The 373rd Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Urals Military District. It was moved to the front northwest of Moscow while still trying to complete its training and went straight into action in mid-December during the winter counteroffensive. Until May 1943, it was involved in the bloody fighting around the Rzhev salient. After a period in reserve for rebuilding, the division's combat path shifted southward when it was assigned to 52nd Army, where it remained for the duration of the war. It won a battle honor in eastern Ukraine, then fought across the Dniepr River late that year, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its successes. Following this it advanced through western Ukraine in the spring of 1944, then into Romania in the summer, where it played a major role in the second encirclement and destruction of the German 6th Army. After again moving to the reserves the division shifted northwards with its Army to join 1st Ukrainian Front, fighting through Poland, eastern Germany and into Czechoslovakia. By then the 373rd had compiled an enviable record, and went on to serve briefly into the postwar era.
Formation The division began forming in August, 1941 in the Urals Military DistrictWalter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p. 79 at Chebarkul in the Chelyabinsk Oblast, based on the first wartime shtat (table of organization and equipment) for rifle divisions, with an authorized strength of 10,859 personnel.David M. Glantz, Colossus Reborn, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2005, p. 206 Its order of battle was as follows: 1235th Rifle Regiment 1237th Rifle Regiment 1239th Rifle Regiment 931st Artillery Regiment 243rd Antitank Battalion (added in early 1942)Charles C. Sharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p. 99 262nd Antiaircraft Battery (until January 10, 1943) 430th Reconnaissance Company 439th (later 648th) Sapper Battalion 619th (later 819th) Signal Battalion (later 435th Signal Company) 453rd Medical/Sanitation Battalion 446th Chemical Protection (Anti-gas) Company 483rd Motor Transport Company 222nd Field Bakery 791st Divisional Veterinary Hospital 50840th (later 1442nd) Field Postal Station 699th (later 741st) Field Office of the State Bank Lt. Col. Vasilii Ivanovich Khmylyov was not assigned to command of the division until September 19, and he would remain in command until August 11, 1942. In November the division was assigned to the 39th Army, which was forming in the Arkhangelsk Military District,Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 94 and began moving by rail to join this command while it was still short of training and equipment.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 99 The Army consolidated in the Torzhok area, and in late December it was assigned to Kalinin Front. Beginning on January 8, 1942, 39th Army took part in the Sychevka-Vyasma Offensive Operation, which was planned "to encircle, and then capture or destroy the enemy's entire Mozhaisk - Gzhatsk - Vyasma grouping",Svetlana Gerasimova, The Rzhev Slaughterhouse, ed. & trans. S. Britton, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2013, pp. 26–27 that is, what later became known as the Rzhev salient.
Battles for Rzhev During the January advance, 39th Army bypassed north of Rzhev itself in an effort to get behind the city and encircle the forces of German 9th Army holding there. It advanced into a gap between Bely and Olenino and by the third week of the month was fighting for Sychevka from the west, even taking the town's railway station. 29th Army and the 11th Cavalry Corps also entered the gap, but despite bitter fighting and reinforcements from 39th Army, the 29th was unable to liberate Rzhev. On January 23, a German counterattack from Olenino and Rzhev constricted the gap, worsening an already critical supply situation for the two Armies. A further attack on February 5 cut the 29th off from the 39th. Despite urgent efforts, including paratroop operations, the German cordon could not be pierced, and the survivors of 29th Army trickled through to the lines of the 39th and 30th Armies during the rest of the month.Gerasimova, Rzhev Slaughterhouse, pp. 28–30, 37, 39–40
As of February 28 the 373rd was recorded as having a total of 2,274 personnel, 21 percent of its authorized strength.Glantz, Colossus Reborn, p. 206 During the following months 39th Army held its positions, always under severe supply constraints, especially during the spring rasputitsa. In May and June, Army Group Center began planning a limited offensive to eliminate the smaller Soviet salients to its rear. Operation Seydlitz began on July 2, and faced heavy resistance, but by July 5 the Army's commander, Lt. Gen. I. I. Maslennikov, had decided to withdraw from the salient. On July 9, the escape corridor was more-or-less sealed, and the remaining troops of 39th Army began emerging much as had the men of the 29th Army months earlier. During July, 39th Army recorded 23,647 total personnel losses, including 22,749 missing-in-action. The remnants of the 373rd were withdrawn for reforming.Gerasimova, Rzhev Slaughterhouse, pp. 56–57, 59–60, 62–64, 69
As of August 1, 39th Army consisted of only "Cavalry Detachment Stepanov" and the cadre of the 373rd, and by September 1 the division was in the reserves of Kalinin Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, pp. 143, 167 Due to this rebuilding, the 373rd was unavailable for the First Rzhev–Sychyovka Offensive Operation. On August 12, Lt. Colonel Khmylyov was replaced in command by Lt. Col. Matveii Sergeevich Yeroshkin, but on September 11 he was in turn replaced by Col. Kuzma Ivanovich Sazonov, who would be promoted to the rank of major general on September 13, 1944, and would remain in command for the duration of the war. The division returned to active operations, back in 39th Army, in time for the Second Rzhev–Sychyovka Offensive Operation, also known as Operation Mars.
Operation Mars By late November, 39th Army held positions at the northern apex of the salient, and the 373rd had the 1235th and 1237th Rifle Regiments north of the village of Kazakovo, while the 1239th faced the east side of the German bridgehead at the town of Molodoi Tud. The Army, now under command of Maj. Gen. A. I. Zygin, was on a secondary sector, with the mission to "attack and seize the high road running from Molodoi Tud to Rzhev... and then, in cooperation with 22nd Army... seize the key city of Olenino." The terrain in the sector was difficult, and the German forces had heavily fortified the south bank of the Molodoi Tud River, but in mitigation they had only one division, the 206th, in the line, although 14th Motorized Division was known to be in reserve. Zygin saw his immediate objective as the town of Urdom, which would encircle the 206th. He planned to attack across the river with the 158th, 135th, and 373rd Rifle Divisions after a one-hour artillery preparation, supported by the 81st and 28th Tank Brigades. The 348th Rifle Division was in reserve.Glantz, Zhukov's Greatest Defeat, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1999, pp. 67–69
The attack began at 1000 hours on November 25, but it quickly became apparent that the artillery had failed to destroy or suppress many of the German strongpoints, and the 373rd, along with the 158th and 135th,Glantz, After Stalingrad, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2009, p. 477 were forced to retreat to the north bank. Zygin ordered them to regroup to renew the attack the next day. Meanwhile, the forces on 39th Army's flanks gained some successes and seemed to be making the German position untenable until the arrival of elements of the Panzer-Grenadier-Division Großdeutschland at 1800 hours partly restored the situation. Early on the morning of November 26 Zygin ordered Colonel Sazonov to narrow his attack sector and be prepared to commit his second echelon regiment as soon as the lead regiment was across the Molodoi Tud. A slightly stronger artillery preparation was laid on, with much improved observation as the weather cleared, which also allowed air support. During the day the 1237th Rifle Regiment established itself on the south bank, being joined by the 1235th Regiment on the next day and driving the German forces from the village of Malye Bredniki. On the same day the 1239th Regiment assisted in the liberation of the town of Molodai Tud.Glantz, Zhukov's Greatest Defeat, pp. 153–57, 159
On November 28, 39th Army continued to assail the second-line positions of the 206th Infantry. Following yet another artillery preparation the 373rd took Briukhanovo, but this did not breach the German line. By nightfall on the 29th, although small groups of Soviet tanks and infantry had approached the key position at Urdom, they had all been repulsed with heavy losses, in large part due to further intervention by Großdeutschland. In an overnight conference, Colonel Sazonov, Colonel Malygin of the 81st Tank Brigade, and Colonel Kovalenko of the 135th Rifle Division, planned a concerted attack on Urdom, to begin the next morning. By this time the two divisions had lost about half of their men. Given these losses, General Zygin got approval to release the 348th Rifle Division from reserve into the attack. Under the new plan, while the 135th and 348th struck the German defenses on either side of the town, one regiment of the 373rd, with Malygin's remaining tanks, would attempt to envelop it. The battle on November 30 lasted all day, but was successful. A handful of remaining KV-1 tanks reached the town's outskirts and systematically reduced the German pillboxes. By nightfall Urdom had been liberated, but the defenders still held out along the road east and west of the ruined town and their overall defense line was still intact. Moreover, 39th Army had taken such severe losses that it would have to pause for regrouping and reinforcements.Glantz, Zhukov's Greatest Defeat, pp. 160–62, 218
39th Army was ordered to return to the offensive on December 8 as the offensive was collapsing on other sectors. However, the 373rd had been redeployed westward, to positions directly south of Molodoi Tud, and played little role in this renewed fighting.Glantz, Zhukov's Greatest Defeat, pp. 226, 268 In a STAVKA directive (No. 11029) of January 4, 1943, the chief of staff of Kalinin Front was notified of several shortcomings in the organization of its defenses, including the use of ski troops:
Into Ukraine In February, the division was moved to 4th Shock Army, and then in March to 43rd Army, both still in Kalinin Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 60, 83 In May the 373rd was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for a substantial rebuilding, after which it was shipped south to join the 52nd Army in Steppe Front. The division would remain in this Army for the duration of the war. From Steppe Front the 52nd would be moved to Voronezh Front, and would take part in the Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive Operation under that command.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 99 As of September 1 the division was assigned to the 78th Rifle Corps.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 222