The 197th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as part of the prewar buildup of forces, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. It began forming just months before the German invasion in the Kiev Special Military District, where it was soon assigned to the 49th Rifle Corps in the reserves of Southwestern Front. At the start of Operation Barbarossa it was in western Ukraine and quickly came under intense pressure from the 1st Panzer Group which split the Corps apart. Forced to the south and east it was assigned to 6th Army and in early August was encircled and destroyed near Uman.
A new 197th began forming in March 1942 in the North Caucasus Military District. During the crisis caused by the German summer offensive it was assigned to 63rd Army in Stalingrad Front in mid-July. As German Army Group B pressed toward Stalingrad in August the Front was ordered to conduct several diversionary attacks across the Don River. One of these, by 63rd Army against elements of Italian 8th Army, carved out a substantial bridgehead west of Serafimovich, which would serve as a springboard for the Soviet counteroffensive in November. When this began the 197th was still in the western corner of the bridgehead, now part of the 1st Guards Army of Southwestern Front. It was not part of the Front's shock group and played a supporting role in the offensive, making little progress against the Romanian forces that were now containing the bridgehead. 1st Guards was being held back for Operation Saturn, but before this began on December 16 it had been renamed Little Saturn and the over-large Army had been split, with the division becoming part of the new 3rd Guards Army. This Army's main objective was to encircle and destroy the two divisions of Army Group Hollidt and the remainder of Romanian 3rd Army. Over the next two weeks this was largely successful, and on January 3, 1943, the division was redesignated as the 59th Guards Rifle Division.
The third 197th was formed from a pair of rifle brigades in the Moscow Military District in May 1943. It was soon assigned to 11th Army in Bryansk Front in time to take part in the Soviet summer counteroffensive following the Battle of Kursk. As it advanced it soon earned a battle honor. It was soon also awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In November it played a secondary role in the fighting for the city of Gomel, and remained involved in Belorussian Front's (later 1st Belorussian) grinding winter battles in eastern Belarus as part of 48th Army. At the start of March, 1944 it was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding and was also redeployed to the south, joining the 3rd Guards Army in 1st Ukrainian Front, where it would remain for the duration. During the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive the 197th played a key role in the taking of Volodymyr-Volynskyi and three of its regiments received its name as an honorific. It helped to create the bridgehead over the Vistula near Sandomierz in August before pausing until the winter campaign. During the Lower Silesian Offensive in February 1945 it was involved in battles along the Oder River in the Glogau area, before advancing to the Neisse River. During the Berlin Offensive in April the 197th was part of the forces that encircled and destroyed the German 9th Army, for which it was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd Degree, and several of its subunits received decorations for their parts in the capture of Dresden. It ended the war advancing toward Prague, but despite a distinguished combat record it was disbanded in July.
1st Formation The division officially formed from March 14 to April 15, 1941, in the Kiev Special Military District. As of June 22, 1941 it had the following order of battle: 828th Rifle Regiment 862nd Rifle Regiment 889th Rifle RegimentCharles C. Sharp, "Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. VIII, Nafziger, 1996, p. 94 261st Artillery Regiment 362nd Howitzer Artillery Regiment 19th Antitank Battalion 62nd Antiaircraft Battalion 255th Reconnaissance Battalion 261st Sapper Battalion 617th Signal Battalion 124th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 160th Degassing Platoon 17th Motor Transport Battalion 309th Motorized Field Bakery 717th Field Postal Station 542nd Field Office of the State Bank Col. Stepan Dmitrievich Gubin was appointed to command the division on the day it began forming, and would remain in this position for the duration of the 1st formation. When the German invasion began the division was still a long way from being complete, but was in the reserves of Southwestern Front (the renamed Kiev District) as part of the 49th Rifle Corps, which also included the 190th and 199th Rifle Divisions.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 9 By nightfall on June 23 the division was concentrated at Yabluniv and was preparing for combat.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 94
Battle of Uman By the end of July 7 the 197th and 190th Divisions were attempting to hold against the German IV Army Corps northeast of Volochysk, but the 199th had been separated from the 49th Corps by a thrust of XIV Motorized Corps.David Stahel, Kiev 1941, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2012, pp. 78-79 By July 10 the 49th Corps had been subordinated to 6th Army, still in Southwestern Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 24
As of July 15 the division had been worn down to a strength of just 1,485 personnel and nine artillery pieces. By the end of the previous day the 197th and 190th had fallen back to positions southwest of Berdychiv, forming the right flank of 6th Army, but without much at all in support to the east. As of July 23, while the German encircling operation was commencing, the two divisions were in the vicinity of Orativ.Stahel, Kiev 1941, pp. 78-79, 84-85 Within days, 6th Army was hopelessly cut off from Southwestern Front and was transferred to Southern Front. This made little difference to the overall situation as in early August the Army was encircled at Uman. The 197th was one of the first units hit by the encircling forces; it was overrun and destroyed on August 6,Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 94 although it was not officially written off until September 19.Walter S. Dunn Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 67 Colonel Gubin was killed in a breakout attempt; roughly 700 men and 45 vehicles were able to escape.
2nd Formation A new 197th Rifle Division started forming on March 6, 1942, at Krasnodar in the North Caucasus Military District.Dunn Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, p. 108 Once formed its order of battle would be quite similar to that of the 1st formation: 828th Rifle Regiment 862nd Rifle Regiment 889th Rifle Regiment 261st Artillery Regiment 418th Antitank BattalionSharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. X, Nafziger, 1996, p. 77 472nd Motorized Antiaircraft Battery 255th Reconnaissance Company 261st Sapper Battalion 617th Signal Battalion 124th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 160th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 538th Motor Transport Company 381st Field Bakery 851st Divisional Veterinary Hospital 1965th Field Postal Station (later 1840th) 1159th Field Office of the State Bank Col. Mikhail Ivanovich Zaporozhchenko was appointed to command on the day the division began forming. He had been arrested and imprisoned for over a year during the Great Purge, and came to the 197th after serving as the second commander of the 409th Rifle Division. He would be promoted to the rank of major general on October 14 and remained in command of the 2nd formation for its entire existence.
Battle of Stalingrad As of the beginning of May the division had been assigned to 5th Reserve Army, along with the 153rd Rifle Division. By the start of the German summer offensive (on the southern sector July 7) this formation had been reinforced with four more divisions. On July 12, as the situation deteriorated, the STAVKA ordered that Southwestern Front be redesignated as Stalingrad Front, to consist of four armies, with the 5th Reserve redesignated as 63rd Army. According to the order:The Army, under command of Lt. Gen. V. I. Kuznetsov, now had five divisions under command, including the 197th. Kuznetsov was to link his left flank to the 21st Army in the area of Serafimovich. It remained in this general situation at the start of August.David M. Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 108, 115, 186-87, 276 Serafimovich Bridgehead As the German 6th Army prepared to drive from the Don to Stalingrad the commander of Stalingrad Front, Col. Gen. A. I. Yeryomenko, issued orders on August 18/19 for a series of coordinated counterattacks by his armies to tie down German forces. 63rd Army was directed to advance from a 15km-wide sector west of the Khopyor River southwards across the Don towards Chebotarevskii, Klinovoi and Perelazovskii with the 197th and 14th Guards Rifle Divisions with an immediate objective 15-20km south of the river. The attack began at dawn on August 20 and faced the Italian 2nd Infantry Division of 8th Army's XXXV Corps, which had only moved into the sector four days earlier. It gained immediate success and soon held a bridgehead 2-3km deep:Continuing their advance over the next two days the two attacking divisions were soon reinforced by 203rd Rifle Division and 21st Army's 304th Rifle Division. By then they had expanded their bridgehead to a depth of 2-10km, with the 197th on the right (west) flank approaching the village of Yagodnyi. By the time the attack wound down on August 28 the combined Soviet assault force had carved a bridgehead 50km wide and up to 25km deep on the south bank of the Don.Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, pp. 328-29, 383-89
The situation in the bridgehead remained much the same until November 1 when the STAVKA issued a directive redesignating 63rd Army as the second formation of 1st Guards Army, effective November 5. The Army was now in Southwestern Front, with Lt. Gen. D. D. Lelyushenko in command. The 197th, 153rd, and 1st Rifle Divisions were combined into the new 14th Rifle Corps, effective November 10.Glantz, Armageddon in Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 637-38
Operation Uranus
In the buildup to the Soviet counteroffensive most of 1st Guards Army had left the bridgehead and redeployed westward, being replaced by 5th Tank Army. In the plan for the operation this Army, and the 21st Army to its east, would form the main shock group of Southwestern Front while 1st Guards played a supporting role. In the event that Uranus was successful it would play a significant role in the far more ambitious Operation Saturn. It was stronger in manpower than the other two Armies in part due to its divisions not having seen significant combat since July, and in part due to an influx of rebuilt divisions from the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. On November 20 it had 142,869 personnel in combat formations, supported by 3,308 guns and mortars and 163 tanks.Glantz, Endgame at Stalingrad, Book One, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2014, pp. 58-59, 63-64