148th Rifle Division
The 148th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army on September 15, 1939, in the Volga Military District, based on the shtat of later that month. At the outbreak of the war it was still in this District, but was soon moving toward Gomel to join the 21st Army of Western Front. While still en route it was reassigned to 13th Army in the Mogilev area, and it would remain in this Army for most of the next two years. During the July fighting in this area it lost a rifle regiment and most of another, and was pulled back for rebuilding, but not far enough to prevent its front being penetrated in early August. Later that month the Army was transferred to the new Bryansk Front, and was tasked with the defense of the Desna River; the 148th was moved to the rebuilding 3rd Army, which was also part of this defense. After further losses near Novhorod-Siverskyi it was again moved to the reserves for replenishment. During the early stages of Operation Typhoon what remained of the 148th was encircled with its Army, but in the second week of October managed to stage a breakout and escaped being disbanded. It soon returned to 13th Army and spent all of 1942 on a relatively quiet sector, rebuilding and re-equipping. In early 1943 it took part in the encirclement of Axis forces near Kastornoye before advancing west toward Kursk and Oryol as part of Central Front, but it and the rest of 13th Army were halted before reaching the latter objective, and spent several months fortifying their positions in anticipation of the German summer offensive. When the attack came in July the division defended successfully in front of Maloarkhangelsk on its Army's right flank. When the Red Army went over to the counteroffensive the 148th advanced through northeastern Ukraine and won a battle honor in the process. In October it was transferred with its Army to 1st Ukrainian Front, and in November to 60th Army; it would remain under these formations for the duration of the war. As it advanced on Shepetivka and beyond in February and March of 1944 it was awarded first the Order of the Red Banner and then the Order of Suvorov. In April one of its regiments was awarded an honorific for the taking of Ternopil. After several inactive months the division participated in the Lviv-Sandomierz offensive and all its regiments received honors or decorations for their successes in the fighting for the former place. During the winter offensive in 1945 the 148th, with its Army, took part in two campaigns to seize Silesia. After difficult fighting in the vicinity of Oppeln and Ratibor in March the division was transferred with its Army to 4th Ukrainian Front and spent the last month of hostilities advancing through the Carpathian Mountains toward Prague. Following the German surrender it was moved back to Poland and was disbanded in July.
Formation
The 148th officially began forming on September 15, 1939, in the Volga Military District. The 496th Rifle Regiment was based at Engels, the 507th Rifle and 366th Artillery Regiments, plus the 199th Medical/Sanitation Battalion, were at Pugachyov, while the 654th Rifle Regiment was at Uralsk. At the outbreak of the war with Germany its order of battle was as follows:- 496th Rifle Regiment
- 507th Rifle Regiment
- 654th Rifle Regiment
- 326th Artillery Regiment
- 226th Antitank Battalion
- 142nd Reconnaissance Company
- 163rd Sapper Battalion
- 173rd Signal Battalion
- 199th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
- 177th Chemical Defense Company
- 96th Motor Transport Company
- 345th Field Bakery
- 247th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
- 245th Field Postal Station
- 687th Field Office of the State Bank
Battles in Belarus
Marshal S. K. Timoshenko had taken over command of Western Front on July 2. 21st Army, which was anchoring the Front's southern flank, launched a partially-successful reconnaissance-in-force on July 5, and then a series of resolute and somewhat effective counterattacks against the right flank of 2nd Panzer Group in the area of Rahachow and Zhlobin. On July 7 45th Corps, now consisting of the 148th and 187th Rifle Divisions, was reassigned to 13th Army in Western Front.2nd Panzer Group renewed its assault on July 10, when two divisions of XXIV Motorized Corps crossed the Dniepr River at and near Bykhaw, 29–32km south of Mogilev. This had been partially anticipated by Timoshenko in his intelligence summary of the previous night, but he had expected the assault to be made at Rahachow. As a result, only the 187th had been left to defend the sector north of Bykhaw. After four hours of fighting the XXIV Corps had seized a sizeable bridgehead and, after driving off Soviet forces, began construction of two bridges. That evening, Timoshenko reported that the 148th had joined the 187th and both were fighting against German units that had crossed in the Barsuki and Borkolobovo region, while at 1330 hours German tanks had been seen along the MogilevNovy-Bykhaw highway.
The next day, the remainder of 2nd Panzer Group also crossed the Dniepr. Timoshenko reported that 13th Army was holding at Barsuki and Borkolobovo, with the 148th still attempting to concentrate while also engaging the German forces in the bridgehead; the 137th Rifle Division had now joined 45th Corps. On July 12, Western Front headquarters stated that 13th Army's positions had been penetrated to a depth of 20km. The commander of 2nd Panzer Group, Col. Gen. H. Guderian, now directed the XXIV Corps to move eastward through Chavusy and Krychaw to Roslavl. The Corps was also supposed to protect the Group's right flank. This penetration had forced a gap between the 13th and the adjacent 20th Army, and a major portion of the former was threatened with encirclement in the Mogilev area.
Timoshenko's Offensive
In the afternoon of July 12 the STAVKA realized that desperate measures were required to restore the situation, including the need to "onduct active operations along the Gomel' and Bobruisk axis to threaten the rear of the enemy's Mogilev grouping." Timoshenko and his staff had already issued a number of preliminary orders, which included directions to 13th Army to "destroy the enemy forces penetrating east of the Dnepr River and defend the Dnepr River line." No part of Timoshenko's plan was even remotely feasible. Only 21st Army scored a partial success when it managed to project a sizeable force across the Dniepr to briefly threaten German communications with Babruysk.13th Army was by now largely shattered by XXIV and XXXXVI Motorized Corps deep in its rear. Its commander, Lt. Gen. F. N. Remezov, was wounded on July 13 and replaced by Lt. Gen. V. F. Gerasimenko, who began withdrawing most of the Army east toward the Sozh River. However, the understrength 507th Rifle Regiment came under command of 172nd Rifle Division as part of the Mogilev Group which was to defend that city under command of Maj. Gen. F. A. Bakunin. Despite these facts, Timoshenko reported to the STAVKA that 20th and 13th Armies would eliminate the penetration on the Bykhaw axis using flank attacks by July 16. He also stated that "I am assigning the decisive attack to 13th Army's units as the most important mission and a matter of honor." In the event, apart from 21st Army, Timoshenko's offensive never came together as the panzers disrupted all his plans.
Siege of Mogilev
Mogilev was a thorn in the side of Guderian, as it divided the bridgeheads of his two panzer corps over the Dniepr. It had already been made into a fortress that would be costly to take by frontal assault, as the first attacks proved. Instead, the panzers advanced early on July 13 for the Sozh, 97km farther east. By dusk on July 15 the XXIV Corps had created a wide salient from south of Mogilev east to the Sozh and back to the Dniepr while also straining to contain the roughly 100,000 men encircled in the city. Infantry from 2nd Army was urgently needed to relieve the armor, but until July 17 the task fell to the mobile troops. It was only on this date that the headquarters of the 148th completed its arrival near the front, in the vicinity of Krychaw, which was also the new location of Gerasimenko's headquarters. Meanwhile, the 496th Rifle Regiment had been encircled near Stary Bykhaw and forced to break out, with only some 400 personnel reaching friendly lines. As 13th Army withdrew and 2nd Panzer advanced, often on the same or parallel routes, Red Army troops sometimes caused havoc in the German "rear". On July 16 the 507th Regiment was reported as being on a long line from 24km south-southeast to 58km southeast of Mogilev, fighting as part of the 172nd Division's 747th Rifle Regiment. The city would finally fall on July 26, with the loss of the regiment.As Western Front had become unwieldy, on July 23 a new Central Front was formed, to include the reformed 3rd Army, 13th, and 21st Armies. The 148th remained in 45th Corps, which also contained the 6th, 121st, and 137th Rifle Divisions. 13th Army was now under command of Maj. Gen. K. D. Golubev. Central Front was intended to cover the junction between Western and Southwestern Fronts while also operating toward Gomel and Babruysk. Concurrent with this, Timoshenko issued an order which read, in part:The 148th, having lost one regiment and most of another, would be rebuilt as best as possible under the circumstances.