The 47th Rifle Division was an infantry division 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 ...

. 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. In July 1942, the 47th Rifle Division was formed from the 21st Rifle Brigade. It fought in the Nevel Offensive, 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 shortly before the German invasion during World War II. After the end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's co ...

in 1946. It was also awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

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 Union, Soviet award established on ...

2nd class. The division was reformed a third time from the 277th Rifle Division 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 in

Batum Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, 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, north of the border ...

. Between 11 and 14 September, the division was sent by rail from Kupyansk to Sloviansk. 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 Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...

. 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 The Second Battle of Kharkov or Operation Fredericus was an Axis powers, Axis counter-offensive in the region around Kharkov against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted 12–28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front (World War II), Easter ...

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 Nevel Offensive in October 1943 as part of the 83rd Rifle Corps. 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 277th Rifle Division at Iman with the 5th Red Banner Army. 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 (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 (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