307th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
Military unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 307th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as a standard Red Army rifle division, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. The division distinguished itself in the intense defensive fighting around the village of Ponyri during the Battle of Kursk. It was credited with the liberation of the town of Novozybkov on September 25, 1943. After battling its way through eastern Belarus during the autumn and winter of 1943–44, and then helping complete its liberation during Operation Bagration, it was moved to East Prussia, where it took part in the Battle of Königsberg in the spring of 1945, ending the war on the Baltic coast near the Zemland Peninsula. In the course of these campaigns the 307th compiled a battle record to rival a Guards unit (which it narrowly missed out on) but was nevertheless disbanded on the second-last day of 1945.
307th Rifle Division (July 12, 1941 – December 30, 1945) | |
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Active | 1941–1945 |
Country | Soviet Union |
Branch | Red Army |
Type | Division |
Role | Infantry |
Engagements | Battle of Smolensk Battle of Moscow Battle of Kursk Operation Kutuzov Battle of the Dniepr Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive Operation Bagration Battle of Königsberg |
Decorations | Order of the Red Banner Order of Kutuzov |
Battle honours | Novozybkov |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Col. Vasilii Grigorevich Terentev Maj. Gen. Georgii Semyonovich Lazko Maj. Gen. Mikhail Yenshin Maj. Gen. Vasilii Nikitich Dalmatov |