217th Rifle Division
The 217th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It was formed at Voronezh and was considered a "sister" to the 222nd Rifle Division. When Operation Barbarossa began it was in 28th Army but soon after moving to the front it helped form the 43rd Army before being reassigned to 50th Army in Bryansk Front. After barely escaping disbandment during Operation Typhoon it took part in the defense of Tula; in the following counteroffensive one of its rifle regiments was so reduced by casualties that it had to be replaced by a Tula militia regiment. During the rest of 1942 and into 1943 it served in a largely defensive role as part of 49th Army and 16th Army although it took part in one abortive offensive in March 1943 north of Zhizdra. It remained in the latter Army when it was redesignated 11th Guards and fought under its command in the July-August offensive against the German-held Oryol salient before being transferred to 11th Army and winning an honorific in the advance through western Russia. In recognition of its role in the battle for Gomel it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After winter battles in eastern Belarus the 217th played leading roles in the liberation of Zhlobin and Bobruisk in the early stages of Operation Bagration as part of 48th Army. During the Vistula-Oder offensive it took part in the liberation of Mława and then crossed into the western part of East Prussia, winning the rare distinction of the Order of Lenin in the process. It ended the war in East Prussia and remained in the Königsberg area until the spring of 1946 when it was converted to the 3rd Rifle Brigade.
Formation
The division began forming on March 14, 1941, at Voronezh in the Oryol Military District. When completed it had the following order of battle:- 740th Rifle Regiment
- 755th Rifle Regiment
- 766th Rifle Regiment
- 668th Artillery Regiment
- 726th Howitzer Artillery Regiment
- 31st Antitank Battalion
- 279th Reconnaissance Company
- 396th Sapper Battalion
- 589th Signal Battalion
- 389th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
- 314th Chemical Defense Company
- 256th Motor Transport Company
- 261st Field Bakery
- 155th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
- 312th Field Postal Station
- 571st Field Office of the State Bank
Battle of Smolensk
Beginning on July 30 the Reserve Front was authorized and the 43rd Army was soon created on the basis of 33rd Rifle Corps. This Army was attempting to establish a defense along a previously fortified line from Zhukovka to Stolby. Within days the 28th Army, under command of Lt. Gen. V. Ya. Kachalov, found itself in an untenable position with its entire defensive front along the Desna River threatened with encirclement. Under orders from the commander of Reserve Front, Army Gen. G. K. Zhukov, Kachalov was ordered to withdraw with two of his divisions, but was killed 16km north of Roslavl with several other members of his headquarters about midday on August 4. The remnants of Kachalov's group came under command of 43rd Army and the next day Zhukov sent orders to its commander, Lt. Gen. I. G. Zakharkin, that read in part: Due to false reporting Stalin came to believe that Kachalov had deserted to the Germans and his name was not finally cleared until 1953.During the second week of August the 2nd Panzer Group began driving south across the Sozh River creating a threat to Bryansk. In response the STAVKA ordered the creation of Bryansk Front on August 14 consisting of just two armies, the 13th and the new 50th Army, which immediately had the 217th assigned. This Army had eight rifle divisions under command but the 217th was the only one formed before the start of the German invasion. The 50th was under command of Maj. Gen. M. P. Petrov. The 217th, along with the 279th Rifle Division, was to continue to hold its current positions while reconnoitering to the BaranovkaRatovskayaKokhanovo line. From August 18 50th Army was shoring up its defenses on the Front's right wing around and north of Bryansk and by the end of the 21st was holding relatively sound defensive positions along and west of the Desna. On August 18 Colonel Grachyov left his command and was replaced by Colonel Shlegel.
At 2300 hours on August 24 Petrov issued orders to his Army, which was stretched along a 100km-wide front and facing two panzer divisions and a motorized division:The division was also directed to protect its boundary with the 279th Rifle Division. In a conversation with the STAVKA on the same date the Front commander, Lt. Gen. A. I. Yeryomenko, was warned that this panzer grouping was aimed at these two divisions. However, by this time the priority for 2nd Panzer Group was preparing for the drive southward to encircle Southwestern Front east of Kiev. As this offensive developed on August 26 Yeryomenko was directed to launch diversionary attacks, including on the sector of the 217th. At the same time the 10th Motorized Division had been directed to seize crossings of the Desna in order to protect the flank of 2nd Panzer Group and to intercept Soviet forces attempting to escape encirclement. It captured the town of Korop and established a small bridgehead late on August 28, which forced the 217th back to the defense. The division was reported as "successfully defending the Buda and Kholopenkovy front... except in the Lozitsy, Krasnyi Shchipal, Pavlova Sloboda and Molotkovo sector, where an enemy force of up to two and 130 tanks penetrated the forward security positions at 1000 hours but were contained short of the main defensive belt."
By the end of the next day the lead battlegroup of 10th Motorized pushed southward 20km. The 217th was reported as holding its previous positions "while repelling and destroying enemy units attacking in the Snopot and Piatnitskoe region" with artillery, mortar and machine gun fire; this situation was essentially unchanged 48 hours later. The STAVKA issued orders at 0615 hours on August 30 for Bryansk Front to go over to the attack with most of its forces toward Roslavl and Starodub. Within 50th Army the 217th and three other divisions were to defend their positions while the remainder began their assault on September 3. In addition to its overextended sector the Front also lacked any substantial armored forces, making the operation entirely unrealistic.
Roslavl-Novozybkov Offensive
At 1000 hours on September 1 Petrov issued orders to the 217th to defend the line from Frolovka along the Desna to the mouth of the Seshcha River and also "seize and hold the Lipovka and Dubrovka region by day's end on 2 September." This attack began after a two-hour artillery preparation but had inadequate air support and was plagued by poor organization and coordination; in a summary report at 1800 hours the division was stated as "partially regrouping" while occupying its previous positions, indicating that its attack had failed. At the end of the next day its situation remained unchanged facing an "inactive enemy."Regardless of these efforts the 2nd Panzer Group, and specifically XXIV Motorized Corps, was pushing southward into eastern Ukraine. During September 3 the 740th Rifle Regiment occupied Piatnitskoe with one battalion and a second battalion was 1.5km northwest of Vyazovsk, but the division made no further advances the following day. By the end of September 6 it had identified that it was facing the 258th Infantry Division, which was essentially inactive. By now Yeryomenko was aware that his counteroffensive had failed and that his Front was in peril due to developments both to the north and the south. The 217th continued to hold against the 258th the next day. On September 14 Colonel Grachyov returned to command and Colonel Shlegel resumed his role as chief of staff.
Operation Typhoon
Army Group Center launched the main phase of its final offensive on Moscow on October 2. The 217th was still on the right flank of 50th Army, trying to defend a sector 46km in extent with a force of 11,953 men, armed with 360 machine guns and 144 artillery pieces, including 18 antitank guns. The 4th Panzer Group had chosen to make its attack at the boundary between the division and the 53rd Rifle Division of 43rd Army to its north; this was also the boundary between Bryansk Front and Western Front. The 766th Rifle Regiment, on the division's right flank, could not withstand the concentrated attack and fled in panic. In the first hours its supporting battalion of the 668th Artillery Regiment lost 12 of its guns. A later report by one of the division's commissars stated:In fact the situation, while dire, was not as bad as this officer, who had abandoned his post, reported. While the 217th had suffered considerable casualties it continued to engage the German forces. However, during the next day the division's retreat also uncovered the left flank of Western Front's 33rd Army. By the end of the day it had fallen back to a line from Budchino to the Vetma River, where it turned and tried to halt the German units that were attacking toward Lyudinovo. It was now facing the 52nd Infantry Division of XXXXIII Army Corps.By the end of October 4 General Yeryomenko was aware that his Front was again facing the prospect of encirclement. Petrov reported at 2100 hours that the 217th was retreating to the OlshanitsyVolynskii crossroadsHill 197.6 area. In the event the depleted division, together with the 290th Rifle Division and the 643rd Cavalry Regiment, was able to hold the German offensive in check on this line until October 6.
On October 7 the 17th Panzer Division captured Bryansk, in the rear of much of 50th Army, while the 18th Panzer Division was driving northward even deeper in the Army's rear. The 50th was now "cordoned off" if not firmly encircled. The next day General Petrov was able to break contact with most of the German forces and his divisions completed a 50km rapid march to the east on October 9 before running into significant resistance. After heavy fighting over the following days they engaged a strong German grouping approaching from the direction of Oryol on October 12 which blocked their path to the east and southeast. A report by German 4th Army the next day claimed 40,000 prisoners had been taken and that the 50th had been destroyed but in fact it had reached a line from Podbuzhe to Karachev and was preparing a breakout across the Resseta River. General Petrov led a flanking detachment on October 15 that cleared the east bank of the river but was mortally wounded in the fighting. By the end of the next day the leading elements of the retreating force had reached Belyov. Colonel Grachyov was taken prisoner on October 17 and Colonel Shlegel again took over command.
The remnants of seven rifle divisions, a tank brigade, and several other units had emerged from encirclement in the Belyov area by October 23. The 217th had managed to save 14 guns of its 668th Regiment. Altogether 12,000 troops of 50th Army escaped to take up new defenses in the sector. The division continued to hold along the Upa River near Odoyev until October 27, after which it resumed its retreat toward Tula, reaching north of that city by November 2. On November 16 Maj. Gen. Kuzma Petrovich Trubnikov, who had previously commanded the 258th Rifle Division, took over command from Colonel Shlegel. On November 22 Lt. Gen. I. V. Boldin was appointed commander of 50th Army. Bryansk Front had been disbanded on November 10 and Boldin's Army was now on the southern flank of Western Front.