The 73rd Rifle Division was a formation of the Great Patriotic War Soviet Army. The division began assigned to the
20th Army at the beginning of the war and was destroyed and rebuilt twice before the war ended.
According to research in the Soviet archives published by Michael Avanzini and Craig Crofoot, the division was formed five times from 1930 to the late 1940s. Its first formation was established at Omsk in the
Siberian Military District
The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...
in 1930, and reformed a second time in September 1939 after serving as the cadre for the
109th Rifle Division and the
194th Rifle Division. Disbanded for unknown reasons in October 1939.
Third Formation
Established Omsk in Jul 1940. Assigned to the newly formed 20th Army formed in June 1941 in 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 ...
, under the command of Colonel
Alexander Akimov. Wiped out in October 1941 near Vyazma during the opening stages of the
Battle of Moscow
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 ...
.
Fourth Formation
Rebuilt in February 1942 at
Ordzhonikidze, Ukraine
Pokrov (, ), formerly Ordzhonikidze () until 2016, is a small city and mining town in Nikopol Raion, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Pokrov urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Its population is ...
. Destroyed sometime prior to October 1942.
Fifth Formation
Formed on 15 October 1942 from the
122nd Rifle Brigade in the city of
Livny
Livny (, ) is a town in Oryol Oblast, Russia. As of 2018, it had a population of 47,221. :ru:Ливны#cite note-2018AA-3
History
The town is believed to have originated in 1586 as Ust-Livny, a wooden fort on the bank of the Livenka River, ...
, Orel Oblast.
In January–February 1943 the division participated in the
Voronezh-Kastornoye and
Maloarkhangelsk Offensive Maloarkhangelsk () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Maloarkhangelsk, Oryol Oblast, a town in Maloarkhangelsky District of Oryol Oblast
;Rural localities
* Maloarkhangelsk, Zabaykalsky Krai, a '' selo'' in ...
operations. In early April 1943 the division took up defensive positions on the right flank of the
48th Army.
On 20 July 1943 the division participated in the counteroffensive after the
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...
. The division participated in the Liberation of
Novozybkov
Novozybkov (; ) is a historical town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia with a population, in 2021, of 38,680.
The city is home to a branch of the Bryansk State University.
History
It was founded in 1701 and was granted town status in 1809.
Novozybkov ...
. By October 1943 the division was located southwest of
Gomel
Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...
. On 11 November 1943 the division participated in the
Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive and by the end of the month was in defensive position 10 km south of
Zhlobin
Zhlobin (; ; ; ) is a town in Gomel Region, Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper River, and serves as the administrative center of Zhlobin District. It is situated from Gomel. As of 2025, it has a population of 76,304.
The town is notable fo ...
. By the end of December 1943 the division had advanced to the right bank of the
Berezina River
The Berezina or Byarezina (, ; ) is a river in Belarus and a right tributary of the Dnieper. The river starts in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. The length of the Berezina is . The width of the river is 15–20 m, the maximum is 60 m. The ba ...
south of Parichi and repelled enemy counterattacks.
The division spent the next several months in defensive positions south of
Parichi
Parychy (; ) is an urban-type settlement in Svyetlahorsk District, Gomel Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Parychy selsoviet. As of 2025, it has a population of 1,783.
Geography
Parychy is situated on the Berezina Riv ...
.
On 23 June 1944 as part of
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 division deployed to the western bank of the Berezina River and reached the approaches of
Babruysk
Babruysk (, ) or Bobruysk (, ; , ) is a city in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Babruysk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is situated on the Berezina, Berezina River. Bab ...
and later participated in the capture of the city. The division then advanced in the general direction of Warsaw.
In September 1944 the division was in the 2nd echelon of the 48th Army protecting the army's right flank during its advance. The division entered battle between the 217th Rifle Division and 399th Rifle Division, 42nd Rifle Corps and captured a bridgehead over the
Narew
The Narew (; ; or ) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. The Narew is one of Europe's few braided rivers, the term relating to the twisted channels resembling braided h ...
River. The bridgehead was gradually expanded through October 1944.
From January 1945 until the end of the war, the division participated in the
Mlawa-Elbing Offensive and ended the war on the Baltic Coast at
Frisches Haff
The Vistula Lagoon is a brackish water lagoon on the Baltic Sea roughly 56 miles (90 km) long, 6 to 15 miles (10 to 19 km) wide, and up to 17 feet (5 m) deep, separated from the Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit.
Geography
The lag ...
.
Gained the honorifics 'Novozybkov Order of Lenin Red Banner Order of Suvorov'.
Postwar, the 73rd Rifle Division was relocated to the
Kuban Military District with the
29th Rifle Corps
The 29th Rifle Corps () was formed several times in the Soviet Red Army, each formation primarily seeing combat on the Eastern Front during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) wa ...
and was based at
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk (, ; ) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was
History
In antiquity, the shores of the ...
. It became the 39th Rifle Brigade and was redesignated the 73rd Mountain Rifle Division on 23 July 1949. In 1954 it became a rifle division again. On 10 June 1957 it became the 73rd Motor Rifle Division. In June 1968 the division transferred to
Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur ( rus, Комсомольск-на-Амуре, r=Komsomolsk-na-Amure, p=kəmsɐˈmolʲsk nɐ‿ɐˈmurʲə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located on the west bank of the Amur R ...
and became part of the
15th Army.
On 29 October 1989 it became the 5505th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base.
[Feskov et al 2013, p. 592] The base was disbanded in 1993.
Subordinate Units
* 3rd Formation
** 392nd Rifle Regiment
** 413th Rifle Regiment
** 471st Rifle Regiment
** 11th Artillery Regiment
** 148th Separate Antitank Battalion
Commanders
* Colonel
Dimitri Ivanovich Smirnov (15 Oct 42 - 12 May 1943), from 18 May 1943 Major General
* Colonel
Peter Spiridonov (12 Jun 1943 - 29 Jul 1943)
* Colonel
Vasily Ivanovich Matronin (21 Jul 1944 - 2 Nov 1944)
* Colonel
Ilya Pashkov (3 Nov 1944 - 9 May 1945) from 5 May 1945 Major General
Notes
*
References
DirectoryCombat strength of the Soviet Army 1941 - 1945List no 5 "Small, mountain infantry, motorizied and motorized divisions' were part of the army in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
{{Soviet Union divisions
073
Military units and formations established in 1930
Military units and formations disestablished in 1957