The 223rd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as one of the first reserve rifle divisions following the German invasion of the USSR. This first formation had a short and disastrous combat career; after arriving at the front in Ukraine in the first days of August it was immediately encircled and destroyed in the Uman Pocket.
A new 223rd began forming in October 1941 as an Azerbaijani national division in the Transcaucasian Military District. In common with most divisions made up of Caucasian peoples it remained in the rear until that region was directly threatened by the German advance in the summer of 1942. It joined the fighting as part of 44th Army and defended along the Terek River until the German offensive ran out of steam just west of Ordzhonikidze. During December and January the division took part in the pursuit of Army Group A as it retreated into the Taman Peninsula. In March it was moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and was redeployed to Southwestern Front facing German positions in the Donbas. Over the next 13 months the 223rd advanced through the southern Ukraine and into Moldova as part of 3rd Ukrainian Front, mostly within 57th Army. Following the defeat of Romania in August 1944 it advanced into Yugoslavia, winning a battle honor for the liberation of Belgrade and then fighting in cooperation with Tito's Yugoslav partisans. During the campaign in Hungary it helped to secure the outer ring of encirclement around Budapest against Axis counteroffensives, and in the spring of 1945 joined in the final advance into Austria and Czechoslovakia, winning the Order of the Red Banner in the process. After the German surrender it became part of the Southern Group of Forces briefly before being disbanded before November.
1st Formation A rifle division provisionally numbered as the 223rd began forming in March 1941 in the Leningrad Military District but by May it was redesignated as the 10th Airborne Brigade. The first 223rd was formed from reservists in July but sources differ as to exactly where. Sharp states that it was formed in the Kharkov Military District.Charles C. Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, pp. 33-34 Dunn states that it was formed in the "Southwest Area, District Unknown", possibly in the North Caucasus Military District.Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 77 Glantz states that as of August the division's personnel were 95 percent Azerbaijani by nationality, of the year groups 1905-1921.David M. Glantz, Colossus Reborn, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2005, p. 593 Once formed, its official order of battle, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939, was as follows: 1037th Rifle Regiment 1039th Rifle Regiment 1041st Rifle Regiment 818th Artillery RegimentSharp, "Red Tide", p. 33 332nd Antitank Battalion 577th Antiaircraft Battalion 351st Reconnaissance Battalion 587th Sapper Battalion 752nd Signal Battalion 320th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 385th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 422nd Motor Transport Battalion 378th Motorized Field Bakery 969th Field Postal Station 353rd Field Office of the State Bank Maj. Gen. of Technical Troops Fyodor Grigorevich Filippov was appointed to command on July 10. Contrary to the pre-war shtat the division had no howitzer regiment and in fact was never fully manned or equipped. When it arrived at the front it contained just 208 officers and 341 NCOs; 161 horses; 59 artillery pieces of all calibres, including antitank and antiaircraft guns; 78 mortars; and 221 light machine guns.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 34 Battle of Uman The division makes its only appearance in the official Red Army order of battle on August 1 where it is listed as being in the reserves of Southern Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 34 During the following two days it de-trained at Novomyrhorod, just east of Uman, and immediately came under attack from 14th Panzer Division, which was helping to complete the encirclement of the Front's 6th and 12th Armies in the Uman Pocket. Hopelessly unprepared, the division simply fell apart; on August 5 the higher command noted that it had "failed to report" and it was officially disbanded the next day.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 34 General Filippov survived the debacle only to be arrested and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, suspended until after the war. He went on to command the 51st Rifle Division and had his sentence annulled in September 1942, after which he served in a variety of staff roles in the Caucasus region until the end of 1943 and then moved to the training establishment until he retired in 1950.
2nd Formation A new 223rd began forming at Quba in the Transcaucasian Military District, based on the 168th Reserve Rifle Regiment, on October 18, 1941,Dunn states it was formed in November, and does not identify the rifle regiment. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, p. 88 and was soon officially designated as an Azerbaijani national division. Its order of battle was very similar to that of the 1st formation: 1037th Rifle Regiment 1039th Rifle Regiment 1041st Rifle Regiment 818th Artillery RegimentSharp, "Red Tide", p. 34 332nd Antitank Battalion 351st Reconnaissance Company 587th Sapper Battalion 752nd Signal Battalion (later 785th Signal Company) 320th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 385th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 422nd Motor Transport Company 378th Field Bakery 71st Divisional Veterinary Hospital 1725th Field Postal Station 853rd Field Office of the State Bank Col. Vladimir Filippovich Romanov was appointed to command the division on the day it began forming and he would remain in this post until February 26, 1942 when he was replaced by Col. Vladimir Pavlovich Zyuvanov, who had previously served as deputy commander of the 347th Rifle Division. As of November 1 it is listed as being in the reserves of Transcaucasian Front,Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 70 and in common with many units containing a high proportion of non-Russians it remained in the rear until May 15, 1942 when it was moved to the active front, just prior to the German summer offensive into the Caucasus.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 34
Battle of the Caucasus By the time the German 17th and 1st Panzer Armies began their part in Operation Blau on July 7 the 223rd had been assigned to the Front's 44th Army along with the 414th and 416th Rifle Divisions and the 9th and 10th Rifle Brigades. As of August 1 the Army's composition remained the same and in the face of the German advance the Front was ordered to defend the Terek River with 44th Army as well as elements of 45th and 46th Armies. As the situation deteriorated the 223rd, along with the headquarters of 24th Army, were assigned to gather up all stragglers and retreating elements in the Derbent region to return them to action, in addition to preparing defensive positions. On August 6 the Northern Group of Forces was organized within Transcaucasian Front, consisting of the 44th and 9th Armies and under command of Lt. Gen. I. I. Maslennikov; the Group soon also commanded the 37th and 58th Armies.Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 114, 415, 419, 433
Operations on the Terek After seizing Maykop on August 10 the 1st Panzer Army, and specifically its XXXX Panzer Corps, turned southeast toward Mozdok and the Terek on the 16th. The Northern Group seemed ill-prepared to resist the advance, being spread over a front of about 420km. 44th Army was on the right flank, defending the Terek from east of Mozdok to the Caspian Sea coast north of Makhachkala with its three rifle divisions, four rifle brigades and scant armor support. Mozdok was taken from elements of the 9th Army on August 25 but reinforcements allowed that Army to hold along the south bank of the Terek. By the following day 1st Panzer Army had come to a virtual standstill. In the first days of September the Soviet defenses were reorganized and by now the 44th Army's front along the Terek ran from northwest of Grozny to Kizlyar facing the 3rd Panzer Division and elements of LII Army Corps screening the panzer army's left flank.Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, pp. 432-38
The LII Corps began its thrust across the Terek in the Mozdok sector at 0200 hours on September 2 as a start to a new offensive on Grozny and Ordzhonikidze, but it was not until late on 18th that the Corps' 111th Infantry Division, backed by the 3rd Panzer, managed break through the Soviet defenses at the western end of its bridgehead. The offensive was renewed on September 25 by the 13th Panzer Division but continued to move at a slow pace. On September 29, to secure the defense of the two cities and prepare to go over to the counteroffensive the STAVKA ordered a redeployment: Besides thwarting 1st Panzer's advance on the two cities, Maslennikov's stout defense of the Terek line also severely undercut German efforts to resume offensive operations at Novorossiysk and toward Tuapse. The planning for the counteroffensive took place during October 23–25 but in the event the 1st Panzer Army launched its own attack on October 25 and this planning fell into abeyance. 44th Army remained defending the south bank of the Terek from Beno-Iurt eastward and northeastward to Kizlyar. The German offensive made steady gains but was halted on the western outskirts of Ordzhonikidze on November 5.Glantz, Armageddon in Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 549-50, 554-57, 559-60, 576-78, 584 Pursuit to Armavir
On November 10 Colonel Zyuvanov was promoted to the rank of major general. Later that month the 223rd was reassigned to 58th Army,Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 242 but in December it returned to the 44th.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 19 Beginning on November 27 Maslennikov had launched his first counteroffensive against 1st Panzer Army, since the encirclement of 6th Army at Stalingrad had brought all peripheral German actions to a halt. This effort led to inconclusive fighting in which 58th Army was committed late in the operation between 9th and 44th Armies but was unable to advance. The offensive ended on December 7 and the next day Maslennikov consulted with the STAVKA and was given permission to relieve the 44th's 9th Rifle Corps with the 223rd.Glantz, Operation Don's Left Wing, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2019, pp. 80, 98, 100