The original 186th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed just before the start of the Second World War, in the Ural Military District, based on the pre-September 13, 1939 shtat (table of organization and equipment). At the outbreak of war with Germany in June 1941 it was already moving west, and was soon assigned to the 22nd Army, which became part of Western Front on July 1. After the disastrous frontier battles this Front was attempting to defend along the lines of the Dvina and Dniepr Rivers, with the 22nd on the far right (north) flank. The division was initially quite successful in holding prepared positions near Polotsk, but was outflanked by German crossings elsewhere along the Dvina and forced to retreat. It became encircled west of Nevel, but was able to escape when Velikiye Luki was retaken on July 21. It held positions east of this city into late August when it was struck by a surprise panzer assault and largely overrun, which soon led to Velikiye Luki changing hands again. As the damaged division retreated in late September a former militia division in the far north was assigned the same number, and this anomaly persisted into late June 1943, when the later division was redesignated. The 186th, now in Kalinin Front, took part in the winter counteroffensive which drove a huge salient into the German lines around Toropets, and created the Rzhev salient. By February 1942 the offensive had bogged down, and the following months saw attacks and counterattacks on the west side of the salient, during which the division was fortunate to escape encirclement. Prior to Operation Mars it was transferred to 39th Army, but it played only a minor role in that offensive, and was moved in March 1943 to the reserve near Moscow for rebuilding. When it returned to the fighting front in late April it joined 25th Rifle Corps under direct command of Bryansk Front. After Operation Kutuzov began this Corps came under command of 3rd Army to serve as an exploitation force. By the first week of August the 186th had fought forward to take part in the liberation of Oryol, after which it advanced through eastern Ukraine and into Belarus. During the fall and winter of 1943/44 the division fought in a series of offensives in eastern Belarus under command of Belorussian (later 1st Belorussian) Front, gradually closing in on the Dniepr. It was along this line at the start of the 1944 summer offensive and soon began advancing against the routed forces of Army Group Center, taking part in the capture of Babruysk and winning the Order of the Red Banner before continuing to drive westward. During this drive the division took part in the liberation of Brest, and was awarded its name as a battle honor. It was now in the 46th Rifle Corps of 65th Army, and it would remain under these commands into the postwar, moving to 2nd Belorussian Front in November. In September it forced crossings over the Narew River before the offensive was finally shut down. During the first phase of the Vistula-Oder offensive the 186th attacked out of the Serock bridgehead in the direction of Mława and Płońsk and two of its regiments were recognized for their roles in the fighting for these towns. Further awards followed for the division's role in the battle for Danzig in March. Beginning on April 18 it fought its way across both branches of the lower Oder River before advancing to the northwest. It took part in the fighting around Stettin, and in its final actions cleared the island of Rügen. After the war it was pulled back into Poland, where it was disbanded in June 1946.
Formation The division began forming on August 19, 1939, at Ufa in the Ural Military District. It was based on the 4th Separate Bashkir Rifle Regiment. As of June 22, 1941, it had the following order of battle: 238th Rifle Regiment (until June 1, 1942) 234th Rifle Regiment (from April 10, 1942) 238th Rifle Regiment (from June 1, 1942) 290th Rifle Regiment 298th Rifle Regiment (later 879th, 653rd) 327th Artillery RegimentCharles C. Sharp, "Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. VIII, Nafziger, 1996, p. 90 227th Antitank Battalion (later 327th) 508th Antiaircraft Battery (later 264th Antiaircraft Battalion, until March 9, 1943) 465th Machine Gun Battalion (from October 1, 1942, until March 9, 1943) 107th Reconnaissance Company 255th Sapper Battalion 244th Signal Battalion (later 574th Signal Company) 167th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 133rd Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company (later 111th) 38th Motor Transport Company (later 164th) 296th Motorized Field Bakery (later 42nd, 35th) 92nd Divisional Veterinary Hospital 406th Field Postal Station (later 1483rd) 138th Field Office of the State Bank Col. Nikolai Ivanovich Biryukov took command on the day the division began forming. He had previously led the 219th Rifle Regiment and had served in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. He would be promoted to the rank of Kombrig on November 4, and this would be modernized to that of major general on June 4, 1940.
At the start of the German invasion on June 22, 1941, the 186th was under command of the 62nd Rifle Corps of 22nd Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 10 It had been moving west by rail from the Urals for over a week and was now located near Idritsa, not far from the former USSR/Latvia border. It became part of the Active Army on June 29.
Battle of Smolensk On July 1 Marshal S. K. Timoshenko took command of Western Front, and the 22nd Army was one of four reserve armies assigned to it on the same date. It was under command of Lt. Gen. F. A. Yershakov. Timoshenko's immediate aim was to defend the "Smolensk Gates" along the lines of the Dvina and Dniepr Rivers, and the 22nd was initially assigned a sector from Idritsa to Polotsk. 62nd Corps also contained the 174th and 179th Rifle Divisions. Due to the chaos produced by the German advance, only 37 of Timoshenko's 66 divisions managed to reach their assigned defensive positions before the advancing forces reached the two rivers. The 3rd Panzer Group was leading this advance on the Polotsk axis.David M. Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2010, Kindle ed., ch. 2
62nd Corps was specifically assigned to defend the Polotsk Fortified Region. Army Group Center resumed its advance on July 2. The LVII Motorized Corps led the way in the Polotsk direction, and was to advance north of Smolensk after passing the Dvina, but unexpectedly encountered 22nd Army's prepared defenses along the river. On July 4 the 19th Panzer Division managed to seize a bridgehead from 51st Rifle Corps at Disna, but 62nd Corps stymied the 18th Motorized Division opposite Polotsk. By late on July 5 the 3rd Panzer Group was in a bind, unable to advance anywhere. 62nd Corps had been moved to Ulla, 56 km west of Vitebsk, where it was now blocking the XXXIX Motorized Corps. Timoshenko now planned a counterstroke at Lyepyel, relying on new mechanized forces from Moscow, but 62nd Corps was ordered to maintain its defensive stance.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Kindle ed., ch. 2
Despite this partly-successful counterstroke, 3rd Panzer Group penetrated the defenses of 22nd Army south of Polotsk on July 9 and captured Vitebsk by the end of the day. After a regrouping, the 20th Panzer Division, backed by the 20th Motorized Division, struck again at Ulla on July 10. With massive air support the panzer division rolled across the Dvina through 22nd Army and drove 55 km northeast to Haradok. Timoshenko was left with no option but to begin to fight a rear-guard action. At the same time he ordered the 186th, along with other forces, to counterattack to seal the breach.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Kindle ed., ch. 2
In his report to the STAVKA at 2000 hours on July 11, Timoshenko stated, in part:3rd Panzer Group was soon on the move and by nightfall on July 13 its spearhead, the 7th Panzer Division, was probing toward Nevel and Velizh with the intention of linking up with 2nd Panzer Group east of Smolensk. Timoshenko had issued orders late on July 12 for General Yershakov to carry out a counterattack the following morning with the 186th and 214th Rifle Divisions and supporting artillery from the Haradok area south toward Vitebsk. This plan was stillborn when LVII Motorized Corps, backed by the L and XXIII Army Corps drove the Army from its remaining defenses along the Dvina northwest of Polotsk, cut it into two parts, enveloped its flanks and threatened both parts with encirclement. With only six divisions to defend a front 274 km wide Yershakov was soon in full retreat as the panzers drove northward toward Nevel.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Kindle ed., ch. 3
Breakout from Encirclement Nevel was taken by LVII Motorized on the morning of July 16 which left four of 22nd Army's divisions (50th, 174th, 186th and 214th) cut off and isolated between that town and Vitebsk. As the German commanders debated the size of the encircled forces and exactly how best to deal with them while also carrying out their other objectives, the four divisions did their best to escape in the general direction of Velikiye Luki, aided by the difficult terrain in the region. On July 18 the 19th Panzers captured the city but overnight elements of 22nd Army attacked and overran the thin screen being held around Nevel by 14th Motorized Division, allowing encircled 62nd Corps to escape to the east. This pressure also forced 19th Panzer to abandon the city on July 21 and Yershakov triumphantly signalled the commander of 62nd Corps:This overlooked victory was the first large city liberated by the Red Army for any length of time. The 186th managed to reach friendly lines on July 21 and two days later was defending the ShchukinoPorecheLake Serutskoe line with the 174th Division, while also assisting 19th Army's 134th Rifle Division in escaping from encirclement. Yershakov now attempted to create a new defense line along the Lovat River although his 51st Rifle Corps had been reduced to remnants.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., chs. 3, 621st Army had briefly retaken Rahachow and Zhlobin on July 13.
By July 27 Yershakov had reorganized his defenses along the Lovat with the mission of "holding on to Velikiye Luki at all cost." Maj. Gen. I. P. Karmanov, commander of 62nd Corps, was to support 29th Corps in this, in part by preventing a German penetration or envelopment of General Biryukov's left flank. However, due to other priorities, the German 9th Army did not make any further moves over the coming weeks. When the advance was renewed on August 3 the 186th was reported as holding its positions. In an operational summary by Western Front issued at 2000 hours on August 21, 22nd Army was reported as counterattacking, with 62nd Corps' 186th and 174th Divisions advancing from a position 35–38 km southwest of Velikiye Luki and gaining up to 3 km against strong resistance. The next day the same source stated that the 186th had been attacked at 0600 by the 110th Infantry Division, which captured Bardino, Sopki, and Dreki, "and enemy sub-machine gunners penetrated into Slonovo, but measures are being taken to liquidate the enemy penetration." This presaged a larger drive on August 23 by panzer forces that had "disappeared" from Soviet view four days earlier.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., chs. 6, 7, 10
Second Battle for Velikiye Luki