240th Rifle Division
The 240th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was reorganized in the first months of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was based on the shtat of July 29, 1941, with several modifications. This conversion required several months and the division arrived at the front too late to see much action in the winter counteroffensive west of Moscow. At the start of the German summer offensive in June 1942 it was serving in Bryansk Front west of Voronezh and gradually fell back to east of that city before taking part in the Voronezh–Kastornoye offensive in January and February 1943, liberating the town of Tim and assisting in the elimination of an encircled column of German and Hungarian troops as part of 38th Army. As part of this Army it played a minor role in the Battle of Kursk and then a more major one in the subsequent advance through eastern Ukraine. After arriving at the Dniepr River north of Kyiv the 240th was instrumental in establishing the bridgehead at Lyutizh which later became the springboard for the liberation of the Ukrainian capital, and would be awarded battle honors for both of these accomplishments. During the offensives into western Ukraine in the spring of 1944 the division won, in quick succession, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. As part of 40th Army, mostly under 50th Rifle Corps, it took part in the Jassy–Kishinev offensives and the subsequent advance across the Carpathian Mountains into Hungary. During the fighting through that country and into Slovakia during the months leading to the German surrender the subunits of the division were awarded a large number of decorations and other honors, but despite this distinguished record the 240th was surplus to requirements and was disbanded in the summer of 1945.
240th Motorized Division
The division began forming in March 1941 as part of the prewar buildup of Soviet mechanized forces, at Kupiansk in the Kharkov Military District as part of the 16th Mechanized Corps. It was the highest-numbered motorized division formed by the Red Army. Its order of battle was as follows:- 836th Motorized Rifle Regiment
- 842nd Motorized Rifle Regiment
- 145th Tank Regiment
- 692nd Artillery Regiment
- 217th Antitank Battalion
- 9th Antiaircraft Battalion
- 271st Reconnaissance Battalion
- 368th Light Engineer Battalion
- 575th Signal Battalion
- 221st Artillery Park Battalion
- 396th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
- 706th Motor Transport Battalion
- 198th Repair and Restoration Battalion
- 55th Regulatory Company
- 491st Motorized Field Bakery
- 602nd Field Postal Station
- 533rd Field Office of the State Bank
By July 1 the 16th Mechanized had been reassigned to the 18th Army of Southern Front, but ten days later it was back in Southwestern Front, now under command of 6th Army. This Army's 7th Rifle Corps was encircled along the Sluch River and the Army commander, Lt. Gen. I. N. Muzychenko, intended to launch a relief operation with the 16th and 18th Mechanized Corps, in conjunction with forces of 5th Army, but by the time the 16th arrived Muzychenko was forced to commit it along the Berdychiv axis to protect his rear area. The positions of 6th and 12th Armies were becoming increasingly desperate and on July 21 the 1st Panzer Group completed their encirclement in the Uman area. As of August 1 the 16th Mechanized was still under command of 6th Army, but the relative handful of riflemen remaining to the 240th had already been withdrawn back to Kharkiv to be reformed as a standard rifle division.
Formation
The 240th was officially redesignated on August 6, in the Kharkov Military District. Once this was completed its order of battle was as follows:- 836th Rifle Regiment
- 842nd Rifle Regiment
- 931st Rifle Regiment
- 692nd Artillery Regiment
- 373rd Antitank Battalion
- 516th Antiaircraft Battery
- 227th Mortar Battalion
- 531st Machine Gun Battalion
- 271st Reconnaissance Company
- 368th Sapper Battalion
- 575th Signal Battalion
- 396th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
- 121st Chemical Defense Company
- 271st Motor Transport Company
- 355th Field Bakery
- 27th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
- 033677th Field Postal Station
- 533rd Field Office of the State Bank
Case Blue
During January the Front had been engaged in fighting for Bolkhov and Mtsensk, but without and significant success. By January 25 the 4th and 9th Armies of Army Group Center had developed a network of strong fortifications and further efforts to liberate these cities were stymied. On April 29, General Ivanov was placed at disposal of the Main Personnel Directorate; he did not hold another field command for the duration. He was replaced by Col. Pyotr Pyotrovich Avdeenko, who had been serving as Ivanov's deputy commander. This officer handed his command to Col. Viktor Lvovich Makhlinovskii on June 8, but returned 20 days later. The 240th remained in Bryansk Front until September, fighting in battles of local significance; in July it was moved to Operational Group Chibisov in preparation for an offensive against 6th Army's drive toward Voronezh, but it was not among the five rifle divisions committed to this attack. In August Chibisov's Group was redesignated as 38th Army, still in Bryansk Front, but as the German offensive continued the Army fell back along the Don River and was transferred to Voronezh Front. The 240th would remain in this Army and Front until November 1943. It held defensive positions near Terbuny until January 1943.Voronezh–Kastornoye Offensive
At the start of the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive on January 13 the Army had the 237th, 167th, and 240th Rifle Divisions, 248th Rifle Brigade, and 7th Destroyer Brigade under command, and was led by General Chibisov. During that offensive the 38th was assigned a defensive role, holding along a 55km-wide sector from Kozinka to Olkhovatka. By January 19 the main forces of Hungarian 2nd and Italian 8th Armies had been encircled and over the following days were largely destroyed, creating conditions for a further offensive against the German 2nd Army and the rump of the Hungarian 2nd.The 17 rifle divisions involved in the offensive averaged 5,000-6,000 men each, armed with 4,000-5,000 rifles, 500 sub-machine guns, 100 light and 50 heavy machine guns, 100-180 mortars of all calibres, and 75 guns, including 25 antitank guns. When the operation began on January 24 Chibisov had formed a shock group with his 167th and 240th Divisions, the 7th Destroyer Brigade, plus the 180th Tank Brigade and 14th Separate Tank Battalion. The 237th and the 248th Brigade were to continue an active defense along the remaining 46km front. Following the breakthrough the 240th and 7th Brigade were to attack toward Kastornoye to link up with forces of 13th and 40th Armies. By now the Army had the 206th Rifle Division as a reserve. Once the encirclement was made the secondary attacks by 38th and 60th Armies would split up and eliminate the isolated forces.
When the offensive began the command of Army Group B correctly determined its intention and possibilities. Believing that the encirclement of its 2nd Army would only be a matter of several days, orders were given to the VII Army Corps to withdraw from Voronezh and across the Don. Reconnaissance by 60th Army discovered this movement and it began to pursue. By dawn on January 25 the city had been completely cleared. 38th Army's offensive began on January 25, moved up a day due to the German retreat from Voronezh. The attack did not begin until 1630 hours following a 30-minute artillery preparation on a 14km sector from Kozinka to Ozerki, with the objective of reaching a line from Olymchik to Height 226. The 240th and 167th Divisions led with forward battalions to take German strongpoints on Heights 229 and 236, but these were unable to penetrate the defense. Colonel Avdeenko committed a few more battalions from his first echelon, but it was only by dawn of the following day the northern slopes of Height 229 were cleared. The offensive was renewed later that morning with another artillery preparation. The 240th captured another strongpoint at Nikolskoe and by the end of the day the shock group had penetrated the Axis defense to a depth of up to 8km as the defenders weakened and began to withdraw to the south. By day's end the shock group had reached the line BerezovkaOlymchikGolosnovka and had begun fighting for these villages. The 237th and the 248th Brigade, while continuing to defend their line, received instructions from Chibisov to be ready to go over to the offensive in the direction of Zemlyansk and Perlevka.
As the Axis withdrawal accelerated the 38th Army went over to the attack along its entire front on January 27. Col. Gen. F. I. Golikov, commander of Voronezh Front, ordered a change to the operational plan, sending the shock group plus the 180th Tanks in the direction of Kastornoye. This led to an advance of 15km during the day's fighting, with the 240th reaching the line of Horse Farm No. 107Malaya Troitskaya by day's end before receiving orders to continue its advance through the night. The next day the tank brigade reached Kastornoye in conjunction with mobile forces of the 13th and 40th Armies, followed by rifle units of the 13th Army and the 240th and 167th Divisions, leading to a stubborn fight for the town until 1600 hours on January 29. As a result of these advances the main escape routes of the Axis Voronezh-Kastornoye group of forces had been cut.