323rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
Military unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 323rd Rifle Division was formed as a standard Red Army rifle division late in the summer of 1941, as part of the massive buildup of new Soviet fighting formations at that time. After a successful but costly start in the Soviet winter counteroffensive in the Tula region the division served on relatively quiet sectors into 1943, after which it joined the offensive push into German-occupied western Russia through the rest of that year, winning a battle honor for the liberation of Bryansk. In the course of the destruction of Army Group Center in the summer of 1944, the division further distinguished itself in the liberation of Bialystok in July. In 1945 the men and women of the 323rd took part in the Vistula-Oder Offensive through Poland and into Pomerania, and then finally in the Battle of Berlin, ending the war with distinction, but being disbanded soon after.
323rd Rifle Division | |
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Active | 1941–1945 |
Country | Soviet Union |
Branch | Red Army |
Type | Division |
Role | Infantry |
Engagements | Battle of Moscow Belyov-Kozelsk Offensive Battle of Smolensk (1943) Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive Operation Bagration Vistula-Oder Offensive Pomeranian Offensive Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation |
Decorations | Order of the Red Banner Order of Suvorov |
Battle honours | Bryansk |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Maj. Gen. Ivan Alekseevich Gartsev Col. Sergei Fyodorovich Ukranetz Col. Abram Mikhailovich Cheryak Maj. Gen. Vasily Timoveevich Maslov |