The 122nd Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army on September 5, 1939, in the Oryol Military District, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of that month. It was quickly moved west to the Byelorussian Military District but was still barely formed at the start of the Soviet invasion of Poland, and did not see combat. It was soon moved to North Karelia, where it took part in the Winter War as part of 9th Army. After capturing and pushing beyond the town of Salla it was forced to retreat back nearly to Märkäjärvi by Finnish counterattacks, and remained there for the duration. It was still in this region at the start of the Continuation War, now as part of the 14th Army of Northern Front (soon Karelian Front). At the start July 1941 the German XXXVI Mountain Corps launched an offensive against the 122nd and its Corps-mate, the 104th Rifle Division, with the objective of reaching Kandalaksha and cutting the railway from Murmansk to the rest of the USSR. The divisions conducted a successful retrograde action over the following months, holding the German/Finnish forces well short of the railway when the offensive ended in September. In April 1942 both divisions were transferred to 19th Army. The 122nd would remain on these lines into the autumn of 1944, briefly engaging German troops withdrawing into Lapland following the Finnish surrender. Karelia was now a strategic dead end, and in November 19th Army was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for reassignment of its units to the south. The division was first assigned 2nd Ukrainian Front in Romania, and then to 26th Army in 3rd Ukrainian Front for operations in Hungary. It arrived south of Budapest in mid-January 1945 and was quickly involved in the last German effort to relieve its besieged garrison. After helping to defeat the last German offensive in March it advanced, now with 57th Army, through the Hungarian oil fields, winning the Order of Kutuzov on the way toward Vienna. It was disbanded soon after the German surrender.
Formation The 122nd began forming in the Oryol Military District on September 5, 1939, based on a regiment of the 6th Rifle Division. Kombrig Pyotr Semyonovich Shevchenko was assigned to command on that date; he had previously led the 76th Mountain Rifle Division. It was barely formed up when it began moving east by rail to the Byelorussian Military District, which became Belorussian Front at the start of the invasion of Poland on September 17. While it was assigned to 24th Rifle Corps of 4th Army it was not yet operational. Following the Polish surrender the 122nd was moved again, now to North Karelia where it joined the 9th Army at Kandalaksha on November 8 in preparation for the invasion of Finland on November 30. Its major units were the 420th, 596th, and 715th Rifle Regiments, plus the 285th Artillery and 369th Howitzer Regiments. Battle of Salla
Unknown to the Finns, the Soviets had built a railway from Kandalaksha to the frontier earlier in the year using prisoner labor. By December 1 the division was developing a direct attack on Salla from its base at Kandalaksha with the support of the 88th Rifle Division if needed. The intermediate objective was the town of Kemijärvi en route to Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland. Here the 122nd was expected to join hands with the 104th Rifle Division, driving south from Petsamo. In the event the 104th would never cover half that distance, but the 122nd briefly seemed poised to do the job alone.William M. Trotter, A Frozen Hell, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 1991, pp. 53-54, 178
The division had several companies of tanks attached, and these operated more aggressively than those on most other sectors. Furthermore, just beyond the frontier the terrain transitioned from heavy forest to tundra, which offered the armor more scope for deployment. The strength of the division was completely unexpected by the Finnish command, which believed it would see nothing more than raiding parties and reconnaissance units on the sector. It was forced to dig up odds and ends of reinforcements for Lapland Group's Separate Battalion 17 and its one attached company. Shevchenko's troops captured Salla on December 9, from where he divided his forces. A northern grouping of one rifle regiment, the reconnaissance battalion, plus a company of medium tanks, took the road to Pelkosenniemi, which in turn led to Sodankylä. If the latter was reached the Finns on the Petsamo front would have their supply line cut. The southern grouping, consisting of the balance of the division, continued moving on Kemijärvi.Trotter, A Frozen Hell, pp. 178-79
During the advance on Salla two officers of the division would distinguish themselves. Maj. Stepan Terentievich Kazakov was in command of the 596th Rifle Regiment. On December 2 he led a flanking attack near the village of Kuolajärvi which pushed the Finns off a dominant height. Overnight on December 6/7 he also led his regiment in a river crossing which established a bridgehead, personally directing artillery fire against counterattacks. He would be killed in action on December 20. Meanwhile, Cpt. Ivan Ivanovich Kozmin was serving as commander of a battalion of the 420th Rifle Regiment. On December 9 he led a group of his riflemen, riding on tanks, east of the village of Kuolojärvi, an attack that dispersed a planned Finnish ambush. The battalion took the village later that day. On December 31 Kozmin was in command of a reconnaissance group when he killed seven Finnish soldiers in a dugout, took one prisoner, and captured a heavy machine gun. He would be killed in action on January 4, 1940. Both men would be buried in a mass grave at Alakurtti, and both would be posthumously made Heroes of the Soviet Union on May 21.https://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=5718. In Russian, English translation available. Retrieved May 7, 2026.https://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=5691. In Russian, English translation available. Retrieved May 7, 2026. Second phase
By December 17 the 122nd was less than 30km from Kemijärvi. Maj. Gen. K. M. Wallenius, commander of the Lapland Group, now decided to take personal command of the defense. His forces had been augmented up to seven battalions, although four of them were equipped with not much more than rifles. He decided to first strike back against the northern grouping. Overnight it was outflanked by a battalion that managed to approach within 100m of the regiment's lines without being detected. The Finns charged out of the darkness, firing as they moved, and quickly routed the regiment, which abandoned much of its heavy equipment and several vehicles. This retreat continued for some 90km and the northern grouping was effectively out of the battle.Trotter, A Frozen Hell, p. 179
Following this success Wallenius was able to reinforce the line in front of Kemijärvi. The 122nd's southern grouping had already lost some 600 men killed in a twelve-hour battle. Over the next week Shevchenko launched repeated attacks at battalion strength, usually two or three each day. The Finns employed effective camouflage, and regularly held their fire until the range was 150m or less. One company made two such attacks in one day and was finally reduced to just 38 men. Elements of the 88th now began arriving, being thrown in piecemeal, but with no better results. By the end of the month both the 88th and 122nd were spent as attacking forces, and were hard pressed to hold their earlier gains.
Roughly a third of the Soviet troops were tied up guarding a 145km-long supply line when Wallenius went over to the counterattack on January 2, 1940. He began with a series of short, concentrated strikes, throwing the two divisions off balance; when resistance stiffened the Finns withdrew to attack elsewhere. Gradually the Soviet force withdrew to a series of ridge lines some 3km west of Märkäjärvi where they had prepared a strong defensive line. There the 122nd and 88th went to ground, remaining there for the duration of the war.Trotter, A Frozen Hell, pp. 179-80 In the peace settlement of March 12 the occupied Finnish territory was ceded to the USSR, and the 122nd remained there until July 1941. Shevchenko had his rank modernized to that of major general on June 4, 1940.
Continuation War At the time of the German invasion of the USSR the 122nd and 104th Divisions formed the 42nd Rifle Corps of 14th Army under Northern Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 7 Shevchenko remained in command. its order of battle was as follows: 420th Rifle Regiment 596th Rifle Regiment 715th Rifle Regiment 285th Artillery Regiment 369th Howitzer Artillery Regiment (until October 20, 1941) 208th Antitank BattalionCharles C. Sharp, "Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. VIII, Nafziger, 1996, p. 61 392nd Antiaircraft Battery (later 252nd Antiaircraft Battalion, until June 10, 1943) 370th Mortar Battalion (from November 20, 1941 until November 9, 1942) 153rd Reconnaissance Company (later 153rd Battalion) 223rd Sapper Battalion 256th Signal Battalion (later 799th Signal Company) 172nd Medical/Sanitation Battalion 126th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Platoon 205th Motor Transport Company (later 193rd Battalion) 320th Field Bakery (later 123rd, 80th) 42nd Divisional Veterinary Hospital 36th Divisional Artillery Workshop 114th Field Postal Station 195th Field Office of the State Bank The division was covering a front from Korya to Lampela near the new border with Finland, holding the direct route to Kandalaksha. When Finland declared war on June 25 the division had a total of roughly 7,000 officers and men on strength (the prewar "6" division shtat) and its heavy equipment consisted of 30 45mm antitank guns, 21 76mm cannons, 27 122mm and 12 152mm howitzers, eight 37mm and four 76mm antiaircraft guns. The division also had the 107th Tank Battalion attached from the 1st Tank Division at Kandalaksha.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 61 Operation Arctic Fox
During August 1940 the Finnish government permitted German troops to enter its country. In April 1941 Hitler ordered Gen. E. Dietl to Berlin to plan operations in the Murmansk region. Hitler's preferred option was to attack Murmansk directly, a distance of some 100km from Petsamo. Dietl, who was familiar with the arctic tundra of the area, expressed grave doubts, and proposed an alternative plan to attack farther south via Salla to Kandalaksha, where the terrain was less extreme and there were at least a few roads and railways. In the event, Hitler's plan would be implemented as Operation Platinum Fox, while Dietl's would proceed as Operation Arctic Fox (also translated as Polar Fox).John R. Elting, Battles for Scandinavia, Time-Life Books Inc., Chicago, IL, 1981, p. 118, 121
Lt. Gen. H. Feige was delegated to command Arctic Fox. His force consisted of the XXXVI Mountain Corps, consisting of the 169th Infantry Division and SS Battlegroup Nord, as well as the Finnish 6th Infantry Division. The German force numbered roughly 40,600, with the Finns contributing another 12,000. 42nd Corps had some 20,000 effectives, spread across a broad front, with the 122nd to the north and the 104th to the south. Nord, largely composed of 8,000 former police and security men, was well equipped, including a battalion of light tanks, but highly deficient in training and experience. Feige planned an advance on four axes: one German regiment would attack on the direct road to Salla; two regiments would strike from the north; Nord would push from the south; and the 6th Division would attempt to reach the Soviet rear from a position 80km to the south.Elting, Battles for Scandinavia, p. 125