59th Rifle Division

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59th Rifle Division
Active1932–1947
CountrySoviet Union
BranchRed Army
TypeInfantry
EngagementsSoviet invasion of Manchuria
DecorationsOrder of the Red Banner Order of the Red Banner

The 59th Rifle Division (Russian: 59-я стрелковая дивизия) was an infantry division of the Red Army and briefly of the Soviet Army.

It was originally formed in 1932 as the 1st Kolkhoz Rifle Division, and redesignated as the 59th Rifle Division in 1936. The division spent World War II in the Primorye region and fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. The division was disbanded several years after the war ended.

History[edit]

The division was formed in March 1932 as the 1st Kolkhoz Rifle Division, part of the Special Kolkhoz Corps of the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army (OKDVA), covering the Grodekovo direction against expected Japanese attack with headquarters in Primorsky Oblast.[1] A voluntary program to resettle demobilized Red Army soldiers and their families in the border areas of the Soviet Far East was established in 1929–1930, in order to increase the population and economic activity of such areas, supply food to the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army, and to provide a force for its defense. By 1932 42 Red Army Kolkhozes had been established under the program. However, due to labor shortages and a lack of construction materials, engineers, and technicians, most of the settlers returned to their former homes; by 1932, only 1,476 remained out of 8,134 who arrived between 1930 and 1932. To address the issues, the Special Kolkhoz Corps was created, utilizing conscripts to garrison the frontier area.[2] The rifle divisions of the corps were formed from regiments of the 2nd Priamur Rifle Division, headquartered in Khabarovsk.[3]

The division was reorganized as the 59th Rifle Division on 25 May 1936 using cadre arriving from the European parts of the Soviet Union. The division was a cadre unit and remained part of the 26th Rifle Corps, formed from the Special Kolkhoz Corps, in the OKDVA. The division was based in Primorye in the area of Lake Khanka. On 22 June 1941, the division included the following elements:[3]

  • 5th Rifle Regiment
  • 99th Rifle Regiment
  • 124th Rifle Regiment
  • 37th Artillery Regiment
  • 45th Howitzer Artillery Regiment (456th Separate Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion from January 1942)
  • 45th Reconnaissance Battalion
  • 101st Separate Anti-Tank Battalion
  • 35th Sapper Battalion
  • 8th Separate Signals Battalion
  • 352nd Auto Transport Company
  • 17th Medical-Sanitary Battalion
  • 49th Separate Chemical Defense Company
  • 28th Field Bakery

The division spent the war covering the border in Primorye. Colonel Matvey Batrakov took command on 31 May 1944 and was promoted to major general on 20 April 1945. In August 1945, as part of the 26th Rifle Corps of the 1st Red Banner Army of the 1st Far Eastern Front, the division fought in the Harbin–Kirin offensive during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. In recognition of its performance during the invasion, the 59th was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 19 September 1945.[3]

After the end of the war, the division remained part of the 59th Rifle Corps of the 1st Red Banner Army.[4] The 59th was disbanded in May 1947.[5]

Commanders[edit]

The following commanders led the division during its existence:[6]

  • Kombrig (promoted to Major General 4 June 1940) Vasily Glazunov (3 July 1939–23 June 1941)
  • Colonel (promoted to Major General 8 December 1941) Alexey Gnechko (9 July 1941–9 January 1942)
  • Colonel (promoted to Major General 7 December 1942) Ivan Pashkov (10 January 1942–25 June 1943)
  • Colonel Fyodor Suin (26 June 1943–12 May 1944)
  • Colonel (promoted to Major General 20 April 1945) Matvey Batrakov (31 May 1944–May 1947)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Kolesnichenko 2017, p. 42.
  2. ^ Kolesnichenko 2017, p. 40.
  3. ^ a b c Lensky & Tsybin 2003, p. 100.
  4. ^ Feskov et al. 2013, p. 566.
  5. ^ Tsapayev, et al. 2014a, pp. 205–206.
  6. ^ Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 129: Dates are of orders and may not reflect actual conditions

Bibliography[edit]

  • Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1967). Сборник приказов РВСР, РВС СССР, НКО и Указов Президиума Верховного Совета СССР о награждении орденами СССР частей, соединениий и учреждений ВС СССР. Часть I. 1920 - 1944 гг [Collection of orders of the RVSR, RVS USSR and NKO on awarding orders to units, formations and establishments of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Part I. 1920–1944] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2018-06-13.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Feskov, V. I.; Golikov, V. I.; Kalashnikov, K. A.; Slugin, S. A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
  • Grylev, A. N. (1970). "Перечень № 5. III. Мотострелковые и моторизованные дивизии" [List (Perechen) No. 5 Part III. Motor Rifle and Motorized Divisions] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  • Gurkin, V.V.; Malanin, K.A. (1963). Боевой состав Советской армии: Часть I (июнь-декабрь 1941 года) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part I (June–December 1941)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Military Historical Department of the Military Scientific Directorate of the General Staff.
  • Kolesnichenko, K. Yu. (May 2017). "Деятельность Особого колхозного корпуса ОКДВА в 1932—1936 гг" [The Activities of the Special Collective Farm Corps of the Special Red Banner Far- Eastern Army in 1932–1936] (PDF). Voyenno-istorichesky Zhurnal (Military-Historical Journal) (in Russian) (5): 40–46.
  • Lensky, A. G.; Tsybin, M. M. (2003). Первая сотня. Стрелковые, горнострелковые, мотострелковые, моторизованные дивизии РККА группы номеров 1-100 (1920-е - 1945 гг). Справочник [The First Hundred: Rifle, Mountain Rifle, Motor Rifle, and Motorized Divisions of the Red Army numbered 1-100 (1920s–1945): Handbook] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Kompleks. ISBN 5-98278-003-0.
  • Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1964). Командование корпусного и дивизионного звена советских вооруженных сил периода Великой Отечественной войны 1941 – 1945 гг [Commanders of Corps and Divisions in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Frunze Military Academy.
  • Sharp, Charles C. (1995). The Soviet Order of Battle World War II: An Organizational History of the Major Combat Units of the Soviet Army. Vol. 8: "Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941. West Chester, Ohio: George F. Nafziger. OCLC 258366685.
  • Shkadov, Ivan, ed. (1987). Герои Советского Союза: краткий биографический словарь [Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 1. Moscow: Voenizdat.
  • Tsapayev, D.A.; et al. (2014a). Goremykin, V.P. (ed.). Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 3. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 978-5-9950-0382-3.
  • Tsapayev, D. A.; et al. (2014b). Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 5. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 978-5-9950-0457-8.
  • Tsapayev, D. A.; et al. (2015). Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 4. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 978-5-9950-0602-2.
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