The 187th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed just after the start of the Second World War, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. It began forming on that same date, in the Kharkov Military District, and while it was officially part of the Active Army when the invasion of Poland began four days later it was not nearly complete enough to take part. At the start of the German invasion it was in reserve in the 45th Rifle Corps, but soon began moving to the front, again joining the Active Army on July 2, 1941. It was initially assigned to 21st Army in Western Front, then moved to 13th Army in the same Front, before returning to the 21st. Part of the division was encircled and destroyed in the hard-fought battle for Mogilev. Late in August the 187th was transferred, with its Army, to Bryansk Front, just days before the 2nd Panzer Group began driving south to encircle Southwestern Front east of Kyiv. The division was directly in the path of this drive, and despite being withdrawn across the Desna River on September 5, it was pocketed by September 16 and largely destroyed within days, although not officially disbanded until November 1.
A new 187th appeared in April 1942 in the Far Eastern Front when a named rifle division was redesignated. Through most of its existence it was in 1st Red Banner Army, but just prior to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945 it was reassigned to 5th Army. As part of 1st Far Eastern Front this Army quickly pierced the Japanese frontier defenses and the division, with its 17th Rifle Corps, was quickly shifted to 25th Army in the same Front. This was followed by an advance on Mudanjiang, which fell on August 16, two days before the Japanese capitulation. The 187th's performance was rewarded with the Order of Suvorov, but it was disbanded in September.
1st Formation The division began forming on September 13, 1939, in Poltava Oblast in the Kharkov Military District. For its first two months it was under command of Col. Pavel Ivanovich Abramidze. As of June 22, 1941, it had the following order of battle: 236th Rifle Regiment 292nd Rifle Regiment 338th Rifle Regiment 325th 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. 91 419th Howitzer Artillery Regiment 38th Antitank Battalion 334th Antiaircraft Battalion 101st Reconnaissance Battalion 256th Sapper Battalion 243rd Signal Battalion 158th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 122nd Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 11th Motor Transport Battalion 98th Motorized Field Bakery 49th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 251st Field Workshop 403rd Field Postal Station 282nd Field Office of the State Bank 1823rd Livestock Herd Col. Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov took command of the division on July 20, 1940. He had previously served as the deputy commanding officer of the 72nd Rifle Division.
Battles in Belarus As of June 22 the 187th was assigned to the 45th Rifle Corps, unattached to any Army, in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, and by July 1 it was in the same Corps, assigned to 21st Army, which was part of the STAVKA Group of Reserve Armies.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 11, 18 On July 2, as the division joined the fighting, Marshal S. K. Timoshenko took over command of Western Front, which included the 21st. The Army, which was anchoring the Front's southern flank, launched a partially-successful reconnaissance-in-force on July 5, and then a series of resolute and somewhat effective counterattacks against the right flank of 2nd Panzer Group in the area of Rahachow and Zhlobin.David M. Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2010, Kindle ed., ch. 3
On July 7 the 45th Corps, with the 187th, was transferred to 13th Army, still in Western Front.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 91 2nd Panzer Group renewed its assault on July 10, when two divisions of XXIV Motorized Corps crossed the Dniepr River at and near Bykhaw, 29–32km south of Mogilev. This had been partially anticipated by Timoshenko in his intelligence summary of the previous night, but he had expected the assault to be made at Rahachow. As a result, only the 187th had been left to defend the sector north of Bykhaw. After four hours of fighting the XXIV Corps had seized a sizeable bridgehead and, after driving off Soviet forces, began construction of two bridges. That evening, Timoshenko reported that 45th Corps (187th and 148th Rifle Divisions) were fighting against German units that had crossed in the Barsuki and Borkolobovo region, while at 1330 hours German tanks had been seen along the MogilevNovy-Bykhaw highway.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 3
The next day, the remainder of 2nd Panzer Group also crossed the Dniepr. Timoshenko reported that 13th Army was holding at Barsuki and Borkolobovo, with the 187th fighting with German units in the bridgehead; the 137th Rifle Division had now joined 45th Corps. On July 12, Western Front headquarters stated that 13th Army's positions had been penetrated to a depth of 20km. The commander of 2nd Panzer Group, Col. Gen. H. Guderian, now directed the XXIV Corps to move eastward through Chavusy and Krychaw to Roslavl. The Corps was also supposed to protect the Group's right flank. This penetration had forced a gap between the 13th and the adjacent 20th Army, and a major portion of the former was threatened with encirclement in the Mogilev area.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 3
Timoshenko's Offensive In the afternoon of July 12 the STAVKA realized that desperate measures were required to restore the situation, including the need to "[c]onduct active operations along the Gomel' and Bobruisk axis to threaten the rear of the enemy's Mogilev grouping." Timoshenko and his staff had already issued a number of preliminary orders, which included directions to Col. Gen. F. I. Kuznetsov's 21st Army which demanded that a counterattack be made from the Taimonovo and Shapchitsy area by the 187th and 102nd Rifle Divisions (under command of 67th Rifle Corps) to destroy German forces in the Komarichi and Bykhaw regions. No part of Timoshenko's plan was even remotely feasible. Only 21st Army scored a partial success when it managed to project a sizeable force across the Dniepr to briefly threaten German communications with Babruysk.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 3
The 187th went over to the attack on July 13, trying to advance north into the flank of 4th Panzer Division from Shapchitsy.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 91 The 67th Corps had been reinforced by 300 tanks of the newly-arrived 25th Mechanized Corps, but the effort turned out to be futile. The next day Timoshenko reported the partial success, without any reference to the 187th. The forces, mostly of 13th Army, that were rapidly being encircled in Mogilev were putting up very stiff resistance against 2nd Panzer Group and included part of the division.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 3
Battle of Kyiv By July 16, the 45th Corps had managed to escape southward to rejoin 21st Army. In a report on July 21 it was stated that the 236th Rifle Regiment was in the Rogi region as part of this Army, but there was no information about its remaining regiments.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 6 By July 23 the division had lost over half of its artillery, leaving it with just 10 76mm regimental guns, 12 76mm cannons, 24 122mm and six 152mm howitzers, plus six 120mm mortars.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 91 Through the following days, until Mogilev fell on July 27, the 21st Army launched incessant attacks from the south in an effort to assist the defense. The commander of the defending 61st Rifle Corps, Maj. Gen. F. A. Bakunin, ordered a breakout by his remaining troop overnight on July 26/27, but only a handful managed to reach Soviet lines.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 6 Shortly after rejoining 21st Army the 187th was reassigned to 21st Rifle Corps.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 33
While Mogilev was presenting one difficulty to Army Group Center, the continuing resistance of 21st Army was another thorn in its side. Elements of the 21st had earlier recaptured Rahachow, forcing German 2nd Army to prepare to take it back. The new commander of the 21st (which was now part of Central Front), Lt. Gen. M. G. Yefremov, requested permission to withdraw his 63rd Rifle Corps back to more defensible positions on the east bank of the Dniepr, but was refused.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 6
On August 14 the 187th was again reassigned, now to 28th Rifle Corps, still in 21st Army. When 2nd Panzer Group turned south into the flank and rear of Southwestern Front, the division was directly in its path.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 91 General Kuznetsov had returned to command of the Army on August 25, and at noon two days later he sent a combat report to the commander of Bryansk Front, Lt. Gen. A. I. Yeryomenko, describing the alarming progress of the German drive. 21st Army was described as being involved in sustained fighting since 1000 hours, and the 187th was said to be at Klintsy and Glinishche, 108–114 km west of Trubchevsk. Kuznetsov formed two shock groups, largely of cavalry, in a bid to restore his communications with 13th Army.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 2, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2012, pp. 120-21
Despite these efforts, by August 29 Kuznetsov's force had been separated from the rest of his Front by the XXIV Motorized Corps. 28th Corps, now consisting of the 187th and 117th Rifle and 219th Motorized Divisions, was defending along a line from Gutka Studenetskaya through Elino to Novye Borovichi; together with 66th Rifle Corps it was attempting to hold a 100 km-wide line with a handful of battered rifle divisions. Despite this, over the following days the STAVKA continued to issue attack orders to the Front which were doomed to failure.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 2, pp. 369-71, 373-75
Encirclement and Disbandment By August 30 the 2nd Panzer Group had begun its drive to the south to link up with 1st Panzer Group and encircle Southwestern Front east of Kiev. 28th Corps was defending along the Snov River on and appears to have eliminated a German force that had infiltrated its positions on September 1 but this was of little relevance to the overall situation. The next day the 187th was reported as fighting intense defensive battles along a line from Gutka Studenetskaya to Mostki, 78–95 km northeast of Chernihiv. During September 4 the 187th was defending from Tikhonovichi to the wood 2 km southeast of Slobodka. Kuznetsov ordered his Army to withdraw across the Desna River at 1300 hours on September 5.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 2, pp. 388-89, 437, 459-61, 463, 465
The two panzer groups met at Lokhvytsia on September 16. Most of 21st Army was pocketed, including the 187th, and it was destroyed by the end of the month although it officially remained in the Red Army order of battle until November 1.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 91