The 240th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was reorganized in the first months of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of July 29, 1941, with several modifications. This conversion required several months and the division arrived at the front too late to see much action in the winter counteroffensive west of Moscow. At the start of the German summer offensive in June 1942 it was serving in Bryansk Front west of Voronezh and gradually fell back to east of that city before taking part in the Voronezh–Kastornoye offensive in January and February 1943, liberating the town of Tim and assisting in the elimination of an encircled column of German and Hungarian troops as part of 38th Army. As part of this Army it played a minor role in the Battle of Kursk and then a more major one in the subsequent advance through eastern Ukraine. After arriving at the Dniepr River north of Kyiv the 240th was instrumental in establishing the bridgehead at Lyutizh which later became the springboard for the liberation of the Ukrainian capital, and would be awarded battle honors for both of these accomplishments. During the offensives into western Ukraine in the spring of 1944 the division won, in quick succession, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. As part of 40th Army, mostly under 50th Rifle Corps, it took part in the Jassy–Kishinev offensives and the subsequent advance across the Carpathian Mountains into Hungary. During the fighting through that country and into Slovakia during the months leading to the German surrender the subunits of the division were awarded a large number of decorations and other honors, but despite this distinguished record the 240th was surplus to requirements and was disbanded in the summer of 1945.
240th Motorized Division The division began forming in March 1941 as part of the prewar buildup of Soviet mechanized forces, at Kupiansk in the Kharkov Military District as part of the 16th Mechanized Corps. It was the highest-numbered motorized division formed by the Red Army. Its order of battle was as follows: 836th Motorized Rifle Regiment 842nd Motorized Rifle RegimentCharles C. Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", Soviet Tank, Mechanized, Motorized Divisions and Tank Brigades of 1940 - 1942, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. I, Nafziger, 1995, p. 67 145th Tank Regiment 692nd Artillery Regiment 217th Antitank Battalion 9th Antiaircraft Battalion 271st Reconnaissance Battalion 368th Light Engineer Battalion 575th Signal Battalion 221st Artillery Park Battalion 396th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 706th Motor Transport Battalion 198th Repair and Restoration Battalion 55th Regulatory Company 491st Motorized Field Bakery 602nd Field Postal Station 533rd Field Office of the State Bank Col. Ivan Vasilyevich Gorbenko was appointed to command on the day the division began forming; he had previously led the 18th Separate Motorized Brigade. He would remain in this position after the 240th was converted to a regular rifle division. The 16th Mechanized also contained the 15th and 39th Tank Divisions and the 19th Motorcycle Regiment.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 9 On June 22 the 240th was stationed in the area of Kamianets-Podilskyi as part of 12th Army in Southwestern Front; the Corps was spread along a huge stretch of the Dniestr River, as far as Kalush to the west.Artyom Drabkin and Alexei Isaev, Barbarossa Through Soviet Eyes, trans. C. Summerville, Pen & Sword Books Ltd., Barnsley, UK, 2012, p. xiii The 145th Tank Regiment seems to have existed mostly on paper, and, in common with most of the motorized divisions formed in 1941, it was short most of its authorized motor vehicles. Consequently its motorized regiments served as regular marching infantry, supporting the two tank divisions.Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", p. 67. Russian Wikipedia states that the division had 112 light and training tanks.
By July 1 the 16th Mechanized had been reassigned to the 18th Army of Southern Front, but ten days later it was back in Southwestern Front, now under command of 6th Army.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 17, 24 This Army's 7th Rifle Corps was encircled along the Sluch River and the Army commander, Lt. Gen. I. N. Muzychenko, intended to launch a relief operation with the 16th and 18th Mechanized Corps, in conjunction with forces of 5th Army, but by the time the 16th arrived Muzychenko was forced to commit it along the Berdychiv axis to protect his rear area. The positions of 6th and 12th Armies were becoming increasingly desperate and on July 21 the 1st Panzer Group completed their encirclement in the Uman area.David M. Glantz, Before Stalingrad, Tempus Publishing Ltd., Stroud, UK, 2003, pp. 112-14 As of August 1 the 16th Mechanized was still under command of 6th Army,Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 33 but the relative handful of riflemen remaining to the 240th had already been withdrawn back to Kharkiv to be reformed as a standard rifle division.Sharp, "The Deadly Beginning", p. 67
Formation The 240th was officially redesignated on August 6, in the Kharkov Military District. Once this was completed its order of battle was as follows: 836th Rifle Regiment (from 836th Motorized Rifle Regiment) 842nd Rifle Regiment (from 842nd Motorized Rifle Regiment) 931st Rifle Regiment (from reservists) 692nd 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. 40 373rd Antitank Battalion (later 217th) 516th Antiaircraft Battery (until May 5, 1943) 227th Mortar Battalion (until October 10, 1942) 531st Machine Gun Battalion (from October 10, 1942 until June 5, 1943) 271st Reconnaissance Company 368th Sapper Battalion 575th Signal Battalion (later 698th Signal Company) 396th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 121st Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 271st Motor Transport Company 355th Field Bakery 27th Divisional Veterinary Hospital (later 714th) 033677th Field Postal Station (later 602nd, 7809th) 533rd Field Office of the State Bank Colonel Gorbenko left the division on September 29 and then served in the cavalry training establishment until August 1944 when he took over the 67th Mechanized Brigade for the duration of the war. He was replaced by Col. Mikhail Gavrilovich Parovishnikov until November 25 when Maj. Gen. Stepan Aleksandrovich Ivanov took command; this NKVD officer had previously led the 256th and 257th Rifle Divisions. The 240th remained in Kharkov District into November, but as German forces closed in it was moved to the Stalingrad Military District to complete its formation.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 46, 56, 68, 80 On January 18, 1942 it became part of the active army when it joined the reserves of Bryansk Front; in February it was assigned to 3rd Army in that Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, pp. 28, 46Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 40 Case Blue During January the Front had been engaged in fighting for Bolkhov and Mtsensk, but without and significant success. By January 25 the 4th and 9th Armies of Army Group Center had developed a network of strong fortifications and further efforts to liberate these cities were stymied.Soviet General Staff, The Battle of Moscow, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2015, Kindle ed., Part V, chs. 1, 2 On April 29, General Ivanov was placed at disposal of the Main Personnel Directorate; he did not hold another field command for the duration. He was replaced by Col. Pyotr Pyotrovich Avdeenko, who had been serving as Ivanov's deputy commander. This officer handed his command to Col. Viktor Lvovich Makhlinovskii on June 8, but returned 20 days later. The 240th remained in Bryansk Front until September, fighting in battles of local significance; in July it was moved to Operational Group Chibisov in preparation for an offensive against 6th Army's drive toward Voronezh,Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 146 but it was not among the five rifle divisions committed to this attack.Igor Sdvizhkov, Confronting Case Blue, ed. & trans. S. Britton, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2017, p. 410 In August Chibisov's Group was redesignated as 38th Army, still in Bryansk Front, but as the German offensive continued the Army fell back along the Don River and was transferred to Voronezh Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, pp. 169, 192 The 240th would remain in this Army and Front until November 1943.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 40 It held defensive positions near Terbuny until January 1943.
Voronezh–Kastornoye Offensive At the start of the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive on January 13 the Army had the 237th, 167th, and 240th Rifle Divisions, 248th Rifle Brigade, and 7th Destroyer (Antitank) Brigade under command,Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, p. 15 and was led by General Chibisov. During that offensive the 38th was assigned a defensive role, holding along a 55km-wide sector from Kozinka to Olkhovatka. By January 19 the main forces of Hungarian 2nd and Italian 8th Armies had been encircled and over the following days were largely destroyed, creating conditions for a further offensive against the German 2nd Army and the rump of the Hungarian 2nd.Soviet General Staff, Rollback, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2015, Kindle ed., Part III, sections 1, 2
The 17 rifle divisions involved in the offensive averaged 5,000-6,000 men each, armed with 4,000-5,000 rifles, 500 sub-machine guns, 100 light and 50 heavy machine guns, 100-180 mortars of all calibres, and 75 guns, including 25 antitank guns. When the operation began on January 24 Chibisov had formed a shock group with his 167th and 240th Divisions, the 7th Destroyer Brigade, plus the 180th Tank Brigade and 14th Separate Tank Battalion. The 237th and the 248th Brigade were to continue an active defense along the remaining 46km front. Following the breakthrough the 240th and 7th Brigade were to attack toward Kastornoye to link up with forces of 13th and 40th Armies. By now the Army had the 206th Rifle Division (minus a regiment) as a reserve. Once the encirclement was made the secondary attacks by 38th and 60th Armies would split up and eliminate the isolated forces.Soviet General Staff, Rollback, Kindle ed., Part IV, section 2