194th Rifle Division

The 194th Rifle Division was a Red Army division active from 1939 to 1946 under several designations. It was first formed as a motorized rifle division in the autumn of 1939, part of the first group of such divisions created by the Red Army. After brief service in the war against Finland it was moved to the Central Asian Military District where it was reorganized as a mountain rifle division. It was still in this configuration when the German invasion began on June 22, 1941, and it was soon moved into 49th Army of Reserve Front west of Moscow where it was again reorganized as a regular rifle division, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939, before seeing any combat. When the final German offensive on Moscow began the 194th was caught flat-footed in the process of being transferred by rail behind the front toward Bryansk. As a result its various subunits became separated as they were forced to disembark at several points along the route. Following this split, a lead group of about 4,500 men took part in the defense of Tula, eventually being incorporated into 50th Army's 258th Rifle Division, while the main body remained in 49th Army, defending in the area of Serpukhov. When the winter counteroffensive began on December 6 the first task assigned to 49th Army was to encircle and destroy the German forces between the Upa and Oka rivers. Subsequently, the 194th advanced on Medyn and Yukhnov before the offensive ground to a halt in early March. The division was on the fringes of the battles for Rzhev during the rest of 1942 but only saw action in battles of local significance. In early 1943 it was moved from Western Front to the new Central Front where it took part in the advance on Sevsk, mostly as part of 65th Army. It remained in this Army until after the battle of Kursk, when it was transferred to 48th Army, where it remained for the duration of the war. After advancing through eastern Ukraine the 194th entered eastern Belarus and spent the winter in battles around and west of Gomel, winning a battle honor in the process. In the wake of the German defeat in Operation Bagration the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the fighting for Slonim. It spent the winter along the Narew River, before taking part in the Vistula-Oder Offensive into Poland and East Prussia in January 1945, mostly as part of 53rd Rifle Corps. The division would be transferred in early February, along with its Army and Corps, to 3rd Belorussian Front, and all three of its rifle regiments would be decorated for their parts in the fighting in East Prussia. After the war the 194th was moved, with 53rd Corps, to the Kirov area, and in 1946 it was redesignated as the 40th Rifle Brigade.

194th Mountain Rifle Division The 194th Motorized Division was originally formed in September and October of 1939 in the Siberian Military District. After serving briefly against Finland during December 1939 - March 1940, it was moved to the Central Asian Military District and began reorganizing as a mountain rifle division at Tashkent on May 15. As of June 22, 1941, its order of battle was as follows: 377th Mountain Rifle Regiment 405th Mountain Rifle Regiment 470th Mountain Rifle Regiment 616th Mountain Rifle Regiment 299th Artillery RegimentCharles C. Sharp, "Red Death", Soviet Mountain, Naval, NKVD and Allied Divisions and Brigades 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. VII, Nafziger, 1995, pp. 15-16 389th Howitzer Artillery Regiment 279th Antitank Battalion 179th Antiaircraft Battalion 137th Cavalry Squadron 158th Sapper Battalion 114th Signal Battalion 34th Artillery Park Battalion 108th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 107th Motor Transport Battalion 107th Field Bakery 487th Field Postal Station 213th Field Office of the State Bank The division was led by Col. Ivan Maksimovich Shutov, who had been in command since October 1940, and would remain in the post until it became a regular rifle division. It had the four rifle regiment structure (without rifle battalions) of mountain rifle divisions, but had several departures from the normal shtat, mostly in regards to the artillery.Sharp, "Red Death", pp. 21-23 It appears that the conversion to rifle division standard was already underway.

At the start of Barbarossa the 194th was still located in the Central Asia District near Tashkent as part of the 58th Rifle Corps, which also contained the 68th and 83rd Mountain Rifle Divisions, but it had been detached from the Corps by July 1.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 13, 20 It officially began mobilizing to wartime strength on June 23 (all the mountain divisions had about 8,800 personnel and 3,160 horses compared to full complement of 14,100 and 6,740 respectively). Already on June 28 it received orders to move to the front. From July 5 to 14 it moved by rail, first to Kubinka, then to Mozhaysk, where it joined the 49th Army of Reserve Front by July 19.Sharp, "Red Death", pp. 3, 16

On August 1 the division was part of the 23rd Rifle Corps of 24th Army in Reserve Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 32 Some days later the 405th Mountain Rifle Regiment was detached, converted to a regular rifle regiment, and reassigned to the 7th Mechanized Division to convert that division to a standard rifle division. The 954th Rifle Regiment was added to the division to replace the 405th, and finally, on August 26 the 194th was officially redesignated as the 194th Rifle Division.Sharp, "Red Death", p. 16

194th Rifle Division Once reformed, the division had the following order of battle: 470th Rifle Regiment (from 470th Mountain Rifle Regiment) 616th Rifle Regiment (from 616th Mountain Rifle Regiment) 954th Rifle Regiment (later 405th) 299th Artillery RegimentSharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p. 27 175th Antitank Battalion 137th Reconnaissance Company 158th Sapper Battalion 114th Signal Battalion (later 29th Signal Company) 108th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 304th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 401st Motor Transport Company 316th Field Bakery 385th Divisional Veterinary Hospital (later 705th) 487th Field Postal Station 213th Field Office of the State Bank Col. Mikhail Aleksandrovich Siyazov immediately took over command of the division. This officer had been arrested on April 30, 1938 during the Great Purge, but released on April 8, 1940 and reinstated to the Red Army. In August of that year he had been appointed chief of staff of the 194th Mountain Division. Operation Typhoon During August the 194th returned to 49th Army, still in Reserve Front. At the beginning of October, when Operation Typhoon began, it was still under these commands, along with the 220th, 248th and 303rd Rifle Divisions plus the 29th and 31st Cavalry Divisions.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 41, 51 The army was occupying a defensive line between Vyazma and Rzhev with its divisions spread along very wide sectors. As an example the 194th was deployed on the banks of the Dniepr from Shabrykino to Sopotov. Owing to the advance of 2nd Panzer Group to the south, which began on September 30, the Army received orders the next day to entrain for redeployment to this sector; the 194th was to begin loading at at 1800 hours on October 2. Meanwhile, the 140th Rifle Division of 32nd Army was to take over its sector.Lev Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, ed. & trans. S. Britton, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2013, Kindle ed., part 3 The previous day, Colonel Siyazov had left the division; he would be named commander of the 258th Rifle Division in November. He was replaced by NKVD Col. Pavel Andreevich Firsov, who had been serving as an instructor at the Frunze Military Academy. This officer would be promoted to the rank of major general on January 2, 1942.

The redeployment plan, which had been prepared as a contingency, was entirely overtaken by events when 3rd Panzer Group began its own part of the offensive on the same day. The redeploying divisions were taken by surprise when German tanks of 6th Panzer Division seized two intact bridges over the Dniepr east of Kholm-Zhirkovskii on October 3. At 0530 that morning the entrained 194th and 303rd Divisions were ordered to concentrate in the Karachev area in the Bryansk Front sector.Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, Kindle ed., part 3

2nd Panzer Group's 4th Panzer Division was well on its way to Oryol by midday, and Soviet communications with the city were lost by 1800 hours. Marshal B. M. Shaposhnikov of the STAVKA twice called the headquarters of Bryansk Front, but was only able to speak to the chief of staff, Maj. Gen. G. F. Zakharov; contact with the Front commander, Lt. Gen. A. I. Yeryomenko, had been lost 48 hours earlier. Zakharov asked Shaposhnikov for operational control over the 194th; the first two trains carrying lead elements of the division had arrived in Bryansk. Another 30 trains with the remainder of the personnel and equipment was due to arrive by October 6. Shaposhnikov, more concerned with finding Yeryomenko and putting him in touch with the overall situation, did not give a firm answer. With the fall of Oryol the commandants of railroad stations were given instructions to hasten the movements of the trains of several formations, including the 194th, toward Tula and Kaluga.Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, Kindle ed., part 3

At 1835 hours on October 5 the acting commander of Bryansk Front, Lt. Gen. F. A. Yershakov, received approval from the STAVKA for his proposed plan of action. It included withdrawing 50th Army to the second defensive belt west of Bryansk, taking 3rd Army back 35-45km to the Desna River line, while 13th Army would pull back a total of 100-110km. The STAVKA indicated that: Despite the Front's difficult situation, Moscow could not manage to decide on the abandonment of the Bryansk area. The German plan was to encircle the Front with a double envelopment from the north and south. Units of the 108th Tank Division (20 tanks) and the largest part of the 194th were continuing to hold the Karachev area, with their front facing east. The two partial divisions were under command of Lt. Gen. M. A. Reyter, the Front's deputy commander for logistics.Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, Kindle ed., part 4 This part of the division consisted of the 405th Rifle Regiment, one battalion of the 470th Regiment, two battalions of the 299th Artillery Regiment, plus the anti-tank and anti-aircraft battalions.

Reyter reported on October 5 at 1525 hours that fighting was going on south of Karachev with German tanks and motorized infantry, consisting of up to 40 armored vehicles and two regiments with motorcyclists. The 108th Tanks had already lost four of its own vehicles. The German force was from the 18th Panzer Division and its commander had no intention of getting bogged down in protracted fighting. During the evening, German troops captured the eastern portion of the city; the 194th now took up a defense on the west bank of the Snezhet River, with its front facing east. The panzers continued their main attack to the north and by the end of October 6 had linked up with elements of German 2nd Army in an area southeast of Zhizdra. 18th Panzer also seized Bryansk with an attack from the east. Bryansk Front was now encircled from the rear.Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, Kindle ed., part 4