232nd Rifle Division

rdf:langString 232nd Rifle Division

rdf:langString 232nd Rifle Division (June 1941 - December 27, 1941)

rdf:langString 232nd Rifle Division (December 1941 - July 1945)

rdf:langString Kyiv

rdf:langString Sumy

rdf:langString

rdf:langString Col. Dionisii Semyonovich Tsalai

rdf:langString Maj. Gen. Ivan Ilich Ulitin

rdf:langString Maj. Gen. Maksim Evseevich Kozyr 10px

rdf:langString Maj. Gen. Semyon Ivanovich Nedvigin

rdf:langString Infantry

rdf:langString Division

rdf:langString The 232nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the weeks just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. It was quickly moved to the fighting front as part of the 66th Rifle Corps in 21st Army, and it remained in this Corps for its brief existence. 21st Army was deployed in western Belarus, attempting to plug the gaps created by the defeats of the border armies in the first weeks of Barbarossa, and the division made a deep penetration into the German rear in the eastern fringes of the Pripet Marshes, but this was ultimately unsustainable. By early September, the 232nd was greatly depleted due to almost continual combat, before being encircled and destroyed east of Kyiv. A new division began forming in December in the Altaisk region of Siberia. Initially numbered as the 453rd, it was soon redesignated as the 232nd. After preliminary organization, it moved west to the Moscow area and was assigned to two different reserve armies before joining the fighting as part of 60th Army near Voronezh in July 1942. It remained defending along the Don river until early in the new year, when it took part in the liberation of that city and the defeat of the German and Hungarian 2nd Armies near Kastornoye. The division saw only limited action in the Battle of Kursk as part of the 50th Rifle Corps; it would serve as part of either this or the 51st Rifle Corps almost continually for the duration of the war. After this battle it advanced through eastern Ukraine, winning two battle honors and, within quick succession, four decorations for its part in the battles for Kyiv and the following advance on Romania in the spring of 1944. After being transferred to the 40th Army it was halted in eastern Romania in May before resuming its advance in August. It entered Hungary in October, and its subunits also gained recognition in the fighting that took place through the winter. In early 1945 the 232nd pushed on through Slovakia to end the war near Brno. Despite a distinguished record, it was disbanded in July 1945.