32nd Guards Rifle Division

In May 1942, as a result of failures on the Crimean front, the plans of the Soviet command to conduct an airborne operation in the Crimea were canceled. The 2nd Airborne Corps, deployed to Taman on May 25, 1942, was reorganized into the 32nd Guards Rifle Division under the command of the Guard Colonel M.F. Tikhonov. At the same time, the airborne brigades were reorganized into the guards rifle regiments of the division.

In May - June 1942, the 32nd Guards Rifle Division defended the Taman Peninsula . In connection with the dire situation near Sevastopol, a landing operation on the Kerch Peninsula was developed:

June 19, 1942. To include in the composition of the landing group: in the first echelon - 32 guards. sd and three battalions of the marine corps of the Black Sea Fleet; in the second echelon - 66, 154th marine rigs. and 103 sb. Transportation of the 66th marine rig from the Karelian front and the 154th marine rig. from the North-Western Front will be launched 06/20/1942

- Headquarters

By June 26, the 32nd Guards Rifle Division was concentrated on the northern shore of the Taman Peninsula, in the region of Peresyp, Akhtanizovskaya, where it was preparing for the landing . The regiments of the division conducted landing exercises on June 26-30, practiced landing on ships. However, on July 1, the landing was canceled. Parts of the division again marched into the southern part of Taman to take up coastal defense against enemy landing.

On August 10, a categorical order came from the Headquarters to the front commander:

In connection with the situation, the most basic and dangerous for the North Caucasus Front and the Black Sea coast at the moment is the direction from Maykop to Tuapse. The enemy’s exit to the Tuapse region and the 47th Army and all front troops located in the Krasnodar region will be cut off and captured. Immediately transfer from the 47th Army the 32nd Guards Rifle Division (Colonel M. T. Tikhonov) and occupy it together with the 236th Rifle Division (Colonel G. N. Korchikov) in three - four lines in depth from Maykop to Tuapse, and in no case, under your personal responsibility, do not miss the enemy to Tuapse.

On August 22, the division advances to positions with a center near the Khadyzhenskaya station. The first onslaught of the enemy on Tuapse can be repulsed, and the fighting takes on a local character until September 25th.

September 25, 1942 German troops again went on the offensive from the Khadyzhenskaya region to Shaumyan and Tuapse. The 32nd Guards Rifle Division of the 18th Army restrained the onslaught of the enemy on this site. When in this direction the German troops could not go deeper into our defense, the German command decided to change the direction of the strike to the east and with the forces of the Lants division group enter the rear of the 18th Army. By October 5, the Germans managed to break through our defenses in several places, advance deep into our defenses and take control of the Opleplen, Gunay, Geyman mountains, going to the valley of the Gunayka River. A real threat of capture looms over Tuapse.

On October 15, 1942, the enemy went to the southern outskirts of Shaumyan and to the Pshish river valley - an important natural line of defense on the outskirts of Tuapse, which greatly complicated the situation in the Tuapse direction. The division was between two enemy groups. On October 16, the enemy occupied Navaginskaya and entered the division’s defense sector. On October 17, Shaumyan was captured, and a battle ensued for the Elisavetpol Pass. Reflecting the enemy offensive from the side of Navaginskaya, the division entered into fierce battles with him on mountain trails and roads, on wooded mountain peaks, in deep gorges and valleys. Only the onset of night gave our soldiers a short respite in the cold and humidity penetrating the body.

On October 20, the enemy squeezed out the units defending on the Elisavetpol Pass and captured it. By the end of the day, the division, having in its second echelon the 82nd Guards Rifle Regiment in the area of ​​490.7, took up defense at the Saray Gora – Tuk River valley — 1.5–2 kilometers east of Mount Sedlo captured by the enemy. In this situation, the left flank of the Soviet troops could not be stable.

In the morning of October 21 on the Saddle Mountain, counterattacks of the division began in cooperation with units of the 119th Infantry Brigade and 328th Infantry Division. By 12 o’clock the battalion of the 229th Nazi infantry regiment, which occupied the mountain, was destroyed. Our troops firmly occupied the defense: on the right - the 119th Infantry, on the left - the 68th Infantry Brigade. The task was set for the troops - to prevent the enemy from breaking through the Navaginskaya area and the Elisavetpolsky pass to the west and southwest.

By October 23, the advanced units of the enemy approached the Goitkh pass and the northeastern slopes of the Kamenistaya, Semashkho, and Two Brothers mountains. From the peaks overlooking the Black Sea coast and Tuapse, which remained about 20 kilometers. These mountains were the last frontier where it was necessary to stop the enemy.

As a result of the counterattack that began on October 25, the troops of the Black Sea Group cleared several tactically important valleys and heights from the Nazis and drove the enemy five to six kilometers to the north. In these battles, the fighters and commanders of the 83rd Rifle Brigade of the Marine Corps, the 32nd Guards Rifle Division, the 119th Rifle Brigade, the 12th Guards Cavalry Division, the 40th Motorized Rifle Brigade, the 31st Rifle Division and other units fought bravely in these battles. and parts. However, German troops have not yet abandoned the attempt to capture Tuapse.

In mid-November, the enemy again created an attack force in the area north of the Pshish River to break through our defenses. This time, he struck through Mount Semashkho in the village of Georgievsky, located just 16 kilometers northeast of the city. After fierce fighting, the Germans occupied the southern slopes of the mountains of Turkey, Semashkho, Two Brothers and Kamenistaya. But, wedging in certain areas of our defense, the enemy himself put himself at a disadvantage, finding himself in a semicircle of encirclement. On November 26, the troops of the Black Sea Group again launched a counterattack. The Nazis fiercely resisted. By December 20, units and formations of the Black Sea Group of Forces surrounded and completely defeated the Semash group of the enemy and reached the valley of the Pshish River. On this, the Germans finally abandoned the idea of ​​the capture of Tuapse. The Tuapse defensive operation ended, which played an important role in the 1942 summer campaign.

Having suffered losses of personnel and materiel in fierce and bloody battles, the division crushed parts of the 101st and 97th light infantry and 46th infantry divisions of the enemy, the 500th battalion (penalty) of the legion and other units. On December 13, 1942, by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and received the name of the 32nd Guards Red Banner Rifle Division.

On January 3, the division received an order: "To hand over our defense sector to the 236th Infantry Division and concentrate in a combined march in the Tuapse region." The division was transferred to the 56th Army lane.

On February 5, 1943, a division of the 56th Army went on the offensive and attacked Lakshukai. However, due to the fierce resistance of the enemy, the units of the division managed to advance only slightly.

04.4.43 the former commander of the 32th Guards. With the Guard, Colonel Tkachuk informed Commander 56 that units of the division had taken possession of a section of the railway east of Krymskaya and reached 14.7. Verification of this fact found that the division, approaching the embankment, met enemy fire and lay down. Instead of honestly recognizing the position of the division, Colonel Tkachuk took the path of lies .

- Directive of the Commander of the Front Forces No. 005 “On Deficiencies in Offensive Operations of the Troops,” dated May 6, 1943

Since September 26, 1943, participating in the Melitopol and Kerch-Eltigen operations, units of the division are landing on the Kerch bridgehead. On November 5, 1943, a division of the 11th Guards Rifle Corps of the 56th Army , repelling six enemy counterattacks and breaking its resistance, occupied Ossovins, Bucks, Dzhankoy, Yenikale.

Subsequently, the division as part of the Separate Primorye Army took part in the battles to liberate the Crimean peninsula, stormed the Sapun-mount near Sevastopol on May 7 - 9, 1944, and then entered the battles of Sevastopol. On May 10, 1944, Moscow saluted the liberators of the Crimea with volleys of 324 guns. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 24, 1944, the 32nd Guards Rifle Division was awarded the Order of Suvorov, II degree, and all its regiments received the honorary name of the Sevastopol.

In May 1944, the division was transferred to the 2nd Guards Army , and its personnel finally received a slight respite - the army was redeployed to the area of ​​Dorogobuzh, Yelnya and from May 20 was in the reserve of the Supreme Command .

However, already in July 1944, army troops were introduced into the 1st Baltic Front and during the Šiauliai offensive operation repelled the enemy’s counterattacks to the west and northwest of Šiauliai, and in October 1944 they participated in the Memel offensive operation.

On December 20, 1944, the army was reassigned to the 3rd Belorussian Front, and from mid-January its troops, breaking through the enemy’s long-term defenses in East Prussia , blocked Koenigsberg from the south-west.

Then, as part of the 3rd Belorussian Front, she participated in the East Prussian offensive operation. After the capture of the city of Koenigsberg on April 11, 1945, the division’s soldiers began to liquidate the remaining encircled enemy Zemland group. In the second half of April, the war for the 3rd Belorussian Front ended with the complete and successful elimination of the entire East Prussian enemy group.

• control
• 80th Guards Rifle Regiment
• 82nd Guards Rifle Regiment
• 85th Guards Rifle Regiment
• 58th Guards Artillery Regiment
• 30th separate guards anti-tank fighter division
• 28th guards anti-aircraft battery (until 25.4.43 g.)
• 11th Guards Mortar Division (until 10/20/42)
• 29th Separate Guards Reconnaissance Company
• 34th Separate Guards Engineer Battalion
• 39th Separate Guard Communications Battalion
• 402nd (27th) Health Battalion
• 25th Separate Guards Chemical Defense Company
• 581st (44th) motor transport company
• 529th (43rd) Division Veterinary Hospital
• 587th (26th) field bakery
• 1915th Field Post Station
• The 1760th box office of the State Bank.

The combat period : 05/25/1942 - 05/09/1945

• 06/01/1942 - 09/01/1942 - 47th Army of the North Caucasus
• 10/01/1942 - 01/01/1943 - 18th army of ZakF
• 02/01/1943 - 56th Army of ZakF
• 04/01/1943 - 22nd rifle corps of the SevKF
• 05/01/1943 - 05/09/1945 - 11th Guards Rifle Corps

Guards formation commanded by:

•   M.F. Tikhonov (05.25.1942 - 03.03.1943)
•   A.A. Luchinsky (03/06/1943 - 03/18/1943)
• A.T. Tkachuk (03/19/1943 - 05/02/1943)
•   G. T. Vasilenko (05/07/1943 - 01/20/1944)
• N.K. Zakurenkov (until the end of the war)

...

• I.Z. Pashkov (May - July 1946)

• Honorary title - Guards - May 25, 1942  
•   December 13, 1942, Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR
•   May 24, 1944, Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR ^[3]
• The honorary name - "Taman" - for military services during the liberation of the Taman Peninsula.

•   Andreev, Vasily Apollonovich , guard junior sergeant, machine gunner of the 82nd Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Andreev, Mikhail Aleksandrovich , guards senior lieutenant, commander of a machine gun company of the 82nd Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Bibilashvili, Alexander Nikolaevich , guard captain, battalion commander of the 80th Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Burmistrov Konstantin Ivanovich , guard foreman, commander of the 82nd Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Butsalo, Vasily Filippovich , guards senior sergeant, commander of the 82nd Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Volostnov, Nikolai Dmitrievich , guard sergeant, commander of the calculation of the machine gun of the 82nd Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Grebenyuk, Yevtey Moiseevich , guards senior sergeant, assistant platoon commander of the 85th Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Evtushenko, Alexey Evtikhievich , guards senior sergeant, calculation commander of the 76-mm guns of the 80th Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Zhukov, Vasily Frolovich , guard lieutenant, company commander of the 82nd Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Zakurenkov, Nikolai Kuzmich , guards major general, division commander.
•   Kalabun, Valentin Vasilyevich , guards senior sergeant, scout of the 80th Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Kolesnikov, Fedor Fedoseevich , Private Guards, sapper 82 Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Kopylov Vasily Ivanovich , guard junior sergeant, commander of the foot reconnaissance platoon department of the 85th Guards Rifle Regiment.
•   Novitsky Nikolai Mikhailovich , commander of the ammunition department of the 82nd Guards Rifle Regiment
•   Periev, Alif Turikhanovich , Guard Sergeant, Commander of the 80th Guards Rifle Regiment
•   Ryzhenkin Ivan Semenovich , guard foreman, calculation commander of the 82-mm mortar of the infantry battalion of the 82nd guards rifle regiment
•   Sinenko Vasily Dmitrievich , guards senior sergeant, machine gunner of the 82nd Guards Rifle Regiment
•   Tolstukhin, Nikolai Ivanovich , guard lieutenant colonel, commander of the 85th guards rifle regiment.
•   Yurkin Ivan Trofimovich , senior adjutant of the battalion of the 85th Guards Rifle Regiment

• Zakurenkov N.K. Thirty-second Guards: combat path of the 32nd Guards Rifle Taman Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Division. The military. Publishing House, 1978.
• Cavaliers of the Order of Glory of three degrees. A Brief Biographical Dictionary - M.: Military Publishing House, 2000.

• https://web.archive.org/web/20180416045854/http://myfront.in.ua/
• 32nd Guards Rifle Division
• The main stages of the history of 32 guards. sd