170th Rifle Division (Soviet Union): Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Line 150:

During June 27 the 48th, 3rd and 65th Armies advanced without much opposition to both encircle Babruysk and eliminate the three isolated German divisions that had been in the Zhlobin{{endash}}Rahachow area. Elements of the 48th were working in cooperation with the [[Dnieper Flotilla|Dniepr Flotilla]] operating along the Berezina, and by the end of the day the Army it was fighting the encircled grouping on a line from Barak to outside Malinova to Kavali to Malevo. In the morning, mobile units of 65th Army cut all the roads from Babruysk to the west and northwest, while its [[105th Rifle Corps]] cut the paved road to [[Hlusk]] and 1st Guards Tanks broke into the northern and northwestern outskirts. During the day the encircled grouping prepared for a breakout to the north as it had no prospect of reaching Babruysk; artillery and other equipment was destroyed, as were livestock and other supplies. At 1900 hours the pocket came under attack from 526 aircraft of 16th Air Army. The destruction caused by bombing and strafing led to panic, vehicle collisions, and massive traffic jams. At 2015, supported by armor and artillery, 48th Army went over to the attack along its entire front. While the German units closest to the front line, which had suffered less from the air assault, put up stiff resistance, other groups and individuals that had been more directly affected began to surrender. Rokossovskii entrusted Romanenko with the final liquidation of this grouping.<ref>Soviet General Staff, ''Operation Bagration'', Kindle ed., Vol. 2, ch. 5</ref>

Fighting went on through the night of June 27/28 and the morning as the remaining organized German forces continued to attempt to break out to the north. The left flank forces of 3rd Army beat off 15 heavy attacks in up to divisional strength. Meanwhile, 48th Army was launching powerful concentric attacks with the 42nd Corps operating from the east toward Savichy and the 29th and 53rd Corps drove from the southeast toward Dubovka. During the night the pocket was split in two, and with all hope of escape gone German troops began surrendering in groups of 100-250 men, led by their officers. Only a small fraction attempted to evade captivity. By 1300 hours the fighting had effectively ceased; 48th Army reached the Berezina while leaving detachments to mop up.<ref>Soviet General Staff, ''Operation Bagration'', Kindle ed., Vol. 2, ch. 5</ref> In recognition for its part in this victory, on July 2 the 170th would be awarded the Order of Suvorov, 2nd Degree.{{Sfn|Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union|1967a|p=367}} By 0200 hours on June 29 the division was withdrawn from the fight and placed in the second echelon of the corps. On June 30 the division had a strength of 4,669 officers and men, with 798 mobilized from liberated areas and 300 replacements arriving.<ref name=":0" /> On the same day Colonel Puzyrevskii returned to his deputy command and Col. Vasilii Ivanovich Matronin took over.

By 0200 hours on June 29 the division was withdrawn from the fight and placed in the second echelon of the corps. On the night of 29/30 June the division marched through Sabichi, Titovka and Yеloviki and by 20:00 concentrated in the forest two kilometers west of Yeloviki, where it put its units in order and brought up ammunition in readiness for further action. On June 30 the division had a strength of 4,669 officers and men, with 798 mobilized from liberated areas and 300 replacements arriving. On July 1 Colonel Puzyrevskii returned to his deputy command and Col. Vasilii Ivanovich Matronin took over. During the day, the division continued to put its units in order and combed through the forests searching for remaining German troops, taking 204 prisoners including 50 [[Hiwi (volunteer)|''Hiwi'']]<nowiki/>s. During the following days the division marched in the second echelon of the corps, putting its units in order, bringing up ammunition and rear units, and conducted sweeps of the surrounding forests for German stragglers. At 04:00 on July 9 the division came under air attack, suffering casualties of one killed and 12 wounded, in addition to the loss of 13 horses. Two days later, an airstrike against the vanguard 391st Rifle Regiment killed regimental deputy commander Major Andrey Ivanovich Shcherbina and wounded division deputy commander Puzyrevskii. In total, from July 1 to 11 the division lost two killed and eighteen wounded, while capturing a total of 322 German soldiers.<ref name=":0" />

===Minsk Offensive===

[[File:Operation bagration minsk pocket 1944 june 29-july 03.png|thumb|left|Minsk Offensive]]

Babruysk had a nominal garrison of 10,000 men but remnants of nearly every division of 9th Army had taken refuge there. Fighting was building by building and block by block, but overnight on JulyJune 28/29 the remaining defenders largely gathered in the north and northwest to attempt a breakout. This grouping managed to break through the defenses of 105th Corps' [[356th Rifle Division]] with heavy losses, but the escapees were largely re-encircled later. By 1000 hours the lead divisions of 42nd Corps and 105th Corps met and completely captured the city. In all it took 42nd Corps, 105th Corps, and two corps of 3rd Army about three days to mop up all the escapees from Babruysk, which slowed the development of the offensive toward Minsk and [[Baranavichy]]. The 29th and 53rd Corps took up the pursuit toward Asipovichy and Pukhavichy, while 42nd Corps completed its part in the mopping up in the Solomenka area on July 1.<ref>Soviet General Staff, ''Operation Bagration'', Kindle ed., Vol. 2, ch. 5</ref>

At 2300 hours on July 2, Rokossovskii issued an order to 1st Guards and 9th Tank Corps, and an hour later to 3rd and 48th Armies, to advance on a 24-hour basis to liberate Minsk. 1st Guards broke into the city's southeastern outskirts at 1300 on July 3 and linked up 3rd Belorussian Front's [[2nd Guards Tank Corps]], completing the encirclement. 48th Army supported this advance from the south. Now it was directed to reach the line Negoreloe{{endash}}Logvishche{{endash}}Mogilno{{endash}}Nesvizh{{endash}}Golynka by the end of July 4. This was a redirection from the northwest to the west. It was unable to fully reach this line due to swampy and forested terrain and poor roads.<ref>Soviet General Staff, ''Operation Bagration'', Kindle ed., Vol. 2, ch. 5</ref>

===Lublin-Brest Offensive===

The right wing armies of 1st Belorussian Front (48th, 65th and [[28th Army (Soviet Union)|28th]]) were now given the task of developing the offensive to the southwest, in the direction of Baranavichy and [[Brest, Belarus|Brest]]. The line from [[Slonim]] to [[Pinsk]] was to be taken no later than July 10-12 and the armies were to subsequently take Brest while also seizing bridgeheads on the west bank of the [[Bug (river)|Western Bug River]]. The Front's left wing armies, largely inactive to this point, would join the offensive. By July 5 the remnants of organized German forces had fallen back to a defense line that had been constructed during WWI from [[Daugavpils]] to [[Maladzyechna]] to Baranavichy, but this was understandably in a poor state of repair. Under the favorable circumstances the Soviet forces carried on the operation without and real break. The German forces put up a stubborn defense of the latter place to cover the withdrawal of a grouping from Polesye. The attack by 48th and 65th Armies, backed by [[4th Guards Cavalry Corps|4th Guards Cavalry]] and [[1st Mechanized Corps (Soviet Union)|1st Mechanized Corps]], developed slowly and it wasn't until July 7 that they were able to break into the town following a powerful artillery and aviation preparation. Baranavichy was completely cleared the next day, and the Soviet forces occupied [[Luninyets]] on July 10, with Pinsk falling four days later.<ref>Soviet General Staff, ''Operation Bagration'', Kindle ed., Vol. 2, ch. 6</ref>

On 12 July the 42nd Rifle Corps ran into sustained resistance from remnants of the 28th Infantry Division and [[4th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|4th Panzer Division]], defending a line along the western bank of the [[Zelvyanka]]. The 391st Rifle Regiment went into action at 24:00 on 11/12 July, conducting a night reconnaissance of the German positions and forcing a crossing of the river, but without further success. At 19:00 on 12 July, with artillery support and in cooperation with the neighboring 137th Rifle Division, a crossing of the Zelyanka was forced and the settlement of Ivashkovichi taken, with the 391st continuing the pursuit towards Sudzevichi. The opposing German troops attempted to hold the Rudzevichi–Terekhovichi line on the next day, but the 391st and 717th Regiments broke their resistance on the eastern slopes on the hills west of Ivashkovichi and Kosheli and by 04:00 on 13 July reached the line of Patski and Dobroseltsy. During the fighting on 12–13 July 294th Artillery Regiment commander Lt. Col. Boris Ilyich Krivopishin was seriously wounded, while the 170th suffered casualties of fifteen killed and 73 wounded.<ref name=":0" />

Between June 24 and July 20, the division suffered casualties of 163 killed, 1,743 wounded, and 65 sick. In the same period, 2,218 German soldiers were taken prisoner, while trophies included 30 tanks and self-propelled guns, 170 guns, 96 mortars, 1,351 vehicles, and 1,633 horses.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Сведение о потерях, трофеях и захваченных пленных по 170 сд |url=https://pamyat-naroda.ru/documents/view/?id=153410253 |website=Pamyat Naroda}}</ref> On the latter date Colonel Tsyplenkov returned to his command, where he would remain into the postwar.