The 383rd '

Miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

' Rifle Division () was a formation of the

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 ...

, created during the

Second World War 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 ...

. The division was officially created on 18 August 1941. It was given the name Shakhterskaya (which in Russian literally means 'miners'), as it was originally composed completely of miners from the

Donets Basin The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets (), is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

(now

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). During the course of the war, its losses were continually replaced, and thus it began to consist not only of miners from

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

History

Formation

The formation of the division began in August, at mine #6 in

Stalino Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

(now

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

). The division included six special

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare refers to the military strategies, tactics, and weapon systems designed to counter and destroy enemy armored vehicles, particularly tanks. It originated during World War I following the first deployment of tanks in 1916, and ...

detachments, created by the city committee of

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

in Stalino. Specifically for this division, the production of

mines Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun Mi ...

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s and other

anti-tank weapons Anti-tank warfare refers to the military strategies, tactics, and weapon systems designed to counter and destroy enemy armored vehicles, particularly tanks. It originated during World War I following the first deployment of tanks in 1916, and ...

in the city was drastically increased.

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Konstantin Provalov Konstantin Ivanovich Provalov (Russian: Константин Иванович Провалов; 12 June 1906 – 8 December 1981) was a Soviet Army Colonel general and Hero of the Soviet Union. Provalov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Uni ...

, graduate of the M. V. Frunze Military Academy and

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

, was appointed commander of the division. He was later promoted to major general and commanded the

Southern Group of Forces The Southern Group of Forces (YUGV) was a Soviet Armed Forces formation formed twice following the Second World War, most notably around the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. First Formation On June 15, 1945, the 26th and 37th Armies (fr ...

during the 1960s. "The right to command the newly created divisions went to people who knew and the theory and practice of military art – the graduates of the

M.V. Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (), was a Military college, military academy of the Soviet Armed Forces, Sov ...

. The Heroes of the Soviet Union Colonels KI Provalov, ID Zinoviev and AI Petrakovsky were appointed to command the 383rd, 393rd and 395th Rifle Divisions, respectively). So on, 20 August 1941 they were summoned the offices of the

People's Commissariat for Defence The Ministry of Defense (Minoboron; ) was a government ministry in the Soviet Union, which supervised the Soviet Armed Forces. The first Minister of Defense was Nikolai Bulganin, starting 1953. History The Ministry of Defence was renamed a num ...

." - The defense of Donbass and Stalino in 1941. 383 RD, Donetsk. History. Developments. Data.

War service

The formation and training of the division ended in September 1941, when it was put into battle. On 30 September 1941, the 383rd division was incorporated into the 18th Army of the Southern Front. The division then took up defensive positions on the " Krasnoarmiisk-

Selydove Selydove (, ; ), formerly Selydivka (; ), is a city in Pokrovsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city is located in the western part of the region, on the Solona River (a tributary of the Vovcha, Dnieper basin). It is the administrative cente ...

" line. From 15 October until 22 October, the division participated in the defense of Stalino. By that time, they had claimed to have destroyed 30 tanks, four mortar batteries, two

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

batteries and had killed a large number of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

soldiers. By 23 October, the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

had finally taken Stalino, but the 383rd had fought well and conducted an organised fighting retreat. Following this defeat, the division was transferred to the

Transcaucasian Front The Transcaucasus Front (), also translated as Transcaucasian Front, was a front of the Soviet Red Army—a military formation comparable to an army group, not a geographic military front—during the Second World War. The Transcaucasus Front ...

, to stop the Germans from penetrating to the

oil fields A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presen ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. There, the division successfully held defensive positions, refusing to give up ground. In the beginning of 1943 the division fought near Novorossisk. On 7 November 1943 the division crossed the

Kerch strait The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is to wide and up ...

and landed its troops near

Kerch Kerch, also known as Keriç or Kerich, is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea. It has a population of Founded 2,600 years ago as the Colonies in antiquity#Greek colonies, ancient Greek colony Pantik ...

, as part of the Kerch-Eltigen Operation. On 1 January 1944, the division was part of the

Separate Coastal Army The Separate Coastal Army (), also translated to English as Independent Coastal Army, was an army-level unit in the Red Army that fought in World War II. It was established on July 18, 1941, by the order of the Southern Front from the forces of ...

's 16th Rifle Corps, along with the 89th, 227th, and 339th Rifle Divisions. In April 1944 the division liberated

Feodosiya Feodosia (, ''Feodosiia, Teodosiia''; , ''Feodosiya''), also called in English Theodosia (from ), is a city on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. Feodosia serves as the administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into w ...

, and later helped liberate

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. By the end of May 1944 the Transcaucasian Front had completely freed

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

from German occupation. In January 1945, the 383rd Division was assigned to the 33rd Army of the

1st Belorussian Front The 1st Belorussian Front (, ''Pervyy Belorusskiy front'', also romanized " Byelorussian"), known without a numeral as the Belorussian Front between October 1943 and February 1944, was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, bein ...

where it served for the rest of the war, advancing through Poland and into Germany. From 16 April to 2 May, the division participated in 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 ...

. The division was disbanded in the summer of 1945 in Germany in accordance with a Stavka directive of 29 May 1945.Feskov et al 2013, pp. 380381

References

;Specific * ;General *
И в Радости и в Горе…
*

{{Soviet Union divisions Infantry divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 History of Donetsk Oblast Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

History

Formation

War service

See also

References