The 47th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

. It was first formed in 1922 as the Georgian Rifle Division. In 1924, it became the 1st Georgian Mountain Division. The division became the 47th Georgian Mountain Rifle Division in 1936 and dropped the designation "Georgian" in 1940. It was disbanded in June 1942 after being wiped out at

Izyum Izium or Izyum ( uk, Ізюм, ; russian: Изюм) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast ( province) of eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion (district). Izium hosts the administration of Izium urban ...

. In July 1942, the 47th Rifle Division was formed from the 21st Rifle Brigade. It fought in the

Nevel Offensive The Battle of Nevel was a successful military operation conducted by the Red Army in the Pskov Oblast of western Russia and in northern Belarus during World War II, from October 6 to roughly December 16, 1943 although fighting persisted in the a ...

, for which it was awarded the title "Nevel". The division was disbanded in the

Baltic Military District The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet armed forces in the Baltic states, formed briefly before the German invasion during the World War II. After end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's con ...

in 1946. It was also awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

and the

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 19 ...

2nd class. The division was reformed a third time from the

277th Rifle Division The 277th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army and later the Soviet Army, formed twice. First formed in the summer of 1941, the division was destroyed in the Battle of Kiev during September of that year. Ref ...

in 1955 but disbanded in July 1956.

History

In 1922, the Georgian Rifle Division was formed. It was given the honorific "on behalf of Comrade Stalin" on 29 July 1930. In July 1936, it was renamed the 47th Georgian Mountain Rifle Division. On 16 July 1940, it became the 47th Mountain Rifle Division. On 22 June 1941, it was part of the

3rd Rifle Corps The 3rd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army which saw service in World War II and in the 1950s. The corps was first formed in 1923 from the 3rd Army Corps in the Moscow Military District and fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland and t ...

Batum Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of t ...

. Between 11 and 14 September, the division was sent by rail from

Kupyansk Kupiansk ( uk, Куп'янськ, ) is a city in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kupiansk Raion. It is also an important railroad junction for the oblast. Kupiansk hosts the administrative offices of Kupiansk Ur ...

Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...

. On 20 September it was again transported to Iskrivka, Vodyanaya and Kovyahy. It was sent into battle near Chutovo on 26 September to participate in the attack on Poltava. As a result of a disorganized retreat, it lost 23 artillery guns and 7 mortars in October 1941. As part of the 6th Army, it fought in the Second Battle of Kharkov and was wiped out in the Izyum pocket during May 1942. It was officially disbanded on 30 June. The 47th Rifle Division was reformed in July 1942 from the 21st Rifle Brigade. The division fought in the

in October 1943 as part of the

83rd Rifle Corps 83rd may refer to: *83rd Academy Awards, a ceremony that honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011 *83rd Grey Cup, the 1995 Canadian Football League championship game *83rd meridian east, a line of lon ...

. On 7 October it was awarded the honorific "Nevel" for its actions in the capture of Nevel. The division was advancing towards Zheludok, Ovinische and Lobok on 8 November. It was awarded the

2nd class on 21 December. The division was awarded the

on 10 July 1944. In 1946, the division was disbanded in the

. In 1955, the division was reformed from the

at Iman with the

5th Red Banner Army The 5th Combined Arms Red Banner Army (5-я общевойсковая армия) is a Russian Ground Forces formation in the Eastern Military District. It was formed in 1939, served during the Soviet invasion of Poland that year, and was deplo ...

. It inherited the honorifics "Roslavl Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov". The division disbanded on 25 July 1956.Feskov et al 2013, p. 151

Commanders

The division was commanded by the following officers. * S. Levktadze (1922–1935) * Leonid Mikhailovich Agaladze (1935–1937) * Captain Dzhabahidze (1937) * Timofey Ustinovich Grinchenko (8 October 1938 – 1 October 1941) * Viktor Georgiyevich Chernov (2 October 1941 – 16 April 1942) * Filipp Matykin (17 April 1942 – 25 May 1942) * Colonel

Spiridon Chernyugov Spiridon Sergeyevich Chernyugov (; 27 December 1900 – 1 November 1960) was a Soviet Army major general. Chernyugov joined the Red Guards in late 1917 and transferred to the Red Army in early 1918, serving as an orderly and later as a Red Army ma ...

(20 July 1942 – 13 October 1942) * Colonel Grigory Chernov (14 October 1942 – 8 January 1944) * Colonel Alexander Paramonov (9 January 1944 – 24 January 1944) * Colonel (promoted to Major General 13 September 1944)

Pavel Chernous Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pa ...

(25 January 1944 – 9 May 1945)

Composition

On 22 June 1941, the 47th Mountain Rifle Division contained the following units. * 148th Mountain Rifle Regiment * 334th Mountain Rifle Regiment * 353rd Mountain Rifle Regiment * 145th Mountain Rifle Regiment (until 28 December 1941) * 113th Separate Antitank Battalion * 499th Separate Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion * 136th Cavalry Squadron * 102nd Sapper Battalion * 214th Separate Communications Battalion * 58th Divisional Artillery Park * 98th Medical Battalion * 158th Trucking Company * 124th Field Bakery * 228th Field Ticket Office of the State Bank The 47th Rifle Division was composed of the following units. * 148th Rifle Regiment * 334th Rifle Regiment * 353rd Rifle Regiment * 559th Artillery Regiment * 113th Separate Antitank Battalion * 400th Antiaircraft Artillery Battery (until 15 April 1943) * 457th Machine Gun Battalion (from 10 January 1943 – 10 May 1943) * 136th Intelligence Company * 102nd Sapper Battalion * 214th Separate Communications Battalion (because 539th Separate Communications Company) * 98th Medical Battalion * 10th (became 11th) Separate Chemical Defence Company * 157th Trucking Company * 300th Field Bakery * 1633rd Field Post Office * 1624th Field Ticket Office of the State Bank

References

* {{Soviet Union divisions 1945{{endash57 047 Military units and formations established in 1922 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946