327th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

327th Rifle Division (September 1, 1941 – January 19, 1943) 327th Rifle Division (May 1, 1944 – February 4, 1946)
Maj. Gen. E. V. Kozik, ca. 1943–45 (2nd Formation)
Active	1941–1946
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Type	Division
Role	Infantry
Engagements	Siege of Leningrad Lyuban Offensive Operation Sinyavino Offensive (1942) Operation Iskra Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive Baltic Offensive Courland Pocket
Commanders
Notable commanders	Maj. Gen. I. M. Antiufeev Maj. Gen. N. A. Poliakov Maj. Gen. E. V. Kozik

The 327th Rifle Division was first formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, based on a cadre of workers from Voronezh. This formation was assigned to the Volkhov Front near Leningrad, toiling through the so-called "Rat's War" in the wooded swamps of that region and taking significant casualties in the encirclement of its 2nd Shock Army near Lyuban in early 1942. In January, 1943, it helped to lead the partial raising of the German siege of Leningrad in Operation Iskra, distinguishing itself sufficiently to be redesignated as the 64th Guards Rifle Division. Well over a year later a second 327th Rifle Division was formed and was also moved to the Leningrad region where it took part in the offensive that drove Finland from the war, then spent the first months of 1945 clearing German forces from the coasts of the Baltic States and containing the German forces trapped in Courland.

The division first formed on September 1, 1941 in the Oryol Military District at Voronezh, right alongside the 329th Rifle Division. It was manned primarily by workers from that city, and when it reached the front it was considered well-trained by the standards of the time. Its order of battle was as follows:

In late October the division was assigned to 26th Army, which was forming up in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. This army was assigned to the new Volkhov Front in early December, and redesignated as the 2nd Shock Army on the 17th.

On January 7, 1942, 2nd Shock Army entered the Lyuban Offensive Operation. The initial attacks collapsed in exhaustion and confusion, and the army commander was replaced. After regrouping, the attack was resumed on the 13th, this time with more effective artillery preparation, which shattered the defenses between two German infantry divisions and caused one of them to panic. Over the following days the army's forces managed to carve small wedges into the enemy positions, but did not penetrate them until the 17th, with the help of more than 1,500 aircraft sorties, and advanced 5 - 10 km. In order to widen the penetration, the 327th was regrouped into Operational Group Korovnikov in 59th Army for a new attack to begin on January 27. The mission was to eliminate German strongpoints at Spasskaya Polist and Lubino Pole along the Leningrad road. While the attack on the former failed, the bulk of the army, over 100,000 men, was able get past and advance as far as 75 km into the German rear, posing a grave threat to their forces in the Lyuban, Chudovo and Kirishi regions. After the mouth of the penetration was widened on February 12, the 327th, as part of a shock group with 46th Rifle Division, 80th Cavalry Division, and two ski battalions, attacked northward towards Lyuban on the 19th, enveloping and capturing Krasnaya Gorka in the process. Lyuban was only 10 km distant. However, on February 27, elements of German I Corps attacked the flanks of the penetration, recaptured Krasnaya Gorka, and encircled the 327th and 80th Cavalry in Ryabovo. Although most of the encircled forces escaped, the Germans claimed 6,000 prisoners by March 15.