The 269th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Formed in the summer of 1941, the division served with the

Bryansk Front The Bryansk Front () was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Red Army during the World War II, Second World War. First Formation (August - November 1941) General Andrei Yeremenko was designated commander of the Front when it fi ...

in the same area until late 1943, when it began advancing westwards. The 269th fought in

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...

, the southern Baltic states, and the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

during 1944 and 1945. Postwar, it was disbanded in 1946 in Belarus.

History

The 269th began forming on 13 July 1941 from reservists at

Kolomna Kolomna (, ) is a historic types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva River, Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Population: History Mentioned for the fir ...

, part of the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...

. Its basic order of battle included the 1018th, 1020th, and the 1022nd Rifle Regiments, as well as the 836th Artillery Regiment. By 5 August, the division had been moved to Teplukha, and assigned to the 24th Army of the

Reserve Front The Reserve Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. First Formation The Reserve Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first version was created on July 30, 1941 in a reorganizat ...

. In mid-August the 269th was transferred to the newly formed 50th Army, but by the end of August the division was part of the 3rd Army in the

. Colonel

Andrey Chekharin Andrey Yevseyevich Chekharin (; 26 October 1892 – 20 October 1941) was a Red Army colonel killed in World War II. Chekharin ended World War I as a junior officer, but did not see much action in the Russian Civil War. He served at military ed ...

became division commander in early September. The 269th was encircled during

Operation Typhoon The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...

and Chekharin was reported missing, presumably killed, during a breakout attempt on 20 October. The division served in roughly the same positions, covering the southern flank of the Moscow defenses, until late 1943. From late 1943 to early 1944, the division slowly advanced towards the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

as part of the Belorussian Front. The 269th fought in

as part of the 3rd Army's 41st Rifle Corps during the summer of 1944. On 21 July, it received the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

for its actions. The division then fought in the southern Baltic states in late 1944 as part of the

2nd Belorussian Front The 2nd Belorussian Front (, ''Vtoroi Belorusskiy front'', also romanized "Byelorussian SSR, Byelorussian"), was a Front (military formation), major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. I ...

and the

3rd Belorussian Front The 3rd Belorussian Front () was a Front of the Red Army during the Second World War. The 3rd Belorussian Front was created on 24 April 1944 from forces previously assigned to the Western Front. Over 381 days in combat, the 3rd Belorussian Fr ...

. During April and May 1945 it participated in the

as part of the 1st Belorussian Front. In the summer of 1945, the division was relocated to

Maladzyechna Maladzyechna, or Molodechno, is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Maladzyechna District (and formerly of Molodechno Region from 1944 to 1960). Maladzyechna is located northwest of Minsk. In 2006, it had ...

in the

Minsk Military District Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

along with the 46th Rifle Corps, where it was disbanded in late 1946.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{Soviet Union divisions before 1945

269 Year 269 ( CCLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Claudius and Paternus (or, less frequently, year 1022 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 269 for this ...

Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner