The 147th Rifle Division was originally formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in August 1939 in the Kharkov Military District, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of the following month. In June-July of 1940 it was part of 9th Army in the operation to occupy the Romanian territories of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, after which it returned to eastern Ukraine. At the time of the German invasion in June 1941 it was in the same area, part of 7th Rifle Corps, but after an abortive move across the Dniepr River was incorporated into the Kiev Fortified Region as part of Southwestern Front. It would remain defending the Ukrainian capital into September, eventually as part of 37th Army, when it was deeply encircled and destroyed.
A new 147th began forming in January 1942 in the Moscow Military District, based on a 400-series division. After several months of equipping and training it was assigned to 7th Reserve Army, soon renamed 62nd Army, and railed south to the Caucasus steppe in July in the path of Army Group B's drive toward Stalingrad. As part of Stalingrad Front the Army took up positions on the west bank of the Don River, in what it usually called its Great Bend. In the second week of August it was surrounded with most of its Army in a bridgehead west of Kalach-na-Donu and lost nearly all its personnel and equipment in breaking out, but was not disbanded. The small cadre was moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding and moved north, joining the 2nd Shock Army of Volkhov Front in time to participate in the offensive that restored land communications with Leningrad. Near the end of this operation the division failed in an attack on a workers settlement near Sinyavino, resulting in the dismissal of its commander. It now returned to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and was moved south to join 27th Army, first in Steppe Front and then Voronezh Front; it would remain under this command, and its successor 1st Ukrainian, for the duration of the war. After extensive fighting in the vicinity of Okhtyrka the 147th advanced to the Dniepr where it crossed as part of the abortive Bukryn operation in October. After reassignments to both 40th and 38th Armies it found itself west of Kyiv in 60th Army, then advanced toward Shepetivka in February 1944 under 1st Guards Army. It was under this command in July's offensive toward the Vistula and won a battle honor during the advance. In the fall the division was transferred again, now to 13th Army, where it would remain for the duration. During the 1945 winter offensive the 147th advanced through southern Poland and into lower Silesia, where all four of its regiments received decorations following the fighting for Sprottau. During the Berlin operation the division crossed the Neisse River and broke through the German defense lines, assisting in the encirclement and destruction of German forces in the area of Halbe, for which it was decorated with the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky. The war ended as the 147th was advancing on Prague, and by the end of the year it was back in Ukraine, where it was disbanded in July 1946.
1st Formation The 147th began forming on August 28, 1939 at Lubny in the Kharkov Military District, based on the 104th Rifle Regiment of the 25th Chapayev Rifle Division. It was immediately assigned to the 55th Rifle Corps. The deputy commander of the 25th, Col. Akseli Moiseevich Anttila took command the day it formed. With the outbreak of war between Germany and Poland on September 1 the division's training regiment was accelerated and a month later it was considered combat-ready. On November 9 it was placed on a peacetime footing and moved to the 14th Rifle Corps. Colonel Antilla was moved to a command in the Finnish People's Army prior to the outbreak of the Winter War, and Col. Konstantin Ivanovich Mironov took command on November 29. This officer had previously led the 42nd Rifle Division.
On May 15, 1940, in accordance with the operational plan of Lt. Gen. N. F. Vatutin,David M. Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 1998, p. 43 the 147th was redeployed to Kirovograd in the Odessa Military District. When the occupation of Bessarabia began on June 28 it was part of Southern Front's 9th Army. After this operation ended in early July the division was moved again, now to Kryvyi Rih. At the outbreak of the war with Germany it was part of the 7th Rifle Corps, which was soon moved to Southwestern Front,Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 17 and its order of battle was as follows: 551st Rifle Regiment 600th Rifle Regiment 640th Rifle Regiment 379th 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. 73 278th Howitzer Artillery Regiment (until September 10, 1941) 231st Antitank Battalion 339th Antiaircraft Battalion 170th Reconnaissance Battalion 281st Sapper Battalion 193rd Signal Battalion 151st Medical/Sanitation Battalion 143rd Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Platoon 102nd Motor Transport Battalion 146th Field Bakery 170th Field Postal Station 350th Field Office of the State Bank By July 8 the division was arriving at Bila Tserkva and BerdychivSharp, "Red Legions", p. 73 with the 206th Rifle Division under orders to take up positions in the old Stalin Line near Shepetivka. These positions had already been overrun or bypassed, so the two divisions fell back. The 147th was soon incorporated into the Kiev Fortified Region.David Stahel, Kiev 1941, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2012, pp. 84-85 Defense of Kyiv
The 13th and 14th Panzer Divisions reached the Irpin River west of Kyiv on July 11 after breaking through Southwestern Front near Zhytomyr. The German command was divided on plans to directly attack Kyiv to seize its crossings over the Dniepr, but by July 13 German reconnaissance made it clear that Soviet fortifications and troop concentrations ruled out any possibility of taking the city by surprise. Kyiv would remain in Soviet hands for more than two further months.Stahel, Kiev 1941, pp. 77-80 As of August 1 the 147th was still under direct command of the Front,Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 33 which was led by Col. Gen. M. P. Kirponos. On the same date Colonel Myronov officially left his command, having been encircled near Novyi Myropil with the 551st Rifle Regiment. He was able to escape and took command of the 113th Rifle Division in October, but would be killed while withdrawing from another encirclement on the Moscow front in April 1942. He was replaced in the 147th by Col. Savva Kalistratovich Potekhin, who had been serving as deputy commander of the 58th Mountain Rifle Division.Note that this officer's patronymic is given as "Konstantinovich" in Commanders of Corps and Divisions (see Bibliography) The division was officially incorporated into 37th Army on August 8;Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 43 this Army was tasked with continuing the defense of Kyiv.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 73
During late July and into early August the XXIX Army Corps of German 6th Army made numerous attempts to capture Kyiv, but all of these were foiled. Meanwhile, the 2nd Panzer Group and 2nd Army of Army Group Center began their drives southward. By September 10 the remnants of 5th and 37th Armies were grouped north of Kozelets but on September 16 the 2nd Panzer linked up with the 1st Panzer Group of Army Group South well to the east and the Army was deeply encircled.Stahel, Kiev 1941, pp. 81, 84-85, 210, 228-29 The 278th Howitzer Regiment had already been written off due to encirclement on September 10, and now what was left of the division struggled to escape. Colonel Potekhin broke clear to friendly lines with some of his men, mostly as individuals and in small groups. He officially remained in command until December 27, when the 147th was deleted from the Red Army's order of battle in common with many other units destroyed at Kyiv. He was then given command of the 30th Rifle Division, which he held for about six months before attending the Voroshilov Academy, specializing in tank and mechanized forces. He would be promoted to major general of tank forces on March 11, 1944, but was killed in action by an air attack on August 22 while in deputy command of the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps.Aleksander A. Maslov, Fallen Soviet Generals, ed. & trans. D. M. Glantz, Frank Cass Publishers, London, UK, 1998, pp. 156-57
2nd Formation The 426th Rifle Division began forming at Shumerlya in the Moscow Military District in December 1941.Walter S. Dunn Jr, Stalin's Keys to Victory, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2007, p. 99 On January 28, 1942, it was redesignated as the new 147th Rifle Division. Its personnel were predominantly of Chuvash, Tatar, and Udmurt nationalities. Its order of battle was similar to that of the 1st formation: 15th Rifle Regiment 600th Rifle Regiment 640th Rifle Regiment 379th Artillery RegimentSharp, "Red Swarm", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From 1942 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. X, Nafziger, 1996, p. 56 231st Antitank Battalion 170th Reconnaissance Company 281st Sapper Battalion 601st Signal Battalion (later 193rd Signal Battalion, 224th Signal Company) 151st Medical/Sanitation Battalion 509th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company (later 165th) 70th Motor Transport Company 525th Field Bakery 890th Divisional Veterinary Hospital (later 147th) 21187th Field Postal Station (later 1719th, 2111th) 1772nd Field Office of the State Bank (later 1081st) Col. Ivan Vladimirovich Kovrigin, who had led the 426th, remained in command. In April the division was moved to Kovrov, where it completed its equipping and continued training. It was briefly part of the active army from May 12-30 as it moved south to Lyapichev, where it was assigned to the 7th Reserve Army.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1942, p. 113
Battle of the Don Bend On July 10 7th Reserve was redesignated as 62nd Army,Sharp, "Red Swarm", p. 56 under command of Maj. Gen. V. Ya. Kolpakchi, and two days later the 147th again joined the active army. On July 16 Colonel Kovrigin left the division, being replaced by Maj. Gen. Aleksandr Alekseevich Volkhin. This officer had previously led the 145th Rifle Division and the 16th Reserve Rifle Brigade. The Army consisted of six rifle divisions (196th, 192nd, 147th, 181st, 184th, and 33rd Guards). In orders from the STAVKA on July 12 it was stated, in part:This order set the stage for the battle in the Great Bend of the Don.Glantz, To the Gates of Stalingrad, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2009, pp. 115, 186-87