243rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

243rd Rifle Division (26 June 1941 – 1945)
Active	1941–1945
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Type	Division
Role	Infantry
Engagements	Battle of Smolensk (1941) Battle of Moscow Battles of Rzhev Operation Little Saturn Battle of the Dnieper Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive First Jassy–Kishinev Offensive Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive Siege of Budapest Soviet invasion of Manchuria
Decorations	Order of the Red Banner
Battle honours	Nikopol-Khingan
Commanders
Notable commanders	Col. Ya. G. Tsarkov Mjr. Gen. V. S. Polenov Mjr. Gen. A. A. Kutsenko Col. M. S. Tkachev Col. N. N. Parfentev

The 243rd Rifle Division was one of a series of 15 divisions formed from cadres of NKVD border troops as standard Red Army rifle divisions, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District. It served in the heavy fighting around Smolensk in July, then later in the defensive operations around Kalinin. It then saw extensive service in the severe fighting around Rzhev, before being moved south in the winter of 1942-43. In the following winter the division was recognized for its role in the liberation of Nikopol, receiving that place name as an honorific. After battling through Ukraine, Romania, Hungary and Austria, the 243rd completed a very complex combat path by ending the war in Manchuria and earning a second honorific.

The 243rd Rifle Division began forming within days of the start of the German invasion on June 26, 1941, at Yaroslavl, in the Moscow Military District, based on a cadre of 1,500 officers and men of the NKVD Internal Troops. The remaining soldiers and officers came from the reserves. Although the initial order for its formation came from the NKVD, when it left for the front in early July it was completely under Red Army administration. Its order of battle was as follows:

On July 13 the division was assigned to 30th Army in Western Front, but was soon shifted to 29th Army, where it remained through the balance of 1941.

The 243rd was almost immediately committed to heavy fighting along the Western Dvina River north of Smolensk. On Aug. 28 the division was defending, backed by one battery of corps artillery. Two days later, with German XXXX Motorized Corps rampaging through 22nd Army's positions near Toropets, the division was ordered north to assist the neighboring army. By Sept. 2 it had reached and was digging in to its new positions, 10 – 18 km north of Zapadnaya Dvina. In a general assault by Western Front on Sept. 4-5, the 243rd was able to make some westward gains, including the village of Shatry and three hills, but by the second day, along with its army, the division was no longer capable of attacking due to high losses.

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