23rd Panzer Division (USSR)

The division was formed in Libau since February 1941. The management was mainly formed on the basis of the management of the 22nd light tank and 8th motorized rifle brigades and part of the personnel of the management of the 4th light tank brigade. The 22nd light tank brigade served as the basis for the formation of tank regiments. The motorized rifle regiment is formed from machine-gun and rifle-machine gun battalions of the 8th motorized rifle brigade, the artillery regiment is based on the 572nd artillery regiment of the 8th motorized machine-gun-artillery brigade.

As part of the army during the Second World War from June 22, 1941 to August 16, 1941.

On June 22, 1941, it was deployed in Libau , having 350 T-26s , 17 Vickers tanks , 2 wedges, 9 flamethrower tanks, 3 T-26 tractors, 5 BA-10 , 15 BA-20

Since June 19, 1941, it has secretly relocated from Libava and concentrated by June 22, 1941 north of Telsiai in the Kurtuvena region. By noon on June 22, 1941, the division received an order for operational subordination to the 10th Rifle Corps and an immediate advance in the direction of Plunge , Kulyai, with the aim of restoring the position of the 204th Rifle Regiment of the 10th Rifle Division . After completing the mission, the division was to assemble in the area of Tveray , Upinas .

A division from the Tirkshiyai region, Seda, went to Plunge, where the advanced units entered the battle . However, the presence of the division in that place was not entirely necessary, since parts of the 10th Infantry Division independently were able to restore the situation to one degree or another. On June 23, 1941, the division received an order to move to Tveray , from where at 4-00 to strike at the flank of the parts of the 41st motorized corps . However, apparently, the division got stuck in the battles near Plunge and it took a while to get out of the battle, so the division just started the march around 13-00. At the crossing, the column of the division was hit by the 61st Infantry Division , the rear located at the rear of the column was surrounded, so that parts of the 46th Tank Regiment were deployed and attacked the German units , thereby rescuing their units, but wasting time. In the evening of June 23, 1941, the division approached Laukuva and from there at 22-00 struck the German units, taking them to flight and for some time pursuing the forces of the 45th tank regiment, while losing 13 tanks plus losing 13 tanks on the march.

On June 24, 1941, the division moved to the area north of Varniai . On June 25, 1941, the division, at first by order of the army commander received through the commander of the 10th Rifle Corps, began to withdraw, but then was forced to return by the belated order of the commander of the 12th Mechanized Corps . Participated in a counterattack on enemy troops , suffered heavy losses, so only the 46th tank regiment lost about 60% of the tanks.

On June 26, 1941, the division departed, covering also the troops of the 10th Rifle Corps, which had withdrawn to the border of the Varna River. On June 27, 1941, she received an order to immediately withdraw the division forces to Riga, crossed the Daugava, and by June 29, 1941, concentrated part of the forces in Erglie, leaving some of the tanks at the disposal of the 10th Rifle Corps, and having only 30 tanks. Then the division retreated to the Island , having participated in one battle of the 45th tank regiment in the battles for Daugavpils .

On July 4, 1941, the division included 10 tanks and 150 people, was on the Ostrov- Pskov highway, and on July 5, 1941 their battles should have been withdrawn by order, but on July 7, 1941 the German units overthrew the Soviet troops and rushed to ferries on the river Cherekh . The remnants of the division were detained along with the 3rd motorized rifle regiment of the 3rd tank division and the rifle battalion. 118th Infantry Division put on the defense of the crossings. On the evening of July 7, 1941, the tanks of the division entered into battle with the tanks of the 1st Panzer Division . On the morning of July 8, 1941, German units crossed the river and reached the southern outskirts of Pskov, where the remnants of the division retreated and on the same day the division left the city through the northern outskirts. Only two serviceable tanks remained in the division (besides 56 damaged and requiring repair). 144 tanks were lost from enemy fire, 122 for technical reasons, 9 were transferred to other units.

On August 16, 1941, the division was disbanded. On the basis of the tank regiments of the division, on August 25, 1941, the 112th “A” separate tank battalion was formed

23rd Panzer Division

• control
• 45th tank regiment
• 144th tank regiment
• 23rd Motorized Rifle Regiment
• 23rd howitzer artillery regiment
• 23rd reconnaissance battalion
• 23rd separate anti-aircraft artillery division
• 23rd Separate Communications Battalion
• 23rd Motor Battalion
• 23rd repair and restoration battalion
• 23rd pontoon bridge battalion
• 23rd Health Battalion
• 23rd company regulation
• 23rd field car factory
• 365th Field Post Station
• 320th box office of the State Bank

• Colonel Orlenko, Timofey Semenovich (March - August 1941)

• Directory
• Directory

• On the North-Western Front - M.: “Science”, 1969 (World War II in studies, memoirs, documents)