The 65th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in May 1943, based on the 2nd formations of the 75th and 78th Rifle Brigades. It served in that role until after the end of World War II.
Along with its "sister", the 56th Guards Rifle Division, the 65th was formed "out of sequence". This meant that many Guards rifle divisions were higher numbered and formed earlier than the 65th. Following its formation, the division was immediately assigned to the 19th Guards Rifle Corps of the 10th Guards Army, where it remained for the duration of the war.
It first saw action in the summer offensive on the Western Front, known as Operation Suvorov. In the winter of 1943–44, it participated in the fighting north and east of Vitebsk, first as part of the Western Front and later as part of the 2nd Baltic Front. Subsequently, during the summer offensives, it helped break through the German Panther Line's defences and advanced into the Baltic states. For this, it eventually received a battle honor for its role in capturing Riga. For the remainder of the war, it contributed to the blockade of the remnants of German Army Group North in the Courland Pocket in Latvia, by then assigned to the Leningrad Front. After the war, the 65th Guards was moved to Estonia, where it was disbanded in 1947.
Preceding Formations The 65th Guards was formed on the basis of two rifle brigades which had been part of the 6th "Stalin Siberian Volunteer" Rifle Corps (later redesignated as the 19th Guards Rifle Corps).Charles C. Sharp, "Red Guards", Soviet Guards Rifle and Airborne Units 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IV, Nafziger, 1995, p. 71
75th Rifle Brigade The second formation of this brigade occurred in late July 1942, when it was redesignated from the 2nd Omsk Volunteer Brigade within the Siberian Military DistrictSharp, "Red Volunteers", Soviet Militia Units, Rifle and Ski Brigades 1941 - 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. XI, Nafziger, 1996, p. 38Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 116 Its order of battle consisted of: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Rifle Battalions Artillery Battalion (12 76 mm cannon) Antitank Battalion (18 57 mm guns) 120 mm Mortar Battalion Submachine Gun Battalion 82 mm Mortar Battery This was the second of the Siberian Volunteer Brigades, and it had, on September 15, 6,059 personnel. 33.4 per cent of them were Communist Party members or Komsomols. It was assigned to the 6th Rifle Corps and, in late September, sent under that command to the Kalinin area of the Moscow Military District. By November 1, the Corps had been assigned to the 22nd Army of the Kalinin Front, facing the western side of the German-held Rzhev salient.Sharp, "Red Volunteers", p. 38
78th Rifle Brigade The second formation of this brigade also took place in late July, when it was redesignated the 3rd Krasnoyarsk Volunteer Brigade in the Siberian Military District.Sharp, "Red Volunteers", p. 39Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, p. 116 Its order of battle was very similar to that of the 75th, with additional support elements: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Rifle Battalions Artillery Battalion (12 × 76 mm cannon) Antitank Battalion (18 × 57 mm guns) 120mm Mortar Battalion (209 men, 12 mortars) Submachine Gun Battalion Sapper Battalion Antitank Rifle Company (36 antitank rifles) 82 mm Mortar Battery Reconnaissance Company Motor Transport Battalion (50 trucks) When formed, the brigade had 5,982 personnel on September 15, of whom 37.8 per cent were Communist Party members or Komsomols. It was also assigned to the 6th Rifle Corps and moved with it to the Kalinin Front.Sharp, "Red Volunteers", p. 39 Once assembled, the Corps consisted of the 150th Rifle Division and the 74th, 75th, 78th, and 91st Rifle Brigades. Prior to the start of Operation Mars, it was transferred to the 41st Army, still in the Kalinin Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 234
Operation Mars In the plan for this offensive, the 6th Rifle Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. S. I. Povetkin was to assault the German front south of Bely to provide a passage behind German lines for the 1st Mechanized Corps. The 150th Division and the 75th and 74th Rifle Brigades were in the first echelon, with the 78th and 91st Brigades in the second. The offensive began on November 25, and the 75th Brigade, commanded by Col. Aleksandr Efimovich Vinogradov, routed elements of the 2nd Luftwaffe Field Division. They broke through the German defenses and continued to advance. The next day, the two brigades continued to push forward towards Bykovo, the 74th supported by companies of the 65th Tank Brigade. By November 27, German reserves were arriving, and the 91st Brigade was alerted for commitment, whereas Col. I. P. Sivakov's 78th Brigade remained in Corps reserve. By December 1, the 78th had also been committed east of the 75th, and they were deep inside the 41st Army's salient, southeast of Bely.David M. Glantz, Zhukov's Greatest Defeat, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1999, pp. 57, 59, 110, 114, 126, 203
Early on December 4, the 41st Army went over to the defense, and the 75th and 78th were ordered to move to the southwest to face the SS Cavalry Brigade and the remnants of the 2nd Luftwaffe being besieged in the defensive position of Demekhi by the 17th Guards Rifle Division. During December 5–6, the German forces encircled most of the 41st Army south of Bely, with the 19th Panzer Division breaking through the 78th Brigade north of Podselitsa. The commander of the 41st Army, Maj. Gen. G. F. Tarasov ordered Colonel Vinogradov to wheel the left flank of his brigade back toward Demekhi to join with the 17th Guards in erecting new defenses to prevent any deeper German advance across the Vishenka River. Colonel Sivakov, whose brigade was weakened, was ordered to assemble as many troops as possible and hold on to new defensive positions around Shevnino. However, it was seized before Sivakov's men could intervene.
Late on December 7, the 65th and 219th Tank Brigades of the 1st Mechanized Corps cooperated with the 78th Brigade and various Soviet rear service troops to make another effort to retake Shevnino, but were stopped. Being closer to the base of the salient, the 75th and 78th were able to largely avoid the situation faced by the 91st and 74th, which were encircled by this time. Sivakov was ordered to join Vinogradov's unit and the two tank brigades (down to fewer than ten tanks each) along the Vishenka. This line was reinforced late the next day by the just-arrived 279th Rifle Division and the weakened 150th. From December 9–14, the encircled forces made multiple attempts to escape. A final effort was made on the night of December 15/16. In an after-action report, the 1st Panzer Division reported the 74th, 75th, and 91st Brigades as "destroyed", whereas the 78th had suffered heavier casualties than the 75th, and the 91st still had about 2,800 men on strength after its breakout.Glantz, Zhukov's Greatest Defeat, pp. 205, 231, 236-40, 242, 244-45, 247, 249-52Sharp, "Red Volunteers", p. 43
During February 1943, the 6th Rifle Corps returned to the 22nd Army. By the beginning of March, the Corps had been withdrawn to the reserves of the Kalinin Front. Later that month, it returned to the 22nd Army, but did not remain with that Army when it was transferred to the Northwestern Front in April.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 61, 83, 106 Instead, the 75th and 78th Brigades were moved to the Gzhatsk area, where they were merged to form the 65th Guards Rifle Division in the redesignated 19th Guards Rifle Corps. By June 1, the Corps had joined the former 30th Army of the Western Front, now redesignated as the 10th Guards Army; the Corps also contained the 22nd and 56th Guards Rifle Divisions.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 133
Formation The 65th Guards officially received its Guards title on May 1. The division's order of battle was as follows: 255th Guards Rifle Regiment 257th Guards Rifle Regiment 259th Guards Rifle Regiment 190th Guards Artillery Regiment 92nd Guards Antitank Battalion 88th Guards Reconnaissance Company 98th Guards Sapper BattalionSharp, "Red Guards", p. 71 118th Guards Signal Battalion 93rd Medical/Sanitation Battalion 89th Guards Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 91st Guards Motor Transport Company 90th Guards Field Bakery 85th Guards Divisional Veterinary Hospital 2062nd Field Postal Station 1222nd Field Office of the State Bank Colonel Vinogradov, who had commanded the 75th Brigade, was appointed to command of the division on the same day. It spent the next three months working up before the start of the Western Front's summer offensive on August 7.
Operation Suvorov The Front's main effort was made between Yelnya and Spas-Demensk by the 10th Guards and 33rd Armies. The 10th Guards' 15th and 19th Guards Corps were deployed on a 10 km-wide sector between Mazovo and Sluzna; the 65th and 56th Guards Divisions were in the first echelon, with the 22nd Guards in the second. Each division had about 8,000 personnel on strength. The 5th Mechanized Corps was assembled behind the Army to take advantage of the expected breakthrough. The operational objective for the first day of the offensive was the town of Pavlinovo, situated on the Smolensk-Spas-Demensk railway, 10 km to the south. The German defense in this sector was based on the Büffel-Stellung position, held by XII Army Corps. The Corps' 260th and 268th Infantry Divisions had both been reduced to two infantry regiments and held wide sectors, but the terrain was heavily wooded and dotted with numerous fortified villages. Two key German positions at Gnezdilovo and nearby Hill 233.3 had not been identified by Soviet intelligence and so were not affected by the preparatory bombardment.Robert Forczyk, Smolensk 1943: The Red Army's Relentless Advance, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2019, Kindle ed.
That bombardment began at 0440 hours and continued until 0630, consuming more than 50 percent of Western Front's available ammunition. Shortly after crossing the start line, the 65th and 56th Guards encountered heavy resistance from the 499th Regiment of the 268th Infantry. That Division's artillery broke up the assault groups before they could make any progress, while a pair of German assault guns knocked out advancing T-34s of the supporting 119th Tank Regiment. Some small detachments found a way through, but the 19th Guards Corps were stopped. The 15th Guards Corps made somewhat greater progress against the portion of the 499th Regiment that it faced. By the early afternoon, the commander of Western Front, Col. Gen. V. D. Sokolovsky, was making command changes and committing additional forces. During the rest of the afternoon, the 10th Guards Army's infantry gradually outflanked the remaining strongpoints of the 499th Regiment, and once night fell, the 268th Infantry was authorized to pull back 2–3 km to form a new line. Meanwhile, a battlegroup of the 2nd Panzer Division, de-training near Yelnya, was ordered to march to support that Division.Forczyk, Smolensk 1943: The Red Army's Relentless Advance, Kindle ed. This source states that Sokolovsky "arbitrarily" relieved Vinogradov of his command on August 7; according to Commanders of Corps and Divisions this did not occur until August 16. See Bibliography.