The 247th Rifle Division was the fourth of a group of 10 regular rifle divisions formed from cadres of NKVD border and internal troops as standard Red Army rifle divisions, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District. It was largely based on what would become the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of July 29, 1941, with several variations. It was assigned to 31st Army, where it remained throughout its existence. As part of Reserve Front, the division, with its Army, was mostly involved in constructing rear-area defenses until the start of Operation Typhoon, becoming encircled in early October. Many of those who survived the breakout were incorporated into the 250th Rifle Division and the 247th was disbanded.
A new 247th began forming on December 20 in the Moscow Military District, based on a separate motorized rifle brigade and a cadre of survivors of the 1st formation. After gradually being brought up to strength in 31st Army it took part in the desperate fighting on the east side of the Rzhev salient, in that Army in the summer and in 20th Army in November and December. At the start of that Army's drive across the Vazuza River on November 25 the division was the only one to attain its initial objectives; the failure of the remainder doomed the offensive on this sector and also soon led to very high casualties to the 247th. Soon after this offensive was shut down the division was transferred to 16th Army and took part in an abortive offensive toward Zhizdra, after which it was rebuilt for the summer offensive against Army Group Center. During this it won a battle honor, but in October became bogged down in the extensive fighting for Orsha, which continued into early 1944. It was withdrawn into the reserve and returned to the front as part of 61st Rifle Corps of 69th Army, where it remained for the duration. In the later stage of Operation Bagration it helped seize and hold a bridgehead over the Vistula River at Puławy and held there in the face of many German counterattacks. In January, 1945 the division broke out from there and advanced through western Poland into Germany. In the final battles for the German capital the 247th took part in the fighting that liquidated the German 9th Army and was rewarded with the Order of the Red Banner. Within weeks it was disbanded.
1st Formation The 247th Rifle Division began forming within days of the start of the German invasion on June 29, 1941, at Murom, in the Moscow Military District.Walter S. Dunn, Jr., Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 75 This was based on an NKVD order of that date: Although the initial order for its formation came from the NKVD, when it left for the front in early July it was completely under Red Army administration. Its order of battle was as follows: 909th Rifle Regiment 916th Rifle Regiment 920th Rifle Regiment (until October 5, 1941) 778th Artillery RegimentCharles 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. 43 306th Antitank Battalion 525th Antiaircraft Battalion 327th Reconnaissance Company 416th Sapper Battalion 668th Signal Battalion 266th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 246th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 469th Auto Transport Battalion 285th Field Bakery 811th Field Postal Station 713th Field Office of the State Bank Col. Sergei Pavlovich Tarasov, an NKVD officer, was not appointed to command until July 22. He would hold this position for the existence of the first formation. The division was assigned to the newly forming 31st Army on July 15. Although still seriously understrength in weapons and equipment, the division was well-staffed with Communists; on July 20 the headquarters of 31st Army noted that it included 316 members of the Communist Party and 476 Komsomols, or almost one out every eight men in its ranks.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 43 The division officially entered the fighting front on July 20.
Judging from reports on other NKVD-based divisions, the 247th was far from complete when it entered combat. The commander of the 30th Army, Maj. Gen. V. A. Khomenko, reported on August 5 regarding his 250th and 251st Divisions that they had been required to move up to 350km on foot to their concentration areas and "were taken from their assembly points in the very midst of assembly, and, incomplete, they did not approach being 'knocked together' and went into battle unprepared for combat." In addition, the 251st had only about 400 NKVD cadre soldiers.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 4
Operation Typhoon The 31st Army, commanded by Maj. Gen. V. N. Dalmatov, initially comprised four NKVD divisions, the 244th, 246th, 247th and 249th. On July 30 the Reserve Front was formed, under command of Army Gen. G. K. Zhukov, and the Army, which now also included the 119th Rifle Division, was assigned to it. It was given responsibility for a line from the Moscow Sea to Kniazhi Gory to Shiparevo and Shchuche, with its headquarters at Rzhev. By this time the bulk of the remnants of 16th and 20th Armies had emerged from semi-encirclement near Smolensk.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., chs. 2, 8
According to an order sent by Zhukov late on August 6 the 31st Army was to defend its positions in accordance with Reserve Front order no.2/op., and conduct reconnaissance along the Lake Luchane, Moshnitsa River, Andreapol and Bely line.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 8 On August 25 the STAVKA directed the Army to remain in place and continue to fortify its defensive sector.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 2, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2012, p. 136 By the beginning of September the Army had only the 119th, 247th and 249th Divisions under command due to transfers to other armies, but as of October 1 it had two more divisions under command.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 41, 51
On the same date the Army's military council issued a report on the state of the Rzhev-Vyazma fortified defensive belt, which was 265-270km in length. In total it contained 1,277 fortifications and emplacements, of which only 317 were occupied by troops. The companies, battalions, regiments and divisions had no second echelons, so the depth of the defense was no more than 4-6km. The 247th, as one example, was deployed on a 70km front. The report ominously noted that the empty pillboxes and bunkers could be easily occupied by the enemy.Lev Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, ed. & trans. S. Britton, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2013, Kindle ed., Part 3
The German offensive began on October 2 and by the end of the next day forces of the 7th Panzer Division had managed to break through the defenses of Western Front and seize two small bridgeheads on the east bank of the Dniepr River, which ran along the forward edge of the first belt of the Rzhev-Vyazma line. Due to poor communications between the STAVKA and the Reserve and Western Fronts, units of 32nd Army and 49th Army that were preparing to move by rail to other sectors were taken by surprise. For the same reason the 31st and 32nd Armies only learned of the fall of Kholm-Zhirkovsky on October 4. Despite the worsening situation the regrouping continued and the 110th Rifle Division, minus one regiment, moved to the 247th's defense sector. This was intended to allow the 247th, with the 510th Howitzer Artillery Regiment, 873rd Antitank Artillery Regiment, and 297th Machine Gun Battalion, to defend the fortified sector from Lipovka to Valutino. The rail movements were complicated by German air attacks.Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, Kindle ed., Part 3
At 1620 hours on October 5 the headquarters of Reserve Front reported to the chief of the General Staff in part as follows:The "relief" of the 119th was, in fact, the entire transfer of the 920th Rifle Regiment to that division's command. Even now, several divisions of 31st and 49th Armies were attempting to carry out the regrouping orders issued on October 1.Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, Kindle ed., Parts 3, 4
Finally, at 2230 hours the STAVKA decided to begin the withdrawal of the troops of Western, Reserve and Bryansk Fronts to new lines that same night. Through a supplementary order all units of 31st Army were transferred to Western Front. The Army was to defend the sector of the line running to Pena. At the same time the remainder of the 247th was withdrawn into the Army's reserve. At this point only 40-50km separated the 7th Panzer Division of 3rd Panzer Group from 10th Panzer Division of 4th Panzer Group, with both advancing on Vyazma. Overnight on October 6/7 the 119th Division and attached 920th Regiment came under control of 29th Army on the line EraevoKhmelevkaOlenino. On October 7 the encirclement was completed near Vyazma.Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, Kindle ed., Part 4
On the same date General Dalmatov was ordered to organize a defense of the second belt of the Rzhev-Vyazma line. Other than remnants of the 242nd and 250th Rifle Divisions that had been transferred from 30th Army, he had under command only the rump of the 247th, which was defending in the vicinity of Sychyovka. In order to put an end to the confusion that arose during the retreat, at 0810 hours on October 8 he ordered Colonel Tarasov to gather together all the units that had retreated to the area of Sychyovka and to the north of that point. At 0910 hours on October 10 a German regiment-sized motorized column seized Novoduginskaya Station. Two battalions of the 909th Rifle Regiment with three regimental guns and four 45mm antitank guns were sent to this area with the assignment to retake Novoduginskaya and block the advance of small German groups toward Sychyovka and Gzhatsk.Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, Kindle ed., Part 5 However, the 247th, in the process of withdrawing to the east, itself fell into encirclement by the 1st Panzer Division.Sharp and Jack Radey, The Defense of Moscow 1941 - The Northern Flank, Pen & Sword Books Ltd., Barnsley, UK, 2012, pp. 33, 35, 38 Tarasov decided to disable the division's heavy weapons and equipment, split up his personnel into small groups, and begin to make their way out to friendly forces. Several groups, numbering as many as 681 men, managed to escape, bringing with them the divisional banner.Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, Kindle ed., Part 5. This author identifies the division's commander as K. Sverchevsky. On October 14 many of the survivors of the division were incorporated into the 250th Division and the 247th was disbanded.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 43
2nd Formation A new 247th Rifle Division began forming on December 20 in the Moscow Military District.Sharp, "Red Tide", p. 43 It was based in part on the Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of Kalinin Front which had been largely destroyed in fighting around Staritsa and by October 19 had been reduced to roughly 300 personnel. These were combined with survivors of the first 247th to form the cadre of the second formation. Colonel Tarasov was retained in command.Sharp and Radey, The Defense of Moscow 1941 - The Northern Flank, p. 19 Its order of battle remained very similar to that of the 1st formation: 909th Rifle Regiment 916th Rifle Regiment 920th Rifle Regiment 778th Artillery RegimentSharp, "Red Tide", p. 43 306th Antitank Battalion 246th Antiaircraft Battery (later 525th Antiaircraft Battalion) (until January 25, 1943) 177th Mortar Battalion (until October 8, 1942) 327th Reconnaissance Company 416th Sapper Battalion 668th Signal Battalion (later 428th Signal Company) 266th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 246th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 64th Auto Transport Company (later 469th) 311th Field Bakery (later 285th) 143rd Divisional Veterinary Hospital (later 294th)