48th Guards Rifle Division

The 48th Guards Rifle Division was transformed from the 264th Rifle Division ^[1] by order of the NPO of the USSR No. 332 of October 20, 1942 ^[2] for the courage shown in battles for the Fatherland with the German invaders, for stamina, courage, discipline and organization, for the heroism of the personnel.

On October 25, 1942, the division was submerged at Shlipovo and Sukhinichi stations and transported by rail to Skuratovo and Gorbachi stations and concentrated in the Sukmanovo region of the Tula region where, until December 20, it held military and political training classes.

On December 17, 1942, the commander of the 3rd Panzer Army, Major General Rybalko handed the Red Banner Guards to the division.

The new numbers were assigned to parts of divisions on December 26, 1942 by directive Glavupraform KA No. Org / 2/788723 dated October 24, 1942, the rifle regiments of the division received new numbers: 1056th - 138, 1058th - 143, 1060th - 146, 825 Artillery Regiment - 98.

On September 14, 1944, the 53rd Separate Guards Fighter-Anti-Tank Division was reorganized into the 53rd Separate Guards Self-propelled Artillery Division, armed with SU-76 ^[3] .

Participation in hostilities

The period of entry into the army: January 1, 1943 - March 31, 1944, May 28, 1944 - September 14, 1944, October 13, 1944 - March 31, 1945, April 20, 1942 - May 11, 1945 ^[4] .

On December 20, 1942, a division consisting of 15 echelons was sent from the stations: Skuratovo , Vypolzovo, Chern . By January 3, 1943, parts of the division, after unloading at the stations: Vorobyovka , Buturlinovka , Kalach , reached the Novaya Makarovka area with three night crossings.

Since January 14, 1943, the division has been participating in battles on the Voronezh Front , in breaking through the enemy’s defense in the Pasyukovo-Vysochanov sector and quickly breaking into the enemy’s defense in Mikhailovka, Olkhovatka, Osadchy, Varvarovka, Budyonny, Livenki, Staraya Vodolaga , Manuilovka, Kamyshevatoe.

Since February 1, 1944, after the surrender of the defensive line north of Lozovatka, the division was in the reserve of the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front and continuously made marches along the route: Korsunovka, Sergeevka, Sofievka, Novo-Vitebsk, Mikhailovka, Apostolovo. On February 17, the division became part of the 34th Rifle Corps and concentrated in the Aleksandrovka area and the village of Rosa Luxemburg. At 9:00 a.m. on February 18, the division launched an offensive, knocking the enemy out of the front line the 143rd Guards Rifle Regiment at 12:00 took Mirolyubovka and dropping the enemy into the Big Krokva beam. On February 20, the 146th and 138th Guards regiments took possession of the Green Town, dropping the enemy to the lake. At 6:00 a.m. on February 21, the 6th assault battalion attached to the division with a battery of 76 mm cannons of the 98th guards artillery regiment, leaving behind enemy lines, passed the Kryvyi Rih Metallurgical Plant . By attack from the southeast, by 8:00, he took control of Chervonaia Station, continuously reflecting the enemy’s counterattacks with a force of 200-300 infantry and 7-8 tanks, managed to maintain position. The division, continuing the offensive after stubborn battles, took possession of the plant, cut the railway Dolgintsevo - Chervonaia station. At 20.00, parts of the division after stubborn street fighting took possession of Sotsgorodk , at 21.00 they launched an attack on Krivoy Rog . At 6.00 parts of the division, bypassing the resistance nodes, dismembered the enemy in the city, breaking his resistance, went to the Saksagan River, at 12.00 crossed it and reached the railway line west of the city. The enemy was thrown out of the city onto the western slopes of the hill of the southern bend of the Ingulets River ^[5] .

From April 26 to May 30, 1944, the division was located in the concentration area north of Novozybkov , where it was replenished with personnel and equipment, and also conducted combat training classes, after which, having completed a 300-kilometer march, the area went south-east of Myslov Rog . On the night of June 20, the division replaced parts of the 44th Infantry Division and the 161st Fortified Area in the Vyunishche area. Since June 24, the division participating in the Bobruisk operation went on the offensive and breaking through the defenses began to pursue the enemy along the Warsaw highway in the direction of Karpilovka, forced the river Tremlya , Ptich , Oressa , Sluch , Moroch , Doe , the upper reaches of the Shchara River, thereby assisting in mastering the important support paragraph Baranovichi . On July 14, the division reached the Yaselda River in the Birch area, where it broke into German defense for three days.

In August 1944, the division fought fierce offensive battles on the western bank of the Western Bug River , northwest of the city of Brest and on the outskirts of Warsaw .

In March 1945, the division carried out fierce offensive battles in East Prussia northwest of Zinten , east and north-east of Heiligenbayl with an enemy pressed against the Frisch Gough .

From April 20 to 23, 1945, the division made a three-hundred-kilometer combined march from the area of ​​the city of Freistadt to the southwestern suburb of Berlin - on the southern shore of the Telt Canal . On April 24, units of the division, dropping the enemy, forced the Telt and fought street battles in the southwestern outskirts of Berlin. During the two-day fierce street battles, the Lichterfelde area was completely cleared of the enemy, and the railway stations Botanishen Garten, LichterFelde West and Sundgauer were captured. From April 26 to 30, despite strong enemy resistance, the division advanced northward and captured the western part of Friedenau , the eastern part of Schmargendorf , Wilmersdorf . Especially fierce battles were in the blocks north of Berlin Strasse in the Wilmersdorf area. Here, parts of the division in extremely difficult conditions, in the fire of burning quarters, broke the enemy’s resistance.

Without stopping the fighting, day and night, by 12 May 2, 1945, the division took control of the Charlottenburg railway station on the right flank, combined with the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front , and the left flank, together with parts of the 20th Rifle Corps advancing from the west, defeated the last group enemy in the northern part of Konstanzer Strasse, Preussen Park.

During the street battles from April 24 to May 2, 1945 in Berlin, the division captured about 1,500 quarters, 7 railway stations, a large number of different plants, inflicted casualties on the enemy dead and wounded - 3,000 soldiers and officers, and captured 950 soldiers and officers.

On May 4, 1945, the division came out of Berlin and, after seven transitions, concentrated in the Ceska Lipa region, where from May 10 to 17 it combed the area and detained prisoners of war.

The new numbering of the units of the division assigned December 26, 1942

• 138th Guards Rifle Regiment ( military unit No. 45868);
• 143rd Guards Rifle Regiment (military unit 48914);
• 146th Guards Rifle Regiment (military unit 38154);
• 98th Guards Artillery Regiment (military unit 45866);
• 53rd Separate Guard Anti-Tank Fighter Division (until 05.09.1944);
• 53rd Separate Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Division (military unit 55324), (from 05.09.1944) ^[6] ;
• 67th guards anti-aircraft battery (until 04.25.1943);
• 58th Guards Machine Gun Battalion (until 01/01/1943);
• separate anti-aircraft machine-gun company (from 05.28.1944);
• separate guards rifle training battalion;
• 47th Guards Reconnaissance Company;
• 53rd Separate Guards Engineer Battalion;
• 74th Separate Guard Communications Battalion;
• 404th (54th) separate health battalion;
• 50th Separate Guards Chemical Defense Company;
• 608th (52nd) motor transport company;
• 591st (49th) field bakery;
• 531st (46th) division veterinary infirmary;
• 1630th field postal station;
• The 1620th box office of the State Bank ^{[7] [4]} .

Submission

The units included in the division were also awarded with awards:

• 138th Guards Rifle Berlin Red Banner Regiment
  • He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by the decree of the PVS of the USSR of August 10, 1944 for exemplary fulfillment of command assignments in battles with the German invaders, for the mastery of the city of Brest and at the same time shown valor and courage.
  • The honorary name "Berlin" was awarded by order of the Supreme High Command No. 0109 of June 4, 1945, for exemplary fulfillment of command assignments in battles during the breakthrough of the German defenses and the advance on Berlin, and the valor and courage shown.
• 143rd Guards Rifle Red Banner Regiment
  • He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by the decree of the PVS of the USSR of August 10, 1944 for exemplary fulfillment of command assignments in battles with the German invaders, for the mastery of the city of Brest and at the same time shown valor and courage.
• 146th Guards Rifle Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Regiment ^[14]
  • He was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd degree by the decree of the PVS of the USSR of April 5, 1945 for exemplary performance of command assignments in battles with German invaders in East Prussia .
• 98th Guards Artillery Red Banner Regiment ^[15] .
  • He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by the decree of the PVS of the USSR of May 28, 1945 for exemplary fulfillment of command assignments in battles during the breakthrough of the German defenses and the advance on Berlin and the valor and courage shown.
• 53rd Separate Guard Engineer Brest Battalion ^[16]
  • The honorary name "Brest" was awarded by order of the Supreme High Command No. 0258 of August 10, 1944, for exemplary fulfillment of command assignments in battles with the German invaders, for the mastery of the city of Brest, and at the same time showing valor and courage.

Commanders

• Makovchuk Nikolay Matveyevich (10.20.1942 - 05.30.1943), Guard Colonel, Major General
•   Vagin Leonid Ivanovich (05/31/1943 - 07/02/1943), Guard Colonel (VRID)
• Korchikov, Gleb Nikolaevich (07/03/1943 - 06/01/1946), Guard Colonel, Major General ^{[17] [18]}
•   Baklakov, Vasily Ilyich (08.1946 - 04.1948), Guard Major General ^[19]

Deputy Front Commander

• Fadeev Peter Dmitrievich (01.1943 - 09/05/1943), guard lieutenant colonel (died of wounds)
• Starostin Vasily Pavlovich (03.1944 - 07/02/1944), guard colonel (heavily shell-shocked)
• Leonov Mikhail Efimovich (1944 - 1945), guard colonel
• Zakharenko Leonty Ananievich (04/27/1945 - 1946), guard lieutenant colonel, guard colonel

Deputy Political Commanders

• Strelsky Nikolay Savvich (1943), Guard Colonel
• Mitin Ivan Anisimovich (1944 - 1945), guard lieutenant colonel

Division Chiefs

• Yachmenkov Mikhail Nikolaevich (10.20.1942 - 1943), guard lieutenant colonel, guard colonel
• Stepanov Sergey Nikolaevich (05/01/1944 - 08/21/1944), Guard Lieutenant Colonel (killed)
• Arriving Pyotr Matveyevich (- 1945), Guard Lieutenant Colonel

Postwar History

On June 14, 1945, the 48th Guards Rifle Division, advanced from the Schönborn area to the territory of the USSR, made the route of 979 kilometers with 25 crossings and concentrated on August 14 in the area of ​​the city of Lida . The division was part of the 20th Rifle Corps of the 28th Combined Arms Army of the Belorussian Military District, with a place of deployment in the city of Volkovysk , and later in Grodno , until the moment of disbandment ^[20] .

In February 1947, the 10th Guards Tank Regiment (military unit 01834) created on the basis of the 10th Guards Tank Brigade was transferred from the 11th Mechanized Division to the 48th Guards Rifle Division.

On May 20, 1957, the 48th Guards Rifle Division was reorganized into the 48th Guards Motorized Rifle Division (military unit 28265), all regiments belonging to the division retained their numbers ^[21] .

As a result of the next reduction of the USSR Armed Forces, the 48th Guards Motorized Rifle Kryvyi Rih Red Banner Order of the Suvorov and Kutuzov Division was disbanded on January 10, 1959, together with all regiments ^[22] .

In the Dzerzhinka district of the city of Krivoy Rog in 1968, on the initiative of veterans of the 48th Guards Rifle Division, the Victory Monument was dedicated to the Soviet soldiers of the 3rd Ukrainian Front , who liberated Krivoy Rog on February 22, 1944 from German troops.

• Feskov V.I., Kalashnikov K.A., Golikov V.I. Chapter 2. Rifle and airborne troops, fortified areas of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War // Red Army in victories and defeats 1941-1945 .. - Tomsk: Publishing house of Tomsk University, 2003. - 619 p. - ISBN 5-7511-1624-0 .

• Team of authors. Ground Forces // Armed Forces of the USSR after the Second World War from the Red Army to the Soviet. - 1st. - Tomsk: NTL, 2013 .-- 640 p. - ISBN 978-5-89503-530-6 .
• Korchikov G.N., Pustyntsev N.P. Communists Ahead, Intelligence Acts // Bug on Fire / Compilers . - Minsk. - “Belarus”, 1965. - S. 418-433. - 528 s. - (Collection). - 30,000 copies.
• Balobay Zoya Dmitrievna. Monologue of a senior lieutenant // From a soldier to a general. - M .. - Academy of Historical Sciences, 2007. - T. 8. - P. 41-55.
• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1987.- T. 1 / Abaev - Lyubichev /. - 911 p. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN comp., Reg. RCP No. 87-95382.
• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1988. - T. 2 / Love - Yashchuk /. - 863 s. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-00536-2 .
• Cavaliers of the Order of Glory of three degrees: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium D. S. Sukhorukov . - M .: Military Publishing House , 2000 .-- 703 p. - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-01883-9 .
• Forty-eighth Guards Kryvyi Rih Infantry Division // Encyclopedia of Kryvyi Rih . In 2 t. T. 2. L — I: [ Ukrainian ] / comp. V.F. Bukhtiyarov. - Kryvyi Rih: Java, 2005. - S. 513–514.

• 48th Guards Rifle Division (Neopr.) . rkkawwii.ru. Date of treatment September 2, 2017.
• 48th Guards page div Red Army in the battles south of Kharkov in March 1943 - Historical issues - Remember the war (neopr.) . www.pomnivoinu.ru. Date of treatment November 20, 2018.
• 48th Guards Rifle Division (Neopr.) . samsv.narod.ru. Date of treatment November 20, 2018.
• 48 GUARDS ARROW DIVISION (Russian) . bdsa.ru. Date of treatment November 20, 2018.
• 48th Guards sd (rus.) , Where From Rod (November 3, 2016). Date of treatment November 21, 2018.