182nd Rifle Division
The 182nd Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army following the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939 and utilizing the personnel of two divisions of the Estonian People's Army. At the outbreak of war with Germany it was still in Estonia, part of the 22nd Rifle Corps of Northwestern Front's 27th Army. It quickly lost strength, both due to combat losses and to the desertion of large numbers of ethnic Estonians from the ranks. The remainder concentrated near Porkhov by the beginning of July. During that month the 182nd, now under command of 11th Army, took part in the counterstroke at Soltsy against LVI Motorized Corps, and a further action near Staraya Russa in August, both of which slowed the advance of Army Group North toward Leningrad. During 1942 and 1943, under 11th, 27th, and 34th Armies, the division would repeatedly attempt to regain Staraya Russa, while the battles for Demyansk went on to its east through most of this period. The evacuation of the Demyansk salient in February 1943 freed up German forces to reinforce a much shorter line, which stymied Marshal G. K. Zhukov's Operation Polar Star. The front began to move again during the Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive in January/February 1944; Staraya Russa finally fell after holding out for over 30 months and near the end of February the 182nd, now under command of 1st Shock Army in 2nd Baltic Front, won an honorific for its part in the liberation of Dno. At the start of the summer offensive into the Baltic states it was in 22nd Army, still in 2nd Baltic. It was under these commands at it advanced through Latvia and into northern Lithuania before being transferred to 43rd Army of 1st Baltic Front in late September. It was almost immediately involved in this Army's rapid advance on Memel, which was reached on October 10. It was impossible to take this heavily fortified city with the means at hand, so the 182nd went over to the defense on the border of East Prussia. When the winter offensive began the division was soon involved in the fighting for Tilsit, and two of its rifle regiments would receive decorations. Following this it pushed through to the Kurisches Haff, and began isolating the German forces in Königsberg. It played little part in the eventual capture of this city, but in April, as part of 2nd Guards Army, it was involved in the clearing of the Samland Peninsula. In the last days of the war the 182nd returned to 43rd Army, now in 2nd Belorussian Front. It would be disbanded in July.
Formation
The division was formed between August 29 and September 13, 1940, based on the 3rd and 4th Estonian Infantry Divisions of the Estonian People's Army. The personnel continued to wear Estonian uniforms, now with Soviet insignia, and the division was largely equipped with British imports. It was soon assigned to the 22nd Rifle Corps, which also contained the 180th Rifle Division, also of Estonians. Its order of battle on June 22, 1941, was as follows:- 140th Rifle Regiment
- 171st Rifle Regiment
- 232nd Rifle Regiment
- 625th Artillery Regiment
- 626th Howitzer Artillery Regiment
- 14th Antitank Battalion
- 138th Antiaircraft Battalion ; 23rd Antiaircraft Battalion ; 23rd Antiaircraft Battery ; 322nd Antiaircraft Battery
- 108th Reconnaissance Company
- 201st Sapper Battalion
- 9th Signal Battalion
- 1st Medical/Sanitation Battalion
- 181st Chemical Defense Company
- 382nd Motor Transport Company
- 354th Field Bakery
- 147th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
- 1452nd Field Postal Station
- 690th Field Office of the State Bank
Defense of Leningrad
As the 22nd Corps moved to its concentration area near Porkhov it was removed from 27th Army and came under direct command of the Front. By July 10 it had been subordinated to 11th Army of the same Front.Counterstroke at Soltsy
At this time the LVI Motorized Corps of 4th Panzer Group, supported by infantry of the I Army Corps, was advancing along the Luga axis through Soltsy toward Novgorod. The 8th Panzer Division, in the vanguard, penetrated 30-40km along the Shimsk road and reached the town of Soltsy late on July 13. Here it was halted by spirited resistance from the 177th Rifle Division and the 10th Mechanized Corps, skilfully exploiting the difficult terrain. By nightfall the panzers found themselves isolated from the 3rd Motorized Division to its left and the 3rd SS Totenkopf Division lagging in the rear.Alert for opportunities to strike back, the STAVKA ordered a counterstroke against the overexposed German force. This was communicated to Marshal K. Ye. Voroshilov, who in turn directed 11th Army to attack along the Soltsy-Dno axis with two shock groups. The northern group consisted of the 10th Mechanized's 21st Tank Division and the two divisions of 16th Rifle Corps, with reinforcements. The southern group consisted of the 183rd, 182nd, and 180th Rifle Divisions, gathered together under 22nd Corps, and was to attack 8th Panzer from the east, with Kuryshev's men moving against the panzer's communication lines to the southwest. The assault, launched in oppressive 32 degree C summer heat and massive clouds of dust, caught 8th Panzer and 3rd Motorized totally by surprise. The two divisions were soon isolated from one another and 8th Panzer was forced to fight a costly battle in encirclement for four days. It also disrupted the German offensive plans by forcing 4th Panzer Group to divert 3rd SS from the Kingisepp and Luga axes to rescue the beleaguered panzer division. In his memoirs the commander of LVI Corps, Gen. E. von Manstein, wrote:The Soltsy counterstroke cost 8th Panzer 70 of its 150 tanks destroyed or damaged and represented the first, albeit temporary, success achieved by Soviet forces on the path to Leningrad. It also cost the German command a precious week to regroup and resume the advance. However, the cost to the Soviet forces was high. On July 17, Kuryshev left his command to return to the airborne forces, where he remained for the rest of the war, eventually being promoted to the rank of major general. Col. Mikhail Semyonovich Nazarov took over the 182nd.
Counterstroke at Staraya Russa
The STAVKA, as well as Marshal Voroshilov, now the commander of the Northwest Direction, were well aware that Army Group North would soon renew its advance. The STAVKA allocated reinforcements, and dictated a plan to Voroshilov, which stated in part:The plan for the offensive, worked out by Lt. Gen. N. F. Vatutin, was overambitious. Northwestern Front's 48th, 34th, 27th, and 11th Armies were to launch simultaneous and concentric attacks on the X Army Corps of German 16th Army, which was defending at Staraya Russa. 11th Army, led by Lt. Gen. V. I. Morozov, along with 27th and 34th Armies were to strike westward south of Lake Ilmen. The overall objective was to cut off and destroy X Corps and subsequently recapture Soltsy, Dno, and Kholm.While the attack was carefully prepared, the outcome was uneven, mostly due to the fact that the German formations themselves attacked toward Novgorod and eastward from Staraya Russa on August 10. This set 11th and 48th Armies back on the wrong foot, but the Front's offensive went ahead anyway on August 12, with mixed results. X Corps was indeed enveloped by 34th Army, but the frontal attack by 11th Army soon faltered. Manstein had the 3rd Motorized and Totenkopf restored to his command and on August 19 these launched a counterattack which restored communications to X Corps and by August 25 had driven the two Armies back to the line of the Lovat River. 11th Army lost roughly 30 percent of its personnel and perhaps 80 percent of its weapons. However, the venture had delayed the German advance on Leningrad by another 10 days. On August 23 Northwestern Front had come under command of Lt. Gen. P. A. Kurochkin.
Demyansk Pocket
16th Army, which had a low priority for supplies and manpower, may have been well-advised to remain on the line of the Lovat, but a series of pinprick attacks from the Valdai Hills enticed it to continue its advance eastward. 34th Army was so weak that it could do little to contest the advance of II Army Corps and LVI Motorized toward Demyansk, although 11th and 27th Armies continued to hold positions on the flanks. In early September von Manstein's Corps took Demyansk, but it was now in the ludicrous position of being at the end of a single supply line consisting of a 90km dirt road from the railhead at Staraya Russa. The panzers were soon withdrawn to reinforce the upcoming advance on Moscow, and in early October the X and II Corps again tried to push east from Staraya Russa and Demyansk, but all they gained was more trackless wilderness that was difficult to defend. These efforts were finally halted as the first snow fell, and 16th Army ordered its troops to dig defenses for the winter. Over the next two months a stalemate settled over the front from Lake Ilmen to Lake Seliger. Northwestern Front, battered but not broken, was not immediately in a position to take the initiative. The headquarters of 22nd Rifle Corps was disbanded on September 22, but the 182nd had already come under direct command of 11th Army in August.The Red Army's winter counteroffensive began in early December, and it soon became clear that 16th Army was in a precarious position. The weakest point was the boundary between Army Groups North and Center near Ostashkov. To the STAVKA it also seemed that the area south of Lake Ilmen could be used for cost-effective attacks to draw German reserves from Leningrad and Moscow. Kurochkin and his staff began planning on December 18 for a counteroffensive to begin on January 6-7, 1942. Morozov's Army had about 35,000 personnel in five rifle divisions, with very limited artillery, but was reinforced with about 90 tanks prior to the counteroffensive, including 15 KV-1s and 30 T-34s. As an example of the shortages, the riflemen of the 182nd received about 100 rounds of ammunition and two hand grenades each, only enough for the first day of fighting. Food was also in short supply. On the German side, the two German Corps relied on a series of strongpoints rather than a continuous line, especially around Demyansk. The weakest aspect was that the 123rd and 290th Infantry Divisions on the flanks had been assigned exceptionally long sectors without any tactical reserves.
11th Army began the northern part of the counteroffensive on January 7, before 3rd and 4th Shock Armies were ready to attack near Lake Seliger. The 290th Infantry had fortified the village of Vzvad near the mouth of the Lovat, as well as a series of observation posts along the river's west bank, anchored on a battalion-sized strongpoint at Tulitovo. This might have been adequate before the winter freeze, but Morozov's forces now had many more movement options, including Lake Ilmen itself. The Army's shock groups were based on the 180th and 188th Divisions. At 2120 hours one of the observation posts reported that Red Army ski troops were across the Lovat. There was no artillery preparation, and the infiltrating troops moved southwest down the valley of the Redya River, which was about 8km in length. By dawn over 4,000 had crossed the Lovat, bypassing the observation posts and heading toward Staraya Russa; by 1000 the garrison of Vzvad had been cut off by elements of the 182nd and 84th Divisions, before they moved on to threaten to envelop Staraya Russa from the north. Meanwhile, the badly depleted 18th Motorized Division, along with the reconnaissance battalion of Totenkopf were assigned to hold the town.