The 331st Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the summer of 1941, based on a cadre of volunteer workers and reservists from the Bryansk Oblast, and so was known from the beginning as the 331st Bryansk Proletarian Rifle Division. It fought to defend Moscow during the last stages of the German invasion, and then went over to the offensive in early December. It spent much of the next twelve months in the same general area, west of the capital, taking part in the mostly futile battles against the German-held salient at Rzhev. On September 25, 1943, the division shared credit with several other units for the liberation of the city of Smolensk and was given its name as an honorific. The 331st had a highly distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path in Czechoslovakia, advancing on Prague.
Formation The formation of the 331st Rifle Division began on August 27, 1941, in the Tambov Oblast of the Oryol Military District, under the command of Maj. Gen. Fyodor Petrovich Korol. Korol led the division until February 13, 1942. It was based on the first wartime shtat (table of organization and equipment) for rifle divisions. Its order of battle was: 1104th Rifle Regiment 1106th Rifle Regiment 1108th Rifle Regiment 896th Artillery RegimentCharles C. Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed from June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Nafziger, 1996, p. 79 253rd Antitank Battalion (as of January 2, 1942) 298th Antiaircraft Battery (619th Antiaircraft Battalion as of April 20, 1943) 508th Mortar Battalion (until October 5, 1942) 394th Reconnaissance Company 509th (later 612th) Sapper Battalion 783rd Signal Battalion (later Company) 417th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 410th Chemical Protection (Anti-gas) Company 397th Motor Transport Company 186th Field Bakery 756th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 1411th Field Postal Station 773rd Field Office of the State Bank The division was moved to the Moscow Military District in October where it was assigned to the newly-forming 26th (Reserve) Army, under the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. Some elements of the division entered active service in a highly dramatic manner, by first marching through Red Square in the famous October Revolution anniversary parade on November 7, then straight on to the front lines just 10–15 km away, being assigned to the 20th Army of the Western Front.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 79. Dunn states this assignment was not made until December; Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 82
Combat service The division played a vigorous role in the defense of Moscow. Maj. Gen. Leonid Mikhailovich Sandalov, former chief of staff of the 20th Army, inspected the 1106th Rifle Regiment on its arrival in Moscow and noted, "The warmly clothed and adequately equipped sub-units of the regiment made a good impression [on me]." As November moved into December, the 331st, fighting in the area of the Moscow-Volga canal, stopped the enemy advance at Lobnia Station, 25 km from Moscow.Soviet General Staff, The Battle of Moscow, ed. & trans. R.W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2017, Kindle ed., part III, ch. 2
Moscow counteroffensive On December 2, as one of the harbingers of the wider counter-offensive that started a few days later, the division took part in a strong counter-attack from the area of Khlebnikovo towards Krasnaia Poliana. Backed by tanks and artillery, the attack made limited gains, but on the 6th it merged with the general offensive, broke into the village with the help of 28th Rifle Brigade, secured it,Soviet General Staff, Battle of Moscow, Kindle ed., part IV, ch. 2 and took a German 210mm gun, which had been used to shell Moscow, as a trophy. In the next two days the division and the brigade advanced 4.5 km further and completely penetrated the German defenses, but the lack of skis and armor support limited the planned advance of 30 km to only about 10 – 12 km. Nevertheless, by December 20 the division had liberated the town of Volokolamsk.Aleksander A. Maslov, Fallen Soviet Generals, ed. and trans. D. M. Glantz, Frank Cass Publishing, London, UK, 1998, pp. 63, 65
Following this victory, 20th Army attempted to continue its advance, but had little success until, on December 23, the Army commander was ordered to concentrate on a narrow-front breakthrough near Volokolamsk station and to cease advancing on a broad front. By noon on January 2, 1942, the 331st had captured Khvorostinin, but failed to take Birkino, even with armor support. The latter was finally liberated on the 4th, and by the next day the division was fighting on the outskirts of Posadinki with elements of German 35th Infantry Division.Soviet General Staff, Battle of Moscow, Kindle ed., part V, ch. 3
On January 7, 20th Army was ordered to regroup to carry on the offensive against gradually increasing resistance; by this time General Korol was in command of an ad hoc group which included his own division, along with 40th Rifle Brigade, 31st Tank Brigade, two artillery regiments and the 15th Guards Mortar Battalion. This group was ordered to "destroy the enemy in the area Zubovo - 137-km Station and by the end of the day reach the area Kuryanovo - Vysokovo." The attack was to be supported by a one-hour artillery preparation by a long-range artillery group. The regrouping was completed by January 9, although the 331st was still fighting for Posadinki over these two days. The new offensive began at 1030 hours. on January 10. The forward edge of the German defense was crushed fairly quickly, but only after persistent attacks. Beginning at 1400 the division, backed by 64th Rifle Brigade, waged an unsuccessful fight against two enemy battalions in a wooded stronghold east of Aksenovo. Over the next two days the Germans continued to hold out, while the 331st suffered significant losses until it finally took Aksenovo in the 13th. The next day German forces along the attack sector began falling back towards a defensive line near Gzhatsk. This withdrawal continued over the next ten days, with tired Soviet forces in slow pursuit. The division, "which disposed of an insignificant number of troops", was held back along the line of the Ruza River.Soviet General Staff, Battle of Moscow, Kindle ed., part V, ch. 6 Gzhatsk would not be liberated until March, 1943.
The 331st would remain in Western Front until the Front was disbanded. In early 1942 it was briefly transferred to the 5th Army, before returning to the 20th Army, where it remained until March, 1943. General Korol was briefly succeeded by Col. Gavriil Antonovich Kutalev in February, and then by Col. Aleksandr Emelyanovich Kletz in March. On April 10, Col. (later Major General) Pyotr Filippovich Berestov took command and he would hold it for the duration of the war.
Operation Mars In the planning for Operation Mars in November, the division was given a leading role in the 20th Army's assault. Alongside the 247th Rifle Division, and supported by the 80th and 240th Tank Brigades, the 331st was tasked to cross the mostly-frozen Vazuza River between Trostino and Pechora, to take German strong points at Zevalovka and Prudy. On the second day, the second German defensive position would be taken. Following this the division would cross the railroad between Rzhev and Sychyovka, and reduce the German strong point at Khlepen. In the event, on November 25, the division successfully forced the river line and took Prudy, but was halted by heavy fire from Khlepen. The 247th had made greater progress and the rest of the 331st reinforced that bridgehead. Overnight, the front commander, General I.S. Konev, decided to try to pass a mobile reserve force through this scant lodgement to complete the breakthrough. The following day the two rifle divisions continued to struggle to expand the bridgehead, but with little success. The tanks and cavalry of the reserve managed to tear a hole in the defenses and get into the enemy rear, but the infantry found it impossible to follow. The gains made by the 331st over the following days were negligible. For most of the remainder of the operation the division held the left flank of its army, recovering from its losses.David M. Glantz, Zhukov's Greatest Defeat, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1999, pp. 52, 84–88, 94 In the period from November 25 to December 18 the division lost 597 men killed, 1,445 wounded, and 106 missing-in-action, for a total of 2,148 casualties.Glantz, After Stalingrad, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2009, p. 90
Smolensk and Orsha Offensives In April 1943, the 331st was transferred to the 45th Rifle Corps in the 31st Army; it would remain in this army for the duration of the war. On June 19 the division was awarded its first Order of the Red Banner, remarkably early in the war for a regular rifle division. Colonel Berestov was promoted to Major General on September 1. During the third phase of Operation Suvorov at 2200 hours on September 24 the 31st Army, led by the 331st, 215th and 133rd Rifle Divisions, began an unusual night assault to break into Smolensk just as it was being evacuated by the bulk of the German forces, which blew up all three bridges across the Dniepr in the process. By 0600 hours on September 25 large parts of the city had been liberated. An advance guard, consisting of the 2nd Battalion of 1106th Rifle Regiment, commanded by Cpt. Prokofii Fyodorovich Klepach, crossed to the south bank of the river and hoisted the Red Banner from the roof of the Smolensk Hotel, one of the few major buildings that avoided German demolitions.Robert Forczyk, Smolensk 1943: The Red Army's Relentless Advance, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2019, Kindle ed. Later that day the division was granted the following battle honor:Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 79 Captain Klepach would further distinguish himself in the fighting for Borisov during Operation Bagration and would be made a Hero of the Soviet Union on March 24, 1945.http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=7420. In Russian; English translation available. Retrieved March 6, 2019. Through the last years of the war the 331st was designated as an assault division, and eventually earned the moniker of being "the best in the 31st Army".Boris Gorbachevsky, Through the Maelstrom, ed. and trans. S. Britton, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2008, p. 333
Following the victory at Smolensk, Western Front was ordered to continue the advance into Belarus with the immediate objective of Orsha. In the event, this goal would only be obtained after nine months of costly fighting. As of October 1 the 331st was serving in 71st Rifle Corps, and it would remain in this Corps for the duration of the war. 31st Army began its attack on October 3. The Army commander, Lt. Gen. V. A. Gluzdovskii, deployed his 71st Corps astride the Smolensk - Orsha highway and the railroad north of the Dniepr River, advancing against the defenses of 197th Infantry Division. 71st Corps had its three rifle divisions side-by-side in first echelon, and was supported by the 42nd Guards Tank Brigade. During three days of heavy fighting the Corps' assault stalled in front of strong defenses which had been reinforced by the 18th Panzer Grenadier Division. However, 36th Rifle Corps managed to unhinge the German defenses north of the highway, and by October 9 the 197th Infantry began falling back, reaching a line from Shcheki on the Verkhita River southward to Novaia on the Dniepr by the 11th. While the advance had been limited, at this point the right wing of Western Front had reached positions roughly 20 km east of Orsha.Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2016, pp. 26, 62-66, 70