The 234th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed out-of-sequence in the Moscow Military District in October–November 1941. Due to having a large cadre of members of the Communist Party it was commonly referred to as the Yaroslavl Communist Division. After forming and briefly taking part in the rear defenses of Moscow in early 1942 it was assigned to 4th Shock Army in Kalinin Front. It became involved in the fighting near Velizh and remained in that region until nearly the end of the year. In March 1943 the division played a minor role in the follow-up to Army Group Center's evacuation of the Rzhev salient, and at the beginning of August liberated several strategic villages northeast of Smolensk, soon being rewarded with a battle honor. During the following autumn and winter it took part in the grinding battles around Vitebsk until it was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding and reorganization. When it returned to the front it was assigned to 47th Army in 1st Belorussian Front and took part in the later stages of Operation Bagration, advancing to the Vistula River near Warsaw. In September it received a second honorific for its part in the liberation of Praga. The 234th fought across Poland and into Pomerania early in 1945, winning two decorations in the process before being transferred to the 61st Army for the final offensive into northeast Germany. It was disbanded shortly thereafter.
Formation The division began forming in accordance with GKO Decree No. 804, issued on October 15, 1941, in the Moscow Military District.Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 88 It was headquartered at Pesochnoye in the Yaroslavl Oblast. Its first commander, Col. Fyodor Antonovich Laminskii, was officially appointed on November 2 although he had been instrumental in forming the division from the start, along with his deputy, Commissar M. P. Smirnov. Once formed, its official order of battle, based on a version of the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of July 29, 1941, was as follows: 1340th Rifle Regiment 1342nd Rifle Regiment 1350th Rifle Regiment 1081st Artillery Regiment (later 1298th)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. 36 245th Antitank Battalion 98th Reconnaissance Company (later 225th) 641st Sapper Battalion (later 691st) 979th Signal Battalion (later 596th Signal Company) 145th Medical/Sanitation Battalion (later 549th) 136th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company (later 499th) 618th Motor Transport Company 409th Field Bakery (later 499th) 56th Divisional Veterinary Hospital (later 880th) 1721st Field Postal Station 1055th Field Office of the State Bank The All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) Committee of Yaroslavl Oblast had petitioned the GKO for permission to form the division, and it was subsequently commonly referred to as the Yaroslavl People's Militia Division or the Yaroslavl Communist Division. Once formed it had 11,648 personnel on strength, including 4,500 Communist Party members and Komsomols.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 36 In common with many militia divisions the rifle regiments were given honorifics based on where they were raised: thus the 1340th Yaroslavl; the 1342nd Rybinsk; and the 1350th Kostroma. Colonel Laminskii had led a rifle regiment during the Winter War and was given command of the newly-formed 226th Rifle Division in March 1941, but was hospitalized due to illness from June 24 to July 20, and then again due to shell-shock in early October, before taking command of the 234th.https://yarwiki.ru/article/2830/234-ya-strelkovaya-diviziya. In Russian. Retrieved August 1, 2022. By the beginning of December the division was officially under command of the Moscow Military District,Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 79 but on January 4, 1942, it became part of the active army as part of the Moscow Defence Zone.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 31 This force was considered the "last ditch" defense of the capital, but by now the Soviet counteroffensive was well underway. On February 10 the division began moving north through the snow to join the 4th Shock Army of Kalinin Front at Toropets,Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 36 which had been liberated on January 21.
Battles of Rzhev In carving out the salient around Toropets the 4th and 3rd Shock Armies had created the western face of the Rzhev salient, which contained the German 9th Army. 4th Shock's advance had been halted just after surrounding the town of Velizh, and this was where the 234th concentrated after arriving in the region. After attacking in the Prechistoye area in an effort to defeat the German garrison the division went over to the defense on March 16 as other German forces attempted to break the siege.https://yarwiki.ru/article/2830/234-ya-strelkovaya-diviziya. In Russian. Retrieved August 2, 2022. A veteran of the division, E. P. Tarasov, recalled:The German garrison was relieved on April 5 by elements of the 7th Panzer Division after the 234th was pushed back up to 3 km on the VerdinoKlestovo sector and up to 5 km along the highway in the LitvinovoAmshara sector. On April 14 Colonel Laminskii was heavily wounded in both legs when he stepped on a Soviet mine. He was hospitalized until December and then served out the war in the training establishment. He was replaced the next day by Lt. Col. Stepan Ilich Turyev; this officer would be promoted to the rank of colonel on May 14. The division had regrouped by April 16 but as of May 3 it was defending a sector as much as 63 km in width which remained largely inactive into the new year.https://yarwiki.ru/article/2830/234-ya-strelkovaya-diviziya. In Russian. Retrieved August 2, 2022. At this time it was in the Front reserves, but by the beginning of June it had been assigned to 41st Army, still in Kalinin Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, pp. 82, 101 It spent nearly the rest of the year under these commands.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 36
The division was reassigned to 43rd Army, still in Kalinin Front, in mid-December.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 12 By this time Operation Mars, the latest effort to defeat 9th Army in the Rzhev salient, was close to culminating, but the division had played no direct role in it. It was still in 43rd Army near the base of the salient at the start of March 1943 when 9th Army began its evacuation, Operation Büffel. 43rd Army took part in the late stages of the pursuit before running up against the prepared positions at the base of the former salient at the end of the month.David M. Glantz, After Stalingrad, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2011, pp. 85, 330, 338 At about the same time the 234th was again reassigned, now to the Front's 39th Army.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 83
Into Western Russia The division remained in much the same positions during the operational pause in the spring and early summer of the year. As of July 30 it reported its losses since arriving at the fighting front: 3,544 killed; 5,585 wounded; 906 missing and 33 captured.https://yarwiki.ru/article/2830/234-ya-strelkovaya-diviziya. In Russian. Retrieved August 3, 2022. Prior to the start of the Soviet summer offensive on this sector the Army organized a small-scale operation by part of the division on August 1 which liberated several villages near the front line and soon earned it a unique battle honor:As of September 1 the division had joined the 84th Rifle Corps in 39th Army,Robert Forczyk, Smolensk 1943: The Red Army's Relentless Advance, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2019, Kindle ed. but ten days later it returned to 4th Shock Army, now as part of 83rd Rifle Corps.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 245
Battle of Nevel
As the Kalinin and Western Fronts battled into western Russia the STAVKA issued orders to the commander of the former, Army Gen. A. I. Yeryomenko, on September 19 to prepare a new operation to finally take Velizh, which was done the next day. Following this success the High Command set its sights on Vitebsk. Yeryomenko wrote on September 22 that he would "make the main attack with the 4th Shock, 43rd, and 39th Armies in the general direction of Vitebsk. To that end I will reinforce 4th Shock Army with four rifle divisions (the 234th, 235th, 117th, and 16th Lithuanian Rifle Divisions)..." Days later he began planning a supporting operation by 3rd Shock Army toward Nevel, which was an important railroad and road center and a large supply base; its liberation would go some way toward outflanking Vitebsk from the north.Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2016, pp. 34-36
The offensive began at 0500 hours on October 6 with a reconnaissance-in-force, followed by a 90-minute artillery preparation at 0840 hours and airstrikes by 21st Assault Aviation Regiment. 3rd Shock went over to the attack at 1000 hours on the Zhigary-Shliapy sector, precisely at the boundary between Army Groups North and Center. 28th Rifle Division spearheaded the assault in the first echelon followed closely by an exploitation echelon consisting of the 21st Guards Rifle Division and the 78th Tank Brigade with 54 tanks. The assaulting force struck and demolished the 2nd Luftwaffe Field Division. Nevel itself was taken by a flying column by the end of the day. Meanwhile, 4th Shock launched its attack toward Gorodok. The Army commander, Maj. Gen. V. I. Shvetsov, had formed a shock group from two of his rifle corps, each advancing abreast in three echelons. 2nd Guards Rifle Corps led with its 360th Rifle Division, followed by 117th and 16th Lithuanian Divisions and two tank brigades. 83rd Corps had its 47th Rifle Division up, supported by 234th, 235th and 381st Rifle Divisions and another two tank brigades. Although there were no further panicked withdrawals by units of II Luftwaffe Field Corps the attack gained about 20 km but ultimately faltered just short of the Nevel-Gorodok-Vitebsk railroad and highway.Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, pp. 39-41
Despite this initial success, for reasons that remain uncertain Yeryomenko reined in his advancing forces on October 9 and by the next day German reserves had managed to cordon off the huge salient, which thwarted any immediate push toward Vitebsk. After mid-month 4th Shock conducted nearly constant operations either to improve its positions or defend against German counterattacks. A more determined effort began on October 17 when 83rd Corps and 2nd Guards Corps struck the 129th Infantry Division and the flank and rear of II Luftwaffe Corps, threatening to collapse the defenses north of Vitebsk. In response the 20th Panzer Division, although it had fewer than 20 tanks on strength, was ordered to counterattack and managed to contain the advance after two days of heavy fighting. Nevertheless, the Luftwaffe troops were forced to withdraw to new defensive positions. On October 20 Kalinin Front was redesignated as 1st Baltic Front; at about this time Yeryomenko reported that his rifle divisions had been reduced to from 3,500 - 4,500 personnel each.Glantz, Battle for Belorussia, pp. 41-42, 55-56
Polotsk-Vitebsk Offensive