223rd Rifle Division
WW2 Soviet Red Army formation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 223rd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as one of the first reserve rifle divisions following the German invasion of the USSR. This first formation had a short and disastrous combat career; after arriving at the front in Ukraine in the first days of August it was immediately encircled and destroyed in the Uman Pocket.
223rd Rifle Division | |
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Active | 1941–1945 |
Country | Soviet Union |
Branch | Red Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Engagements | Operation Barbarossa Battle of Uman Battle of the Caucasus Donbas strategic offensive (August 1943) Battle of the Dniepr Kirovograd offensive Nikopol–Krivoi Rog offensive Uman–Botoșani offensive First Jassy–Kishinev offensive Second Jassy–Kishinev offensive Belgrade offensive Budapest offensive Siege of Budapest Operation Konrad Operation Spring Awakening Vienna offensive Bratislava–Brno offensive |
Decorations | Order of the Red Banner (2nd Formation) |
Battle honours | Belgrade (2nd Formation) |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Maj. Gen. Fyodor Grigorevich Filippov Col. Vladimir Filippovich Romanov Maj. Gen. Vladimir Pavlovich Zyuvanov Col. Nikolai Nikolaevich Shkodunovich Maj. Gen. Mikhail Afanasevich Sukhanov Col. Pyotr Mikhailovich Tatarchevskii Col. Akhnav Gainutdinovich Sagitov |
A new 223rd began forming in October 1941 as an Azerbaijani national division in the Transcaucasian Military District. In common with most divisions made up of Caucasian peoples it remained in the rear until that region was directly threatened by the German advance in the summer of 1942. It joined the fighting as part of 44th Army and defended along the Terek River until the German offensive ran out of steam just west of Ordzhonikidze. During December and January the division took part in the pursuit of Army Group A as it retreated into the Taman Peninsula. In March it was moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and was redeployed to Southwestern Front facing German positions in the Donbas. Over the next 13 months the 223rd advanced through the southern Ukraine and into Moldova as part of 3rd Ukrainian Front, mostly within 57th Army. Following the defeat of Romania in August 1944 it advanced into Yugoslavia, winning a battle honor for the liberation of Belgrade and then fighting in cooperation with Tito's Yugoslav partisans. During the campaign in Hungary it helped to secure the outer ring of encirclement around Budapest against Axis counteroffensives, and in the spring of 1945 joined in the final advance into Austria and Czechoslovakia, winning the Order of the Red Banner in the process. After the German surrender it became part of the Southern Group of Forces briefly before being disbanded before November.