The 287th 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 twice. It was first formed in the summer of 1941 and destroyed in the Bryansk pocket in the fall of 1941. The division was reformed in late December, including elements of the first formation, and served throughout the war before being disbanded in the summer of 1945.

History

First Formation

The 287th began forming around 10 July 1941 at

Yelets Yelets or Elets () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Bystraya Sosna River, which is a tributary of the Don River, Russia, Don. Population: History Yelets is the oldest center of the ...

, part of the

Orel Military District The Orel Military District () was a military district of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Soviet Union. Established in 1918 during the Russian Civil War, the district was disbanded after the end of the war in 1922. It was re ...

. Its basic order of battle included the 866th, 868th, and 870th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 851st Artillery Regiment. While still forming, the division was assigned its commander on 20 July and became part of 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 ...

reserves on 15 August. At the end of September, the division, possibly still trying to complete its formation, was trapped in the Bryansk pocket after the

2nd Panzer Group The 2nd Panzer Army () was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 2nd Panzer Group on October 5, 1941. Organisation Panzer Group Guderian () was formed on 5 June 1940 and named after its commander, general Heinz Gude ...

broke through the Soviet lines. On 3 October, the division was moved up from the reserve by rail and its eleven trains were unloaded at

Brasovo station Brasovo () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a Village#Russia, selo) in Brasovsky District, Bryansk Oblast, Russia. The population was 1,363 as of 2018. There are 11 streets. Geography Brasovo is located 4 km northeas ...

, 75 kilometers south of

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

. Between 3 and 5 October the division conducted unsuccessful counterattacks. The 287th was virtually destroyed by mid-October, but was not officially disbanded until 27 December.

Second Formation

The second formation of the 287th began forming in late December at

Lipetsk Lipetsk (, ), also Romanization of Russian, romanized as Lipeck, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh (river), Voronezh River in the Do ...

with the same basic organization as the first formation, and quickly became part of the

while still forming. Its first units were formed from the remnants of the 287th's first formation that had escaped from the Bryansk pocket. The 287th joined the 3rd Army in January, and was assigned its commander in late February. The division fought in battles on the Bryansk Front and in May 1943 was transferred to the 63rd Army, still on the same front. In October, the army was transferred to the Belorussian Front, and on 20 December the 287th was transferred to the

13th Army Thirteenth Army or 13th Army may refer to: * Thirteenth Army (Japan) * Japanese Thirteenth Area Army * 13th Army (Russian Empire), unit in World War I *13th Army (RSFSR), a unit in the Russian Civil War *13th Army (Soviet Union) The 13th Army (, ...

. The division subsequently became part of the army's

24th Rifle Corps The 24th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army. It was part of the 27th Army and took part in the Great Patriotic War. It appears to have been initially formed in the Kalinin Military District, around what is today Tver, in 1939. In 1940 it wa ...

. By April 1944, its divisional anti-tank battalion was equipped with older model 76 mm M1936 or 76 mm M1939 (USV) guns. In July the division transferred to the army's 102nd Rifle Corps. The 287th transferred to the 38th Army's 67th Rifle Corps in November, and from December 1944 to the war's end was part of the

3rd Guards Army The 3rd Guards Army () was a field army of the Soviet Red Army that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The army fought in the Battle of Berlin, during which it mopped up German resistance around Cottbus. 1942 to 1945 It was formed o ...

76th Rifle Corps 76th may refer to: *76th Academy Awards ceremony honored films of 2003 *76th Air Army, an air army of the Soviet Air Forces from 1949 to 1980 and from 1988 to 1998 *76th Air Assault Division (Russia), a division of the Russian Airborne Troops based ...

. The division fought in the

Berlin Offensive 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 ...

from late April 1945. On 25 April, its commander, Major General Iosif Pankratov, was killed by a large mine blast. By the end of the war, the division's honorifics were "Novograd-Volynsky, twice Order of the Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, and Bogdan Khmelnitsky." The division was disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the

Central Group of Forces The Central Group of Forces (Russian: Центральная группа войск) was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and tr ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Soviet Union divisions before 1945 Infantry divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner