153rd Rifle Division (1943–1946)

The third 153rd Rifle Division began forming at Rzhev on May 18, 1943, based on a pair of rifle brigades. It served as an infantry division of the Red Army into the postwar period, originally on the basis of the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of December 10, 1942. It was initially assigned to the 68th Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. After entering Western Front on July 12 it was transferred to 5th Army of the same Front just prior to the summer offensive toward Smolensk. During the offensive it was transferred to 21st Army of the same Front, and in late September it was awarded the name of that city as a battle honor. In October it became involved in a series of unsuccessful offensives toward Orsha, being transferred to 33rd Army later that month. During the grinding offensives southeast of Vitebsk during the winter the division returned to 5th Army, and by the end of January 1944 it was so badly depleted it was moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding. When it returned to the active army in late May it was assigned to 2nd Belorussian Front and soon the 49th Army of that Front. Under these commands the division took part in crushing the German 4th Army's bridgehead on the east bank of the Dniepr River near Mogilev during the first days of the summer offensive in Belarus, and then drove forward to cross the Berezina before the end of June. For these accomplishments it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After being transferred to 50th Army in mid-July it participated in the capture of Grodno, and soon received the Order of Kutuzov. In August it was placed in reserve for rest and refitting before returning to the 50th in October. During the invasion of East Prussia in January 1945 it successfully battled through the fortified Masurian Lake District and all its regiments received battle honors or decorations. It was soon transferred to 3rd Belorussian Front with its Army and fought through February to defeat the German grouping around Heiligenbeil. It was then shifted northeast of Königsberg to prepare for the final assault on that city which began on April 6 and which earned one of the division's regiments its name as a battle honor. The 153rd remained in East Prussia for the remainder of the war and into the postwar period, before beginning to move east in late September. It arrived in Voroshilovgrad Region where it was disbanded beginning in February 1946.

Formation The division began forming on May 18, 1943, in and around Rzhev, on the basis of the 136th Rifle Brigade and the 2nd formation of the 122nd Rifle Brigade. 122nd Rifle Brigade This unit began forming in the South Ural Military District in January, and remained there training until May. It then loaded on rail cars and traveled west where it was assigned to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command near Moscow. It was disbanded there almost immediately to provide resources for the new 153rd.Charles C. Sharp, "Red Volunteers", Soviet Militia Units, Rifle and Ski Brigades 1941 - 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. XI, Nafziger, 1996, pp. 57-58 136th Rifle Brigade The 136th was formed in the Volga Military District from December 1941 through March 1942 before entraining in April, moving west to join 30th Army in Kalinin Front. During August it was moved to the Front reserves until it was reassigned in November to the Front's 39th Army just prior to the start of Operation Mars.Sharp, "Red Volunteers", p. 62

This Army was tasked with making a diversionary attack on the Molodoi Tud sector. On November 25, the first day of the offensive, the 136th attacked the 413th Regiment of the 206th Infantry Division alongside the 709th Rifle Regiment of the 178th Rifle Division and the 28th Tank Regiment. This heavy thrust broke the forward defenses and penetrated 4km to the outskirts of Trushkovo before being halted by reserves. The next day the 136th and the tanks pushed westward toward Zaitsevo but could not take Trushkovo. Although the place finally fell, by the first week of December the brigade had been shifted to a quieter sector of the line.David M. Glantz, Zhukov's Greatest Defeat, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1999, pp. 67, 152, 155, 158, 161, 268 Following the failure of this offensive it remained in the 39th until May 1943, when it was moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command in the Moscow Defence Zone to help form the new 153rd.

In addition to these cadres the division also received 2,400 sailors from the Black Sea Fleet and the Volga Flotilla.Sharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. X, Nafziger, 1996, p. 60 It came under command of Col. Nikolai Aleksandrovich Krasnov, the commander of the 136th, on the day it began forming. During June the forming division was assigned to 68th Army, still in the Reserve.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 176 Its order of battle was very similar to that of the 2nd formation: 557th Rifle Regiment 563rd Rifle Regiment 566th Rifle Regiment 1035th Artillery RegimentSharp, "Red Swarm", p. 60 412th Antitank Battalion 237th Reconnaissance Company 334th Sapper Battalion 654th Signal Battalion (later 144th Signal Company) 250th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 162nd Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Platoon 534th Motor Transport Company 379th Field Bakery 849th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 1781st Field Postal Station 1738th Field Office of the State Bank On July 10 Colonel Krasnov declared the division to be combat ready, and two days later it entered the fighting line as part of Western Front. On July 20 it became part of 62nd Rifle Corps, along with the 154th and 159th Rifle Divisions.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 188

Battle of Smolensk

On August 3 the 62nd Corps was transferred to 5th Army and began moving 5km to the north to a new jumping-off point.https://www.rkkawwii.ru/division/153sdf3. In Russian. Retrieved August 8, 2026. Operation Suvorov began on August 7 with a preliminary bombardment at 0440 hours and a ground assault at 0630. The commander of Western Front, Col. Gen. V. D. Sokolovskii, committed his 5th, 10th Guards, and 33rd Armies in the initial assault, while 68th Army was in second echelon. The attack quickly encountered heavy opposition and stalled. By early afternoon, Sokolovskii became concerned about the inability of most of his units to advance and decided to commit 68th Army's 81st Rifle Corps to reinforce the push by 10th Guards Army against XII Army Corps. This was a premature and foolish decision on a number of levels, crowding an already stalled front with even more troops and vehicles.Robert Forczyk, Smolensk 1943: The Red Army's Relentless Advance, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2019, Kindle ed.

On the morning of August 8, Sokolovskii resumed his offensive at 0730 hours, but now he had three armies tangled up on the main axis of advance. After a 30-minute artillery preparation the Soviets resumed their attacks across a 10km-wide front. 81st Corps was inserted between the two engaged corps of 10th Guards, putting further pressure on the 268th Infantry Division. Reinforcements from 2nd Panzer Division were coming up from Yelnya in support. By August 11 it became clear that XII Corps was running out of infantry and so late in the day the German forces began falling back toward the YelnyaSpas-Demensk railway. By now Western Front had expended nearly all its artillery ammunition and was not able to immediately exploit the withdrawal. Sokolovskii was authorized to temporarily suspend Suvorov on August 21.Forczyk, Smolensk 1943: The Red Army's Relentless Advance, Kindle ed.

In the following regrouping 62nd Corps was transferred to 49th Army but the 153rd was moved to 21st Army where it was directly under Army command.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 217 The STAVKA had given Sokolovskii only one week to renew the offensive. The plan, approved on August 22, placed the main effort in the center with 10th Guards, 21st, 33rd, and 68th Armies. These were to shatter XII Corps before pushing mobile groups through the gaps in order to capture Yelnya. At the same time the 5th and 31st Armies would conduct a support operation in order to threaten Dorogobuzh and Yartsevo. Marshal of Artillery N. N. Voronov worked to improve the ammunition supply and 21st Army was reinforced with seven artillery brigades and a sapper brigade, as well as 2nd Guards Tank Corps for the exploitation role. Battle for Yelnya The renewed offensive began at 0800 hours on August 28 with a 90-minute artillery preparation on a 25km-wide front southeast of Yelnya by 10th Guards, 21st, and 33rd Armies. When the infantry went in at 0930 the main effort proved to be in the 33rd Army sector against the boundary between IX Army Corps and Gruppe Harpe (former XII Corps). This rocked the 20th Panzergrenadier Division of IX Corps, and when a gap appeared the 5th Mechanized Corps was committed at Koshelevo. 21st and 10th Guards Armies attacked the positions of Battlegroup Vincenz around Terenino Station, held by one infantry battalion and an engineer unit. IX Corps threw in its meagre tactical reserves and the fighting continued for about eight hours until Vincenz was broken into fragments and began pulling back to the Ugra River. Altogether, Western Front managed to advance 6-8km. On the following day, 10th Guards mopped up those German units that had not escaped across the river while advancing up the rail line toward Yelnya. By dusk the right flank of IX Corps was near collapse and 6th Guards Cavalry Corps was committed into the gap.

The offensive gathered momentum on August 30 with the remnants of Vincenz and the 35th Infantry Division in full retreat. 2nd Panzer Division, with just 15 tanks and under 800 infantry, tried to counterattack but had little effect. 21st Army committed 2nd Guards Tanks at noon, and this unit gained 20km in a few hours; meanwhile, 10th Guards was advancing directly toward Yelnya. At 1330 hours the evacuation of the city began. Soviet infantry and tanks arrived by 1700 and two hours later it was in their hands. Dorogobuzh was surrendered the same day. There were now only 75km remaining to Smolensk. German 4th Army was looking at disaster on September 1, but by then Sokolovskii's advance units were again plagued by shortages of fuel, ammunition and transport, and nine of his rifle divisions had been reduced to 3,000 men or fewer. Advance to Smolensk 4th Army got a tenuous new front established by September 3, based on XXXIX Panzer Corps, 1st SS Infantry Brigade, and the 78th Sturm Division. Sokolovskii continued with small-scale attacks until September 7, but his forces were incapable of another breakthrough. STAVKA authorized another temporary suspension the same day. As well, Colonel Krasnov was wounded and hospitalized, and the 153rd was placed in the hands of Col. Zakhari Petrovich Vydrigan, who was concurrently deputy commander of the 76th Rifle Division. Krasnov would return on September 27.