The 162nd Rifle Division was originally formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in August 1940 in the Kharkov Military District, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of the previous September. At the start of the German invasion in June 1941 it was in Lubny, Poltava Oblast, and was quickly sent to the front as part of Western Front's 19th Army. After first counterattacking in an effort to retake Vitebsk it was forced to fall back toward Smolensk. During August and into September, now as part of 30th Army, it took part in several counteroffensives against German 9th Army in the Dukhovshchina area in an effort to retake Smolensk, but these were ultimately unsuccessful while costing the division considerable strength. At the start of Operation Typhoon in October the 162nd was located at the boundary of the two Soviet armies in well-prepared positions, but was struck with overwhelming numbers of infantry, tanks, and aircraft. With one regiment quickly encircled the remainder were shouldered away to the north and east. Soon pocketed with the remains of two other divisions the 162nd managed to reach Soviet-held territory in the Kalinin region late in the month, but in November was disbanded to supply replacements for other units.
A new 162nd was designated in January 1942 in the Ural Military District based on a 400-series division that had begun forming the previous month. In March it moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command where it was assigned to the reformed 28th Army, soon part of Southwestern Front. In mid-May the Army formed part of the Front's northern shock group in the offensive to retake Kharkiv; while the 162nd was initially in second echelon it was soon brought up to the front line and attacked near Vesele on May 18 without any lasting success. Following this offensive the division was transferred to 38th Army and was under this command in late June when the German summer offensive began. Twice encircled over the following weeks it failed to escape across the Don River in any numbers and was disbanded in late July.
The final 162nd began as the Central Asian Rifle Division of the NKVD in November in the Central Asian Military District. It retained the name "Central Asian" as an honorific. Early in the new year it, and five similar divisions, were transferred to the Red Army and formed as the new 70th Army. The Army was soon assigned to Central Front, where it joined the advance toward Oryol in late February and March 1943, but proved ineffective due to low standards of training and leadership. It did not see much combat in the Battle of Kursk, being largely confined to second echelon, but advanced into eastern Ukraine in September as part of 65th Army, where it won a battle honor. In October it entered eastern Belarus and in the November fighting for Rechytsa it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. It battled through the winter in this general area, gradually advancing eastward, before being moved south in February 1944 to join 1st Ukrainian Front. After reaching its new Front, as part of 13th Army, the 162nd advanced to the vicinity of Brody, where it would remain for several months. In the early stages of the Lvov-Sandomierz offensive in July it assisted in taking this objective, then moved into southeast Poland, playing a leading role in forcing the Vistula and holding the bridgehead on its west bank. Following this success the division was pulled into reserve and moved to the north, briefly rejoining 65th Army before returning to 70th Army, now in 2nd Belorussian Front. During the Vistula-Oder offensive in 1945, as part of 47th Rifle Corps, it broke through to the lower Vistula and then into eastern Pomerania, where several of its subunits won decorations, including for the capture of Gdańsk. Following a rapid redeployment the 162nd helped lead its Front into central Germany north of Berlin. Shortly after the German surrender it was also awarded the Order of Suvorov, but was disbanded in July.
1st Formation The division first began forming on July 16, 1940, at Artyomovsk in the Kharkov Military District. Its order of battle on June 22, 1941, was as follows: 501st Rifle Regiment 627th Rifle Regiment 720th Rifle Regiment 605th Light 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. 81 634th Howitzer Artillery Regiment 141st Antitank Battalion 473rd Antiaircraft Battalion 241st Reconnaissance Battalion 187th Sapper Battalion 400th Signal Battalion (until October 18, 1941) 194th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 21st Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Platoon 3rd Motor Transport Battalion 136th Field Bakery 169th Field Postal Station 119th Field Office of the State Bank Col. Nikolai Fyodorovich Kolkunov was appointed to command on the day the division began forming, and he would remain in this post for the duration of the 1st formation. As of June 22 it was part of 25th Rifle Corps, along with the 127th and 134th Rifle Divisions,Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 10 and was already on the move, by rail, to join the 19th Army at Cherkasy. From here the Army commander, Lt. Gen. I. S. Konev, was ordered north to the Vitebsk area, to join Western Front. Between July 7 and 10 the 162nd offloaded north of Smolensk.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 81 Battle of Vitebsk By late on July 9 forces of 3rd Panzer Group had created a serious breach in the Red Army's defenses around Vitebsk. The front commander, Marshal S. K. Timoshenko, ordered Konev to counterattack to restore the situation despite the fact his Army was not yet assembled. The 162nd took part in the counterattack the next day, which faltered after two days of heavy fighting due to the lack of coordination and reserves. By nightfall on July 12 both motorized corps of the Panzer Group were over the Dvina River and fanning out around Vitebsk. By the end of July 13 the 162nd and 134th were moving into the area east of Smolensk, but the remainder of 19th Army was strung out along the poor roads between that city and the area east of Vitebsk. 25th Corps was fighting in a salient east of Orsha which had been formed by XXXIX and XXXXVI Motorized Corps pushing toward Smolensk. Timoshenko continued to attempt to retake Vitebsk with counterattacks that included the 162nd as late as July 16, but these made no progress at all. Adding to the turmoil, the commander of the Corps, Maj. Gen. S. M. Chestokhvalov, had been captured on July 13.David M. Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2010, Kindle ed., chs. 2, 3
Battle of Smolensk Timoshenko was not immediately aware that Army Group Center had taken Orsha and had completed an encirclement of Western Front's forces north of the Dniepr River, east of that city and west of Smolensk. The elongated pocket contained most of 20th Army, what remained of two mechanized corps, and five divisions of 19th Army, including all of 25th Corps, for a total of 20 divisions of several types. However, the rapid advance had taken a toll of the German forces as well, with the 18th Panzer Division, as an example, holding blocking positions with only 12 operable tanks on strength. Furthermore, German infantry divisions were still well to the rear. At 2000 hours on July 18 Timoshenko issued an operational summary to the STAVKA which stated, in part, that 19th Army was "withdrawing in disorder", and the 162nd was pulling back to the Nelidovo region, having escaped from the encirclement, and was now being subordinated to 30th Army.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 3 Following this, Colonel Kolkunov was brought in front of a military tribunal. He was accused of having, on July 13, ordered the division's communications equipment buried in the ground, and effectively destroyed, when this measure "was not required by the combat situation..." He was given a five-year suspended sentence but remained in command.
At 2000 hours on August 3 Timoshenko reported on Western Front's efforts to break through to relieve the still trapped 20th and 16th Armies near Smolensk. The 162nd had been re-subordinated to 19th Army, which was "attacking across its entire front", and the division was reported as being "concentrated in the Vadino region." By August 5 the combined remaining forces had escaped across the upper Dniepr to Western Front's positions, albeit at considerable cost. Konev's Army attacked again "against stubborn enemy resistance" starting at 0700 on August 7 and the 162nd was reported as havingBy this time some 50,000 men of 16th and 20th Armies had escaped from the pocket. Also by this time most of the Front's rifle divisions had only 1,000 - 2,000 personnel on strength, with far fewer "bayonets" (riflemen and sappers).Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 7 Dukhovshchina Offensives As of August 8 the divisions of XXXIX Motorized Corps which had been facing 30th Army had been relieved by the infantry divisions of 9th Army's V Army Corps. These divisions were very hard pressed to parry the attacks of this Army and 19th Army east and northeast of Dukhovshchina. In the wake of these assaults the commander of Army Group Center noted "9th Army was also attacked; the day before yesterday the Russians broke through as far as the 5th Division's artillery positions." The chief of staff of OKH, Col. Gen. F. Halder, noted on August 11 in regard to these attacks:Timoshenko's new plan, as submitted to the STAVKA around noon on August 15 was "to destroy the enemy grouping in the Dukhovshchina region" with shock groups consisting of 30th Army on the north flank and 19th Army on the south. The 162nd, which had returned to 30th Army, and 91st Rifle Divisions were initially assigned a covering role on a front between Markovo and Potelitsa, some 24-38km north of Yartsevo.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 9
The operational directive set the goal of encircling and destroying the German 106th, 5th, and 28th Infantry Divisions and 900th Lehr Regiment through concentric attacks with two shock groups, the northern consisting of the 30th Army's 242nd, 251st, 107th Tank and 45th Cavalry Divisions, and by now the 162nd as well. The Army was to protect its right flank toward Bely with the 250th Rifle Division, penetrate the German defense and then commit the mobile forces to encircle the objective from the west. The attack sector was 17km wide from Markovo to Staroe Morokhovo, from 38km to 55km north of Yartsevo. The 162nd, which had the support of two battalions of the 542nd Cannon Artillery Regiment and other supporting units, was to attack with its main forces in the direction of Gordienki, Sechenki, and Maloe Repino, with the main objective to reach a line from Khadobuzha to Staroe Selo, and then continue the attack toward Ponomari. The attack was to be preceded by a 45-minute artillery preparation beginning at 0900 hours on August 17. The shock group faced the German 106th Infantry, which was holding a sector roughly 16km wide. During August 16 the 162nd was reported as having improved its jumping-off positions by reaching the area some 18-20km southeast of Staroe Morokhovo.