The 236th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was reorganized in the first weeks of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of July 29, 1941, although it was briefly redesignated as a mountain rifle division prior to making an amphibious landing at Feodosia in late December. This overly ambitious undertaking by Crimean Front's 44th Army led to a disaster when a German counterattack retook the port, destroying much of the division's personnel and equipment. The remnants of the division were forced to evacuate the Crimea in the wake of the German counteroffensive in May.
As it gradually rebuilt in the western Caucasus region the 236th played an important role in the defense of Tuapse during Army Group A's summer offensive. Over the winter it pursued the German 17th Army as it withdrew to the Kuban and took part in the liberation of Krasnodar. It was then moved north to join 46th Army in Southwestern Front (later 3rd Ukrainian Front) and advanced through eastern Ukraine, forcing a crossing of the Dniepr River and helping to liberate Dnepropetrovsk, for which it received a battle honor. Soon after, it was awarded two decorations for its successes in the winter battles in the great bend of the Dniepr. Its combat path was halted for a few months along the Dniestr River, but in August 1944 it began its advance through Bessarabia and into the Balkans, where all three of its rifle regiments received honors for the liberation of Belgrade. After crossing the Danube the 236th took part in the battles outside Budapest, the Hungarian capital, in early 1945, and then advanced toward Vienna, ending the war in Austria as part of 26th Army's 135th Rifle Corps. It continued to serve in the Balkans after the German surrender, but was disbanded in the fall.
236th Motorized Division The division began forming in April 1941 as part of the prewar buildup of Soviet mechanized forces, at Qazax in the Transcaucasian Military District as part of the 28th Mechanized Corps.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 12 Its main order of battle was intended to be as follows: 509th Motorized Rifle Regiment 814th Motorized Rifle Regiment 672nd Howitzer Artillery Regiment Antitank Battalion Antiaircraft Battalion Reconnaissance Battalion 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. 66. Grylev (see Bibliography) has no order of battle for the 236th Motorized. Maj. Gen. Vasilii Konstantinovich Moroz was appointed to command on April 20. This cavalry officer came to the division after 10 months as a senior instructor at the Frunze Military Academy. While there was a large number of tanks (mostly T-26s) in the Transcaucasus, there is no evidence that the 236th ever had a tank regiment and was therefore never more than a partially-formed rifle division.Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", pp. 66-67 At the start of the German invasion the division was located at Ashtarak. In a STAVKA order dated July 26, effective August 1, the 28th Corps was to form the basis of the new 47th Army in preparation for the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran and the 236th was officially redesignated as a rifle division.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 36 While the former Corps' two tank divisions took part in this operation, the 236th was still too raw and disorganized to play any active role.
Formation After the division reorganizedWalter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 71 its order of battle was substantially changed, and there were further changes during the course of its existence: 177th Rifle Regiment (from 177th Reserve Rifle Regiment; later 818th and 976th Rifle Regiments) 509th Rifle Regiment (from 509th Motorized Rifle Regiment; later 180th Rifle Regiment) 814th Rifle Regiment (from 814th Motorized Rifle Regiment) 687th Artillery Regiment (later 889th Artillery Regiment)Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p. 37 27th Antitank Battalion (later 28th Antitank Battalion) 178th Antiaircraft Battery (later 292nd Antiaircraft Battalion until March 29, 1943) 496th Reconnaissance Company (later 311th Reconnaissance Battalion) 404th Sapper Battalion 615th Signal Battalion (later 630th Signal Company) 392nd Medical/Sanitation Battalion 102nd Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company (later 10th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company) 94th Motor Transport Company (later 665th Motor Transport Battalion) 337th Field Bakery (later 459th Motorized Field Bakery) 236th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 701st Field Postal Station 508th Field Office of the State Bank General Moroz remained in command. At the beginning of September the division's 180th Rifle Regiment was in 45th Army, while the balance remained in 47th Army, both of which were in the redesignated Transcaucasian Front; one month later the entire division had been assigned to the 45th.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 47, 57
In December the 236th was again reassigned, now to the 9th Rifle Corps of 44th Army in Caucasus Front, and was officially redesignated as a mountain rifle division. However, in a report on December 20 its manpower and equipment was not that of a mountain division, especially in terms of specialized equipment: Total personnel – 11,113 Rifles/Semi-automatic rifles – 6,922/1,548 Submachine guns/Light machine guns/Heavy machine guns – 178/108/54 Antiaircraft machine guns – 8 76mm howitzers/cannon – 9/16 45mm antitank guns/37mm antiaircraft guns – 18/4 122mm howitzers – 8 50mm mortars/82mm mortars/120mm mortars – 67/37/9Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 38 At about the same time it was reported that the personnel of the division were of roughly 40 percent Russian nationality, 20 percent Belarusian and Ukrainian, and 40 percent non-Slavic nationalities.David M. Glantz, Colossus Reborn, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2005, p. 593
Crimean Campaign Caucasus Front (soon renamed Crimean Front) began its operations to retake the Kerch Peninsula overnight on December 25/26 with landings in the vicinity of Kerch itself. This was followed on December 28/29 with further landings at the port city of Feodosia which took the defending German XXXXII Army Corps utterly by surprise. The assault was led by naval infantry detachments plus the 633rd Rifle Regiment of the 157th Rifle Division and by 0730 hours the German forces had completely lost control of the port. By the end of the day elements of three Red Army divisions were ashore, including part of the 236th. The response of the German Corps commander, Lt. Gen. H. von Sponeck, was one of near panic as the communications of his own 46th Infantry Division were in immediate danger of being cut off from the rest of the Crimea. He disobeyed orders from the headquarters of 11th Army and directed the 46th to retreat from the Kerch area despite the fact that nearly 20,000 Romanian troops were on hand to counterattack Feodosia.Robert Forczyk, Where the Iron Crosses Grow, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2014, pp. 101-03, 106-09
Sponeck ordered two Romanian brigades to counterattack the Soviet lodgement on December 30 but these troops, tired from countermarching and without artillery or air support, were quickly repulsed. 9th Corps now pushed northward to complete the isolation of XXXXII Corps. Over two days the 46th Infantry marched westward in a snowstorm; fuel shortages led to some motor vehicles being abandoned and heavy weapons lagged behind. When its lead elements reached the crossroads town of Vladislavovka they were shocked to find it held in strength by the 63rd Mountain Rifle Division. The German divisional commander ordered his lead regiments to crash through the position but this failed due to exhaustion and lack of artillery. Inexplicably the 9th Corps had left a gap between its pincer and the south shore of the Sea of Azov through which the German division was able to escape with light losses in personnel. By January 1, 1942, the XXXXII Corps had established a new line roughly west of Feodosia. The Romanian 4th Mountain Brigade was in a strong position at Staryi Krym but the 236th was pushing against its lines.Forczyk, Where the Iron Crosses Grow, pp. 109-10
An attack that day on the XXXXII Corps command post at Ismail-Terek by infantry and T-26 tanks of 44th Army failed with the loss of 16 vehicles knocked out. Despite this setback the army appeared to be in a good position with 23,000 troops ashore and the Axis forces appearing weak and disorganized. The 236th was holding about west of Feodosia on the Biyuk-Eget ridge, the best defensive terrain in the area, with a forward security zone farther west, while the 63rd Mountain remained on the defense in and around Vladislavovka as 51st Army moved up from the Kerch area. In fact the 44th Army was overextended and the Crimean Front was hampered by the inept leadership of Lt. Gen. D. T. Kozlov. By January 13 the commander of 11th Army, Gen. d. Inf. E. von Manstein, had concentrated more than four divisions outside Feodosia.Forczyk, Where the Iron Crosses Grow, pp. 110, 114-16
Manstein's counteroffensive began at dawn on January 15, focused on the 236th; Kozlov was convinced the German objective would be Vladislavovka and had therefore concentrated most of his reserves to this sector. A brief artillery preparation fell on the forward zone, followed by Ju 87s and He 111s bombing the ridge line. This was immediately followed by a German infantry assault, led by the 213th Regiment of 73rd Infantry Division along with two battalions of the 46th Division, which apparently took the forward defense by surprise and overran it. Three StuG IIIs supported the attack and knocked out two T-26s, but one of the assault guns was then knocked out by a 76 mm cannon. The commander of 44th Army, Maj. Gen. A. N. Pervushin, was badly wounded in an air attack, which disrupted command and control. By evening the 213th Regiment had taken the Biyuk-Eget ridge, completing the defeat of the 236th. The next day the German attack steadily pushed 63rd Mountain back toward the sea and threatened to isolate the 236th in Feodosia.Forczyk, Where the Iron Crosses Grow, pp. 116-17
The 132nd Infantry Division was brought up on January 17 and attacked directly into the northern part of the port, ripping apart the remaining defenses. After taking Sarygol the 236th was effectively isolated. The Black Sea Fleet braved air attack to attempt an emergency evacuation but few troops managed to escape in this manner. Others managed to filter through German lines to the east, eventually reaching the Parpach Narrows, but by the end of the next day 5,300 men had been taken prisoner in Feodosia, mostly from the division, roughly half its strength. Among those who escaped was General Moroz and most of his command cadre. On February 6 he was relieved of his command and arrested "for the loss of control of the division". He was court-martialed and condemned to death on February 18 with the sentence being carried out four days later.Forczyk, Where the Iron Crosses Grow, pp. 117-18 He had been replaced by Col. Pyotr Ivanovich Nemertsalov. Operation Bustard Hunt