Family book of memory and glory Nikolay Aleksandrovich Izobilin. The combat path of the division during the Great Patriotic War of the 108th Infantry Regiment

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TYULENEV FROM TITOVO. 108 RIFLE

Red Army soldier Nikolai Vasilievich Tyulenev . Born on February 25, 1921 in the village of Titovo, Ramensky district. Father Vasily Gerasimovich, mother Agrafena Egorovna, her maiden name is indicated on the prisoner’s card - Grachkova ( Graschkowa).

He was drafted into the Red Army on September 5, 1939. He served in the 407th Infantry Regiment of the 108th Infantry Division. According to the prisoner's card, on June 30, 1941, he was captured near Slonim.

Before the war, the 407th Infantry Regiment was stationed in the Smolensk region. The division belonged to the rifle divisions of three thousand personnel and as of October 22, 1940, its staff strength was only 3002 people. This is more likely the size of the rifle regiment. Perhaps it was in this composition that she met the war.

On June 22, 1941, the division was alerted and proceeded in a forced march to the old border near Minsk. It did not conduct military operations west of this line, and Tyulenev in the Slonim area, which is 200 kilometers west of Minsk, could not be captured. Most likely, the place of his captivity was indicated either as a collection point for prisoners somewhere in the Slonim region, or in the “Slonim” direction. In this direction, Slonim-Baranovichi-Minsk, the 47th mechanized corps of the Germans was advancing, which was opposed by the 108th division near Minsk.

The division became part of the 44th Rifle Corps, which occupied defense on the territory of the Minsk fortified area (UR), and there was no neighbor to the right, i.e. No one was covering the flank of the corps itself from the north. The Minsk UR had a front of 160 km and a depth of 1-2 km. It included 206 built long-term fire structures, but back in 1939 it was partially disarmed and dismantled.

This is how the chief of staff of the 108th division, Colonel Belyshev, assessed the possibility of using the UR: “It is not easy to use pillboxes, and many are completely impossible, since the weapons and instruments have been dismantled; communications, ventilation and lighting do not function; there is no documentation on the fire system...” In addition, it was simply impossible to even get inside the firing points, because they were closed with special locks. Some structures were still used, but this was not a well-thought-out system of firepower and control that the SD assumes. So the fighters had to rebuild their defenses anew. Moreover, only two regiments of the division, the 444th and 407th, occupied the defense. Arrived later 539thThe regiment was assigned to the operational group of the Western Front to eliminate enemy airborne forces.

From June 26 to 28, the division resisted German tank attacks, was outflanked and, together with the remnants of the 64th Division, fought surrounded by 10-20 km until July 1. southwest of Minsk.

Apparently in these battles Nikolai Tyulenev was captured. But it can be assumed, if the date is inaccurate, that he could have been captured during his breakout from encirclement. That's how it was.

By the evening of June 30, the commander of the 3rd Army retreating from the border, Lieutenant General V.I. Kuznetsov, arrived at the command post of the 64th division with several generals and colonels. They took over command of the encircled divisions and organized their breakthrough from the encirclement. The breakthrough was planned for pre-dawn from July 1st to 2nd.

The 108th Division by that time included the 407th Infantry Regiment, where Tyulenev served, (about 500 people), a detachment of border guards (about 120 people), a reconnaissance battalion of the division, 2 heavy guns on ChTZ tractors, several batteries of anti-tank guns, several detachments , formed from fighters and commanders of other units who entered the division’s defense area from the state border.

The 64th division was supposed to break through at the Volchkovichi junction, and the 108th division a little to the south, at the station. Fanipol.This is how they remembered itMember of the Military Council of the 3rd Army, Army Commissar 2nd Rank Biryukov:

“Together with V.I. Kuznetsov we moved after the advanced units of the 108th Infantry Division. We reached the railway line when it was already dawn. Units of the 108th Infantry Division, ... with which we marched, were stopped by German aircraft. Having crossed the railway embankment at the crossing, V.I. Kuznetsov and I stopped at the highest point near the highway and watched the battle. In this area, the division's insignificant artillery took up firing positions and supported the breakthrough of units of the 108th Infantry Division. There was little ammunition, as I already mentioned, only 3 shots per gun. All this was quickly spent, and we saw how about 50 tanks deployed into battle formation near the railway, followed by armored personnel carriers with machine gunners. All this was no further than 800–1000 m from us.”

Other participants in those events also recalled. The first to act was the reconnaissance battalion, which was obliged to stop the presence of the enemy on the highway in the area of the Fanipol station, and if he was not there, then cover the column from Dzerzhinsk while it passed through the highway. A detachment of border guards was moving behind the reconnaissance battalion. His task is to cover the column from Minsk. They were followed by units of the 407th regiment in 30 vehicles with two quadruple machine gun mounts and several anti-tank guns, heavy hull guns, and after them combined detachments formed from soldiers of other units. In general, the column of the 108th division consisted of about 2,000 combat-ready soldiers and commanders. The column approached the Dzerzhinsk-Minsk highway at dawn. The reconnaissance battalion, not meeting the enemy on the highway, turned towards Dzerzhinsk. The advanced detachment of border guards approached the crossing. At this time, about 10 cars with machine gunners appeared from Minsk. The advanced detachment of border guards opened fire on them. 3 enemy aircraft appeared from Minsk. They walked at an altitude of 150-200 meters and, turning sharply, opened machine-gun fire on the column.

When German planes appeared above the column and began firing machine guns, the Red Army soldiers opened fire on the planes. By this time the column had already dismembered. Something unimaginable happened here. The entire mass of people, leaving their cars, quickly rushed towards the highway. Everyone who could, fired at enemy planes and vehicles. The first plane was shot down immediately. He fell into a meadow towards Minsk. I followed him with my gaze and then I heard a gun duel, explosions, and a glow from Minsk. I realized that it was the 64th SD that entered the battle.

The cars with Germans coming from the direction of Minsk suddenly braked: some were reversing, others were trying to turn back. Some turned into a ditch and buried their noses in the slope of the excavation. The soldiers fell off them like peas. They immediately fell, struck by our fire, others began to run, hiding behind ditches, without even trying to shoot back. They were caught between two hurricanes. Our soldiers rushed so quickly, with such determination to quickly overcome this ill-fated highway, that no armor, no fire was able to delay them. There were no lagging behind, no last ones. Everyone was ready to break any barrier with their chest. Even the wounded flew like birds. Both enemy soldiers and enemy vehicles were riddled with hurricane fire.

By this time, two heavy implements on ChTZ tractor trailers had passed the crossing. Two horse-drawn guns immediately behind the crossing turned around at the side of the road. The crew of each gun consisted of three people. They instantly mounted their guns and opened fire on the Germans. Two fascist tanks descended from the hill towards the crossing and fired at the artillery crews. The artillerymen noticed them, but managed to fire only one shot each and were themselves killed by fragments of enemy shells. However, they set fire to one fascist tank. Three more tanks appeared from behind the hill and opened fire on our heavy guns. One was destroyed along with its crew, and the second managed to turn around and open fire on the tanks. One tank caught fire, followed by a second one, but soon the entire crew was knocked out along with the gun.”

The column crossed the highway and railway with relative ease and only after crossing it came across Nazi tanks ambushed behind a rye field. The main part of the column managed to leave in the direction of Samokhvalovichi. The last to leave were the soldiers of E.S.’s squad. Leshchenko from the 407th regiment. Two weeks later, about 1,200 people came out to join their forces.

But Tyulenev was unlucky and did not go out to his own people. His fate was unknown and to this day heis listed as missing.

The map of the captured Nikolai Vasilyevich Tyulenev is in the archives. He was registered in a prisoner of war camp Stalag - IVB Muhlberg (Mühlberg) near Dresden. His camp number is 111307. From the description this isshort, 162 cm, dark-haired 21-year-old boy. Shoemaker by profession. He was not wounded during capture.

Red Army soldier Nikolai Vasilievich Tyulenev. Born on February 25, 1921 in the village of Titovo, Ramensky district. Father Vasily Gerasimovich, mother Agrafena Egorovna, her maiden name is indicated on the prisoner’s card - Grachkova.

This is how the chief of staff of the 108th division, Colonel Belyshev, assessed the possibility of using the UR: “It is not easy to use pillboxes, and many are completely impossible, since the weapons and instruments have been dismantled; communications, ventilation and lighting do not function; there is no documentation on the fire system...” In addition, it was simply impossible to even get inside the firing points, because they were closed with special locks. Some structures were still used, but this was not a well-thought-out system of firepower and control that the SD assumes. So the fighters had to rebuild their defenses anew. Moreover, only two regiments of the division, the 444th and 407th, occupied the defense. The 539th Regiment, which arrived later, was assigned to the operational group of the Western Front to eliminate enemy airborne forces.

From June 26 to 28, the division resisted German tank attacks, was outflanked and, together with the remnants of the 64th Division, fought surrounded by 10-20 km until July 1. southwest of Minsk.

Apparently in these battles Nikolai Tyulenev was captured. But it can be assumed, if the date is inaccurate, that he could have been captured during his breakout from encirclement. That's how it was.

The 64th division was supposed to break through at the Volchkovichi junction, and the 108th division a little to the south, at the station. Fanipol. This is how a member of the Military Council of the 3rd Army, Army Commissar of the 2nd Rank Biryukov, recalled this:

Other participants in those events also recalled. The first to act was the reconnaissance battalion, which was obliged to stop the presence of the enemy on the highway in the area of the Fanipol station, and if he was not there, then cover the column from Dzerzhinsk while it passed through the highway. A detachment of border guards was moving behind the reconnaissance battalion. His task is to cover the column from Minsk. They were followed by units of the 407th regiment in 30 vehicles with two quadruple machine gun mounts and several anti-tank guns, heavy hull guns and after them combined detachments formed from soldiers of other units. In total, the column of the 108th division consisted of about 2,000 combat-ready soldiers and commanders. The column approached the Dzerzhinsk-Minsk highway at dawn. The reconnaissance battalion, not meeting the enemy on the highway, turned towards Dzerzhinsk. The advanced detachment of border guards approached the crossing. At this time, about 10 cars with machine gunners appeared from Minsk. The advanced detachment of border guards opened fire on them. 3 enemy aircraft appeared from Minsk. They walked at an altitude of 150-200 meters and, turning sharply, opened machine-gun fire on the column.

By this time, two heavy implements on ChTZ tractor trailers had passed the crossing. Two horse-drawn guns immediately behind the crossing turned around at the side of the road. The crew of each gun consisted of three people. They instantly mounted their guns and opened fire on the Germans. Two fascist tanks descended from the hill towards the crossing and fired at the artillery crews. The artillerymen noticed them, but managed to fire only one shot each and were themselves killed by fragments of enemy shells. However, they set fire to one fascist tank. Three more tanks appeared from behind the hill and opened fire on our heavy guns. One was destroyed along with its crew, and the second managed to turn around and open fire on the tanks. One tank caught fire, followed by a second tank, but soon the entire crew was put out of action along with the gun.”

But Tyulenev was unlucky and did not go out to his own people. His fate was unknown and to this day he is listed as missing.

The map of the captured Nikolai Vasilyevich Tyulenev is in the archives. He was registered at the Stalag-IVB Muhlberg prison camp near Dresden. His camp number is 111307. From the description, he is a short, 162 cm, dark-haired 21-year-old youth. Shoemaker by profession. He was not wounded during capture.

The time of entering the camp is unknown, but on August 8, 1941, he was vaccinated against smallpox and possibly against typhus, dysentery or cholera. On August 15 he was transferred to Stalag-XIIIA Sulzbach-Rosenberg (Salzbach-Rosenberg), Bavaria, and on August 29 he was sent to work team No. 306 Rosenberg. I have no information about this team, but he died in it on February 2, 1942.

In 1952, the burial sites of prisoners of war in Bavaria were moved to Neumarkt. These were mainly Russians, Poles and Yugoslavs. Almost 4,000 people from 401 burials. Nikolai Tyulenev is on the list of those reburied.

The first location is the village of Medvezhiy Stan, Vsevolozhsk district, Leningrad region.
As part of the active army (including from January 1945 - in the status of the rifle regiment of the same name of the internal troops of the NKVD of the USSR) - January 22, 1942 - May 9, 1945.
At first he provided rear security for the Neva Operational Group (2nd formation), and then for the 67th Army (1st formation).
It is known that in 1942 the regiment was headed by Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Vasily Petrovich Staritsin, and from the summer of 1943 by Lieutenant Colonel Bogdanov.
Subsequently, the regiment was part of the USSR NKVD Troops Directorate for rear protection of the 3rd Baltic Front.
In January 1945, he was redeployed from the Baltic states to the East Prussian city of Insterburg (now Chernyakhovsk), where he was reorganized into the 108th Infantry Regiment of the Internal Troops of the NKVD of the USSR. From that moment - de jure as part of the 63rd Infantry Division of the Internal Troops of the NKVD of the USSR of the Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR for the protection of the rear of the 2nd Belorussian Front (2nd formation), but de facto in January-second half of April 1945 - in operational subordination of the USSR NKVD Troops Directorate for rear protection of the 3rd Belorussian Front.
Irreversible losses of this period: on January 25, 1945, the squad commander, Sergeant Pavel Vasilyevich Dushin, died.
The regiment took direct part in the assault on the city and fortress of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), as well as in the security and military operation to clean up the latter, carried out on April 11-19, 1945.
From approximately the end of April until October-November 1945, it was directly subordinate to the headquarters of the 63rd Infantry Division of the Internal Troops of the NKVD of the USSR.
From approximately October-November 1945 - in the East Prussian city of Insterburg (now Chernyakhovsk).
As of December 1, 1945, the regiment commander was Lieutenant Colonel Boris Aleksandrovich Churkin.
In December 1945, it was reorganized into the 562nd rifle regiment of the internal troops of the NKVD of the USSR with a location in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad): in the surviving buildings on modern Baranova Street and, in particular, in the building of the modern Dynamo sports complex there was a catering unit and the Red Army club of the unit, and in two buildings opposite (now the House of Folk Art and one of the educational buildings of the Kaliningrad Technical University) there are barracks, headquarters and warehouses.
In October 1946, it was reorganized into the 562nd separate battalion of internal troops of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. The location is the same: in the city of Kaliningrad along modern Baranova Street.
The battalion was directly involved in the forced deportation of the German population from the Kaliningrad region to central Germany, as well as in a number of security and military operations carried out on the territory of the former Lithuanian SSR against illegal armed groups. Had irreparable losses incurred in battles. In particular, on August 26, 1948, in Kaliningrad, in the 4855th military hospital, Sergeant Nikolai Afanasyevich Gomalka died from wounds received during one of the Chekist military operations.
In April 1948, this battalion was “sequestered” into the 10th separate rifle company of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (according to other sources - MGB) of the USSR with a location in the city of Kaliningrad in the area of Krasnokamennaya Street.
The best of the company's servicemen being demobilized into the reserve by the personnel apparatus of the UMGB in the Kaliningrad region were sent to serve in the divisions of the internal affairs bodies of the region and, in particular, a large group - in the spring of 1949 to replenish the ranks of the water police, including Red Army soldiers Ilya Andreevich Mosol and Pavel Andreevich Pankov.
A former representative of the command of the 108th (562nd) Infantry Regiment of the Internal Troops of the NKVD-MVD of the USSR, Major Anatoly Semenovich Slonetsky subsequently became a police commissioner of the 3rd rank (analogous to the modern special rank of “major general of police”). November 5, 1953 – August 29, 1955 He, as the first head in the history of this educational institution, headed the Kaliningrad Special Secondary Police School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR (now the Kaliningrad Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia).
The further fate of this military unit is unknown, but most likely it was disbanded at the turn of the 1940-1950s.

, Stankovo, the width of the defense zone is 40 kilometers. The third regiment of the division (539 joint venture) continued to regroup in the Minsk region, a significant part of the artillery and anti-tank weapons of the division were at the disposal of the commander of the 44th Rifle Corps, the formation was not fully provided with ammunition and property, and the supplies that had already been unloaded at the Ratomka station with their own vehicles had not yet been received upon mobilization, the division could not deliver. The 539th 108th Infantry Division, which arrived on June 27, separately from the main forces of the division, took up defense along the right bank of the Ptich River along the Ozery, Volkovichi, Letskovshchina line with the task of preventing the enemy from breaking through to Minsk from the southwestern direction. On the morning of June 27, units and 44 rifle corps, including the 108th rifle division, were subordinated to the 13th Army, the commander of which, Lieutenant General Filatov P.M., completed the task of the People's Commissar of Defense: Under no circumstances should Minsk be surrendered, even if completely surrounded troops defending it.

In the second half of July, the remnants of units of the 44th Rifle Corps, including the 108th Rifle Division, were withdrawn to the reserve of the Western Front and concentrated in the Semlevo, Vyazma area where they carried out an urgent reorganization. On July 26, the 44th Rifle Corps began moving to the Svishchevo area and to the Solovyovskaya crossing, and already on July 27, the first to arrive, the 108th Rifle Division, included in the Group of Forces of the Yartsevo direction of Major General Rokossovsky, took part in repelling the enemy’s attempt to capture the Solovyov crossing.

On July 28, the division as part of the corps went on the offensive in the direction of Usinino with the task of clearing the road to ensure supplies for the 20th Army. Until August 5, the division conducted combat operations on the western bank of the Vop River, supporting the actions of the troops defending Smolensk, then took up defense on the eastern bank of the Vop River along the line of elevation. 169.9, Skrushevskie farmstead.

On the night of August 15-16, the defense line of the 108th division was expanded to include a section taken over from the 64th Infantry Division, which was involved in the operation to defeat the enemy’s Dukhshchina group. On September 3 and 4, the division tried to go on the offensive on the western bank of the Vop River in the direction of Podroshe, but had no success and on September 5 went on the defensive at the same line.

By October 1941, the division was replenished and took up defensive positions along the Vop River south of Yartsevo (Smolensk region). By the beginning of the Vyazemsk operation, the division had a strength of 10,095 people, defending in the Yartsevo area in the first echelon of the 16th Army in the direction of concentrating the main efforts of the unification. The division's defense sector was located outside the direction of enemy attacks.

On October 6, the division was sent to the Vyazma region, as part of the 16th Army being created in the Vyazemsky direction to counter the enemy groups that had broken through. However, time was lost, the command of the 16th Army managed to avoid encirclement, and the 108th Rifle Division ended up in General Ershakov’s group, which fought from October 9 to 12, trying to escape from the encirclement.

Less than one third of the division, led by commander Major General N.I. Orlov, reached their own in the Dorokhovo area.

Klin-Solnechnogorsk defensive operation (November 15 - December 5, 1941)

The remnants of the division that emerged from the encirclement were included in the 33rd Army. At the beginning of November, the formation was replenished with personnel to 7,556 people and participated in the construction of defensive structures in the Zosimova Pustyn, Naro-Fominsk area. By November 15, the 108th Rifle Division was in the second echelon of the 33rd Army, occupying defenses 15 km from the front line at the Rassudovo, Rudnevo line with the task of covering the Kiev highway.

On November 20, 1941, in connection with the enemy breakthrough on the near approaches to Moscow, the command of the Western Front transferred the division to the 5th Army and was transferred by vehicles to the Zvenigorod area, where, together with the 145th separate tank brigade, it took up defense at the junction with the 16th th army along the Kotovo, Nasonovo line. Since November 21, 1941, waging stubborn battles with the advancing units, the formation, under enemy pressure, slowly retreated in an eastern direction. On November 24, the remnants of the 129th Infantry Division were merged into the division. On November 27-29, the division gained a foothold at the Ivanovskoye-Funkovo line. On November 30, under enemy pressure, Ivanovskoye was abandoned. During the battles near Zvenigorod, the division's losses amounted to more than half of its personnel, its strength was reduced to 2,400 people.

By the beginning of the last attempt by German troops to break through to Moscow, the 108th Infantry Division was fighting defensive battles on the right flank of the 5th Army at the junction with the 16th Army. On December 1, 1941, formations of the 9th German Army Corps went on the offensive in the division's defense zone. By the end of December 2, as a result of fierce battles that reached hand-to-hand combat, the division retreated in a southeastern direction to the line Anosino, Pokrovskoye, Pavlovskaya Sloboda, Yuryevo.

On the morning of December 3, the division, reinforced by the 37th Rifle and 22nd Tank Brigades, counterattacked the enemy from the Pokrovskoye line, a corner of the forest east of Yuryevo. During the day, Pokrovskoye and Padikovo changed hands several times. On December 4, the division gained a foothold at the Pavlovskaya Sloboda, Yuryevo line. After the hardest battles, there were 120-150 active bayonets left in the regiments. The enemy operating against it - units of the 252nd Infantry Division, having exhausted its strength, no longer took active action.

Klin-Solnechnogorsk offensive operation (December 6-25, 1941)

By the beginning of the counteroffensive of Soviet troops near Moscow, the 108th Rifle Division remained on the right flank of the 5th Army, occupying defenses along the Pavlovskaya Sloboda, Yuryevo line.

At 14.00 on December 5, the division, as part of the troops of the right flank of the 5th Army assisting the troops of the 16th Army, went on the offensive in the direction of Pavlovskaya Sloboda, Surmino. By the end of the day, units of the division were able to advance 2-3 km, but were unable to overcome the enemy’s defenses entrenched at the Boriskovo and Padikovo line. Only towards the end of December 10, the division, after stubborn battles, was able to capture first Padikovo, then Boriskovo.

After the attack of the strike group of the 5th Army south of Zvenigorod on December 11, the 108th Infantry Division, overcoming stubborn enemy resistance within two days, was able to advance another 4-5 km, capturing the Ivanovskoye area on December 11, and by the end of December 12 - Petrovskoye . On December 13, after the withdrawal of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps to the enemy rear, the enemy, hiding behind rearguards, began to retreat in the direction of Ruza. Continuing to conduct stubborn offensive battles, the 108th Infantry Division, together with the 37th Infantry Brigade and the 43rd Infantry Brigade, by December 18, having overcome almost 40 km, reached the Remyanytsya, Vishenki line.

On December 19, the division was transferred to the army reserve and transferred to the direction of the main attack of the army. Already on December 20, to increase efforts to capture the well-fortified city of Ruza, the division was brought into battle, but this did not produce significant results. On December 21, the 108th Rifle Division and the 37th Rifle Brigade crossed the Ruza River with two battalions and began the battle to capture Maloye Ivantsevo. By the end of the day, the Germans carried out a counterattack, forcing our units to retreat to the eastern bank of the Ruza River. From that time on, the offensive of the 5th Army ran out of steam, formations and units suffered significant losses and were forced to go on the defensive. The 108th Rifle Division, repelling enemy counterattacks, entrenched itself in the area east of Likhachevo.

Rzhev-Vyazemsk offensive operation (January 8 - April 20, 1942)

By the beginning of the Rzhev-Vyazemsky operation, the 108th Infantry Division was occupying the defensive position at the reached line - on the left flank of the 5th Army. After two weeks on the defensive, the division was replenished with personnel and prepared for a new offensive.

From January 6 to 10, the division conducted demonstrative offensive operations. On January 11, the division was transferred by army transport to the Kryukovo area on the left flank of the army to build up efforts in the direction of the main attack of the army. On January 12, the division went on the offensive, capturing Novotroitsk, Petrishchevo and reaching the Yastrebovo, Novo-Arkhangelskoye line by the end of the day. On January 13, the division, having covered about 10 km, reached the Mishinka, Stroganka line, covering Dorokhovo from the south. On January 14, the enemy was forced to leave Dorokhovo, captured by units of the 50th, 82nd and 108th rifle divisions. By January 16, having covered another 20 km, the division captured the Otyakovo and Mikhailovskoye areas, reaching the southern outskirts of Mozhaisk. From January 17 to 20, the division fought on the southern approaches to Mozhaisk, capturing Kolachevo on January 20.

On January 20, the enemy was forced to leave Mozhaisk. On January 21, the 108th Division, pursuing the enemy, advanced 15 km and captured the Artemka, Fomino area.

Scheme of the battles for the Vasilkovsky knot of German resistance from January 25 to March 5, 1942. The actions of the 108th Infantry Division regiments are indicated by arrows in the center.

The last point that the division captured in the Gzhat direction was the village of Nekrasovo (now does not exist). Subsequently, Soviet troops in the Gzhatsk direction did not make significant progress, since they stopped in front of the Vasilkovsky knot of German resistance, 16 km southeast of the city of Gzhatsk (now Gagarin, Smolensk region). This node was part of the general defensive system of the Gzhatsky fortified area, the overcoming of which was completed only in 1943.

By April 1942, the formations of the 5th Army were forced to go on the defensive. In total, during the Rzhev-Vyazemsk offensive operation of 1942, the 108th division fought about 60 km.

From April 1942 to February 1943, the division, as part of the 5th Army, occupied the defense in the Gzhatsk region. On June 16, in the defense sector of the 108th Rifle Division at 04.40, the enemy, with forces up to a company, went on the attack from the Belochkino area (14 km north-east of Gzhatsk), wedged into the south-eastern part of the grove (400 m north of Polyaninovo). On June 17, the division tried unsuccessfully to counterattack. The division probably did not take part in the attack on Karmanovo (Gzhatsk operation). In the 5th Army, the 108th Division was considered one of the best, and training sessions for formation and unit commanders were held at the division’s base. In February 1943, the division was transferred to the 10th Army.

In February 1943, the division was withdrawn from the 5th Army and, having completed a 400-kilometer march to the left flank of the Western Front, became part of the 10th Army. In March 1943, the division took part in offensive battles in the Zhizdra area, waging stubborn battles to capture Peasant Mountain (Kretova Gora). After the termination of the failed operation, the division occupied defense on the Zhizdrinsky bridgehead along the Ozhigovo, Dretovo, Babikino line (35 km south of Kozelsk), from April it became part of the 16th Army (from May 1943 - the 11th Guards Army).

Since May 1943, the troops of the 11th Guards Army have been preparing for the offensive. During the preparation for the operation, the 108th Rifle Division, as well as the 217th Rifle Division and the 16th Guards Rifle Division occupied the army's defense line, providing preparation for the offensive of the remaining army divisions.

On the night of July 9-10, units of the 11th and 83rd Guards Rifle Divisions replaced units of the 108th Division at the front line, after which the 108th Division was withdrawn to the army reserve - to the Dretovo area. The division's artillery (122 mm howitzers, 16 76 mm divisional guns, 14 120 mm mortars, 58 82 mm mortars) was left in the occupied firing positions to participate in artillery support during the battle for the main defense line enemy. In addition, the 172nd separate engineer battalion of the division was involved in making passages in the rear minefields and obstacles in the zone of the 11th Guards Division.
By the end of the day on July 17, units of the 2nd Tank Army, having gained a foothold on hastily occupied lines, managed to stop the offensive of the 8th Guards Rifle Corps of the 11th Guards Army in the Bolkhov direction. The army commander decided to increase efforts by introducing his reserve - the 108th division - into the battle.

On the night of July 17-18, units of the division replaced units of the 83rd Guards Rifle Division and in the morning went on the offensive from the Krutitskoye, Podsadnoye line in the direction of Stolbchee and Dolbilovo, defended by units of the 20th Tank Division from the 2nd Tank Army. In the first echelon, the 444th Infantry Regiment attacked on the left flank and the 539th Regiment on the right, in the second echelon - the 407th Infantry Regiment. The 539th Infantry Regiment, having successfully repelled an enemy counterattack with the strength of a battalion, captured Rudnevo by 17.00, straddling the Bolkhov, Znamenskoye highway. The 444th Regiment captured Stolbchee, but was stopped by stubborn enemy resistance at Dolbilovo. Having increased efforts by introducing a second echelon and repelling another counterattack, by the end of the day the division captured Dolbilovo, thereby completing its immediate task, covered more than 10 km and cut off the supply routes for the Bolkhov enemy group.

On July 19, it was planned to continue the offensive, but in the morning a massive air strike was launched against the division’s battle formations, and from 10.00 the enemy launched a counterattack (up to two infantry regiments and up to 120 tanks) against parts of the division. With the attached 333rd Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment and the remnants of the 5th Tank Corps (about 10 tanks), the division fought stubborn battles, including semi-encirclement, but on July 20 the previously occupied areas had to be abandoned. Having lost more than 3,500 people, including the commander of the 444th regiment, Major A.V. Lazov, who was seriously wounded, units of the division retreated to an area 16 km southwest of Bolkhov. It was for these battles that the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
It was not possible to encircle the Bolkhov group of fascist German troops; the enemy was able to systematically retreat to the prepared defense line (the Hagen line).

In August, the 108th Division was transferred to the 50th Army and took part in the final battles of the Oryol operation. On August 18, together with the 110th Rifle Division, the 108th Division tried to advance in the Korneevo, Kalinino area, in the direction of Uleml, to capture a bridgehead on the western bank of the Bolva River, but were unsuccessful.

On August 30, 1943, the commander of the Bryansk Front, Colonel General Popov M.M., decided to regroup formations of the 50th Army from the Zhizdra area to the Kirov area to strike the flank and rear of the Kirov group of enemy troops.
By September 2, the 108th Rifle Division, as part of the 50th Army, made a 100-kilometer march, concentrating in an area 12 km west of Kirov. On September 4, reconnaissance in force was carried out, in which one rifle battalion from the 108th division also participated, and the breakthrough area was clarified. On September 7, Unit 108 established a bridgehead on the western bank of the Desna River and cut the important Bryansk-Roslavl railway. However, the German command brought up reserves and, through a series of counterattacks, stopped the offensive of our troops. The units of the 2nd Cavalry were actually surrounded. On September 11, the 108th Infantry Division received the task of ensuring connection with corps units.

The plan of action of the division commander was to break through the enemy defenses at the Luzhka-Kamenka line at 09.00 on August 12, after a fire raid, and, advancing along the eastern bank of the Desna River, to connect with the 2nd Cavalry Corps by the end of the day. The 407th and 444th regiments attacked in the first echelon of the division, and the 539th regiment in the second. To strengthen the division, the 336th Tank Regiment, the 546th Anti-Tank Fighter Regiment, the 312th Mortar Regiment, the 60th Howitzer Brigade and the 40th Guards Mortar Regiment were assigned. On the right, the 413th Infantry Division was going on the offensive, and on the left, the 110th Infantry Division.

However, a little more than two hours before the start of the planned offensive, a reconnaissance platoon of the 407th regiment, while conducting a reconnaissance search, broke into the first enemy trench, captured prisoners and destroyed up to 20 Nazis. Seeing an opportunity to build on the success, the platoon commander began to expand the capture area. In turn, the commander of the 1st battalion of the 407th regiment immediately supported the scouts, went on the attack and expanded the breakthrough area to 500 meters. The regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel A. Rychkov, continued the initiative by introducing the 2nd and 3rd battalions into the breakthrough. The division commander, Colonel P. A. Teremov, immediately brought the 444th Regiment into battle in the breakthrough area of the 407th Regiment. All artillery was reassigned to regimental commanders; artillery training was not needed. As a result of sudden and decisive actions, by 08.00 units of the division had expanded the breakthrough front to two kilometers and advanced to a depth of three to five kilometers. The enemy was able to organize only one counterattack with forces up to a battalion, which was successfully repelled by two battalions of the 539th Infantry Regiment, advanced from the second echelon. Twice there were attempts to launch air strikes against the advancing units of the division, but the enemy pilots were unable to detect our units in the wooded area. By the end of the day, enemy units in front of the division's front were destroyed or scattered. Prisoners were captured from the German 339th Infantry Division.

On September 13, the division continued its offensive and, breaking away from the main forces of the army by 35 km, by the end of the day it united with units of the 2nd Cavalry Corps, taking up defense on the eastern bank of the Desna River in the Rekovichi area with the 407th and 539th regiments. Units of the 444th Regiment, stretching for almost 15 km, defended several crossings across the Desna River on the eastern bank and covered the rear of the division from retreating enemy units.

On September 14, the enemy, taking advantage of the delay in the advance of the main forces of the 50th Army, attacked our units on the bridgehead with the forces of the German 129th Infantry Division with the support of several tanks from the 5th Panzer Division. During the day, four attacks were repelled, but by the end of the day the enemy managed to capture Vyazovsky, which dominates the crossing to the Zadesninsky bridgehead and is located in the rear of the 407th regiment. At the same time, German units trying to retreat to the western bank of the Desna managed to push back units of the 444th regiment from a number of crossings across the Desna in a southern direction, creating a threat to the rear and artillery of the division. At one point in the battle, a small group of Germans in three armored personnel carriers from the northern direction broke through directly into the area where the division command post was located, but they were repelled by a training company and an anti-tank rifle platoon. Half of the ammunition was spent, and there were more than 800 wounded in the medical battalion, mostly from the cavalry corps.

On the morning of September 15, the counterattack organized by the division commander himself to capture Vyazovsk was unsuccessful. After a two-hour battle, during which the northern outskirts of Vyazovsk changed hands several times, we had to retreat to our original position. At the same time, the enemy resumed attacks on the right flank of the division, penetrating the defenses of the 539th regiment. During this battle, the commander of the attached 546th Anti-Tank Fighter Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Zhuravlev, was seriously wounded. In a difficult situation, the commander decided to transfer the 444th Regiment to the bridgehead, leaving one reinforced rifle company to cover the rear of the division. The 444th Regiment, which arrived at the bridgehead in the afternoon, turned the tide of the battle: at 16:00 it launched an attack on Vyazemsk and by 18:00 it captured the village, completely defeating the opposing enemy. The penetration into the defense of the 539th regiment was eliminated at night, by the joint actions of the 444th and 539th regiments.

Since the morning of September 16, the enemy did not launch attacks on the bridgehead; by the end of the day, the main forces of the army approached the Zadesninsky bridgehead. As a result of the actions of the 2nd Cavalry Corps and the 108th Rifle Division, the enemy was unable to take up defense along the western bank of the Desna River.

On the night of September 19, reconnaissance reported that the enemy had begun to withdraw from the bridgehead and the division began pursuit, capturing the regional center of Dubrovka. On September 22, units of the division crossed the Iput River, and by September 25, division units reached the Malaya Lipovka, Uzlogi line - 15 km east of Khotimsk. To capture the city, the formation was assigned a tank regiment and a regiment of guards mortars. On September 26, the 409th and 444th regiments started a battle a kilometer from the eastern outskirts of the city. At this time, the 539th Infantry Regiment, with the support of tanks, bypassed Khotimsk from the north, crossed the Besed River and suddenly captured the western outskirts of the city, destroying a mortar battery on its outskirts. Enemy units began to flee the city. By 18.00 on September 26, the 108th Rifle Division had completely captured the regional center of Khotimsk - the first liberated city of Belarus on the Pronya River by the 9th Tank Corps, with the task of cutting off the enemy’s escape routes across the Berezina River, thereby completing his encirclement. By the end of June 27, units of the division, having passed behind enemy lines, together with units of the 9th Tank Corps, took up defense in the area of Wieliczka, Jasny Les, Titovka. For two days, the division repelled enemy attempts to break out of the encirclement. By the end of June 29, organized resistance from the encircled enemy group had ceased, and the operation was completed. The 108th Infantry Division, as one of the most distinguished formations in battle, was given the honorary name Bobruisk.

For the steadfastness, courage and heroism shown during the war in the fight against the fascist invaders, 12,294 soldiers and officers were awarded in the division, including