The 292nd 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 three times. The division was first formed in the summer of 1941 and was destroyed near

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in the fall of that year. Reformed in June 1942 from a rifle brigade, the 292nd was destroyed during counterattacks against the German advance north of

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

in the fall of 1942. It was reformed in July 1943 in the

Soviet Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Eastern Fe ...

, and fought in the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation or simply the Manchurian Operation () and sometimes Operation August Storm, began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet Union, Soviet invasion of the Emp ...

in August 1945, before being disbanded in 1946.

History

First Formation

The 292nd Rifle Division began forming from individual replacements on 2 July 1941 in 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 1007th, 1009th, and 1011th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 833rd Artillery Regiment. The partially-formed division was hurriedly moved to the front at

Kirishi Kirishi (, ) is a town and the administrative center of Kirishsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volkhov River, southeast of St. Petersburg. Population: It was previously known as ''Soltsy'' (unti ...

near

, where it arrived on 24 August. The 292nd was assigned to the new 52nd Army, but transferred to the 4th Army by the end of September. The division fought in defensive battles east of the

Volkhov River The Volkhov ( ; ; ) is a river in Novgorodsky District, Novgorodsky and Chudovsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Kirishsky District, Kirishsky and Volkhovsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia. The Volkhov River, Volkhov, whi ...

and the

Tikhvin Offensive The Tikhvin Offensive was a military operation undertaken by the German army in October 1941 during World War II in the course of Operation Barbarossa. The offensive, conducted entirely around the Volkhov River, was launched by Adolf Hitler with ...

in early November. The latter successfully recaptured Tikhvin from the German troops, and was one of the first German operational defeats in the war. As a result of heavy losses, the 292nd was disbanded on 30 November 1941.

Second Formation

The 292nd was reformed on 9 June 1942 from a rifle brigade in the Moscow area, part of the

Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK () or RGK ( comprises reserve military formations and units; the ''Stavka'' ...

. It included the same rifle regiments as the first formation. The division was immediately assigned to the 10th Reserve Army. In August the 292nd was sent to the front with the

Stalingrad Front The Stalingrad Front was a front, a military unit encompassing several armies, of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the city of St ...

's 24th Army. As part of the army, the division fought in counterattacks against the German flank north of Stalingrad during September and October, suffering heavy losses. As a result, the division was disbanded on 5 November and its remnants used as replacements for other

Don Front The Don Front was a front of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War, which existed between September 1942 and February 1943, and was commanded during its entire existence by Konstantin Rokossovsky. The name refers to Don River, Russia. F ...

divisions. This was one of the last times in the war that a number of divisions were disbanded due to casualties.

Third Formation

The 292nd was reformed for the third and last time on 15 July 1943 in the

Transbaikal Front The Transbaikal Front () was a front formed on September 15, 1941, on the basis of the Transbaikal Military District. Initially, it included the 17th and 36th armies, but in August 1942 the 12th Air Army was added to the front, and, finally, in ...

reserves in the Soviet Far East. It included the same regiments as the previous formations. The division became part of the

2nd Rifle Corps The 2nd Rifle Corps was an infantry corps of the Red Army during the interwar period and World War II, formed twice. First formation It was formed in September 1922 as the 2nd Army Corps in accordance with orders dated 10 June, 18 July, and 12 ...

, and served with it for the entire war. In July 1945 the corps was assigned to the 36th Army, and in August the division fought n the

. Most of the army's fighting was conducted by its mobile group, and the 292nd's sole notable combat was an assault crossing of the Argun River between 8 and 9 August using boats, pontoons, and

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

DUKW The DUKW (GMC type nomenclature, colloquially known as Duck) is a six-wheel-drive amphibious modification of the GMC CCKW "deuce-and-a-half" 2½-ton trucks used by the U.S. military during World War II and the Korean War. Designed by a part ...

amphibious trucks. The division received the honorific "Khingan" for its actions, and was disbanded during the spring and summer of 1946 as part of the Transbaikal-Amur Military District.

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 1946