The 235th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. As part of the 41st Rifle Corps it was soon sent to Northwestern Front to defend the distant approaches to Leningrad. Along with its Corps the division became part of the Luga Operational Group. After Novgorod was captured the Luga Group was largely encircled and had to fight its way north toward the city, suffering considerable losses in the process. The losses to the 235th were greater than those of some others and after officially carrying on in the reserves of Leningrad Front for some time the division was officially disbanded in late December.
A new division, originally numbered as the 454th, began forming in the Siberian Military District in early December and was soon redesignated as the 2nd formation of the 235th. After forming it was assigned to 53rd Army in Northwestern Front and served in the battles around the Demyansk Pocket into early 1943. During Operation Kutuzov it took part in the battles that liberated Oryol, and then went into the reserves before moving north to join 4th Shock Army. As part of 1st Baltic Front it was involved in the grinding battles around the Vitebsk salient through the winter of 1943/44, mostly as part of 43rd Army. Early in the summer offensive the division won a battle honor, and then advanced into the Baltic states, receiving the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the fighting southwest of Riga. In January 1945 the 235th advanced into East Prussia and spent nearly the remainder of the war there, winning further distinctions in the battle for Königsberg. It remained in service into the following year but was disbanded in July 1946.
1st Formation The division began forming on March 14, 1941, at Kineshma and Ivanovo in the Moscow Military District. When completed it had the following order of battle: 732nd Rifle Regiment 801st Rifle Regiment 806th Rifle Regiment 670th Artillery Regiment 682nd Howitzer Artillery RegimentCharles C. Sharp, "Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. VIII, Nafziger, 1996, p. 100 217th Antitank Battalion 11th Antiaircraft Battalion 289th Reconnaissance Battalion 369th Sapper Battalion 607th Signal Battalion 384th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 326th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 702nd Motor Transport Battalion 450th Field Bakery 676th Field Postal Station 544th Field Office of the State Bank Maj. Gen. Timofei Vasilevich Lebedev was appointed to command on the day the division began forming and would lead it for the duration of this formation. This officer had previously led the 40th Rifle Division but had more recently served in the training establishment. At the time of the German invasion the division was still unfinished and only had a week to complete its formation before it joined the fighting front on June 30. At this time it was part of the 41st Rifle Corps with the 111th and 118th Rifle Divisions.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 11, 15 Defense of Leningrad When it arrived at the front the 41st Corps came under the command of the 11th Army of Northwestern Front in the Pskov area.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 100 On July 4 the Red Army's chief of staff, Army Gen. G. K. Zhukov, ordered Lt. Gen. M. M. Popov's Northern Front to "immediately occupy a defense line along the Narva-Luga-Staraya Russa-Borovichi front". Popov formed the Luga Operational Group on July 6 and by July 14 the 41st Corps, which now also contained the 90th Rifle Division had been subordinated to it.David M. Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad, 1941-1944, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2002, pp. 37-39
4th Panzer Group resumed its advance from it bridgehead east of the Velikaya River between Pskov and Ostrov on July 10. Although summer heat and difficult terrain delayed the pace of the blitzkrieg the panzers were still gaining about 30km per day. With the failure to halt the advance, Popov split up the Operational Group on July 23 into three separate sector commands. The Luga Sector came under the command of Maj. Gen. A. N. Astinin and was ordered to protect the Luga Highway axis south of Leningrad. His forces consisted of the 111th, 177th, and 235th Rifle Divisions and the 2nd Tank Division, plus assorted smaller units.Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad, 1941-1944, pp. 41, 47
On August 8 Hitler ordered that Army Group North be reinforced with large armored forces and air support in preparation for a final drive on the city. Two days later elements of the LVI Motorized Corps, supported by the I and XXVIII Army Corps, advanced along the Luga and Novgorod axes toward the southern and southwestern approaches to Leningrad. The three Corps tore into and through the partially prepared defenses of the Luga Group and advanced on Krasnogvardeysk, while the 48th Army was forced out of Chudova and Tosno. These advances cut the line of communications to the Luga Group, which had to give up the town August 20. Fighting in encirclement, the nine Soviet divisions, including the 235th, had to cut their way out to the north and east in small parties, harried continually by the 8th Panzer, 4th SS, 269th and 96th Infantry Divisions conducting constant converging attacks on the Group from all sides. The German command estimated Red Army losses at 30,000 men, 120 tanks and 400 guns among the encircled forces.Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad, 1941-1944, pp. 53, 60-61, 67
As of September 1 the 235th was still in 41st Corps which was assigned to the Southern Operational Group of Leningrad Front, which had been formed on August 27 from part of Northern Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 40 Remnants of the division took up positions near Pushkin, but by now the combined strength of the 235th, 177th Rifle and 24th Tank Divisions was no more than 2,000 men. On September 8 elements of Army Group North captured Shlisselburg, completing the land blockade of Leningrad.Glantz, The Battle for Leningrad, 1941-1944, p. 66 Under the circumstances there was no immediate prospect of rebuilding these divisions and, although it was still officially in the reserves of Leningrad Front on October 1 it had disappeared a month later,Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 50, 61 although it was not officially abolished until nearly the end of December.Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 70 By this time General Lebedev had been given command of the 191st Rifle Division; he was also serving as the deputy chief-of-staff of 4th Army. He was killed in action on January 26, 1942 during fighting along the Volkhov River when he was blown up by a German antitank mine.Aleksander A. Maslov, Fallen Soviet Generals, ed. & trans. D. M. Glantz, Frank Cass Publishers, London, UK, 1998, pp. 39, 211
2nd Formation A new division, originally numbered as the 454th, began forming at Novosibirsk in the Siberian Military District on December 3, 1941, based on the shtat of July 29, but on January 7, 1942 it was redesignated as the 2nd formation of the 235th.Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, p. 100 Once formed its order of battle was very similar to that of the 1st formation: 732nd Rifle Regiment 801st Rifle Regiment 806th Rifle Regiment 682nd Artillery RegimentSharp, "Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. IX, Nafziger, 1996, p. 37 217th Antitank Battalion 132nd Antiaircraft Battery (until March 15, 1943) 123rd Mortar Battalion (until November 10, 1942) 500th Reconnaissance Company 369th Sapper Battalion 607th Signal Battalion (later 607th Signal Company) 384th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 326th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 588th Motor Transport Company 441st Field Bakery 906th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 1701st Field Postal Station 1071st Field Office of the State Bank Col. Said-Garei Gaifutdinovich Gaifutdinov, a Tatar by nationality, was appointed to command the day the division began forming. He had previously served as chief-of-staff of the 194th and 245th Rifle Divisions as well as a senior political instructor. Once it completed recruiting the 235th had 11,733 personnel on strength, 50.4 percent of whom were under 25 years of age, a youthful cadre in good physical condition but most of whom had never had any military experience or peacetime training. As a result the division spent three months in Siberia training and a further two months in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command,Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 37 eventually as part of 58th Army. When it arrived at the fighting front on April 26 it was assigned to 53rd Army in Northwestern Front near Demyansk.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, pp. 39, 54, 73, 81 Demyansk Pocket
By the time the division arrived the German II Army Corps in and around Demyansk had been partly relieved with the creation of the Ramushevo Corridor as a land line of communications to 16th Army, but this was a tenuous link and the pocketed troops still largely relied on air supply. 53rd Army contained the 166th, 235th, 241st and 250th Rifle Divisions as well as two rifle brigades and a number of ski battalions, and was assigned to contain the southern side of the pocket. An attempt in the first half of May by 11th Army and 1st Shock Army to close the corridor was a failure and the Front was given much of June to rebuild for a deliberate offensive in July. This began on the 17th and was also stymied with significant casualties, but 53rd Army played little role. A renewed effort in August followed a very similar pattern except the 53rd, 27th and 34th Armies around the periphery were ordered to launch local attacks; these were easily fended off by the well-fortified defenders.Robert Forczyk, Demyansk 1942-43: The frozen fortress, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2012, Kindle ed. Colonel Gaifutdinov had left the division on July 14 to take command of the 91st Fortified Region and was replaced by Col. Filipp Nikolaevich Romashin, who had previously commanded the 370th Rifle Division.
On January 31, 1943, the German High Command ordered that the Demyansk salient be evacuated, in the wake of the encirclement and upcoming destruction of 6th Army at Stalingrad. By this time most of Northwestern Front's best divisions were battered wrecks. Not knowing the German plan, Marshal G. K. Zhukov was making plans for his Operation Polyarnaya Zvezda to finally crush the salient as a preliminary to the relief of Leningrad. The division had been earmarked for this operation, which began on February 15, 1943, but was repulsed with heavy losses. Operation Ziethen began on February 17, at which time the 235th was northwest of the village of Molvotitsy. 53rd Army attempted to harass the withdrawing forces, primarily with ski troops, but the German withdrawal freed up the reserves they needed to reinforce their lines along the Lovat River, and the "pursuit" through the devastated landscape achieved little.Forczyk, Demyansk 1942-43: The frozen fortress, Kindle ed. Colonel Romashin had been wounded and hospitalized on January 18 and was replaced in command by his deputy, Col. Anisim Illarionovich Svetlyakov, but after his recovery Romashin returned on March 11.
Operation Kutuzov