The 395th Rifle Division was converted from a militia division to a regular infantry division of the Red Army in October 1941. From 1941-45, it fought against the German invasion, Operation Barbarossa. As a militia unit it was under command of the Kharkov Military District and designated as the Voroshilovgrad Militia Division, although it was unofficially known as the 395th before it was converted. It took part in the fighting near Rostov-on-Don during the winter of 1941–42 in the 18th Army, and retreated with that Army into the northern Caucasus mountains in the face of the German summer offensive, fighting under the command of the 18th and 12th Armies, then in the 56th Army in October. As the Axis forces retreated from the Caucasus in early 1943 it was sent to the 46th and later to the 37th Army of North Caucasus Front. During the battles that cleared the German forces from the Taman Peninsula from August to October the 395th was back in 56th Army and was awarded a battle honor for its part in the campaign. By the end of 1943 it had returned to 18th Army, now under 1st Ukrainian Front near Kyiv. In January 1944 the division was decorated with both the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. With its Front it advanced through western Ukraine, Poland and eastern Germany, finally taking part in the Lower Silesian, Berlin, and Prague offensives in early 1945 as part of 13th Army.
Voroshilovgrad Militia Division This unit formed in July 1941 in the Voroshilovgrad oblast from volunteer workers' battalions. The city and its surrounding areas mobilized 148,000 men into the militia in July - August, forming three divisions, 30 regiments and 59 separate battalions. Most of this manpower went into the Red Army as individual replacements but by the end of August one division was transferred to Kharkov Military District control, where it was unofficially redesignated as the 395th Rifle Division as early as 1 September.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. 119-20
Formation The 395th was officially converted from the Voroshilovgrad Division on 6 October in the Kharkov District.Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006, p. 78 Its order of battle, based on the first wartime shtat (table of organization and equipment) for rifle divisions, was as follows: 714th Rifle Regiment 723rd Rifle Regiment 726th Rifle Regiment 968th Artillery Regiment 692nd Antiaircraft BattalionSharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p. 109. Perechen No. 5 lists the 451st Antiaircraft Battery preceding the 692nd Battalion. 29th Antitank Battalion (from 15 January 1942) 576th Mortar Battalion (until 5 November 1942) 467th Reconnaissance Company 686th Sapper Battalion 856th Signal Battalion (later 1441st Signal Company) 490th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 483rd Chemical Protection (Anti-gas) Company 306th Motor Transport Company 259th Field Bakery 829th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 1416th Field Postal Station 763rd Field Office of the State Bank The division's first official commander, Col. Anatoly Petrakovsky, was not appointed until 1 April 1942. By 11 October 1941, the second formation of the 18th Army had been destroyed in the Battle of the Sea of Azov. The 395th became part of its third formation, moving into Southern Front by 18 October.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 109
Battle of Rostov In the subsequent Battle of Rostov both the Soviet and German forces moved simultaneously on 17 November. The right-flank divisions of 18th Army covered against a German drive on Voroshilovgrad while those on the left flank, including the 395th, failed to gain any success; the remainder of the battle would primarily involve the 9th, 37th and 56th Armies on the Soviet side.John Erickson, The Road to Stalingrad, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, UK, 1983, pp. 264-66 Following the German retreat to the Mius River the division moved up to that line with its Army and remained there through the winter and spring.
Battle of the Caucasus When the German summer offensive began in late June, the division was still in 18th Army of Southern Front. The attack on the southern sector began on 7 July, and the 395th was in the northern half of its Front's sector, in the first echelon along the east bank of the Mius, alongside the 383rd and 353rd Rifle Divisions, with only one division and the 64th Tank Brigade in reserve. The weight of the attack by German Army Group A soon forced Southern Front into a precarious retreat. On 21 July Colonel Petrakovskii was promoted to the rank of major general. The next day the LVII Panzer Corps encircled Rostov's outer defenses. By this time 18th Army had withdrawn most of its forces out of the city and across the Don River, leaving just two regiments of the 395th in Rostov despite orders from the Front to defend it beside the 56th Army. The panzer troops were poorly equipped to secure the heavily fortified city, which did not fall until 27 July, by which time most of the personnel of the two regiments had managed to escape southwards.David M. Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 112, 177, 202-03, 539
While the battle for Rostov raged, Army Group A began advancing into the Caucasus region on 25 July. At this time 18th Army was defending a 50 km sector from the Kagalnik at the mouth of the Don eastward to Kiziterinka, 20 km southeast of Rostov. By 1 August the division and its Army had come under the command of the North Caucasus Front.Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, pp. 401, 414 Later that month it was briefly reassigned to 12th Army, but when that Army was disbanded it returned to the control of 18th Army, which was now part of the Black Sea Group of Forces under Transcaucasus Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, pp. 173, 196 On 4 September General Petrakovskii handed his command over to Col. Sabir Umar-Ogly Rakhimov, who had previously been the deputy commander of the 353rd Division.
The German 17th Army launched its Operation Attika on 23 September with the objective of reaching Tuapse on the Black Sea coast and encircling most of 18th Army in the process. At this time the 395th was on the far left (north) flank of its Army in the area of Fanagoriiskoe, protected by defenses that had been built in depth over the preceding weeks. The LVII Panzer Corps assaulted the division's forward defenses with its 198th Infantry Division, supported by tanks of the Slovak Motorized Division, on 23 and 24 September, but made only limited gains. The attack was expanded on the 25th, committing more of the Slovak Division and also hitting the positions of the 30th Rifle Division, but the result was similar. Despite these defensive successes, on 2 October Stavka ordered two regiments of the 408th Rifle Division into the sector as reinforcements.Glantz, Armageddon in Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 561, 564-65, 568
After regrouping and rest, the German 17th Army resumed its offensive on 14 October. The 125th Infantry Division had been shifted to the 198th's sector and advanced southwest from the region east of Fanagoriiskoe. According to German sources this assault "completely wiped out" the 714th and 726th Regiments. On the 17th the 198th Infantry penetrated southward about 8 km; on the same day the new commander of the Black Sea Group, Maj. Gen. I. E. Petrov, visited the retreating troops of 18th Army and after learning of defective communications and tactics relieved Maj. Gen. F. V. Kamkov of his command. The German advance resumed on 19 October and the 395th lost Mount Kochkanova to the 198th Infantry. By this time the division, along with the 32nd Guards Rifle Division, was in danger of being encircled and was ordered to withdraw the next day. As of 1 November it had been reassigned to the 56th Army.Glantz, Armageddon in Stalingrad, pp. 569-72, 606
Into Ukraine During December the 395th was largely rebuilt with assets of the 11th NKVD Rifle Division,Glantz, Operation Don's Main Attack, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2018, p. 26 which was removed from Red Army control in the same month.Sharp, "Red Death", Soviet Mountain, Naval, NKVD, and Allied Divisions and Brigades 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. VII, Nafziger, 1995, p. 79 As the Axis forces retreated from the Caucasus in January 1943 the division was sent to the 46th Army and then in March to the 37th Army, now in North Caucasus Front. On 19 March Colonel Rakhimov was promoted to the rank of major general and on 9 April he handed his command to Maj. Gen. Adam Petrovich Turchinskii. During the final battles against the German forces in the Taman peninsula from August to October the division was under command of the 22nd Rifle Corps of the 56th Army and in September was awarded the battle honor "Taman" for its efforts. On 18 October General Turchinskii was moved to command of the 2nd Guards Rifle Division, and was replaced by Col. Aleksandr Vasilevich Vorozhishchev.
By the start of November the 395th, still in 22nd Corps, had returned to 18th Army, which was moved north to the Kiev area to join the 1st Ukrainian Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 283, 306 The division would remain under this Front for the duration of the war. Beginning on 5 December the German XXXXVIII Panzer Corps launched a counteroffensive against the Front's forces advancing west of Kiev, retaking Zhitomir and threatening to encircle the 60th Army. The 18th and 1st Tank Armies moved to the area as fast as conditions allowed and forced the panzers over to the defensive on 21 December before going over to the attack themselves three days later.Earl F. Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin, Center of Military History United States Army, Washington, DC, 1968, pp. 189, 218-19 The division distinguished itself in this fighting; on 1 January 1944 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and on 6 January it was further awarded the Order of Suvorov, 2nd Degree.
In preparation for the Proskurov-Chernovtsy Operation in early March, 1st Ukrainian Front carried out a significant regrouping during which the 395th was reassigned to the 107th Rifle Corps of 1st Guards Army. In April it was moved again, now to the 18th Guards Rifle Corps of 38th Army. On 3 June Colonel Vorozhishchev was promoted to major general. In August the division was withdrawn to the Front reserves in 74th Rifle Corps.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, pp. 103, 134, 259 General Vorozhishchev handed his command to Col. Ivan Afanasevich Fomin on 2 September. On 5 September the 395th was assigned, with 74th Corps, to 13th Army, and it spent the rest of the war in that Army.
Into Germany