237th Rifle Division

The 237th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. At the opening of Operation Barbarossa it was in the Leningrad Military District where it had formed near the Finnish border but was soon moved south to defend against German Army Group North. As part of 16th Rifle Corps in 11th Army it took part in the battle of Soltsy, which imposed a significant delay on the German advance toward Leningrad. In August it was encircled while serving with 48th Army and suffered such heavy losses that it was disbanded on September 17.

A new division, originally numbered as the 455th, began forming in the Siberian Military District in early December and was soon redesignated as the 2nd formation of the 237th. After training and equipping it entered the fighting front northwest of Voronezh in late July as part of a counteroffensive by Bryansk Front against the advancing German Army Group B but suffered heavy losses in just two days of combat and was rendered ineffective. After rebuilding during the autumn the 237th took part in the Voronezh–Kastornoye Offensive in January-February 1943, during which it took part in the destruction of one column of Axis troops attempting to escape the encirclement. It played a minor role in the battle of Kursk, after which it went over to the summer offensive into eastern Ukraine as part of 40th Army, winning a battle honor on its way to the Dniepr River. In this Army, as part of 1st Ukrainian Front, it was involved in the ultimately futile battles for the Bukryn bridgehead. Following the liberation of Kyiv it took part in the defense against the following German counteroffensive and then went over to the offensive itself, winning the Order of the Red Banner for the liberation of Zhmerynka while serving in 38th Army. The division was soon shifted to the 1st Guards Army and played a secondary role in the Lvov–Sandomierz operation, during which its artillery regiment earned a battle honor. With its Army it was reassigned to the 4th Ukrainian Front in August and it would remain in the Front for the duration of the war, serving under a variety of corps and army commands, and winning further distinctions as it fought through the Carpathian Mountains into Czechoslovakia. Despite a solid record as a combat unit the 237th was disbanded within months of the German surrender.

1st Formation The division began forming on March 14, 1941, at Petrozavodsk in the Leningrad Military District. When the German invasion began it was still there and it had the following order of battle: 835th Rifle Regiment 838th Rifle Regiment 841st Rifle Regiment 691st Artillery Regiment 715th Howitzer 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. 100 5th Antitank Battalion 298th Antiaircraft Battalion 270th Reconnaissance Battalion 367th Sapper Battalion 574th Signal Battalion 395th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 237th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 705th Motor Transport Battalion 490th Field Bakery 492nd Divisional Veterinary Hospital 682nd Field Postal Station 555th Field Office of the State Bank Maj. Gen. Dmitrii Fyodorovich Popov had been appointed to command on the day the division began forming. This officer had been serving as a senior instructor at the Frunze Military Academy since 1935. As of June 22 it was assigned to 7th Army in Northern Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 7 In planning less than a month before the invasion 7th Army constituted Covering Region No. 2 of the Leningrad District, responsible for the sector along the Finnish border from Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga with four rifle divisions and one fortified region.David M. Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2002, p. 19 By July 10 the 237th had been reassigned, joining the 70th Rifle Division in the 16th Rifle Corps of 11th Army in Northwestern Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 23 Counterstroke at Soltsy At this time the LVI Motorized Corps of 4th Panzer Group, supported by infantry of the I Army Corps, was advancing along the Luga axis through Soltsy toward Novgorod. The 8th Panzer Division, in the vanguard, penetrated 30-40km along the Shimsk road and reached the town of Soltsy late on July 13. Here it was halted by spirited resistance from the 177th Rifle Division and the 10th Mechanized Corps, skillfully exploiting the difficult terrain. By nightfall the panzers found themselves isolated from the 3rd Motorized Division to its left and the 3rd SS Totenkopf Division lagging in the rear.Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, p. 42

Alert for opportunities to strike back, the STAVKA ordered a counterstroke against the overexposed German force. This was communicated to Marshal K. Ye. Voroshilov, who in turn directed 11th Army to attack along the Soltsy-Dno axis with two shock groups. The northern group consisted of the 10th Mechanized's 21st Tank Division and the two divisions of 16th Rifle Corps, with reinforcements from the 1st People's Militia (DNO) Division and 1st Mountain Rifle Brigade. The southern group consisted of the 22nd Rifle Corps and was to attack 8th Panzer from the east. The assault, launched in oppressive 32 degree C summer heat and massive clouds of dust, caught 8th Panzer and 3rd Motorized totally by surprise. The two divisions were soon isolated from one another and 8th Panzer was forced to fight a costly battle in encirclement for four days. It also disrupted the German offensive plans by forcing 4th Panzer Group to divert 3rd SS from the Kingisepp and Luga axes to rescue the beleaguered panzer division. In his memoirs the commander of LVI Corps, Gen. E. von Manstein, wrote:The Soltsy counterstroke cost 8th Panzer 70 of its 150 tanks destroyed or damaged and represented the first, albeit temporary, success achieved by Soviet forces on the path to Leningrad. It also cost the German command a precious week to regroup and resume the advance. However, the cost to the Soviet forces was high. For his perceived failures, General Popov was relieved of his command on July 19 and arrested.Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, pp. 42-45 He was soon sentenced to two years imprisonment but was later released to serve in rear area administration and in the training establishment. He would be rearrested in July 1943 and would remain in prison for the next ten years before being released and rehabilitated in the wake of Stalin's death. He was replaced in command of the 237th by Col. Vasilii Viktorovich Noskov. Defense of Leningrad On July 17 the division had come under command of 27th Army, but by the beginning of August it and the rest of 16th Corps had been assigned to the Novgorod Army Operational Group.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 31 On August 7 the 48th Army was formed in Northwestern Front, which consisted of the 1st DNO Division, the 70th, 128th and 237th Divisions (16th Corps was disbanded at around this time), 1st Mountain Rifle Brigade and 21st Tank Division. The Army was responsible for defending the Front's left flank north of Lake Ilmen. The German I and XXVIII Army Corps resumed the advance on August 10 along the Novgorod axis. The two Corps tore through the partially prepared defenses of 48th Army along the Mshaga River and captured Shimsk late on August 12. The next day the 237th was surrounded and forced to break out with serious losses. By August 20 the Army was a wreck, with only 6,235 personnel, 5,043 rifles and 31 artillery pieces remaining.Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad 1941 - 1944, pp. 48, 61-62, 72 On August 31 the remnants of the division were assigned to the 55th Army, which was defending the SlutskKolpinskii area of Leningrad Front.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 100 On September 9 Colonel Noskov left the division and was replaced the next day by Col. Aleksandr Ignatevich Korolev, who had previously served as chief of staff of 168th Rifle Division. It proved to be a short-lived assignment as the 237th was disbanded on September 17 to provide replacements for other units in 55th Army, particularly the 70th Division. Korolev was immediately given command of the 90th Rifle Division and led it until November 1942 when he was detached to further his education. He returned to the front in May 1943 to take command of the 23rd Rifle Division; he would be raised to the rank of major general on September 1. On September 29 he was killed in action while leading the defense of a bridgehead during the battles for the Dniepr River.Aleksander A. Maslov, Fallen Soviet Generals, ed. & trans. D. M. Glantz, Frank Cass Publishers, London, UK, 1998, pp. 110, 124, 267 On October 25 he was posthumously made a Hero of the Soviet Union.https://warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=8228. In Russian, translation available. Retrieved September 12, 2022.

2nd Formation A new division, originally numbered as the 455th, began forming at Stalinsk in the Siberian Military District on December 3, 1941, based on the shtat of July 29, but on January 13, 1942 it was redesignated as the 2nd formation of the 237th.Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 100 Once formed its order of battle was very similar to that of the 1st formation: 835th Rifle Regiment 838th Rifle Regiment 841st Rifle Regiment 691st 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. 38 5th Antitank Battalion 124th Mortar Battalion (until October 10, 1942) 501st Reconnaissance Company 367th Sapper Battalion 574th Signal Battalion (later 696th Signal Company) 395th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 231st Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 589th Motor Transport Company 442nd Field Bakery 907th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 1402nd Field Postal Station 1072nd Field Office of the State Bank Col. Pyotr Vakulovich Tertyshnyi was appointed to command on the day the division began forming. This officer had previously led the 1004th Rifle Regiment of 305th Rifle Division before becoming deputy commander of 3rd Tank Division. Being formed in the Kuzbas the new division contained a large number of coal miners. It spent the first three months of 1942 in Siberia, training and equipping, and in April it was moved to Vologda to finish forming.Igor Sdvizhkov, Confronting Case Blue, ed. & trans. S. Britton, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2017, p. 120 At the beginning of May the 237th was assigned to the 2nd Reserve Army and was still under that command at the beginning of July, after Case Blue, the German summer offensive, had begun.Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 108-09 It was soon transferred to 3rd Reserve Army and was under that command on July 10 when it was redesignated as 60th Army. A week later the division entered the active army when 60th Army was assigned to Voronezh Front.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 38 With Operational Group Chibisov As the 237th approached the front the Front began a counteroffensive operation west of the Don River on July 21 with a large portion of its forces under command of Maj. Gen. N. E. Chibisov, who was the Front's deputy commander-in-chief. Group Chibisov initially consisted of the 340th, 284th and 193rd Rifle Divisions, plus the 104th Rifle Brigade and 1st Tank Corps, but would later be reinforced with the 237th and 167th Rifle Divisions and 2nd Tank Corps. The intention was to strike the left flank of the advancing Army Group B and get into the rear of the German forces that had recently captured Voronezh.Sdvizhkov, Confronting Case Blue, pp. viii, 13