The 202nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as a motorized division as part of the prewar buildup of forces, and from September 1941 serving as a regular rifle division. As with most pre-war motorized divisions it lacked most of its authorized motor vehicles and shortly after the German invasion had most of its tanks reassigned. Despite this it fought well in actions near Soltsy and Staraya Russa in July and August, gaining time for the defenders of Leningrad at significant cost to itself.
In September the 202nd was reorganized as a regular rifle division and served as such for the duration of the war. Beginning in January 1942 it took part in the fighting that temporarily encircled the German II Army Corps at Demyansk. It spent the next 12 months in the dismal battles around this salient, gaining only minor successes. After the German evacuation the division was moved to the central part of the front and took part in the battle of Kursk and the subsequent Operation Kutuzov. After some time in reserve for rebuilding it joined the fighting west of Kiev in November and December and later took part in the battle of the Korsun Pocket, winning a battle honor. In the spring of 1944, it advanced through much of western Ukraine and entered Romanian territory in late March, for which it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In the battles northwest of Iași in April and May the 202nd suffered heavy casualties but was again rebuilt to take part in the August offensive that knocked Romania out of the Axis. As part of 27th Army of 2nd Ukrainian Front it advanced through Transylvania in the autumn, during which its regiments won several honorifics and decorations. It further distinguished itself in the fighting in eastern Hungary during the winter of 1944/45 and ended the war in western Austria as part of 3rd Ukrainian Front. This highly distinguished division was disbanded later in 1945.
202nd Motorized Division The division began forming in February 1941 near Riga in the Baltic Special Military District as part of the 12th Mechanized Corps. As of June 22, 1941 it had the following order of battle: 645th Motorized Rifle Regiment 682nd Motorized Rifle Regiment 125th Tank Regiment (until July 12, 1941) 652nd Artillery Regiment 189th Antitank Battalion 151st Antiaircraft Battalion 281st Reconnaissance Battalion 371st Sapper BattalionCharles C. Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", Soviet Tank, Mechanized, Motorized Divisions and Tank Brigades of 1940 - 1942, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. I, Nafziger, 1995, p. 61. Sharp identifies the 652nd as a motorized howitzer regiment. 581st Signal Battalion 200th Artillery Park Battalion 357th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 674th Motor Transport Battalion 106th Repair and Restoration Battalion 53rd Regulatory Company 461st Motorized Field Bakery 839th Field Postal Station 695th Field Office of the State Bank Col. Vladimir Konstantinovich Gorbachyov was appointed to command on March 11. When the German invasion began the division had almost all of its authorized artillery and heavy weapons and about 200 T-26 tanks of various models,Russian Wikipedia states the division also had small numbers of other types, including six Vickers Mk. Es, six Fiat 3000s and six FT-17s. including one company in the 281st Reconnaissance Battalion. However, it had only about 30 percent of the trucks and tractors required to move its men and equipment. A greater difficulty was that it had only 50 percent of its authorized radios, the signal battalion was short over 60 percent of its specialists.Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", p. 61
Baltic Operation On June 22 the 12th Mechanized Corps was in 8th Army of the newly renamed Northwestern Front. The Corps also contained the 23rd and 28th Tank Divisions and the 10th Motorcycle Regiment.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 7 The 202nd was centered on Kelmė in northwestern Lithuania but its elements were scattered over 60 km apart. Given the shortage of signal equipment, when the Corps went into battle the division simply could not organize itself fast enough to join the tank divisions. As a result, the 125th Tank Regiment was taken from the division on June 26 and added to the 28th Tanks to try to make up for the losses that division had already suffered. From this point the division was effectively "motorized" in name only, even after remnants of the 125th returned to it on July 12.Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", p. 61
By July 1 the 202nd had been detached from 12th Mechanized Corps and was serving as a separate division in 11th Army.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 15 It was attempting to hold along the Dvina River, which had been crossed by the German 36th Motorized Division near Jēkabpils. Counterattacks by the much-weakened division were unsuccessful and it began to withdraw toward Ostrov. On July 4 it was ordered back to the area of Soltsy for rebuilding and by July 10 it was back in 12th Mechanized Corps in 8th Army with the remnants of the two tank divisions which had also been withdrawn.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 23 On July 16 Colonel Gorbachyov left his command, being replaced by Col. Aleksandr Mikhailovich Filippov. Gorbachyov was soon given command of the 262nd Rifle Division and was promoted to the rank of major general in May 1942, ending the war commanding the 346th Rifle Division.
Counterstrokes at Soltsy and Staraya Russa By mid-July Army Group North's drive on Leningrad had stalled, due to logistics, difficult terrain and Red Army resistance, including a counterattack involving the 202nd near Soltsy which temporarily encircled the 8th Panzer Division. On July 30 Hitler issued a directive for the renewal of the offensive with a main attack between Narva and Lake Ilmen. This was followed on August 6 with a communique from OKW that stated Soviet forces had been almost completely cleared from the Baltic states and that the start line had been occupied for the thrust on Leningrad. Meanwhile, the STAVKA was preparing for the renewed offensive and issued orders on August 9 and 10 to Marshal K. E. Voroshilov of the Northwestern Direction and Maj. Gen. P. P. Sobennikov of Northwestern Front to use the reinforcements provided to them in late July and early August for a counterstroke aimed at destroying German forces in the Soltsy, Staraya Russa and Dno regions. The operation would be largely planned and directed by Lt. Gen. N. F. Vatutin, Sobennikov's chief of staff.David M. Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2002, pp. 52-54 As of August 1 the mobile forces of 11th Army consisted of the 202nd and 163rd Motorized Divisions, 5th Motorcycle Regiment and 41st Tank Brigade.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 30
Vatutin's plan involved concentric attacks by the 11th, 27th, 34th and 48th Armies and was clearly overly ambitious. It was to begin on August 12 aimed at 16th Army's X Army Corps which was defending at Staraya Russa and, after cutting it off and destroying it, to then liberate Soltsy, Dno and Kholm, disrupting the German offensive. In the event it was preempted when the German forces went over to their own attacks on August 10, but still achieved success on some sectors. Most notably the 202nd and 163rd Motorized, which were now in 34th Army, joined the 25th Cavalry Division in a lunge that pushed 40 km westward through the German defensive cordon and reached the Staraya RussaDno rail line early on August 14. This determined assault enveloped X Corps in Staraya Russa, separated it from II Army Corps on its right flank and threatened the rear of the main German panzer force advancing on Novgorod. The situation was restored by August 22 through the intervention of the LVI Panzer Corps and three days later the 34th and 11th Armies had been driven back to the line of the Lovat River. Although suffering heavy losses (from August 10–28 34th Army suffered 60 percent casualties in personnel, 89 percent losses in tanks and 58 percent in other vehicles) the Soltsy operation delayed Army Group North's drive on Leningrad for another 10 days which may have been decisive in keeping the city in Soviet hands.Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, pp. 54-58
While the Staraya Russa operation was going on Colonel Filippov was replaced in command on August 15 by Col. Serafim Grigorevich Shtykov. By the beginning of September the division had returned to 11th Army and was no longer listed as a motorized division.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 40 On September 20 this became official when the division was converted to the 202nd Rifle Division in the front lines of 11th Army in Northwestern Front.Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, pp. 28-29
202nd Rifle Division Once the conversion was complete the division, still under command of Colonel Shtykov, had the following order of battle: 645th Rifle Regiment 682nd Rifle Regiment 1317th Rifle Regiment (from 21st Motorized Rifle Regiment of the disbanded 28th Tank Division) 652nd Artillery Regiment (reformed on October 15, 1941) 189th Antitank Battalion (reestablished on January 20, 1942) 324th Antiaircraft Battery (151st Antiaircraft Battalion) (until March 30, 1943) 281st Motorized Reconnaissance Battalion (included one company of T-26 tanks and one platoon of GAZ-64 light trucks) 371st Sapper BattalionSharp, "Red Tide", p. 28 317th Mortar Battalion (from January 20 to March 1, 1942) 466th Mortar Battalion (from November 30, 1941, to November 15, 1942) 581st Signal Battalion (later 77th Signal Company) 357th Medical/Sanitation Battalion (later 257th) 82nd Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 266th Auto Transport Company 326th Field Bakery (336th Motorized Field Bakery) 86th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 839th Field Postal Station 695th Field Office of the State Bank As of the beginning of December the division was still in 11th Army,Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 73 which had withdrawn to the area of the Valdai Hills. On December 16 Shtykov left command of the division and on the 21st took over the 253rd Rifle Division but this proved temporary and he moved back to the 202nd on December 31; in the interim Col. Georgii Grigorievich Voronin had been in command. On January 10, 1942, Shtykov was promoted to the rank of major general. By this time the division had returned to 34th Army.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 9
Battle of Demyansk 34th Army was under command of Maj. Gen. N. E. Berzarin. As the Red Army's winter counteroffensive widened from the Moscow area he was ordered to form two division-sized shock groups to support the efforts of 11th and 3rd Shock Armies but otherwise to fix as much of German 16th Army in place as possible with diversionary attacks. The first shock group was based on the 254th Rifle Division which faced the weakened 290th Infantry Division. Beginning on January 10 the 254th infiltrated the positions of the 290th with ski troops through frozen marshes and cut the supplies of three company-sized strongpoints which were gradually eliminated by the rest of Berzarin's forces. The 202nd, forming the second group, was committed to widen the breach. It had been reinforced with two mortar battalions which were better able to provide support fire in this heavily forested, swampy and largely roadless terrain than conventional artillery. After an advance of 13 km it cut the ParfinoLychkovo railway line which left the 290th in a long, thin salient between 34th and 11th Armies.Robert Forczyk, Demyansk 1942-43: The frozen fortress, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2012, Kindle ed.