162nd Rifle Division: Difference between revisions

162nd Rifle Division (July 16, 1940 – December 27, 1941) 162nd Rifle Division (December 1941 – July 24, 1942) 162nd Rifle Division (October 1942 - July 1945)
Active	1940–1945
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Engagements	Operation Barbarossa Battle of Smolensk (1941) Battle of Moscow Second Battle of Kharkov Operation Fridericus II Case Blue Sevsk-Trubchevsk offensive Oryol offensive Battle of Kursk Battle of Kiev (1943) Operation Bagration Lublin–Brest offensive Vistula–Oder offensive East Pomeranian offensive Battle of Berlin
Decorations	Order of the Red Banner  Order of Suvorov (both 3rd Formation)
Battle honours	Central Asian Novgorod-Seversky (both 3rd Formation)
Commanders
Notable commanders	Col. Nikolai Fyodorovich Kolkunov Col. Mitrofan Ilich Matveev Maj. Gen. Sergei Yakovlevich Senchillo Col. Stepan Ivanovich Chernyak Col. Lazar Vasilevich Grinvald-Mukho Col. Anatolii Olegovich Muratov

The 162nd Rifle Division was originally formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in August 1940 in the Kharkov Military District, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of the previous September. At the start of the German invasion in June 1941 it was in Lubny, Poltava Oblast, and was quickly sent to the front as part of Western Front's 19th Army. After first counterattacking in an effort to retake Vitebsk it was forced to fall back toward Smolensk. During August and into September, now as part of 30th Army, it took part in several counteroffensives against German 9th Army in the Dukhovshchina area in an effort to retake Smolensk, but these were ultimately unsuccessful while costing the division considerable strength. At the start of Operation Typhoon in October the 162nd was located at the boundary of the two Soviet armies in well-prepared positions, but was struck with overwhelming numbers of infantry, tanks, and aircraft. With one regiment quickly encircled the remainder were shouldered away to the north and east. Soon pocketed with the remains of two other divisions the 162nd managed to reach Soviet-held territory in the Kalinin region late in the month, but in November was disbanded to supply replacements for other units.

A new 162nd was designated in January 1942 in the Ural Military District based on a 400-series division that had begun forming the previous month. In March it moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command where it was assigned to the reformed 28th Army, soon part of Southwestern Front. In mid-May the Army formed part of the Front's northern shock group in the offensive to retake Kharkiv; while the 162nd was initially in second echelon it was soon brought up to the front line and attacked near Vesele on May 18 without any lasting success. Following this offensive the division was transferred to 38th Army and was under this command in late June when the German summer offensive began. Twice encircled over the following weeks it failed to escape across the Don River in any numbers and was disbanded in late July.

The final 162nd began as the Central Asian Rifle Division of the NKVD in November in the Central Asian Military District. It retained the name "Central Asian" as an honorific. Early in the new year it, and five similar divisions, were transferred to the Red Army and formed as the new 70th Army. The Army was soon assigned to Central Front, where it joined the advance toward Oryol in late February and March 1943, but proved ineffective due to low standards of training and leadership.

The division first began forming on July 16, 1940, at Artyomovsk in the Kharkov Military District. Its order of battle on June 22, 1941, was as follows:

• 501st Rifle Regiment
• 627th Rifle Regiment
• 720th Rifle Regiment
• 605th Light Artillery Regiment^[1]
• 634th Howitzer Artillery Regiment
• 141st Antitank Battalion
• 473rd Antiaircraft Battalion
• 241st Reconnaissance Battalion
• 187th Sapper Battalion
• 400th Signal Battalion (until October 18, 1941)
• 194th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
• 21st Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Platoon
• 3rd Motor Transport Battalion
• 136th Field Bakery
• 169th Field Postal Station
• 119th Field Office of the State Bank

Col. Nikolai Fyodorovich Kolkunov was appointed to command on the day the division began forming, and he would remain in this post for the duration of the 1st formation. As of June 22 it was part of 25th Rifle Corps, along with the 127th and 134th Rifle Divisions,^[2] and was already on the move, by rail, to join the 19th Army at Cherkasy. From here the Army commander, Lt. Gen. I. S. Konev, was ordered north to the Vitebsk area, to join Western Front. Between July 7 and 10 the 162nd offloaded north of Smolensk.^[3]

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 162nd 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 162nd 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.^[4]

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", and the 162nd was pulling back to the Nelidovo region, having escaped from the encirclement, and was now being subordinated to 30th Army.^[5] Following this, Colonel Kolkunov was brought in front of a military tribunal. He was accused of having, on July 13, ordered the division's communications equipment buried in the ground, and effectively destroyed, when this measure "was not required by the combat situation..." He was given a five-year suspended sentence but remained in command.

At 2000 hours on August 3 Timoshenko reported on Western Front's efforts to break through to relieve the still trapped 20th and 16th Armies near Smolensk. The 162nd had been re-subordinated to 19th Army, which was "attacking across its entire front", and the division was reported as being "concentrated in the Vadino region." By August 5 the combined remaining forces had escaped across the upper Dniepr to Western Front's positions, albeit at considerable cost. Konev's Army attacked again "against stubborn enemy resistance" starting at 0700 on August 7 and the 162nd was reported as having

reached the eastern edge of the woods (1 kilometre west of Ust'e) [28km north-northeast of Yartsevo] on its right wing and fighting in the forests west of Zaovrazh'e on its left wing.

By this time some 50,000 men of 16th and 20th Armies had escaped from the pocket. Also by this time most of the Front's rifle division had only 1,000 - 2,000 personnel on strength, with far fewer "bayonets" (riflemen and sappers).^[6]

As of August 8 the divisions of XXXIX Motorized Corps which had been facing 30th Army had been relieved by the infantry divisions of 9th Army's V Army Corps. These divisions were very hard pressed to parry the attacks of this Army and 19th Army east and northeast of Dukhovshchina. In the wake of these assaults the commander of Army Group Center noted "9th Army was also attacked; the day before yesterday the Russians broke through as far as the 5th Division's artillery positions." The chief of staff of OKH, Col. Gen. F. Halder, noted on August 11 in regard to these attacks:

The whole situation makes it increasingly plain that we have underestimated the Russian colossus, who consistently prepared for war with that utterly ruthless determination so characteristic of totalitarian states... At the outset of war, we reckoned with about 200 enemy divisions. Now we have already counted 360. These divisions indeed are not armed and equipped according to our standards, and their tactical leadership is often poor. But they are there, and if we smash a dozen of them, the Russians simply put up another dozen.

Timoshenko's new plan, as submitted to the STAVKA around noon on August 15 was "to destroy the enemy grouping in the Dukhovshchina region" with shock groups consisting of 30th Army on the north flank and 19th Army on the south. The 162nd, which had returned to 30th Army, and 91st Rifle Divisions were initially assigned a covering role on a front between Markovo and Potelitsa, some 24-38km north of Yartsevo.^[7]

The operational directive set the goal of encircling and destroying the German 106th, 5th, and 28th Infantry Divisions and 900th Lehr Regiment through concentric attacks with two shock groups, the northern consisting of the 30th Army's 242nd, 251st, 107th Tank and 45th Cavalry Divisions, and by now the 162nd as well. The Army was to protect its right flank toward Bely with the 250th Rifle Division, penetrate the German defense and then commit the mobile forces to encircle the objective from the west. The attack sector was 17km wide from Markovo to Staroe Morokhovo, from 38km to 55km north of Yartsevo. The 162nd, which had the support of two battalions of the 542nd Cannon Artillery Regiment and other supporting units, was to attack with its main forces in the direction of Gordienki, Sechenki, and Maloe Repino, with the main objective to reach a line from Khadobuzha to Staroe Selo, and then continue the attack toward Ponomari. The attack was to be preceded by a 45-minute artillery preparation beginning at 0900 hours on August 17. The shock group faced the German 106th Infantry, which was holding a sector roughly 16km wide. During August 16 the 162nd was reported as having improved its jumping-off positions by reaching the area some 18-20km southeast of Staroe Morokhovo.^[8]

Maj. Gen. V. A. Khomenko, the Army commander, launched his attack on time, despite not all of his forces having managed to reach their jumping-off points. Several units were fed in piecemeal, which in some instances worked to their advantage, since the artillery preparation had done more to alert German units than it accomplished in causing damage. While 19th Army managed to penetrate the German tactical defenses throughout its sector, 30th Army achieved far more limited results due to intense machine gun and mortar fire, backed by effective artillery fire on most sectors. Most of the 162nd, in common with the 251st and 242nd, only advanced from 150m-400m, with the left wing regiment of the 162nd running up against a German strongpoint at Losevo, but the 107th Tanks, in cooperation with another regiment of the division, was successful in penetrating the defensive line and exploited roughly 4km deep, capturing a strongpoint at Karpovo. For several hours heavy fighting went on with reserve battalions of the 106th Infantry, which may have been reinforced by infantry of the 35th Infantry Division and tanks of 900th Lehr. These launched several unsuccessful counterattacks, but the Soviet advance was halted at Karpovo. At 2000 the Front reported that these counterattacks had "left 200 [German] bodies on the battlefield." Meanwhile, the 91st and 50th Rifle Divisions of 19th Army, just to the south, had torn a large hole in the defenses of the right wing of 161st Infantry Division.^[9]

The Army attempted to resume its offensive at 0900 on August 18, but Khomenko's evening report reveals very little progress:

162nd RD – 720th RR is fighting for Hill 218.7 against stubborn enemy resistance and well-organized defenses and fires and 627th RR is fighting in close combat amidst enemy gun positions on Hill 220.9. Division headquarters - on Hill 216.3.

Overall, although 19th Army continued to make some gains, the 30th could not say as much. In addition, German reserves, such as the 35th Infantry, were arriving in the sector. Although the 162nd and the 107th Tanks managed to cover another 2km on August 19, the remaining divisions stalled against heavy resistance, and the belated arrival of the reinforcing 244th Rifle Division did nothing to assist because it had not yet regrouped after its long approach march. The 45th Cavalry was now committed to exploit the limited success of the 162nd. Under the pressure of the offensive the German 9th Army had no choice but to call on the only available reserve, the 7th Panzer Division.^[10]

Army Group Center began its counterstroke on August 20. By noon 7th Panzer was concentrated north of Losevo with roughly 110 tanks (mostly Panzer 38(t) types), preparing to strike the right flank of 19th Army. This attack drove into the heart of the Army's antitank defenses and was driven off with significant losses. Meanwhile, 30th Army maintained its offensive pressure as best it could; Khomenko reported that the 162nd and 251st Divisions were fighting fiercely to widen the penetration in the Pochinoi 2 and Shelepy sector. The next day, as the dogfight with 7th Panzer continued, Timoshenko decided that, since it appeared that 30th Army's attacks were going nowhere, it would be more useful to transfer its fresh forces (45th Cavalry and 244th Rifle) to 19th Army's sector; on August 22 he permitted Khomenko to take a day to rest and refit. 19th Army resumed the attack on August 23 and 30th Army recorded some minor gains, with the division taking Hill 218.7 and Pochinok and then fortifying its positions while preparing to develop its success overnight with small reconnaissance and specialized detachments. However, by the end of the day word had reached Timoshenko that 22nd Army, which was supposed to be advancing south of Velikiye Luki, was in fact facing defeat from the forces of 3rd Panzer Group moving northward.^[11]

Despite this impending crisis, Stalin, the STAVKA, and Timoshenko remained confident that their armies could collapse Army Group Center's defenses east of Smolensk, and so persisted in their offensive operations. During August 24 the 162nd, reinforced with two rifle regiments and 30 tanks, attacked in the direction of Shelepy and Zareche before noon, but without success. The 251st Division was committed at 1600 hours, and the two divisions jointly pushed into Sechenki (some 45km north of Yartsevo) at 1640, where fighting continued. This advance forced a German withdrawal from Gorodno and Krechets, "taking the livestock and population with them."^[12]

On August 25 Timoshenko directed Khomenko to continue protecting the Bely axis with at least two regiments of the 250th Division while preparing to continue the offensive with most of the rest of his forces. At 0145 hours Khomenko dispatched a warning order to his subordinates which included:

162nd RD – (with 250th RD's 922nd RR and 237th [Motorized Rifle Regiment]) - attack toward Ivkino and Zarech'e to capture Malyi Fomenki and Ivkino and subsequently exploit toward Zarech'e to prevent the enemy from withdrawing toward the southwest.

Near the end of the day it was reported that the division was fighting to capture Hill 228.0 and Shelepy "against strong enemy resistance." This was part of a combined attack by the Army's five divisions on a 7km-wide sector against 106th Infantry Division which gained up to 2.5km and forced the German division back to its second defensive line. The assault resumed just past noon of the following day. The division was reported as fighting to capture Ivkino and Shelepy. Altogether, 30th Army forced the right wing of the damaged 106th Infantry to bend but not break, but at the cost to itself of 182 men killed and wounded. The heaviest fighting on August 28 occurred in the Shelepy area where the 251st and 162nd Divisions recorded advances of several hundreds of metres. The latter attacked toward Khomenki, and it reached the west slopes of Hill 228.9 with its right wing, while its left wing took an isolated building 1,000m southwest of Shanino. The Army lost another 453 men killed and wounded during the day. Khomenko issued orders for August 29 for the divisions to make a combined attack on Gorodno and to seize crossings over the Votra River. This would smash the right wing defenses of 106th Infantry. Just before midnight, Timoshenko gave further orders that, while continuing its attacks, 30th Army was to regroup during August 30–31 for a new general offensive.^[13]

On August 29 the division, in cooperation with 242nd and 250th Rifle Divisions, attacked but came up against heavy German fire, as well as fortifications in the form of barbed wire and minefields, halting the advance after minor gains. The following day it was ordered to capture Hill 230.3, Ploskoe, and, once again, Ivkino. In the process of regrouping, Khomenko formed a new shock group consisting of the 251st, 162nd and 242nd divisions, backed by the 250th and the artillery of 107th Tanks. Timoshenko, determined to carry out his design and press the advantages he had won, issued orders to Western Front to prepare to resume the offensive on September 1 after regrouping. 30th Army was directed to make its main attack toward Demidov, with the objective of reaching that place as well as Velizh by the end of September 8.^[14]

When the offensive officially resumed on September 1 the 162nd attacked toward Fomenki and Hill 230.3 without any success, falling back to its start line and bombarding German strongpoints for the rest of the day. During the day the Army lost 248 men killed and wounded. For the next day Khomenko ordered the division to consolidate on a narrow front overnight and then push "toward Shanino and Fomenki, while avoiding use of deeply echeloned combat formations, conduct a secondary attack toward Hill 229.1 and 241.2 together with 242nd RD, and conduct active demonstrative fires along the remainder of the front." Kolkunov's men again failed to advance. On September 3 the 162nd again attacked toward Ivkino but ran into heavy German fire resistance; overall 30th Army saw no success on this day. At 0230 hours on September 5 the division was ordered to withdraw into Army reserve, to be concentrated in the area of Lukashevo, Krapivnia, and Pochinok by September 6. In spite of this it went over to the attack again at 0800 with three other divisions, but this was unsuccessful at the cost of an additional 131 men. Finally, at 0335 on September 10 the STAVKA ordered Western Front to go over to the defense. The next day the division, in cooperation with the 251st, was ordered to firmly defend the Hill 228.0, Olkhovka, and Ilina Farm region (25–32km south of Chernyi Ruchei), with combat security positions along the Shelepy, Shanino Farm, 1,000m west of Sechenki, and western outskirts of Gorodno line to prevent German infantry and tanks from penetrating toward Savinka and Karpovo and protect the boundary with 244th Division.^[15]

The constant attacking had been costly in more than manpower. On September 20 Kolkunov reported that the division had on strength 32 heavy machine guns, 39 light machine guns, 12 45mm antitank guns, a mix of eight 76mm cannon and regimental guns, eight 122mm howitzers, three antiaircraft guns, and nine antitank rifles (which were only beginning to arrive at the front). The shortages even included the KS fuel used to make Molotov cocktails.^[16]

The front west of Moscow was generally quiet through the balance of September as Army Groups Center and South focused on the encirclement and destruction of Southwestern Front east of Kyiv. Konev was promoted to the rank of colonel general on September 11 and took command of Western Front the next day. By the end of the month 30th Army was defending a 66km-wide sector with four divisions; 19th Army remained on its left (south) flank. General Khomenko correctly determined, due to the terrain, that the Kaniutino axis was likely where the main German attack would come. At the expense of a critical weakening of the Army's other sectors the 162nd was moved from reserve to deploy on this flank in two echelons on a frontage of only 6.5km, with one regiment of the 242nd also in the first echelon. The 251st Division was designated as the Army's reserve, backed by 107th Tanks (now redesignated as 107th Motorized Rifle) in Front reserve. Although the STAVKA believed the main German attack would come along the Smolensk–Vyazma highway, in fact it would be aimed at the 19th/30th Army boundary. According to plan, the boundary was to be covered by the fire of Khomenko's artillery battalions.^[17]

Khomenko decided to fire a preemptive artillery bombardment between 11.00 and 11.30 hours on October 1 in an effort to disrupt the German forces which, by then, were clearly massing against his left flank. The ravines in front of the 162nd's positions, which were sheltering German infantry, came under particular attention. While Khomenko's headquarters claimed significant damage had been inflicted, a good deal of the Army's available ammunition was also expended. Operation Typhoon began at 0530 hours on October 2, following a 45-minute artillery preparation, and the Army boundary was struck by 3rd Panzer Group and 9th Army as Khomenko expected. While the overall attack front was up to 45km wide the main breakthrough sector was only 16km wide. Overall, the Kaniutino axis was attacked by four German corps consisting of 12 divisions, including three panzer divisions (460–470 tanks) and one motorized division, simultaneously. The first echelon of the 162nd faced up to four regiments of infantry with approximately 200 tanks and some 100 aircraft in support, "hanging over the defense", suppressing strongpoints and artillery emplacements. At 13.30 the 30th Army headquarters reported that the 501st Rifle Regiment and the 897th Regiment of 242nd Division were "fighting in encirclement." Later in the day 9th Army reported an intercepted radio message from Khomenko to Konev's headquarters stating that the division had been forced to retreat by tank forces on both sides of Krapivnia. At 14.35, up to 40 German tanks were detected roughly 15km behind the front line.^[18]

Due to the 162nd having been concentrated in two echelons a gap of 1.5km between it and 19th Army's 244th Division was being covered by a single reconnaissance platoon. This Army, now led by Lt. Gen. M. F. Lukin, was relying on 30th Army to cover the boundary; his 244th was spread along a 13km-wide sector. This gap included good terrain for tanks and the breach of the Soviet lines was quickly expanded to the left and right. By the end of this first day the German forces had penetrated the defenses of the first echelon divisions at the inter-army boundary up to 15km in depth, and Konev was demanding that Khomenko restore the situation. At 1630 hours the latter issued his own order which stated in part:

2. The 251st Rifle Division – leaving up to one regiment on the Efremovo, Bogoliubovo front as cover and stubbornly defending the crossing on the Rekon' River, with its main forces in cooperation with the 162nd Rifle Division is to attack in the Lukashevo, Krapivnia direction.

The two divisions were to destroy the German units that had broken through, prevent further expansion of their lodgements, and restore the positions of the 162nd. Not only were these orders unrealistic, but the commitment of the 251st and 107th Motorized was delayed and piecemeal. Not only did the counterattack fail but the line of defense along the Vop River could not be held, and the Army's left flank divisions began to retreat to the east.^[19][20]

Konev resolved to stage a counterstroke against the penetration using Front reserves along with the 30th Army from the north and 19th Army from the south. The reserve commander, Lt. Gen. I. V. Boldin, ordered the formation of an operational group "to liquidate the enemy breakthrough on the Kaniutino axis and restore the 30th Army's position." The bulk of this force was located as far as 55km from the breakthrough area. Boldin's Group was largely intercepted by advancing German forces long before reaching its assembly areas. Meanwhile, the chief of the Vyazma garrison had reported at 0645 that 30th Army's headquarters had no contact with either the 251st or 162nd Divisions, although the 720th Rifle Regiment was believed to be in the Igorevskaya area.^[21]

The situation on the Bely axis deteriorated further after the failure of 30th Army's counterattack. The town fell on October 4, at which point 3rd Panzer Group pivoted to the east. The gap between 30th and 19th Armies was now as much as 40km wide. The main German encirclement was closed on October 7 near Vyazma, while the 251st, 162nd and 242nd Divisions were also pocketed separately east of Bely and north of Sychyovka. These passed to the control of 31st Army as 30th Army headquarters went into reserve. By October 9 an unknown number of men (described as "fragments") of the 162nd had been assembled near Barkovo, some 20km northwest of Rzhev.^[22]

As of October 10 the remnants of the 242nd, 162nd, and part of the 251st remained encircled by the German 6th and 110th Infantry Divisions west of the Rzhev–Vyazma road. Already, the 9th Army was so overstretched that it could not spare the manpower to mop up the pocket, which was simply surrounded by a thin cordon of detachments from various infantry divisions. After holding out for 15 days, the three divisions staged a successful breakout to the north on October 27, and reached the lines of 29th Army before the end of the month, covering some 75km and causing damage and confusion in the German rear.^[23] By the beginning of November the 162nd had returned to 30th Army, which was now part of Kalinin Front,^[24] but during the month it was broken up to provide replacements for other divisions.^[25] Colonel Kolkunov left his position on December 3, and the division was officially written off on December 27.

The 434th Rifle Division began forming in December 1941 at Verkhny Ufaley, Chelyabinsk Oblast, in the Ural Military District. In January 1942 it was redesignated as the new 162nd Rifle Division.^[26] At this time its personnel were noted as being 70 percent Russian, 20 percent Ukrainian, and 10 percent other nationalities.^[27] Its order of battle was very similar to that of the 1st formation:

• 501st Rifle Regiment
• 627th Rifle Regiment
• 720th Rifle Regiment
• 605th Artillery Regiment^[28]
• 141st Antitank Battalion
• 136th Antiaircraft Battery
• 129th Mortar Battalion
• 241st Reconnaissance Company
• 187th Sapper Battalion
• 400th Signal Battalion
• 194th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
• 531st Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Platoon
• 3rd Motor Transport Company
• 447th Field Bakery
• 912th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
• 1668th Field Postal Station
• 1039th Field Office of the State Bank

Lt. Col. Mitrofan Ilich Matveev had been appointed to command on December 1, 1941, would be promoted to full colonel on January 15, 1942, and would remain in this post for the duration of the 2nd formation. The division remained in the Urals, forming and training, into March, when it was assigned to 28th Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command.^[29] Moving west by rail it entered the active front on April 10.

28th Army, under command of Lt. Gen. D. I. Ryabyshev, also contained the 13th Guards, 38th, 175th, 169th, and 244th Rifle Divisions, plus a cavalry corps and four tank brigades.^[30]

Marshal S. K. Timoshenko, who now commanded Southwestern Front, planned a new offensive to liberate Kharkiv with two shock groups. 28th Army formed the center of the northern group, with 21st Army to its north and 38th Army to its south. Ryabyshev's Army, located northeast of the city and with the bulk of the armor support, was expected to lead the advance. The 162nd, with the 38th, 6th Guards Tank Brigade, and the cavalry, formed the Army reserve and were deep in second echelon, with the 162nd and 6th Guards well east of Staryi Saltiv. The offensive opened at 0630 hours on May 12 with a 60-minute artillery preparation, followed by a 15-20 minute air attack against front line strongpoints and artillery positions. The first echelon infantry and tanks went over to the attack at 0730, but many German positions remained intact. In the event, 28th Army gained only 2–4km in heavy fighting through the day.^[31]

Overnight, the commander of Army Group South released the 23rd Panzer Division plus two infantry divisions to its 6th Army to join the depleted 3rd Panzer Division as a counterattack force. When combat resumed on the morning of May 13 Ryabyshev decided to develop the offensive on his left flank, taking advantage of the gains made by 38th Army the day before. Late in the day the 38th Division was ordered forward to maintain the encirclement of Ternovaya while the 175th and 169th Divisions continued to advance to the west. By the middle of the day disconcerting intelligence reports were reaching Ryabyshev about large concentrations of German armor and infantry massing east of Kharkiv. Early in the afternoon the German grouping struck 38th Army, and 13th Guards was ordered to form a defense facing south. During the night of May 13/14 the 162nd moved up to the east bank of the Northern Donets River and began crossing in the Verkhny Saltiv area.^[32]

Under the impact of the German counterattack against the left flank of 28th Army and 38th Army, on the morning of May 14 the 162nd and 6th Guards Tanks were seconded to the latter, which was under command of Maj. Gen. K. S. Moskalenko, and continued moving up to the front lines. Timoshenko moved the 277th Rifle Division from Front reserves to replace the division in 28th Army's second echelon, although it wasn't expected to arrive until May 17. In the early afternoon of May 15 Moskalenko's chief of staff reported to Front headquarters that the two panzer divisions, with infantry support, had renewed their attack. By day's end, however, this was halted due to casualties, including up to 50 tanks. Late in the day the 162nd was returned to Ryabyshev to reinforce his left flank and take up the defense of Peremoga–Gordienko sector.^[33]

On May 16, Timoshenko issued his Order No. 00317 which assigned new missions to the forces of 28th Army. Specifically, the three divisions on the left flank (13th Guards, 162nd, and 244th) were to strike in the direction of Hill 205 in order to disrupt the German forces that had penetrated to that point. Matveev's troops were given the leading role in this effort, supported by 6th Guards Tanks, one regiment of the 244th, and one regiment of the 38th Division. Among other issues this order ignored the fact that one regiment of the 244th was encircled at Ternovaya by 3rd Panzer and was being destroyed after the division had been routed. During May 17 Ryabyshev was forced to scramble to fill the gap left by the 244th; under the circumstances Matveev didn't receive any of the promised support. Nevertheless he went over to the attack from positions between Hill 218.6 and Peremoga, hitting the flank of 3rd Panzer and its supporting infantry. A group of tanks counterattacked from the Ternovaya area to hit the rear of the 162nd, but these in turn came under heavy fire from Soviet tanks and the antitank guns of 6th Guards Cavalry Division and forced to retreat after heavy losses. By this time the Front's southern shock group, and indeed all the Soviet forces in the Izium salient, were in danger of encirclement and destruction due to the counteroffensive launched the same day by 1st Panzer Army in the area of Barvinkove.^[34]

Overnight the 244th was sent to the rear; it would be disbanded within a few months. The ground between the 162nd and 169th was now held only by units of 5th Guards Cavalry Division. Captured documents now convinced Timoshenko that the two panzer divisions would change their attack axis to the southeast in an effort to link up with 1st Panzer Army. In order to prevent this he ordered the 28th and 38th Armies to continue offensive operations on May 18 with all available forces; 28th Army would be led by the 162nd supported by the 58th Tank Brigade. Despite the danger to the forces of Southwestern and Southern Fronts in the Barvinkove salient, Stalin refused to abandon the offensive on Kharkiv. 38th Army began its attack at 0700 hours, but due to organizational difficulties 28th Army did not get underway until 1130. The 169th Division was nailed down by air attacks. The 162nd made an initially successful advance, taking the area south of Vesele by 1600, but the inactivity of the 169th allowed the German forces to concentrate up to a regiment of infantry and some 45 tanks near the area without interference for a counterattack that began at 1900 against the division's flank and rear, forcing it back to its start line. Meanwhile, the shift of German forces allowed 38th Division to again encircle Ternovaya.^[35]

On May 19, 28th Army again went over to the attack at 0930 hours, as did the 38th Army, but with no greater success than the day before. In the afternoon in the 21st Army's sector the 168th Infantry Division struck the 293rd Rifle Division and drove it back from Murom. This forced General Ryabyshev to commit scant reserves to cover his flank and rear. Meanwhile, 3rd Panzer was indeed on the move, but contrary to Timoshenko's understanding it had moved through Lyptsi and was concentrating, along with the 57th Infantry Division, to the northwest of the main body of the 175th Division. Unaware of this, Ryabyshev ordered all his forces, except the 175th, to go over to the attack again at first light on May 20. The advance was initially successful until it ran into the positions of 23rd Panzer near Vesele. At noon a German counterattack was launched against the 175th and 169th. Under pressure of armor, and almost continuous air attacks, the two divisions began to withdraw to the east, uncovering the flank of 21st Army's 227th Rifle Division to the north. By the end of the day all the units along the boundary flanks of the two Armies had been forced back 10-15km with heavy losses. The northern shock group was now along a line from Murom to Ternovaya and then south along the west bank of the Bolshaya Babka River.^[36]

Having attained this success, 6th Army did not press the offensive on this sector, but instead began to withdraw the two panzer divisions back to Lyptsi as a preliminary to redeployment toward the Barvinkove salient, where the Soviet situation was going from bad to worse. During the following days the 21st, 28th, and 38th Armies were limited to local attacks to improve positions. Timoshenko soon ordered the 169th, 175th and 227th withdrawn from the front for rebuilding, along with all the tank brigades that had supported the northern shock group; as the 162nd had been committed late it had not suffered such heavy losses and remained in the front line. On the afternoon of May 22 the encirclement of the southern shock group and two armies of Southern Front was completed, and these forces were reduced and largely destroyed by the end of the month.^[37]

By the beginning of June the division had been transferred to 38th Army, still in Southwestern Front.^[38] As a preliminary to Army Group South's summer offensive its 6th Army launched Operation Wilhelm on June 10 in order to gain positions on the east bank of the Northern Donets. The offensive primarily aimed at 28th Army to the north of the 38th, but the III Motorized Corps planned its breakthrough on the sector of the 38th's 277th Division. The Army was attempting to defend a 60km-wide sector from east of Chuhuiv to west of Izium with five divisions in the first echelon and two (the 242nd and 162nd) in reserve. III Corps punched through the Army's defenses in 24 hours before pushing north toward Velikie Burluk. The 168th Tank Brigade counterattacked the German left flank which opened an escape hatch for many fugitive of 28th and 38th Armies. This had been planned as part of a larger effort involving the 162nd and 278th Rifle Divisions, with four more tank brigades, but this failed due to lack of command and control and the 162nd suffered significant losses. By nightfall on June 15 the German pincers had met, and while 24,800 prisoners were taken, mostly from 28th Army, this was a smaller haul than expected.^[39]

On June 22 the 1st Panzer and 6th Armies launched Operation Fridericus II as a further preliminary offensive, this one much more directly aimed at 38th Army. The III Motorized Corps aimed at the boundary between the 242nd and the 162nd to its south in planning its drive on Kupiansk on the Oskil River. The Corps linked up with XXXXIV Army Corps by late afternoon on June 24 and the division was one of four to be encircled, along with the 199th, 278th, and 304th, and its remaining men were forced to attempt to slip through German lines while fighting continued for Kupiansk. Again, the total of prisoners taken was under the German expectations.^[40]

On July 6, the XXXX Panzer Corps of 6th Army launched an advance to the south which quickly covered 25km, almost halfway to Rossosh, but soon ran short of fuel. Despite this, a battle group of 3rd Panzer managed to seize the town at dawn the next day, which unhinged Southwestern Front's defenses. Timoshenko received permission from the STAVKA to withdraw 38th Army from its exposed positions. General Moskalenko later wrote in his memoirs:

Twenty-four hours after receipt of the order concerning 38th Army's withdrawal, it was withdrawn to that line [35-40km east of the Oskil]. However, by this time, the situation had once again changed, again for the worse.

On July 8 the XXXX Panzer Corps continued its southward advance with 100 tanks. This deep thrust threatened to envelop both 38th and 28th Armies, as well as many rear service elements of the Front.^[41]

Advancing headlong, XXXX Panzer reached the crossings over the Kalitva River, preempting a special combat group that 28th Army had formed to defend them, and in the process creating an even wider gap between that Army and the 38th. On July 8, the XXXX Panzer dispatched its three divisions, – which Moskalenko believed had a total of 300 tanks – southward into the gap toward Kantemirovka. Moskalenko requested permission to withdraw his forces farther east to the Aidar River, while a portion of his Army covered 28th Army's eastward escape. Timoshenko approved the latter but turned down the former. Moskalenko now formed a combat group consisting of the 304th, 199th, and 9th Guards Rifle Divisions, plus the 3rd Tank Brigade, and sent it northeast to form a protective screen between Rovenky and Kantemirovka. However, early on July 9 the panzers drove into the latter before the combat group could reach it.^[42]

The day before, a second large German axe had begun to fall on 38th Army, and indeed on the entire Southwestern Front. The commander of Army Group South, Field Marshal F. von Bock, realizing that 38th and 9th Armies were beginning to withdraw, authorized the infantry forces on 1st Panzer Army's right wing and center to advance across the Oskil and then eastward along the Northern Donets in pursuit. The XI and XXXXIV Corps soon advanced 10-15km eastward and reached the approaches to the Krasnaya River. The XIV Panzer Corps also attacked at dawn on July 9. Faced with mounting threats on both of his flanks, Moskalenko sent an urgent message to Timoshenko and the STAVKA, requesting they approve his further withdrawal. This was refused. To a further message at 1600 hours he got no reply due to a communications failure, so at 2000 he issued withdrawal orders on his own authority.^[43]

In order to escape the Army's forces would have to cross a broad corridor carved out by XXXX Panzer Corps, which would prove impossible for most formed units, although many small groups and individuals had greater luck. Most of the Army was trapped between the Aidar and the Chertkovo Rivers. German intelligence identified the 162nd as part of the "bag",^[44] and while this was exaggerated in a few other cases the division was, in fact, officially disbanded on July 24.^[45] Colonel Matveev almost immediately took over command of the 333rd Rifle Division, ended the war leading the 92nd Guards Rifle Division, and was promoted to the rank of major general on July 11, 1945.

The Central Asian Rifle Division of the NKVD began forming on November 15. This would become the 3rd formation of the 162nd.^[46] Its order of battle was almost completely different from the previous formations:

• 194th "Tashkent" Rifle Regiment
• 209th "Zaisan" Rifle Regiment
• 224th "Pamirsk" Rifle Regiment
• 369th Artillery Regiment^[47]
• 85th Antitank Battalion
• 61st Reconnaissance Company
• 22nd Sapper Battalion
• 548th Signal Battalion (later 654th Signal Company)
• 79th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
• 20th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Platoon (later 531st)
• 330th Motor Transport Company
• 56th Field Bakery
• 11th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
• 2288th Field Postal Station
• 1829th Field Office of the State Bank

It was under command of NKVD Col. Sergei Mikhailovich Tarasov from November 15-24, who was then replaced by Col. Sergei Yakovlevich Senchillo. He was a Red Army officer who had previously led the 174th and 362nd Rifle Divisions. He would be promoted to the rank of major general on December 20. The personnel were largely NKVD border guards of Turkmen, Uzbek, and Kazakh nationalities.^[48] The division moved to Red Army command in the first days of February 1943 under the terms of this decree issued by Marshal G. K. Zhukov:

"The Stavka of the Supreme High Command orders:

1. Name the Separate Army formed by the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR, consisting of six rifle divisions, with separate reinforcing and support units, the 70th Army and include it in the Red Army on 1 February.
2. Give the formations of the 70th Army the following designations:

• The 102nd Far Eastern Rifle Division,
• The 106th Trans-Baikal Rifle Division,
• The 140th Siberian Rifle Division,
• The 162nd Central Asian Rifle Division,
• The 175th Ural Rifle Division,
• The 181st Stalingrad Rifle Division

3. Determine the numbering and table of organization and composition of the units of 70th Army in accordance with the instructions of the Chief of the Red Army Glavupraform."

The 162nd had already loaded aboard trains and was moving west.^[49]

70th Army was assigned to the re-deploying Don Front (soon re-designated Central Front) under command of Col. Gen. K. K. Rokossovskii. It was some time before Rokossovskii could knock it into shape as a front-line formation, forcing him to remove many senior, ex-NKVD officers.^[50] Rokossovskii had received detailed instructions from the STAVKA early on February 6, directing him to, among other things, concentrate 70th Army's units by February 14 in the Volovo, Dolgorukovo, and Livny areas as they arrived and then send them send them off in the wake of the Front's first echelon. In the event, this deployment schedule was impossible to meet, due to shortages of rolling stock, damage to the rails themselves, and winter weather, so the start of Central Front's offensive was postponed until February 25.^[51]

At the same time, Rokossovskii made changes in his operational plan. In the first phase, Central Front would break through the German line from Nikolskoe to Karmanovo to Mashkino to Olshanka with the objective of reaching the rail line from Bryansk to Konotop. After this, the axis of the attack would be toward Sevsk and Unecha Station to cut the line from Bryansk to Gomel. This first phase would require covering up to 250km through deep snow and with a paucity of roads. 70th Army would join in the second phase, with the objective of capturing Mogilev by March 28 after concentrating in the Kursk area on February 23. These ambitious objectives proved well beyond the Army's capabilities. On February 24 Rokossovskii's chief of operations reported, in part, that the Army had largely completed unloading and was proceeding on two march routes, with the 175th, 162nd and 106th approaching Kolpny with the rear of the column passing through Livny. He also reported that each division contained 9,000-11,000 personnel, but up to 75 percent of authorized horses were missing, and there were no tractors at all for the 122mm howitzers in the artillery regiments, so they had to remain where they had been unloaded.^[52]

• Grylev, A. N. (1970). Перечень № 5. Стрелковых, горнострелковых, мотострелковых и моторизованных дивизии, входивших в состав Действующей армии в годы Великой Отечественной войны 1941-1945 гг [List (Perechen) No. 5: Rifle, Mountain Rifle, Motor Rifle and Motorized divisions, part of the active army during the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. p. 80
• Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1964). Командование корпусного и дивизионного звена советских вооруженных сил периода Великой Отечественной войны 1941–1945 гг [Commanders of Corps and Divisions in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Frunze Military Academy. p. 182

• Mitrofan Ilich Matveev
• Sergei Mikhailovich Tarasov
• Sergei Yakovlevich Senchillo
• Stepan Ivanovich Chernyak