, with its Army, to withdraw. This turned into a desperate effort to escape the encirclement, and by October 20 only a small number of personnel had managed it, too few to provide a cadre for another rebuilding, so it was disbanded in late December.
A new 134th was created in early January 1942, on the basis of a late 300-series division, largely at Solnechnogorsk in the Moscow Military District. It was soon sent west to join Kalinin Front, being briefly assigned to 4th Shock Army before being moved back to Front reserves for further training. In May it was moved to 41st Army, in the same Front, and took up positions west of Bely, where it remained until the start of Operation Mars in late November. During that offensive part of the division took part in the fighting for that fortified town, but ultimately failed at considerable cost. Bely finally fell in March 1943 when German 9th Army evacuated the Rzhev salient, and the 134th was soon transferred to 39th Army. Just prior to the start of Operation Suvorov the division staged a set-piece attack which took the village of Verdino and would later be given its name as a battle honor. During August and September it advanced with its Army into eastern Belarus but soon became engaged in the dismal fighting around Vitebsk which stretched through the winter and spring of 1944. In March it left this area for a brief period of rebuilding before being reassigned to 69th Army in 1st Belorussian Front, where it would remain for the duration. It returned to battle in July during the Lublin-Brest operation, and won the Order of the Red Banner, as did one of its regiments, shortly after advancing into Poland. Late that month it crossed the Vistula at Puławy, and fought to expand and hold this lodgement over the coming months. In January 1945 it helped break the German defenses south of Warsaw and received the Order of Suvorov as it advanced through Poland and eastern Germany to the Oder River. When the final offensive on Berlin began in April the 134th attacked from the bridgehead that had been established north of Frankfurt-on-Oder in February, and in the course of the operation played a leading role in the encirclement and elimination of 9th Army south of the city, after which it advanced to the Elbe, where it joined hands with US forces. After the shooting stopped the division was given the Order of Lenin for its part in the Berlin campaign, and its subunits also received several awards, making it one of the most decorated regular rifle divisions in the Red Army. Despite this, it would be disbanded in July.
1st Formation
The first 134th Rifle Division was formed on September 15, 1939, at Kramatorsk in the Kharkov Military District, based on a cadre from the 80th Rifle Division. Kombrig Vladimir Kuzmich Bazarov was immediately assigned to command; this officer had previously led the 40th Rifle Division during the Battle of Lake Khasan. At the time of the German invasion it was part of the 25th Rifle Corps of Lt. Gen. I. S. Konev's 19th Army, moving through eastern Ukraine. Its order of battle was as follows:- 515th Rifle Regiment
- 629th Rifle Regiment
- 738th Rifle Regiment
- 410th Artillery Regiment
- 534th Howitzer Artillery Regiment
- 235th Antitank Battalion
- 156th Antiaircraft Battalion
- 156th Reconnaissance Company
- 249th Sapper Battalion
- 229th Signal Battalion
- 231st Chemical Defense Platoon
- 103rd Motor Transport Battalion
- 225th Motorized Field Bakery
- 878th Field Postal Station
- 412th Field Office of the State Bank
Battle of Vitebsk
By late on July 9 forces of 3rd Panzer Group had created a serious breach in the Red Army's defenses around Vitebsk. The front commander, Marshal S. K. Timoshenko, ordered Konev to counterattack to restore the situation despite the fact his Army was not yet assembled. The 134th took part in the counterattack the next day, which faltered after two days of heavy fighting due to the lack of coordination and reserves. By nightfall on July 12 both motorized corps of the Panzer Group were over the Dvina River and fanning out around Vitebsk. By the end of July 13 the 162nd and 134th were moving into the area east of Smolensk, but the remainder of 19th Army was strung out along the poor roads between that city and the area east of Vitebsk. 25th Corps was fighting in a salient east of Orsha which had been formed by XXXIX and XXXXVI Motorized Corps pushing toward Smolensk. Timoshenko continued to attempt to retake Vitebsk with counterattacks that included the 134th as late as July 16, but these made no progress at all. Adding to the turmoil, the commander of the Corps, Maj. Gen. S. M. Chestokhvalov, had been captured on July 13.Battle of Smolensk
Timoshenko was not immediately aware that Army Group Center had taken Orsha and had completed an encirclement of Western Front's forces north of the Dniepr River, east of that city and west of Smolensk. The elongated pocket contained most of 20th Army, what remained of two mechanized corps, and five divisions of 19th Army, including all of 25th Corps, for a total of 20 divisions of several types. However, the rapid advance had taken a toll of the German forces as well, with the 18th Panzer Division, as an example, holding blocking positions with only 12 operable tanks on strength. Furthermore, German infantry divisions were still well to the rear. At 2000 hours on July 18 Timoshenko issued an operational summary to the STAVKA which stated, in part, that 19th Army was "withdrawing in disorder". In the wake of the fall of Vitebsk on July 11 the 134th had joined up with 22nd Army as the 19th Panzer Division and 14th Motorized Division struck north toward Nevel and Velikiye Luki. On the night of July 19/20 the commander of that Army, Lt. Gen. F. A. Yershakov, organized a strike group that overran a sector of the overstretched 14th Motorized to escape encirclement, eventually causing 19th Panzer to withdraw from Velikiye Luki. In his report to the STAVKA early on July 21 Yershakov stated that, while the largest part of his forces had freed themselves and were regrouping, he had lost contact with Bazarov's headquarters, although two of his rifle battalions had been assigned to the Velikiye Luki garrison.Two days later Yershakov further reported that his 62nd Rifle Corps, defending a line from Shchukino to Lake Serutskoe, had assisted elements of the 134th to escape from encirclement in the area of PrikhabyBaranovoKarpovo, some 20 km-25 km north of Velizh. At the same time, the German 16th Army was reporting a total of 17 Red Army divisions destroyed or dispersed, with 22,500 prisoners taken, and it began wheeling north toward Leningrad. By July 27 Yershakov had reorganized a defense along the Lovat River through Velikiye Luki to Lake Dvine, tasked with "holding on to Velikiye Luki at all cost." On the same day, Kombrig Bazarov was attempting to lead a small group out of encirclement toward the Vop River, some 50 km-60 km south of Bely, when he was killed in action. The escapees brought news of his death, and the next day Col. Mikhail Arsentevich Zashibalov was named as his replacement. This officer had been made a Hero of the Soviet Union after the Winter War where he led the 169th Rifle Regiment of the 86th Rifle Division, and soon took command of the division itself. He was in this post on June 27, 1941, when he was wounded and hospitalized, then placed at the disposal of Western Front.
Dukhovshchina Offensives
As of August 1 the remnants of the 134th were reforming under direct command of Western Front, but later that month the division was assigned to Maj. Gen. V. A. Khomenko's 30th Army. By this time Timoshenko was making plans for a new offensive in the Dukhovshchina area toward Smolensk, which would involve 30th Army, acting in the region southwest of Bely. At 0550 hours on August 16 Khomenko submitted his plan to Western Front, which included:Timoshenko broadly approved Khomenko's plan at noon, but among other changes ordered that the tanks remain with their divisions. In an operational summary by Western Front to the STAVKA in the evening of August 21 it was stated that the 134th was "filling out and refitting in the Vladimirovskaya region, 30 kilometres southeast of Belyi." This was expanded the next day to state that one rifle regiment was to concentrate in a forest 2 km northeast of Podzaitsevo by the end of August 22 in the reserve of 30th Army.The STAVKA issued orders to Timoshenko at 1230 hours on August 25 to renew the offensive after early setbacks. 30th Army was to support 19th Army's attack toward Dukhovshchina and Smolensk by advancing on Tiukhovitsy, Eliseevichi, and Kholm. In Timoshenko's subsequent orders to Khomenko he was directed to cover the Bely axis with at least two rifle regiments of the 250th Division and attack with the remainder of his forces, less the 134th and the 107th Tank Division. These plans were partially disrupted when the XXXX Motorized Corps retook Velikiye Luki on August 25, and captured Toropets four days later. 22nd Army was thrown into disarray, although it took some time for the news to reach Moscow. Among the measures approved to support Yershakov at 2350 on August 30 the 134th was to move from the Bely area toward Nelidovo Station to secure that road hub.
During August 31 the 134th was reported as regrouping and moving into the area of Golakovo, Stodolishche, and Nelidovo area, some 45 km-55 km north-northwest of Bely, in order to protect that place from attack from Toropets. The main attack of 30th Army on September 1 utterly failed, and Khomenko no longer had his 134th and 107th Tanks available to restore his momentum. As of 0500 hours the next day the division had taken up a defense in that area, although two battalions of the 629th Rifle Regiment was holding all-round defenses closer to Bely. The remainder of the regiment handed its positions to the 250th's 922nd Rifle Regiment so as to moved to division's concentration area at Nelidovo. It was still there on September 10 when Stalin authorized Western Front to go over to the defense.