312th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

312th Rifle Division (July 10, 1941 – December 27, 1941) 312th Rifle Division (December 25, 1941 – May 29, 1945)
Active	1941–1945
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Type	Division
Role	Infantry
Engagements	Siege of Leningrad Battle of Moscow Battles of Rzhev Battle of Smolensk (1943) Operation Bagration Vistula-Oder Offensive Berlin Strategic Offensive
Decorations	Order of the Red Banner Order of Suvorov 2nd class  Order of Kutuzov
Battle honours	Smolensk
Commanders
Notable commanders	Col. A. F. Naumov Maj. Gen. A. G. Moiseevskii

The 312th Rifle Division was a standard Red Army rifle division formed for the first time on July 10, 1941 in Kazakhstan before being sent to the vicinity of Leningrad, where it fought briefly before being redeployed to the front southwest of Moscow in late October, where it suffered huge losses in the wake of Operation Typhoon, and was disbanded not long after. A new 312th began forming in December in Siberia, and this second formation served again in front of Moscow, in the fighting in the area of Rzhev and Sychevka during 1942 and into 1943. In the latter year, the division distinguished itself in the liberation of Smolensk and received that city's name as an honorific. As the war concluded, the men and women of the 312th gained additional honors, and ended the war fighting near Berlin. The division was disbanded shortly after the end of the conflict.

The 312th began forming on July 10, 1941, at Akyubinsk in the Central Asia Military District. The personnel of the division were mostly Kazakhs at this time. Its order of battle was as follows:

Colonel A.F. Naumov was in command of the first formation of 312th for its entire existence. The division was given about six weeks to form up before it was sent by rail all the way to the Northwestern Front, ending its journey in the Tikhvin area east of Leningrad. It was first assigned to the 52nd Army as that Army was forming up in August as a separate army under STAVKA control. During September the 312th helped to contest the German advance towards Leningrad, but as the German Typhoon offensive developed west of Moscow, the division got orders to redeploy by rail from Valdai towards the capital, beginning on October 6. Due to the chaos of the time this redeployment went in a piecemeal fashion, and the division's rifle regiments were sent into combat right off the trains, into the forces of the Maloyaroslavets Defense Sector, which became the 43rd Army, in Western Front, by October 12. Fighting piecemeal against armored forces was a deadly business; by October 18 the 859th Artillery Regiment was manning the lines at Maloyaroslavets with 34 artillery pieces, but the rifle regiments had taken very heavy losses in less than a week and were no longer combat-effective. By the end of the month the division was effectively destroyed, and the remnants were distributed to other units in the Western Front. On December 27, the number "312" was officially made available for a new division.

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