The 250th Rifle Division was the sixth of a group of 10 regular rifle divisions formed from cadres of NKVD border and internal troops as standard Red Army rifle divisions, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District. It was largely based on what would become the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of July 29, 1941, with several variations. It served under command of 30th Army in an effort to recover Smolensk in late July and in the Dukhovshchina offensives in August and September, and was quickly reduced to a much-weakened state. It was largely encircled in the initial stages of Operation Typhoon but sufficient men and equipment escaped that it was spared being disbanded and, in fact, it was partly rebuilt by incorporating remnants of other disbanded divisions. In October it played a relatively minor role in the defensive operations around Kalinin as part of 22nd Army in Kalinin Front. Early in 1942 the 250th was transferred to the 53rd Army of Northwestern Front, and spent most of the year rebuilding while also containing the German forces in the Demyansk Pocket. After this position was evacuated at the end of February, 1943 the division was transferred to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and shipped south, joining the 2nd Reserve Army in Steppe Military District. This soon became the 63rd Army in Bryansk Front and the 250th was assigned to the 35th Rifle Corps, where it remained for the duration of the war. During the summer offensive against the German-held salient around Oryol the division helped lead the drive to liberate that city in August, and then advanced through western Russia and into Belarus, now in Central Front (later Belorussian and 1st Belorussian Front). In the initial phase of Operation Bagration the division, now in 3rd Army, was given special recognition for its role in the liberation of the city of Babruysk, and shortly thereafter also received the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. During 1945 it moved, with its Corps and Army, from 2nd Belorussian to 3rd Belorussian Front before returning to 1st Belorussian, seeing combat in Poland, East Prussia and central Germany; its subunits were awarded additional honors and decorations during this period. The 250th had a distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path along the Elbe River. It was disbanded in Belarus in July 1946.
Formation The 250th Rifle Division began forming within days of the start of the German invasion on June 26, 1941, at Vladimir, in the Moscow Military District.Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 75 This was based on an NKVD order of that date: Although the initial order for its formation came from the NKVD, when it left for the front in early July it was completely under Red Army administration. Its order of battle, which changed considerably over time, was as follows: 918th Rifle Regiment 922nd Rifle Regiment 926th Rifle RegimentCharles C. Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed from June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Nafziger, 1996, p. 45 916th Rifle Regiment (from 1st Formation of the 247th Rifle Division) 790th Artillery Regiment 308th Antitank Battalion 247th Antiaircraft Battery (later 527th Antiaircraft Battalion, until March 17, 1943) 439th Mortar Battalion (from November 1, 1941 to November 10, 1942) 329th Reconnaissance Company 418th Sapper Battalion 670th Signal Battalion (later 670th, 384th Signal Companies) 268th Medical/Sanitation Battalion (later 258th) 248th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 471st Motor Transport Company (later 311th Auto Transport Battalion) 286th Field Bakery (later 387th Motorized Field Bakery) 299th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 813th Field Postal Station 714th Field Office of the State Bank (later 416th) Maj. Gen. Ivan Sergeevich Gorbachyov, an NKVD officer, was appointed to command on July 7. It is likely that some portion of the division's cadre came from the 54th Nerchinskozavodsk Border Detachment in the Trans-Baikal region which he had led since 1938.Aleksander A. Maslov, Fallen Soviet Generals, ed. & trans. D. M. Glantz, Frank Cass Publishers, London, UK, 1998, p. 14 The division was first assigned to 30th Army in the Group of STAVKA Reserve Armies, joining the 242nd and 251st Rifle Divisions.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 26, 31 On July 21 the commander of 30th Army, Maj. Gen. V. A. Khomenko, ordered each of his rifle divisions to receive a tank battalion from the 110th Tank Division. These battalions were supposed to consist of two companies, one of 10 T-34s and one of 10 BT or T-26 light tanks, plus a BT or T-26 as a headquarters tank.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 41
The division was far from complete when it entered combat. Khomenko reported on August 5 regarding his 250th and 251st Divisions that they had been required to move up to 350 km on foot to their concentration areas and "were taken from their assembly points in the very midst of assembly, and, incomplete, they did not approach being 'knocked together' and went into battle unprepared for combat." The two divisions had no howitzers at all, severe shortages existed in field guns and mortars, and ammunition of all types was short. In addition, the 251st had only about 400 NKVD cadre soldiers. He went on to note:Glantz comments that "These candid reports about the combat state of 30th Army will largely explain why 30th Army operates as it does during the Western Front's three counteroffensives during late July, August, and early September 1941. Given these facts, the army's performance was nothing short of amazing."Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 4
Battle of Smolensk The 250th officially joined the active army on July 18, just over three weeks after beginning to form up. Three days earlier, the lead elements of 2nd Panzer Group's 29th Motorized Division had reached the southern part of Smolensk. Over the following days German pressure mounted against the three armies of Western Front, commanded by Marshal S. K. Timoshenko, which were almost entirely encircled in that region. On July 19 the commander of the Group of STAVKA Reserve Armies, Lt. Gen. I. A. Bogdanov, was alerted by the STAVKA to begin preparing an offensive operation with his 29th, 30th and 28th Armies to rescue Timoshenko's force. The 30th, starting from its concentration area north of the Western Dvina River, was to advance toward Demidov.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 4
The following day, on behalf of the STAVKA, Army Gen. G. K. Zhukov sent a directive to Timoshenko, who was now acting as commander of the Western Direction. Four reserve armies, including the 30th (now designated as "Group Khomenko"), were to launch attacks toward Dukhovshchina and Smolensk along converging axes. Khomenko was to attack southward from the region southwest of Bely to reach the MaksimovkaPetropole line by the end of July 22 before pushing on toward Dukhovshchina the next morning. A report from 0600 hours on July 23 indicated that the 250th had reached the Belyi line. A further report two days later stated that the Army was engaged in fighting with German motorized infantry 2 km north of Chernyi Ruchei, and that the division had captured Okolitsa, 20 km southwest of Bely, and was now attacking toward Chernyi Ruchei against a battalion of 20th Motorized Division reinforced with an artillery battery and 25-30 mortars.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 5
During this fighting the commander of the 922nd Rifle Regiment, Maj. Dmitri Ignatievich Kuznetsov, distinguished himself. The regiment was defending a section of the DukhovshchinaBely road near the villages of Okolitsa and Chernyi Ruchei from hastily-dug trenches under German artillery and air bombardment. Kuznetsov directed his soldiers to repel several German attacks from his command post, despite being wounded in the arm. When the fighting reached its climax he led a counterattack which threw the German forces back, but suffered a more serious wound in the process. He died in a field hospital on July 28. Kuznetsov was posthumously made a Hero of the Soviet Union on August 31, and after the war a street in Demidov was named in his honor.https://warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=3125. In Russian. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
In orders issued by Timoshenko at 0240 hours on July 26 the division was to destroy the German forces remaining in the Okolitsa area and capture the Sutoki region, 12 km south of that place. During that day and the next 30th Army recorded some tactical successes in advances of 5–15 km against the dug-in company-size battlegroups of 18th Motorized Division,Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 5 but General Gorbachyov died of wounds sustained in combat.Maslov, Fallen Soviet Generals, pp. 13-14 He would be replaced on August 1 by Col. Pavel Afinogenovich Stepanenko. This officer had previously served as chief of staff of 52nd Rifle Corps and would be promoted to the rank of major general on May 21, 1942. By July 31 it was clear that the offensive to recover Smolensk and rescue the three nearly encircled armies had failed, but had also forced Army Group Center's two panzer groups to a near standstill.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 5
In the course of this fighting, by August 1 the three rifle regiments were reduced to the following strengths: 918th: 727 men 922nd: 1,195 men 926th: 526 men After about two weeks of combat, the division had lost about half its strength. As well, by August 5 the tank battalion was down to eight T-34s, one T-26, two BT-7s and six BT-5s.Sharp and Jack Radey, The Defense of Moscow 1941 - The Northern Flank, Pen & Sword Books Ltd., Barnsley, UK, 2012, p. 18 The same day, Army Group Center began its final effort to seal off the Smolensk pocket and liquidate the forces within it. In a report issued by Timoshenko at 2000 hours on August 3 it was reported that 30th Army had attacked with its main forces in the morning, overcoming strong German resistance, while the 250th was defending along the LosminoDvorishcheOkolitsa line against 19th Panzer Division's 73rd and 74th Panzergrenadier Regiments.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 7
Dukhovshchina Offensives As of August 8 the divisions of XXXIX Motorized Corps which had been facing 30th Army had been relieved by the infantry divisions of 9th Army's V Army Corps. These divisions were very hard pressed to parry the attacks of Khomenko's forces and Lt. Gen. I. S. Konev's 19th Army east and northeast of Dukhovshchina. In the wake of these assaults the commander of Army Group Center noted "9th Army was also attacked; the day before yesterday the Russians broke through as far as the 5th Division's artillery positions." The chief of staff of OKH, Col. Gen. F. Halder, noted on August 11 in regard to these attacks:Timoshenko began planning for a renewed effort on August 14 which was intended to recapture Dukhovshchina en route to Smolensk. The STAVKA ordered this to be coordinated with Zhukov's Reserve Front on August 17 in order to engulf the entire front from Toropets in the north to Bryansk in the south. In the event, due to the chaotic situation, Timoshenko was forced to conduct the operation in piecemeal fashion and was unable to establish close cooperation with Zhukov.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 9