The 46th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in October 1942, based on the 2nd formation of the 174th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was in the 6th Army of Voronezh Front when it won its Guards title, but was immediately moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding, where it was soon assigned to the 5th Guards Rifle Corps. In mid-November it moved with its Corps to join the 3rd Shock Army in Kalinin Front and played a leading role in the Battle of Velikiye Luki, both in the encirclement of the German garrison of that city and then in fighting off several relief attempts. It remained in the area through the spring and summer of 1943 before taking part in the breakthrough battle at Nevel and the subsequent operations to expand the salient and pinch off the German positions that 3rd Shock had partly surrounded. In June 1944 the 46th Guards was reassigned to the 6th Guards Army of 1st Baltic Front in preparation for Operation Bagration and made a spectacular advance into Lithuania through the "Baltic Gap" between Army Groups Center and North. The division would continue to serve in the Baltic states in 6th Guards for the duration of the war, winning the Order of the Red Banner in the process and ending on the Baltic coast in 22nd Guards Rifle Corps helping to contain the German forces trapped in the Courland Pocket. Despite a creditable record of service the division was disbanded shortly after the end of hostilities.
Formation The 46th Guards officially received its Guards title on October 10. Due to the circumstances of wartime it would not receive its banner and its subunits would not be redesignated until February 27, 1943; therefore they fought under their previous designations throughout the Battle of Velikiye Luki. After the subunits finally received their designations the division's order of battle was as follows: 135th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 494th Rifle Regiment) 139th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 508th Rifle Regiment) 141st Guards Rifle Regiment (from 628th Rifle Regiment) 97th Guards Artillery Regiment (from 598th Artillery Regiment) 51st Guards Antitank Battalion 238th Antiaircraft Battery (disbanded February 27, 1943) 42nd Guards Reconnaissance Company (from 112th Reconnaissance Company) 50th Guards Sapper Battalion (from 202nd Sapper Battalion) 68th Guards Signal Battalion (from 653rd Signal Battalion)Charles C. Sharp, "Red Guards", Soviet Guards Rifle and Airborne Units 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IV, Nafziger, 1995, p. 62 49th Guards Medical/Sanitation Battalion 48th Guards Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 47th Guards Motor Transport Company 52nd Guards Field Bakery 45th Guards Divisional Veterinary Hospital 1526th Field Postal Station 1416th Field Office of the State Bank Maj. Gen. Sergei Isaevich Karapetyan remained in command of the division after its redesignation. On October 12 it was moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, where by the start of November it was assigned to the newly-formed 5th Guards Rifle Corps, initially as its only division, and at the disposal of the General Staff. Later that month it was joined by the 9th Guards and 357th Rifle Divisions.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 224, 234 At this time the personnel of the 46th Guards were noted as being 70 percent fully equipped; more than half had combat experience and one in four was a Communist Party member or a Komsomol.https://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/beloborodov2/08.html. In Russian. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
Battle of Velikiye Luki On October 13 Kalinin Front had received orders that several formations would be transferred to its command in the buildup to the forthcoming Operation Mars. Among these was the 5th Guards Corps to reinforce 43rd Army. Just as it was arriving at Toropets Maj. Gen. A. P. Beloborodov was moved from 9th Guards Division and given command of the Corps. As plans for the winter offensive changed the 5th Guards Corps was soon sent to reinforce 3rd Shock Army, which launched an offensive to retake Velikiye Luki and Novosokolniki on November 25.David M. Glantz, After Stalingrad, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, pp. 52, 446
The Corps was to take the leading role in the offensive. After forcing a crossing of the Lovat River and bypassing Velikiye Luki to the southwest, its objective was to cut the rail lines from Velikiye Luki to Nevel and Velikiye Luki to Novosokolniki, and to link up with other forces of 3rd Shock advancing from the northeast to encircle the city. The 357th Division was to then storm the city from the west while the 9th Guards continued the advance on Novosokolniki. 46th Guards, on the left flank, was to cover the other two divisions against counterattacks from Nevel along a broad front. On the eve of the offensive, forward detachments of all three divisions crossed the Lovat, suppressed the German advanced positions along the west bank, and then advanced to their main line along the Nevel railway; this reconnaissance-in-force both revealed much of the enemy fire plan and put artillery observers in position to direct fire against it in the opening preparation. Altogether, with its own assets and the divisional and regimental artillery, the Corps had about 45 barrels per kilometre on the breakthrough front. The Lovat is not wide (25 to 60 metres) but has a fast current, steep banks, and few good approaches.https://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/beloborodov2/08.html. In Russian. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
The night of November 24 was foggy, which hindered German illumination flares as the Soviet forward detachments crossed the river and entered no-mans-land and the German advanced posts fell back to their main position. By 0800 hours on November 25 the Corps had seized a bridgehead of about 14 square kilometres, and the 494th Guards Regiment captured the villages of Skorotovo, Feshkovo, and Obzho. However, the supporting tanks had fallen behind during the night approach. The fog lifted after 1000 hrs., allowing the 30-minute artillery preparation to begin. The infantry attack began at 1100 hrs., but developed slowly because the enemy fire system could not be fully suppressed. The next morning the general offensive by 3rd Shock began with a 90-minute artillery preparation. The division soon crossed the Nevel railway on a 1,000m front north of Chernozem Station on the left flank of 9th Guards, and General Karapetyan reported that German resistance was much weaker there than on other sectors. He had already ordered his 508th Guards Regiment to exploit and had thrown in his reserves; the Regiment rushed forward 2km and continued to advance.https://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/beloborodov2/08.html. In Russian. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
During November 26 the 508th Regiment pressed forward another 3km to the village of Gromovo, and General Beloborodov ordered the 18th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 9th Guards to move into the gap and cut the road and railway between Novosokolniki and Velikiye Luki. In the evening the 46th Guards met the first German counterattacks by infantry and tanks and dug in to hold the area it had occupied. Overnight several prisoners taken by scouts of 9th Guards revealed that the 138th Regiment of 3rd Mountain Division had moved up from Novosokolniki to attack at the junction of the flanks of the two Guards divisions, while advance elements of 20th Motorized Division, from Nevel, were now facing the 46th Guards. On November 28 the 9th Guards and 357th Divisions joined up with the 381st Rifle Division attacking from the north to complete the inner and outer encirclements of the city; meanwhile the 46th Guards, as well as the 21st Guards and 28th Rifle Divisions on its left flank, noted that the German 291st Infantry Division had joined the relief force.https://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/beloborodov2/08.html. In Russian. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
In the face of this threat the division adopted an offensive/defensive stance. Karapetyan proposed to Corps headquarters a plan to send demolition groups into the German rear under cover of darkness, and Beloborodov approved. The sappers set off towards Nevel and blew up the railway at several points, including a 600m section. The 9th Guards in a similar operation destroyed a reinforced concrete railway bridge near Novosokolniki. These proved important in delaying German reinforcements due to the lack of roads in the region. On the evening of December 2 the 9th Guards and 357th were preparing to liquidate the forces of the German 83rd Infantry Division that were surrounded at Shelkovo and Shiripino. Shortly before the artillery preparation began Beloborodov was informed that the German relief force had launched a strong attack on the 508th Guards Regiment, which was fighting hard. As he drove towards Karapetyan's headquarters he was stopped by a lieutenant who informed the Corps commander that German troops had broken through and were approaching the village of Brukhny. Karapetyan reported that the Regiment's 2nd Battalion was encircled at Torchilikha, the 3rd Battalion was falling back towards the railway, and that he was preparing a counterattack with his reserves. Elements of the relief force managed to join up with the Shiripino grouping overnight but were unable to proceed further due to Soviet counterattacks. Before dawn the 9th Guards and 357th began their planned attack and by the morning of December 4 organized resistance in the Shiripino pocket had ceased, with just small groups of the 83rd Infantry and the relief force escaping to the south.https://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/beloborodov2/09.html. In Russian. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
A second relief attempt began on December 5, driving into the center of 5th Guards Corps until by December 10 the relieving force held a salient with its eastern tip between 13-20km from the Velikiye Luki garrison. It attempted to renew its push on December 11 but by now the Corps had been reinforced with the 19th Guards Rifle Division. On the 14th the 291st Infantry managed to retake Gromovo but was forced out again the next day by the 9th Guards. During most of this period the front facing the 46th Guards was relatively quiet and by the 16th a lull fell over the battlefield as the LIX Army Corps paused to regroup. This was completed by December 19 when a third effort began with an artillery preparation and attack that mostly hit the 9th and 19th Guards. The 46th Guards reported at 1700 hours that the German forces it faced had remained inactive while the 9th Guards limited the advance to 900m at the most. The attacks went on until December 24 when the relief force went over to the defensive. The final relief attempt began on January 4, 1943 and despite the earlier arrival of the 360th Rifle Division and 100th Rifle Brigade, Beloborodov was compelled to also reinforce his defense with two regiments of the 46th Guards, one to the 9th Guards and one to the 360th. The next day elements of LIX Corps wedged forward to within 1,000m of the Velikiye Luki-Novosokolniki road but on January 6, despite the commitment of the 331st Infantry and 707th Security Divisions, the German force was held. It made no further progress through to January 12 when it suspended its attacks due to exhaustion about 3km from the city.https://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/beloborodov2/09.html. In Russian. Retrieved March 4, 2020. Battle for Ptahinskaya Height