Greetings
I am compiling a history the 49th guards rifle Division and I am looking for some help. If any one has comment , corrections or more information about this unit and its leaders, please let me know. Thank you very much
ov
the Prehistory of the 49th guards rifle Division
Just Before the outbreak of the war the division is known as 69th motorized division. The 69th was built on 3rd kolkhos division that was formed in the Far East about 1933.
Units include:
• 3 Rifle regiment
• cavalry squadron
• special units
• signals battalion
• artillery regiment
• the division also had had car and tractor battalions.
The day to day living was spent farming. The division spent 8 hours a day doing agricultural work and 2 hours of military training a day. The main task of the division in that period was producing food staples. Each regiment had its own plot of land.
Term of service in the division for conscripts 3 years.
"107th Tank Division was formed"
the disastrous battles in 1941:
. On September 16 the 69th Motorized was reformed and became 107th Motor Rifle on the Western Front Division. As of September 1941 The Division had 153 Tanks.
On June 28th the division started transfer to the front and by July 13 was deployed in Valdai area (somewhere midway between Moscow and St. Petersburg).In this area the division received more armor and was reformed into 107th Tank Division.
On July 18 jointly with 110th Tank Division counter-attacked towards Dukhovschina to relieve encircled 16th, 19th and 20th Armies of the Western Front. Suffered heavy casualties in battles against the 7th Panzer Division, the two tank divisions failed to achieve their objectives. First battle on July 18 the 107th is mentioned with the destruction of german paratroop landing in area of Schuchie.
On July 20, with 200 tanks the Division took part in the offensive of the 30th Army towards Smolensk (up till July 28).
On July 23 the division joined battle in area of Krapivnya, Baturino (Smolensk area).
November 16 defended the Dimitrovskoe reservoir, front of 50 kms (on some maps is referred to as 107th Motor Rifle Division).
Then Took part in the counteroffensive in December 1941 in Moscow area, on January 12, 1942 the force was renamed as 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division. And fought in the Moscow area.
The 49th guards are created and sent to Stalingrad.
In October 1942 the 49th Guards Rifle Division was formed in the Western Front reserves near Moscow in 1942 from the remains of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division. The unit was immediately assigned to the newly formed 13th Guards Rifle Corps in the 2nd Guards Army. They were sent south to the Stalingrad area in December 1942 and went in to action south of Stalingrad.
In December they fought the Hungarian army and took part of the encirclement of Stalingrad. with the completion of the ring around Stalingrad the 49th was sent with other soviet forces Against the German relief column and help stop the last German counter attack from breaking the Russian grip on the encircled German 6th Army. There by helping seal the fate of the 6th army.
The 49th then in the campaigne from the Don to Denper,
The division was terribly worn down by the constant struggle of 1943.
In the beginning of 1944 it was withdrawn briefly and refitted, but returned to the Front with 5th Shock Army, where it became part of the 10 Guards Rifle Corps.
In the spring of 1944 with a new commander margelov. The 49th Guards Division led the division included in the Dnepr River assault crossings in 1944 then in to Donbass area (Southern Ukraine area) and The 49th Took part of the liberation of Kherson, Nikolaev and Odessa. Where general V. margelov was awarded Hero of the soviet union for his efforts at the battle of Kerson.
The 49th Guards Division Received honorary designation Kherson.
In the second half of 1944 the 49th Guards then took part in Yassy-Kishinev operation August 20 - September 27, 1944. the liberation of Romania and Bulgaria and took part in the destruction of German forces there. After the quick moving battles in Romania, the division moved threw Yugoslavia and on to Hungary.
The 49th Guards Rifle Division remained under 10th Guards Rifle Corps for the rest of the war switching to the 46th Army in September 1944 when the 5th Shock Army HQ went into reserve.
Then During the winter 1945 the 49th was sent to Budapest. And took part in the encirclement of Budapest.
After Budapest the 49th took part in the advance in to Slovakia and Austria. Battling the last of the waffen SS. the 49th took part of the encirclement and capture of Viene. When the war ended in 1945, the 49th Guards were on the border between Czechoslovakia and Austria, north of Linz, close to the birthplace of Adolph Hitler in the 10th Guards Rifle Corps of 46th Army. In September 1945, the 49th guards were transferred to permanent deployment area in Moldavia.
Commanders and personalities of the 49th guards
Commander as of summer 1941 Cl P. N. Domrachev. (??-??)
Col, later Gen Maj P. G. Chanchibadze from fall 1941 (1901-1950)
General Officer Commanding 2nd Guards Mechanized Division in the battle of Moscow
Promoted to General Officer Commanding XIII Guards Rifle Corps in 42 then again in 44-45: as General Officer Commanding 2nd Guards Army.
Gen Maj Denis. P. Podshivailov from fall 1942 (? -?)
took over command in 1942 and commanded the 49th till 1943
in 1944 was assigned as General Officer Commanding 151st Rifle Division till 1945
Col, later Gen Maj V. F. Margelov from December 1943. (1906 -1990)
Took command of the 49th guards rifle D in 1943 (later the Commander in Chief of Soviet Paratroop Arm) from the book called Army General margelov
"General of the Army Vasily Margelov, was one of the founders of the airborne troops, and "the blue berets" call him "paratrooper number one" and a "legendary person". Vasily Margelov's role as commander of the
airborne troops was invaluable. He ontributed to the creation of the military elite, paratroopers' ethics and traditions, adoption of new ways and means of airborne assault operations in extreme geographic
conditions. Vasily Margelov's combat characteristics made up in 1943 during the climax of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) against the fascist Germany
said that he was "a commander of iron power and will. Demanding to himself and to his subordinates. Enduring in combat situation despite his six wounds".
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From http://www.vor.ru/English/Footprints/excl_next861_eng.html
On May 10, 1945, just a day after the German surrender that ended the bloodiest war ever fought, the whole of Europe was celebrating its liberation from Nazi oppression, above all the heroic Soviet soldiers who had gone through unheard of suffering and millions-heavy losses to bring about that great Victory. Nazi Germany was crushed but there still were a number of battle-worthy units around capable of fighting on and inflicting additional losses on the victors. Especially the SS divisions that had gained such notoriety with the atrocities they had committed on the eastern front. Beleaguered and having nothing to lose, the Germans were pushing westward to surrender to the advancing Americans. The Soviet military command saw it as their duty to take prisoner those crack SS divisions and do it with a minimal loss of human life.
This very challenging assignment was eventually entrusted to Vasily Margelov, a young and victorious General who was literally idolized by his soldiers. He was ordered to the Austria-Czechoslovak border to either take prisoner or destroy the crack SS units active there, above all the Das Reich and Tottenkopf divisions. The latter option would entail heavy losses on both sides, that’s why General Margelov decided to cheat out the enemy. With just a handful of his men and a single gun battery, he headed right towards the enemy positions. As they moved, the divisions’ chief of staff joined in. So they moved on two cars each carrying a machine gun, a box of hand grenades and having just their side arms on… Reaching their destination, Margelov positioned the guns at a point blank range, their muzzles facing the enemy headquarters and gave the Nazis 10 minutes to come out or die. Entering the German headquarters, he demanded an immediate and unconditional surrender promising in exchange to spare their lives and let them keep their distinctions. If the Germans refused, he warned, they would all die. Realizing there was no way out of their predicament, the SS Generals gave up, stressing that they were only surrendering to an exceptionally brave man like Vasily Margelov. That was how a major victory was won without a single shot fired and a single life lost. Moreover, the lives of thousands former enemies were also saved and that was another reason why General Margelov felt so proud…
He devoted his entire life to the armed forces. Before joining the army ranks as a 20-yea-old young man, however, Vasily Margelov had gone through several professions. At the age of 17 he was a miner. One day the drift he was working in caved in and he spent three long days making his way up going without food and water… Physically strong, intelligent and driven, Vasily was a born leader. Starting the war as a Major he finished it as a Major General. His regiment fought valiantly in Stalingrad and the division he commanded crossed the Dnepr in 1944 and liberated the city of Kherson – a real feat that won him the much-touted title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Eight times wounded, twice seriously, he always got back to the battlefront, thanks, to a large degree, to the selfless effort bent by his wife, military surgeon Annushka the would-be General met shortly after the war began. Together they went through all the trials and tribulations of that terrible carnage, and on several occasions, Anna operated on her husband right on the battle field. After the war the lavishly decorated division commander led a composite regiment marching at the head of the victorious Soviet Army troops during the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow…
During the peacetime years Vasily Margelov devoted himself wholly to building up the nation’s airborne troops he commanded a whole 25 years leaving behind a formidable, crack force which was just about as fearsome as intercontinental ballistic missiles or nuclear-armed submarines.
Already an Army General, Vasily Margelov died on March 4, 1990. An outstanding military commander, he lived a long and heroic life and was often compared to the great 18th century Russian Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov.
Preparing this brief introduction I made extensive use of materials from General Margelov’s museum set up by his five sons. Two of them are Generals, like their father, one is a scholar and of the younger twin brothers, one is a Colonel and the other, Vasily, named after his father, is a board member of the Voice of Russia broadcasting company. Copyright © 2002 The Voice of Russia
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The full designation as of end of WWII:
49th Guards Kherson Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rifle Division.
Units:
• 144th Guards Rifle Regiment
• 147th Guards Rifle Regiment
• 149TH Guards Rifle Regiment
• 100TH Guards Artillery Regiment
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