The 16th Panzer Division is a military unit of the armored forces of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army in the Great Patriotic War . The combat period from June 22, 1941 to August 20, 1941 . [one]
 16th Panzer Division | |
| Troops: | land |
| Type of army: | armored tank |
| Formation: | July 1940 |
| Dissolution (transformation): | August 20, 1941 |
| Battle way | |
| Defensive operation in Moldova Uman defensive operation | |
Content
History
The 16th Panzer Division was formed in July 1940 on the basis of the 173rd Rifle Division from military equipment and personnel of the 43rd and 71st battalions of the 4th Light Tank Brigade , as well as the tank battalions of the 25th , 30th , 51st , 96th , 150th and 156th rifle divisions. The formation took place in the summer camps of the Odessa military district in the city of Kotovsk , as part of the 2nd mechanized corps under the command of Lieutenant General Yu. V. Novoselsky . [2]
| Name | Number of units) |
|---|---|
| Tank T-26 | 64 |
| Tank BT | 53 |
| Tank HT | four |
| Armored Car BA | 17 |
In terms of the number of combat vehicles, the division was even inferior to the 15th motorized division of the 2nd mechanized corps. Available corps modern tanks KV and T-34 were part of the 11th Panzer Division. In the event of war, the 2nd Mechanized Corps was to constitute the Reserve of the High Command in the Chisinau- Tiraspol- Kotovsk region.
Composition
- 31st Tank Regiment, commander - Major Krasnogolovy, Vladimir Ivanovich. [3]
- 32nd Tank Regiment
- 149th Tank Regiment [1] ,
- 16th Motorized Rifle Regiment,
- 16th howitzer artillery regiment,
- 16th separate anti-aircraft artillery division,
- 16th reconnaissance battalion,
- 16th pontoon battalion,
- 16th separate communications battalion,
- 16th Health Battalion,
- 16th motor battalion,
- 16th repair and restoration battalion,
- 16th company regulation
- 16th field bakery,
- 516th Field Postal Station,
- 342nd box office of the State Bank. [four]
Commanders
- The commander is Colonel Mindro Mikhail Ivanovich .
- The deputy for political affairs is regimental commissar Rudenko Nikita Vasilievich (from June 3, 1940, he died in August 1941).
- Technical Assistant - Lieutenant Colonel Samuilov Vasily Semenovich.
- Chief of Staff - Colonel Kravchenko Andrei Grigorievich (until February 1941).
- The chief of staff is Lt. Col. Zemlyanoy Andrey Grigorievich. [3]
Superior military units
- 2nd mechanized corps (1st formation).
Battle Path
On the night of June 22, 1941, the commander of the 16th Panzer Division, Colonel M.I. Mindro, receives an order from the commander of the 2-mechanized corps, Major General Yu. V. Novoselsky, to bring the unit into full combat readiness and camouflage it. Similar orders were given to commanders and other corps units.
Defensive Operation in Moldova
On the morning of June 22, the division receives an order to advance with parts of the corps towards the state border in the Chisinau region and to be ready for a counterattack against the enemy in the Balti region.
On June 23, 1941, the division, following the order, crossed the Dniester River in the Criuleni region.
On June 29, 1941, the division was redeployed to Sinzherei and Gilichen. [3]
On July 30, 1941, units of the 16th Panzer Division began a march to the Drochia – Sofia – Recha – Nicolesti area for counterattacking on four enemy divisions that crossed the Prut River with battle and secured themselves at the Stolpiceni – Zaikali – Chuchuly – Bushila line.
On July 2, 1941, the division as part of the 2nd Mechanized Corps took up positions in the Drochia — Nicolesti — Anfisovka area.
On July 3, 1941, units of the division fought in the Stefanesti area with enemy units crossing the Prut River.
On July 4, 1941, as a result of a counterattack, parts of the division knocked out the enemy from the villages of Borzenei Noi and Sturdzeni in the region of Costesti. It was not possible to develop a further offensive due to a lack of military forces. The division was forced to go on the defensive on the outskirts of the city of Balti at the turn of Mikhaylei, Oknul-Arb, and Rakaria.
On July 6, 1941, by order of the commander of the Southern Front , Army General I.V. Tyulenev, the 16th Panzer Division as part of the 9th Army began to retreat beyond the Dniester River to the fortified areas .
On July 7, 1941, the division as part of the 2nd Mechanized Corps took up defense in the area of the Ramadan farm.
On July 8, 1941, part of the division conducted defensive battles at the turn of Tsargrad-estate Tsaryradului. The positions of the compounds of the 2nd mechanized corps were attacked by 4 to 5 enemy infantry regiments, supported by artillery, armored vehicles and bomber aircraft. It was aviation that inflicted the most significant losses on the defending Soviet units. By the end of the day, the 16th Panzer Division, as part of the 2nd Mechanized Corps, began to retreat to the position of Kainar-Veki .
On July 9, 1941, the division, reflecting the enemy’s attacks, began a retreat to the Dubna-Alekseni area to prevent the encirclement of the 48th Rifle Corps .
On July 10, 1941, thanks to the weakened onslaught of the enemy, it was possible to withdraw from the combat area parts of the 2nd mechanized corps, including the 16th Panzer Division. The 2nd mechanized corps reached Vaskauci, Poiyapa for the subsequent replenishment and repair of military equipment in Kotovsk. During the battles from June 22 to June 11, the 16th Panzer Division lost 68 people killed, wounded —115 people. 25 tanks were disabled. [2]
On July 13, 1941, the division crossed the Dniester Rybnitsa and was located in Voronkovo.
On July 17, 1941, units of the division approached the pre-war deployment area in Kotovsk, where they managed to repair damaged equipment.
On July 20, 1941, by order of the commander of the Southern Front, Army General I.V. Tyulenev, units of the 2nd mechanized corps, including the 16th Panzer Division, were to take positions in the Vel area. Savustyanivka- Sarny - Khristinovka to repel attacks and the subsequent destruction of the enemy.
| Name | Number of units) |
|---|---|
| Tank T-26 | 55 |
| Tank BT | 40 |
| Tank HT | four |
| Armored Car BA | 48 |
Uman Defensive Operation
On July 21, 1941, part 2 of the mechanized corps, including the 16th Panzer Division, entered into battle with the 11th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht under the command of Major General Ludwig Kruvel . The enemy, breaking through the front in the area of the Cellar , was advancing towards Uman with the aim of encircling from the south parts of the 6th and 12th armies. The units of the 2nd mechanized corps were tasked with restraining the onset of erupted enemy formations.
On July 22, 1941, the corps’s formations, having received the task of holding Uman and destroying the enemy's erupted units, entered into battle with the German units north of Uman in the Ivanovka area and in the evening threw them back to the area of Podobnaya , Dobra.
On June 23, 1941, units of the 16th Panzer Division, reaching the Potash line, Podobnaya, the northern outskirts of Berestovets , joined the battle for Dzengelevka . [2]
July 24, 1941, units of the 2nd Mechanized Corps fought for heading north
July 25, 1941 the 16th Panzer Division was in the positions of Potash, Similar. The Headquarters of the Southern Front issues Directive No. 0024 / OP on the replacement of 2 mechanized corps in the area of operations with units of the 6th Army. According to the directive, parts of the corps were supposed to enter the reserve corps from the area of Podvysokogo, Novo-Arkhangelsk and Tishkovka.
On July 26, 1941, the 16th Panzer Division continued the offensive as part of the 2nd Mechanized Corps and, by the end of the day, took control of Dzengelevka, Mankovka and Kharkovka .
On July 27, 1941, the advance of the units of the 2nd mechanized corps, which continued to provide an exit from the encirclement of the formations of the 6th and 12 armies, was stopped by the enemy. As a result, the 16th Panzer Division was forced to retreat to the area of Potash — Romanovka — Mankovka.
On July 28, 1941, the 2nd Mechanized Corps received directive No. 0027 / OP, according to which it should provide a way out of the next planned encirclement by active hostilities in the north and northeast directions. On the same day, the commander of the 2nd mechanized corps, Lieutenant General Yu. V. Novoselsky, received instructions from the front headquarters on the implementation of directive No. 0024 of July 25 on the sending of corps units to the front reserve. In the directive, the place of concentration was changed from Podvysoky, Novo-Arkhangelsk and Tishkovka to Golovanevsk. [3]
On July 29, 1941, part of the 2nd Mechanized Corps, by order of the Headquarters of the Southern Front No. 029 / OP, became subordinate to the commander of the 12th Army, General I. B. Tyulenev. The corps during the fighting from July 21 to July 29, according to the command of the Southern Front, completed the task assigned to it and frustrated the enemy with a major operation to strike the rear of the 18th Army. On the same day, the 2nd Mechanized Corps receives an order to seize Potash and Shaulikha. The 16th Panzer Division at that time held positions in the area of Potash and Romanovka.
On July 30, 1941, the advance of the 2nd mechanized corps units met fierce resistance from the enemy. The commander of the 12th Army set the task for the 2nd Mechanized Corps to take up defense at the line of Kosenovka-Kabany-Krasnopolka station. [2]
On July 31, 1941, the 16th Panzer Division retreated to the Chervonny Khutor area. The 2nd mechanized corps took up defense at the turn of the outskirts of Legezeno- Babanochka.
On August 1, 1941, the 2nd Mechanized Corps, according to Order No. 0078, switched to defensive operations on the Legezeno-Tanskoye section. The enemy continued to crowd out Soviet formations. The 2nd mechanized corps suffered serious losses. [5] His position worsened every hour. At 9.36 a.m., the chief of staff of the Southern Front received a combat report from the commander of the 2nd Army: “Novoselsky’s troops are fleeing“ ... ”. He sent his last reserve of 15 tanks. ” [6] A few hours later, a report came from the commander of the 12th Army to the Southern Front Military Council: “ The situation is aggravating, the enemy took Lezhendeno. Reserves used. The telephone communications of the troops were broken. ” [6] The enemy completed the encirclement of the 6th and 12th armies, thereby forming the Uman's Cauldron . [3] In the village of Legezeno, the 16th Panzer Division was almost completely defeated. Here, having gone on reconnaissance on the last surviving tank, the division commander Colonel M. I. Mandro was killed. Division Commissioner Rudenko was captured and was shot. In the 16th Panzer Division, only the remnants of the rear units survived.
On August 10, 1941, they left the encirclement and concentrated in the Bulakhovka area of the Pavlograd district. [3]
Sources and links
- ↑ 1 2 Memory of the people :: Military way of the military unit :: 16 armored division (16 TD) . pamyat-naroda.ru. Circulation date May 13, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 16th Panzer Division . rkkawwii.ru. Circulation date May 13, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 E. Drig. Mechanized corps of the Red Army in battle. The history of the armored forces of the Red Army in 1940-1941. - M .: AST , 2005 .-- 736 p. - (Unknown wars). - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-170-24760-5 .
- ↑ 16th Panzer Division . bdsa.ru. Circulation date May 13, 2019.
- ↑ Combat reports, opersvodki. Document No: 71 / OP, 08/01/1941 Archive: TsAMO, Fund: 228, Listing: 701, Case: 62, List of documents beginning in case: 12. 12 A, Major General Arushanyan, battle. Commissar Ponomarev, Colonel Levin.
- ↑ 1 2 Battle reports for August 1, 1941 .