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 10th NKVD unit info

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Dmitriy Salenko

Dmitriy Salenko


Posts : 30
Join date : 2011-03-19
Age : 34

10th NKVD unit info Empty
PostSubject: 10th NKVD unit info   10th NKVD unit info EmptyWed Sep 07, 2011 1:11 pm

I decided to take a crack at translating the Russian Wikipedia article on the 10th NKVD VV, partly because there is no English version, and partly because I figured it would be good practice. The article is kind of spotty and full of filler text, but I tried to keep as much of its content as I could. If you guys find any info that's missing, feel free to share.

10th Rifle Division NKVD USSR (1st Iteration)

Awards: The Order of Lenin
Honourary Title: Stalingradskaya (an adjective derived from Stalingrad)
Formed: February 1, 1942
Disbanded (converted/reorganized): February 5, 1943
Commander: Aleksandr Andreyevich Sarayev
Preceded by: nothing
Succeeded by: 181st Rifle Division

The Tenth Rifle Division of the Internal Troops of the NKVD was a military unit of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. It was formed on February 1, 1942 in Stalingrad and remained stationed there to participate in the battle of Stalingrad. Later it converted into a regular Red Army division and renamed the 181st "Order of Lenin" "Stalingrad" Infantry Division.

Important Dates
February 1, 1942 - Division was formed by the GKO Order no. 1099: "Concerning the organization of the garrison troops of the NKVD in the cities, and Red Army liberation" and the order of the NKVD no. 0021
November 1942 - By order of the NKVD no. 002356, it was renamed and reorganized into Stalingrad Infantry Division of the NKVD according to the staff of the NKO
December 5, 1942 - Renamed the 10th Rifle Division "Stalingrad" "Order of Lenin" of the troops of the NKVD
February 5, 1943 - Transferred to the Red Army and renamed the 181st "Stalingrad" "Order of Lenin" Rifle Division

History
Formation of the Division
In early 1942, the Regional Committee of the Party and the City Committee of Defense were informed that Stalingrad would form a division. Later, this division had the grievous task of being one of the first to enter the unequal battle against the German forces breaking through to Stalingrad. The terms of formation and composition of the division was determined by a special resolution from the GKO. Units of the 10th NKVD, commanded by Colonel Alexander A. Sarayev, arrived in Stalingrad in January 1942. Major Vasiliy Ivanovich Zaytsev (not to be confused with the sniper) was appointed Chief of Staff of the Division (Chief of the Divisional HQ?). The core of the division were soldiers and commanders of the Border Troops, from Ural and Siberian regions including Sverdlovsk, Irkutsk, and Novosibirsk, but the nuclei of the 269th and 270th regiments were Stalingradtsi (citizens of Stalingrad), Party workers and members of the Komsomol organizations of the city. Three thousand Stalingradsti fought in this famous division.

Operational Activities Prior to the Battle of Stalingrad
The division performed the task of policing in Stalingrad and in the surrounding Oblast, in Voronezh, in the rears of the Southwestern Front, the Voronezh Front, and Stalingrad Front, and the task of preventing enemy recon and saboteur groups from operating in these rear areas.
January 29-July 3, 1942 - 41st Rifle Regiment protected law and order in and around Voronezh.
March 17-22, 1942 - The division at Stalingrad conducted a documentation screening operation of the city's population and successfully detained nine spies, 106 criminals, and 187 people with variously suspicious documents.
Sometime in June, 1942 - 273rd Rifle Regiment near the village of Novoaninsky destroyed a landing of Germans armed with Soviet weapons and equipment disguised as Red Army soldiers, killing 47 of them and capturing 2.
July 3-31, 1942 - 41st Rifle Regiment took part in the defense of Voronezh, the first of the regiments of the division to take part in the frontline fighting during this period. The regiment killed up to 1,500 Germans and captured 17 machine guns, 42 machine pistols, 730 rifles, 415 grenades, 17,000 rounds of ammunition. The regiment suffered a loss of one third of its personnel in killed, wounded and missing.
July 12, 1942 - The division is included in the active Army (I'm not sure what this means)
July 13-27, 1942 - In the defense of the read of the Stalingrad Front, the division arrested 15 spies and 2775 people found without valid documents.
Sometime in July 1942 - The division formed an auxiliary artillery battalion.
August 1942 - 41st Rifle Regiment was detached from the division and assigned to the 18th Independent Sappers Brigade of the NKVD Internal Troops.

Fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad
The division, alongside the people's militias, received the first blow of the Germans penetrating towards the Volga in the summer of 1942. Worker's militias were not just employed here in reconnaissance, but were deployed to catch enemy parachutists, spies and saboteurs. (This seems like an odd statement to tack on to me)

In appreciation of the division's defense of the city, the commander of the 62nd Army Vasiliy Chuykov said: "The fighters of Colonel Sarayev's 10th Stalingrad Division VV must have been the first defenders of Stalingrad, and they overcame the difficult challenge with flying colours, courageously and selflessly fighting against superior enemy forces until the arrival of the 62nd Army."

The division, stretched over 50 miles, led many fierce battles against the enemy. In the early stages of the battle for the city, the divisional HQ was billeted in the Tsarina ravine, not far from the "Lighthouse" restaurant.

The 10th Division, with a battalion of workers, successfully defended the F. Dzerzhinsky Tractor Factory and later counter-attacked to regain several miles, despite shortages in technology and manpower.

On the 2nd of August, 1942, the 2nd Battalion of the 270th Rifle Regiment first engaged the enemy in Stalingrad.

On the 14th of August, 1942, the 273rd Rifle Regiment detached from the division and joined the "Ordzhonikidzevskaya" Rifle Division of the NKVD VV.

The bulk of the division's forces defended the west and south-west of the city, holding these areas against the sudden breakout of the enemy into the city. In addition to this, there was a consolidated battalion in the north. On the 16th of August, the 282nd Rifle Regiment of the 12th NKVD VV Rifle Division arrived from Saratov and was attached to the 10th. This regiment was immediately sent to the the north to reinforcement the composite battalion. On the left bank of the Volga, the division was supported by several reserve regiments from High Command.

The 272nd Rifle Regiment, under command of G.P. Savchuk, and a group of student volunteers occupied a Military-Political Academy in the path of an impending enemy breakthrough. During five days of fierce fighting, the regiment denied elements of the elite(?) 295th Infantry, 71st Infantry and 24th Panzer Divisions (all belonging to the LI Armeekorps). These enemy forces suffered heavy losses and the Germans' plan to capture the center of the city and the major crossing of the Volga was thwarted.

On the 8th of September began fighting for the southern part of the Voroshilov district. By mid-afternoon of September 9th, forward units of the NKVD, who were on the second line, had come under direct enemy attack. The Soviets launched a sift counterattack and the Germans were caught by complete surprise. On the regiment's (which?) left flank the position was restored. The 2nd Battalion's left flank attacked the German's right. However, the 6th Infantry Company under the command of Lieutenant N. Belyakov selflessly fought and defended their positions.

On the 12th of September, the fighting for the defense of the South-Eastern Front of Stalingrad was assigned to the 62nd Army, to which the 10th NKVD VV Division was now attached.

On the 13th of September, the enemy planned another assault on the city. In the morning they hit Soviet fortified positions, including those of the 269th Rifle Regiment of the 10th NKVD, with heavy artillery and mortar fire. Aviation groups of up to 40 aircraft bombed areas in the Russian rear. At 7:00, the offensive began. For three hours, elements of the 62nd Army repelled enemy attacks which penetrated the first line, knocked out forward posts, and reached the positions of the 269th Rifle Regiment. In this difficult and hazardous situation, the 269th held their area, blocking the path to the Mamayev Kurgan (Burial Mound of Mamai, a large bald hill smack in the middle of the city). In the center of this fighting was the 270th Rifle Regiment under the command of Major A.K. Zhuravlev. Despite their numerical superiority, the enemy did not successfully enter the center of Stalingrad on September 13th.

The next day began again with German air and artillery bombardments in preparation for an attack. The entire Soviet front from Mamayev Kurgan to Kuporosnoye suffered German shock-attacks. Following these, the entire German front advanced with large-scale infantry and armour formations. Against the 269th Rifle Regiment alone the Germans concentrated up to eight battalions and 50 tanks. At 1400 hours, two submachinegun battalions with three tanks penetrated the regiment's rear and captured the peak of Hill 102,0 (Mamayev Kurgan). The Germans then began firing on the "Red October" factory. To recapture the peak, a submachinegun company of the 269th, under command of Junior Lieutenant Lyubeznov, and the 416th Rifle Regiment of the 112th Rifle Division with two tanks launched a counterattack. By 1800 hours, the height has been cleared out.

Over the two days of fighting, the 269th Rifle Regiment killed and wounded more than a thousand soldiers and officers and disabled 20 enemy tanks.

On the night of the 15th of September, the enemy infiltrated the positions of the NKVD and specialists, captured the train-station and reached the rear of the 262nd regiment and 1st battalion of the 270th regiment. Nothing was prepared to repel such an infiltration and bloody, desperate fighting ensued from Mamayev to Kuporosnoye.

At dawn on the the 16th of September, four Chekists waged an unequal battle against advancing tanks for several hours. They destroyed a total of 20 vehicles and were all posthumously awarded with high state honours.

Together with elements of the 10th NKVD's northern groups, the 62nd Army conducted bitter defensive operations all through September and regained ground in some areas. On the 7th of October, surviving soldiers of the regiment (which?) were consolidated into two companies and which were added to the consolidated battalion under the command of the Captain Ryabchevskiy. Every day they fought off several fierce attacks from the enemy, preventing him from breaking through to the tractor plant.

From August 1942 onward, from the elements of the 10th NKVD remained the 282nd Infantry Regiment, defending the height of 135.4.

Between August 23 and October 8, 1942 during the battle of Stalingrad, the division killed or wounded up to 15,000 German soldiers and officers, destroyed or disabled 113 tanks, 8 armored vehicles, destroyed or captured 6 guns, 51 mortars, 138 machine guns, two ammunition depots, 2 aircraft shot down, and seized a German regiment's banner.

For exemplary service in the combat operations in the defense of the Volga shores, the Soviet High Command awarded the 10th NKVD VV Division with the Order of Lenin on December 2, 1942.

Further History
Divisional losses were heavy. By order of the commander of the Stalingrad Front, the division was demobilized in early October 1942 and moved to the village of Zaplavnoye. The division consisted of little more than 200 men.

In mid-October 1942, the division headquarters was ordered to redeploy to the city of Chelyabinsk to reorganize. The division took on a new structure:
- Three Rifle Regiments
- One Artillery Regiment
- One Auxiliary Anti-Tank Battalion
- Various support and logistical units

The core of the newly organized unit was approximately 2,700 men and officers who were veterans of the battle of Stalingrad. The battle of Stalingrad ended on February 2nd, 1942, and on February 5th the division was renamed the 181st Rifle Division and transferred to regular Red Army command. Subsequently, the fighting traditions of the men of the Hero-City on the Volga division (lol what a phrase) were further developed in the battle of Kursk in crossing the Vistula river. The division saw the war end while in Breslau.

Full Title
10 стрелковая Сталинградская ордена Ленина дивизия внутренних войск НКВД СССР -- 10th Rifle "Stalingrad" "Order of Lenin" Division of the Internal Troops of the NKVD of the USSR.

Composition
- 41st Infantry Regiment -- Major D. M. Vasilchenko -- transferred to the 18th Independent Sappers Brigade in August 1942
- 269th Rifle Regiment -- Lt. Colonel I. I. Kapranov
- 270th Rifle Regiment -- Major A. K. Zhuravlev
- 271st Rifle Regiment -- Major A. P. Kostenitsyn
- 272nd Rifle Regiment -- Major G. P. Savchuk
- 273rd Rifle Regiment -- Major F. N. Morozov -- transferred to the Ordzhonikidzevskaya Rifle Division of the NKVD VV on the 14th August 1942
- 282nd Rifle Regiment -- Major M. S. Glushchenko -- Commissar A. M. Karpov -- joined the division on 16th August 1942 after transferring from 12th NKVD VV Division.
- Artillery Battalion
- Separate combat security (military police?) company -- Lieutenant Oleynik

The commander Sarayev wrote thus about the division:
"Our 10th Division was formed in early 1942. It is composed:
The 271st Rifle Regiment. It is mostly composed of the sons of Ural metallurgists and mechanical engineers, they were characterized by a high class- and political-consciousness.
The 272nd Rifle Regiment. It included mostly Siberians, youth, so the regiment was known as the "Komsomolskiy". The boldness of youth and enthusiasm in combat - that's what distinguished this regiment in subsequent battles.
The 282nd Rifle Regiment. Its men came almost exclusively from Volzhan. They, like the others, showed fortitude and courage in battle.
The 269th and 270th Rifle Regiments were formed in Stalingrad, mainly from local residents. They fought valiantly for their hometown."

Strength
On the 23rd of August, 1942 -- 7568 men

Commanders and Command Staff
Commander -- Colonel Aleksandr Andreyevich Sarayev (1st February 1942 - 5th February 1943)
Military Commissar -- Regimental Commissar Pyotr Nikiforovich Kuznetsov
Drillmaster/Training Officer -- Colonel Nikolay Stepanovich Vasin
Chief of Staff -- Lieutenant-Colonel Vasiliy Ivanovich Zaytsev
Chief of Department Operations / Operational Department (?) -- Lieutenant-Colonel M. K. Khitrov

Members of the Division
268 men received high government awards:
- F. Ivanov, Lieutenant - Head of a sniper team that killed 39 Germans, Recipient (Chevalier) of the Order of the Red Banner
- M. Klyushnik - a sniper that killed 43 Germans, Recipient of the Order of the Red Banner
- Nikolai Smirnov, Lieutenant - A commander of a recon platoon of the 271st Regiment of the 181st Division, Recipient of the Order of Red Banner

20 members of the division were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, 9 of them prior to Victory Day:
- Alexey Prokhorovich Voloshin, Hero of the Soviet Union

5 people became holders of the Order of Glory of all three classes.

Source is http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/10-я_стрелковая_дивизия_НКВД_СССР_(1-го_формирования) , and all subsequent source material can be found there. If any information here is dubious, inflated or flatly incorrect, blame the Russians. Wink


Last edited by Dmitriy Salenko on Thu Oct 06, 2011 8:03 am; edited 6 times in total
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Anwar Vaskyev

Anwar Vaskyev


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Join date : 2011-08-30

10th NKVD unit info Empty
PostSubject: Re: 10th NKVD unit info   10th NKVD unit info EmptyWed Sep 07, 2011 2:20 pm

Great info, thanks for translating, especially since I don't speak russian! I don't know what your first language is but your obviously very fluent in both English and Russian.
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Arseny Sokolov

Arseny Sokolov


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10th NKVD unit info Empty
PostSubject: Re: 10th NKVD unit info   10th NKVD unit info EmptyThu Sep 08, 2011 6:18 am

Extremely interesting information, i have tried to find info about 10th NKVD from internetz but all i have found is small bits of information.
I'm very glad about this comrade.
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